Short Reviews [Tim Morse - 2020 - "The Archaeology Project"]

It is safe to say that under his own name Tim is not the most prolific of musicians, but he must be forgiven as he is also in other bands as well as being accomplished author, there are only so many hours in the day. I actually have all three of his solo albums which stretch back to 2005 and ‘Transformation’ and have always found them enjoyable without ever really having the killer punch. This compilation covers that 15-year period from 2005 to 2020 and has seen Tim remaster the old material with Craig Long, while also including songs which have not previously been easily available. In the end he had so much fun that he provides an additional five songs on the download version, taking us to a total of 19 and a running length of 1 hour 50 minutes. We must remember that Tim has been part of the Yes tribute band Parallels as well as writing about the band, so perhaps that we get some wonderfully symphonic numbers is not a surprise, but he actually starts the album with a solo classical guitar piece which works incredibly well as an aperitif. The real delight with the compilation is that he has deliberately brought together songs which would normally sit close to each other, showing the breadth of his material, and while that may seem clunky and contrived, within this set it works very well indeed. This is progressive rock which is easy to listen to in that it is not challenging, yet there is a great deal on here to enjoy and the variety means there is something here for everyone. He recently covered “Awaken”, which got Rick Wakeman to comment it was the best Yes cover he had ever heard, but while there is a cover on here it is somewhat surprising that it is not by Yes at all, but rather by Pink Floyd. I have always felt that ‘Animals’ is an overlooked album in the Floyd canon, with ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ preceding it and ‘The Wall’ following, but it was the first album of theirs I ever bought (on 8-track cartridge, can you believe it?), and I have always loved it. His version of “Dogs” is an absolute delight, and I can listen to that one track all day. Although it is a solo release, Tim believes in bringing in the right musicians for the right job, so there are a host of people involved on this given that it covers such a long period. Previously I have always enjoyed his albums while not thinking them to be essential, but with this set my view has changed. If you have yet to come across Tim Morse, then this is the place to start.