Great (four stars out of five)
When it comes to simplicity in progressive rock music, it's a general rule that it leads to boredom. However, the "supergroup" Kino proved in 2005 that relative simplicity (which we have to distinguish from the simplicity of, say, a band like Nickelback, which makes It Bites look like the Mahavishnu Orchestra) has a definite place in the hearts of progressive rock listeners. The next major John Mitchell project, It Bites - The Tall Ships, can be thought of as Kino 2 (since Kino itself consisted of two of the members from modern It Bites). The Tall Ships once again proves that the songwriting simplicity often found in pop music can indeed have a place in progressive rock music--that is, if the music is still written intelligently. Luckily, that's exactly the case with The Tall Ships. The album offers some wonderful songs that are put together masterfully, and despite their simplicity, they simply don't get old.
If you're already familiar with Kino, then you'll know what to expect from this album. They don't stray far from the sound that Kino crafted, but the songwriting seems stronger in many places on this album. The melodies are catchier, the songs are more well organized, and John Mitchell's vocal performance is stronger.
For those not familiar with Kino or It Bites, it can be difficult to describe the band's sound. John Mitchell has a midrange, soulful voice, and he's also one of the best vocalists in progressive rock at using his falsetto voice tastefully. The instrumentation is very guitar driven with some great keyboard parts taking the lead occasionally. You won't hear extended solos or sweep arpeggios, but you will get some strong instrumentation that mostly serves to create a sound to bolster the vocals.
As for the songs themselves, they do offer a different experience than what most progressive rock offers. Whereas most prog rock albums are very focused on the album's experience, this is a very song driven record, without any tracks really transitioning into one another, and without offering any sort of concept or leitmotif. Luckily, the songs are all so strong that the entire experience of the album is still quite enjoyable, and you won't find yourself needing to skip tracks.
You might, however, find yourself playing the same tracks over and over again. Many of the songs are incredibly infectious. For example, one of the first tracks that the band pushed on the It Bites MySpace page was "Great Disasters" (which is still available to sample). I can truly say that I've never heard a track quite like it in the progressive rock world; the best way I can find to describe it is a mix between the Lion King and a modern rock song. The track starts with an extended vocalization that repeats throughout the track, and by my best estimation, it was influenced by traditional African music. Whatever it may be, it's catchy as hell, and it sets up one of the most memorable tracks on the album, and one of the biggest risks in recent memory with one of the biggest payoffs. Other standout tracks are The Tall Ships, which is a slower song with some lovely lyrics and a great progression throughout, as well as Fahrenheit, which has one of the catchiest choruses on the album.
As much as I wanted to give this album five stars, there are a couple of things holding it back from being incredible; oddly enough, those moments come both at the beginning and end of the album. The album's first track, "Oh My God," is a fantastic track aside from the beginning, which begins with a vocalization that is a bit too repetitive for its own good. The album ends with "This is England," which doesn't quite match the quality of the rest of the songs. The track is about thirteen minutes long, so it stands as the album's "epic" song. It starts with an incredible slow intro that really sets the listener up for something great. However, by about the five minute mark, the song just seems to lose momentum. It lacks the strong melodies of the previous ten tracks, and in some ways, just doesn't fit with the rest of the album. While the incredible melodies had been in full force during the rest of the album, it feels a bit flat to end it in this way. It's still a good track--the problem is that it is preceded by ten stellar tracks.
Despite the album's minor problems, I can fully recommend this album to about any listener. If your tastes are firmly set in metal, you might not get much enjoyment out of this record. However, for just about anyone else, the strength of the songwriting and the relative simplicity should allow this album to grip you quickly. Best of all, these tracks will stick with you for a long, long time.
Andrew Kauz
www.progressivemelodies.com
If you're already familiar with Kino, then you'll know what to expect from this album. They don't stray far from the sound that Kino crafted, but the songwriting seems stronger in many places on this album. The melodies are catchier, the songs are more well organized, and John Mitchell's vocal performance is stronger.
For those not familiar with Kino or It Bites, it can be difficult to describe the band's sound. John Mitchell has a midrange, soulful voice, and he's also one of the best vocalists in progressive rock at using his falsetto voice tastefully. The instrumentation is very guitar driven with some great keyboard parts taking the lead occasionally. You won't hear extended solos or sweep arpeggios, but you will get some strong instrumentation that mostly serves to create a sound to bolster the vocals.
As for the songs themselves, they do offer a different experience than what most progressive rock offers. Whereas most prog rock albums are very focused on the album's experience, this is a very song driven record, without any tracks really transitioning into one another, and without offering any sort of concept or leitmotif. Luckily, the songs are all so strong that the entire experience of the album is still quite enjoyable, and you won't find yourself needing to skip tracks.
You might, however, find yourself playing the same tracks over and over again. Many of the songs are incredibly infectious. For example, one of the first tracks that the band pushed on the It Bites MySpace page was "Great Disasters" (which is still available to sample). I can truly say that I've never heard a track quite like it in the progressive rock world; the best way I can find to describe it is a mix between the Lion King and a modern rock song. The track starts with an extended vocalization that repeats throughout the track, and by my best estimation, it was influenced by traditional African music. Whatever it may be, it's catchy as hell, and it sets up one of the most memorable tracks on the album, and one of the biggest risks in recent memory with one of the biggest payoffs. Other standout tracks are The Tall Ships, which is a slower song with some lovely lyrics and a great progression throughout, as well as Fahrenheit, which has one of the catchiest choruses on the album.
As much as I wanted to give this album five stars, there are a couple of things holding it back from being incredible; oddly enough, those moments come both at the beginning and end of the album. The album's first track, "Oh My God," is a fantastic track aside from the beginning, which begins with a vocalization that is a bit too repetitive for its own good. The album ends with "This is England," which doesn't quite match the quality of the rest of the songs. The track is about thirteen minutes long, so it stands as the album's "epic" song. It starts with an incredible slow intro that really sets the listener up for something great. However, by about the five minute mark, the song just seems to lose momentum. It lacks the strong melodies of the previous ten tracks, and in some ways, just doesn't fit with the rest of the album. While the incredible melodies had been in full force during the rest of the album, it feels a bit flat to end it in this way. It's still a good track--the problem is that it is preceded by ten stellar tracks.
Despite the album's minor problems, I can fully recommend this album to about any listener. If your tastes are firmly set in metal, you might not get much enjoyment out of this record. However, for just about anyone else, the strength of the songwriting and the relative simplicity should allow this album to grip you quickly. Best of all, these tracks will stick with you for a long, long time.
Andrew Kauz
www.progressivemelodies.com
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1 comments:
Um. As a huge fan of the original lineup of It Bites and their three studio records, but not having heard much Kino, allow me to offer a corrective to this review anyway. What I do know is that It Bites keyboardist John Beck was always a huge architect of It Bites' sound, along with former frontman/vocalist/guitar god Francis Dunnery, and much of their first two records was largely keyboard-infused, as was the third to some degree. "The Tall Ships" may sound a bit like Kino, but allow me to correct you that it sounds unequivocally and exactly like vintage It Bites! If anything, Mitchell has been injected, delightfully, into the It Bites rubric to sound and play like Francis Dunnery. That's cool with me; he does an excellent job of that, with vocals that sometimes sound eerily like Dunnery. The use of and sound of his guitar often evokes Dunnery as well. So there's my two cents. Otherwise, I couldn't agree with you more about this record; It Bites has returned full-force, sounding as beautiful and brilliant as ever! 5 stars for this new record.
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