Negative Positive
Title: bland, though skilled
Review: I would have to classify this as a generally good effort that shows promise. The main problem is that the whole album has an un-self-conscious campy, melodramatic quality that is downright annoying. The lyrics are self-serious to the point of absurdity, made all the worse by the singer's tendency to pronounce words in a ridiculously exaggerated way (e.g. in the first track "Les Innocents" he incessantly pronounces "passion" as though the last syllable rhymes with "gone") The music is mediocre, not terribly inspired, though well-played. The title suite is not too bad. The last four songs, though, are really bland and drag the album out. 2-3 of them should have been dropped, and this would have been a 3-star effort. Yes, there is some Kansas sound in the music, but the main influence sounds like Jethro Tull, particularly as one song is an actual reel, like something off of the "Heavy Horses" album. Except, of course, this album has none of that Tull irony and wit.
Is the review positive or negative? 