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Review:
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The Goddess of melodic prog is back like a phoenix
with her first solo release. When she left Mostly Autumn
last year it created a stir the likes of which have rarely
been seen. She has decided to do something different and
release a series of EP's, each in a different style. This
one is produced with Chris Johnson who played on Mostly
Autumn's Heart Full of Sky album, his 'Silver Glass' is
a great favourite of mine, and it features Dave Kilminster
on guitar who has performed with the likes of Roger Waters
and Keith Emerson. I am not a great fan of EP's, by the
time you have got yourself comfy with a cup of tea they're
over leaving you frustrated and half satisfied, and they
tend to be almost as expensive as a full CD. ***
The second major concern that set alarm bells ringing
was that in her interview she said that this one was inspired
by the late great Jeff Buckley, now Heather is a terrific
singer but Jeff was a very unique and extraordinary talent
who was a bit like musical Marmite, some considered him
the most emotional wonderful singer ever, others just thought
he wailed hysterically. So I made my cup of tea and got
myself comfy well before pressing play and waited with some
trepidation. First track 'Red Dust' shows she has decided
wisely not to totally adopt Jeff's singing style, but it's
more expressive than with Mostly, and musically I can certainly
see the influence. The result is stripped down guitar rock
that drifts along pleasantly through the five tracks without
getting particularly exciting, in contrast to Jeff who love
him or loath him always provoked a reaction, or artists
like Grace Potter and Celleste who put some va-va-voom and
swagger into their music. The lack of keyboards is odd seeing
as Chris is also a keyboard player, they could have added
some zest into the mix.***
Mostly Autumn fans will be rather nonplussed by this
release, which was the intention so she can distance herself
from the past. Putting that aside I cannot help but compare
it to the classic Grace, Jeff's only completed album, which
is asking a awful lot from a début EP, probably too much.
Trying to put myself in the shoes of people who don't know
Heather or Mostly or Jeff, this a good rock record with
some enjoyable heartfelt songs. Her website can be be found
by a click here...Heather Findlay, a pleasant 8/10.
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