In 2015, after a gap of some sixteen years, Drifting Sun returned with their third album. Keyboard player Pat Sanders had decided it was time, and created a brand-new version of the band, with himself being the only person who had appeared on the two albums in the Nineties. Making up for lost time they have released four acclaimed albums since then, as well as a number of singles which have often included bonus songs which were not available on a physical CD and were only available as downloads. So, a decision was taken towards the end of 2019 to release a physical album (and download of course), containing 12 songs ranging from solo piano pieces to full-blown band numbers, plus some interesting demos and various outtakes. Full details of where each track originally appeared are included in a 6-panel Digipak along with a full-color 12-page booklet.
In my humble opinion Drifting Sun’s last album, ‘Planet Junkie’, is their best album to date and one of the few to get full marks from me, and I am sure many people have discovered the band because of that release and hopefully, they will be looking back through the catalog. But there are distinct and different areas of the band, and this collection only includes rarities from the time when Peter Falconer was singing with Drifting Sun, who appeared on the albums ‘Trip The Life Fantastic’. ‘Safe Asylum’ and ‘Twilight’. Having played this a lot now, one has to wonder just how so many of these songs did not make it onto a full album yet given their release rate they are already putting many other bands to shame. Yes, some of them are solo pieces, and to my ears, there is probably more piano than normal, but there are some real delights on here. It is a nice bookend to Falconer’s time with the band, as he is a wonderful singer, melodic and emotional, and while there have been a few line-up changes even during that short time, there is a restrained beauty as everyone comes together.
Musically it is often based on piano, with those lush vocals, and then the other guys coming in and out as the need arises. Sometimes their contribution to the music is by not taking part at all. Take for example “Atlantis” which originally featured on the “Remedy” single: this song is basically Peter and Pat who provides piano (plus there are some strings) and is simply stunning. Harmonies abound and I fall into the music headlong, immersing myself in the emotions. I really enjoyed the solo piano pieces such as “Bubble” – I could listen to a whole album of music like that (Pat – are you reading this?) – and although the album is slightly more fractured due to coming together from different musicians and time periods the overall result is something which is a delight from start to end. There are some gems on here to be discovered, and it is great they have not been “lost” in the world of digital downloads but are available in a physical form all in one place. More crossover to my ears these days then neo-prog, this is a rarities compilation worth discovering for the quality of the music and not just the scarcity of the material.
8/10 Kev Rowland
