DAVID CROSS & PETER BANKS – CROSSOVER – RIGHT HONOURABLE RECORDING CO.

by | Jun 22, 2020 | Album Review, Reviews

Although Peter Banks sadly died in 2013, this new studio album features some of his work which has never been released until now. On 10th August 2010 he and David Cross got together for an afternoon of improvisation and all guitar and violin parts are from that time. Banks had expressed his desire for this music to one day be made available, so over the last few years Cross asked some friends to become involved and help in making this album a reality. Included here are some musicians who had worked with Peter during his lengthy musical career, as well as other notable names, Pat Mastelotto, Tony Kaye, Billy Sherwood, Randy Raine-Reusch, Andy Jackson, Oliver Wakeman, Jay Schellen, Jeremy Stacey and Geoff Downes.  David Cross says “The response from the guest musicians was truly wonderful in the way that they gave their time and talent to this project and I would like to thank them on behalf of Pete and myself. They were asked to ‘interpret the music as freely and creatively as you wish’ and they have turned in incredibly skilled and inspiring performances which were not easy given the improvised nature of the starting material and the spontaneity of the structures.”

Due to the nature of the album, in being that it was improvised to begin with, and then other musicians have added other parts later, it is somewhat surprising in that it feels as cohesive as it does. Although it does have that improvised feel, it doesn’t sound as if it was recorded by musicians who weren’t at least in the same room as each other, even if they had no idea where the music was going to take them. However, apart from Cross and Banks everyone else did have the luxury of playing the music multiple times to work out where they could fit in their parts, and I expect some judicious editing has also taken place. That being said it is an enjoyable album, with plenty of light, with fluidity from both Banks and Cross, exactly as one would expect. One gets the impression this has been a labour of love for Cross to get this finished to a standard where he felt happy releasing this to the public. It is worthy of investigation for progheads who enjoy their music to be somewhat relaxing yet always moving in new directions. I’ll leave the final words to David, ““When I recall the original recording session with Pete I remember his fresh almost naïve approach, his positive energy and his constant and restless search for something new. It was a joy to know Pete Banks and an honour and a privilege to play with him: I think he would be pleased with the way our album turned out.” 
7/10 Kev Rowland

TOXIC SMILE – M.A.D. (MADESS AND DESPAIR) – PROGRESSIVE PROMOTION

by | Jun 4, 2018 | News, Reviews

by Kev Rowland

I have been having quite a few conversations with keyboard/sax player Marek Arnold about his various musical outlets, and he recently provided me with access to virtually everything that has been released by Toxic Smile. Prior to this, I had only heard their fourth album, ‘7’ (which was their seventh overall release), so I was looking forward to this and jumped into the task with relish. For those who haven’t come across them before, the band started as a collaboration between Marek, drummer Daniel Zehe and guitarist Uwe Reinholz in early 1996 when they were still students, really coming together as unit two years later when they were joined by singer Larry B. ‘M.A.D’ was their debut album, released in 2000, but what I am playing is the 2011 reissue which contains two additional songs, one of which is a cover (more of that later).

Musically these guys are at the intersection of prog metal, heavy prog, symphonic, crossover, neo-prog, and more straightforward hard rock. At times they are reminiscent of classic Saga, at others Dream Theater, while IQ has also had an impact, as has Steve Howe. What really ties this all together is the way that Marek and Uwe are joined at the hip, while bassist Robert Brenner is incredibly important to the overall mix with a strong warm bass that can be sat quietly at the back or also provide touches right at the front to provide a completely different and unexpected emphasis. The music swirls, it moves, it switches and loops like a rollercoaster, and right at the very front of this is Larry B., totally in control. He can be emotional, he can be rough and raw, or pure and melodic. The only time he comes unstuck is when the band play “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”. While the arrangement is interesting (I personally would have stuck with the harder riffs they used in the introduction), Larry is singing at the very limit of his range and has to go into falsetto. It would have been more interesting if they had moved away from trying to replicate Anderson and instead did something in a lower register to provide a harshness.

But, that and the sound quality of the snare drum are the only low points of what is a great debut album, and I find it strange that it has taken nearly twenty years for me to come across it and that there isn’t a single review of it on ProgArchives! Well, both of these issues have been rectified now. Well worth investigating.

8/10