ProgLandsJanuary 2005 by Denis_tECCENTRIC
ORBIT is Bill and Madeleine Noland whom both previously performed on
two tribute album of GENTLE GIANT, the track 'Just the Same' in 'Giant
for a Life' on Mellow records and on 'Giant Tracks' the american GENTLE
GIANT tribute album with the song 'In a Glass House'. Mark Cella
previously performed with A TRIGGERING MYTH 'Between Cages' album in
1995 and with PYE FYTE in 1998, on 'The Gathering of the Krums' album.
He also appeard in a track on the compilation 'Prog in the USA' as well
as being the owner of Mandmusic.com. Derek Roebuck play the second
keyboards and seems to be at his first apparitions.
I'm not the
first one to review this beautiful instrumental vintage album with a duo
on the keyboards, well 'Attack of the Martians' is mostly called a
vintage album because of the used of the old sounds of analog keyboards
as the Rhodes, the Mellotron, the Wurtlizer, the Clavinet, the Winds
instrument and the Hammond organ. The band himself talk about influence
from 'EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER and KING CRIMSON, as well as the sounds
of classic sci-fi films'. It's the same passages which look like to me
to ELP...except one time in the last song, with a sound of a flying
saucer. In 'Star Power', it's absolutely true that ANEKDOTEN and ELP was
the most representative influences, samething for the song 'The Enemy
of My Enemy', but we should talk also about the Canterbury rock, which
appeard often on the soloing period, with the use of lot of RHODES and
especially in the song 'Attack of the Martians', surely and primary with
the work of Derek Roebuck who 'brings the fusion sensibility' as it is
written in the ECCENTRIC website. The spacey 'Forbidden Planet', maybe
near as a pure spacey canterbury offshoot in the second part and the
third part; 'The Intruder' and 'The Krell', this song got an excellent
moog, misty, haunted is that song on the first half.
So, finally,
and to myself this is first a canterbury-rock album, with a lot of
beautiful electric rhodes piano, with just enough of elements of Jazz in
it, with the additions of harder moments which looks like to ANEKDOTEN,
with big fuzzy bass lines and Mellotron passages and then with some
passages ala ELP and/or sci-fi. Great beginning.
Back to Reviews Previous Next