STEVE THORNE - EMOTIONAL CREATURES, PART TWO

STEVE THORNE - EMOTIONAL CREATURES, PART TWO

DISK ONE: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54:34
1) Toxicana Apocalypso . . . 5:07
2) Wayward . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:50
3) Crossfire . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:42
4) Roundabout . . . . . . . . . . 4:23
5) Hounded . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:12
6) All The Wisemen . . . . . . . 5:19
7) Great Ordeal . . . . . . . . . . .3:07
8) 6 AM (Your Time) . . . . . . 2:46
9) Solace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:32
10) The White Dove Song . . 5:58
11) Sandheads . . . . . . . . . . . 7:29

Lineup(invited guest musicians): Tony Levin, Nick D'Virgilio, Geoff Downes, Martin Orford, Gary Chandler, Yan Zewada, Pete Trewavas, Anna Wyse, Louise Coggins, Lydia Handy, Katie Higgins, Bernard Postlewaithe, Adrian Cleverly, Kate Redwood, Arnie Cottrell, Liz Allan, Chris Beggs, Rob Aubrey, Gavin Harrison, John Mitchell and Dave Meros

Format: Single CD • Giant Electric Pea # GEPCD1036
release date: April 2, 2007
Steve Thorne's official website at
http://www.steve-thorne.com

Emotional Creatures - Part Two is the second release of british singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Steve Thorne, and the follow-up to his hugely successful first album, which caught the progressive community by surprise in 2005. Steve's great vocals combined with his excellent sense of harmony and melody are the strong points of this album, as well as the fact that you will find contributions by a who's who of the best contemporary progressive musicians, including Tony Levin, John Mitchell, Gary Chandler, Geoff Downes, Gavin Harrison, Pete Trewavas, Martin Orford, Dave Meros and Nick D'Virgilio, resulting in a polished, varied sound spectrum, and it certainly helps in attracting the interest of progressive music enthusiasts! Steve's musical style is a blend of folky, light progressive music, with contemporary pop themes and ballads.

The album starts with the instrumental Toxicana Apocalypso which unlike its name, has an upbeat, poppy theme with a bit of a Jadis influence, thanks to Gary Chandler's guitar work. Wayward has a cool urban theme with a smooth rhythm. Crossfire is a great rock ballad that features great guitar work by John Mitchell and seamlessly blends into Roundabout, a more dramatic track, with a smooth beat. Hounded has a melancholic theme where you'll notice Steve's slightly raspy voice at times, with a powerful, dynamic finale. Other noteworthy tracks include 6AM and Solace, two eerie, amospheric instrumental tracks and The White Dove Song, a catchy rock theme that ends with a fantastic, soaring orchestral finale, a brilliant composition. Sandheads is a great folky ballad that concludes these 54 minutes of artful progressive rock.

The album is produced by Rob Aubrey, IQ's sound engineer... he did an admirable job as this album sounds awesome, with impeccable production quality. The album cover features great, colorful cover art by Danny Flynn and captivating images with lyrics inside the 16-page booklet. A great album that will appeal to people who like their progressive music on the lighter side, melodic, harmonic and not too challenging musically, my idea of perfect weekend morning music with a good cup of coffee. Highly recommended!

My rating for Emotional Creatures - Part Two : 7.8/10(album reviewed by Robert Dansereau 03/30/2007)