Search - Cairo :: Cairo

ELP-Style Prog for the 21st Century

Kirk Lott | adrift on the seas of life | 11/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a fan of progressive rock, chances are you've been lonely at times since the 70s. But the fact is prog is alive and well, and Cairo makes great music for the genre today.



Like classic prog, Cairo's debut album is blend of short songs and long (ranging from about 2 to 20 minutes), dizzyingly fast instrumentals and ethereal sound washes, and great musicianship.



Indeed listening to keyboardist Mark Robertson, you'll swear it's Keith Emerson himself at ivories; in fact Emerson has listed Cairo as one of his favorite bands. The rest of the band is top notch too, in particular lead singer Bret Douglas, whose voice has hints of Jon Anderson and John Wetton, yet is totally unique.



The only weakness here is that Silent Winter and World Divided are somewhat too commercial, but overall the album is 5-star no-holds-barred prog guaranteed to please most fans. Enjoy!"

Polished Progressive Rock with Hooks

James P. Bungard | Festival Ranch, Arizona | 03/31/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cairo's self-titled first album was a pleasant surprise. Their music is reminiscent of Tarkus-era Emerson, Lake and Palmer, early Kansas, with some similarities to Asia. "Ruins at Avalon's Gate" is similar in style and length to ELP's Tarkus (the song). Unlike ELP, more like Kansas and Asia, Cairo features excellent guitar work in addition to the expected tight keyboards and percussion. Not content with good musicianship, Cairo features good songwriting complete with memorable hooks. "Between the Lines" cooks! Good production, mixing and sound. Negatives? The vocals seem monotonous to me on occassion. A second lead vocalist or a couple of instrumentals would provide a magical, almost perfect album, oops, compact disk."

Cairo rocks!

James P. Bungard | 08/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Reminds me a lot of the older, longer Kansas compositions (like Song for America). Great compositions -- long with lots of changes throughout. A must for any progressive rock fan."