Amazing and overlooked prog rock!
BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 08/10/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you collect progressive rock albums like I do, you'll have those days you'll run across a relatively unknown and overlooked prog rock album and you are nothing short of amazed, like this one. Let's get a few facts straight. This album was not previously unreleased. It was recorded in 1973, but it first surfaced right here in America in 1976 with a different title called "Brown Out" which was released on a small label called Import (which also released Mainhorse, a 1971 band with Patrick Moraz, pre-Refugee and pre-Yes, and Acqua Fragile's Mass-Media Stars here in the US). I own the original "Brown Out" so I should know. A British label called Cherry Red had then released this album in 1978 with a new title, called "The Sleeper Wakes" which is also the same title as the CD reissue. Morgan was actually a name of the band featuring keyboardist Morgan Fisher with drummer Mo Bacon, vocalist Tim Staffell, and bassist Bob Sapsed. Basically the band has connections with Love Affair, Smile (a pre-Freddie Mercury version of Queen), and Mott the Hoople, so this does not sound too encouraging to the diehard prog fan like myself, but trust me, this is some of the best keyboard-driven prog I have heard in the longest time! If you like the likes of Yes, ELP, and Gentle Giant with tons of wonderful Wakeman/Emerson style keyboards played on Hammond organ, piano, electric piano, and VCS-3 synthesizer, you will love "The Sleeper Wakes"! Each of the four cuts are wonderful complex and energetic prog rock with tons of great themes. Not a single cut on this album is under five minutes. While the whole album is simply wonderful, the real highlight is the 19:51 minute "What Is - Is What", which is simply one of my favorite side length cuts ever. Throughout the album, you get your share of corny lyrics (i.e. "If you can hear you're deaf, and if you're deaf then you must've heard" from "What Is - Is What") as well as some insane spoken dialogue off "The Right" ("Who spent all of his life in an invisible submarine", for example). Seems to be both "The Right" and "What Is - Is What" were based on some sort of Utopian society in which closer examination reveals little progress was actually made. Morgan's "The Sleeper Wakes" really suprised me beyond belief. The only reason why this album (as well as Morgan's previous release "Nova Solis", recorded and released in 1972) is so overlooked by prog rock junkies everywhere was the musical background of the musicians (especially for the fact Morgan Fisher himself joined Mott the Hoople after "The Sleeper Wakes" aka "Brown Out" was recorded). So if you're a diehard prog rock junkie like myself, buy this album!"
Noteworthy Effort
Music Buff | 06/06/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This release truely represents the proggy sound of the 70's. Noncommercial, surreal, impetuous, strange, ethereal, offbeat; all adequate adjectives to describe the five tracks on this CD. Hammond Organ, VCS-3 synth, piano and soaring vocals. Dissonance mixed with symphonic melodies, polyrhythmic structures. The sound is very reminiscent of King Crimson's "Lark Tongue in Aspic" or "Lizard". To some degree this CD also reminds me of the first Flash album recalling Tony Kaye's keyboard passages and Colin Carter's high pitched vocals. The lyrics are somewhat dated and goofy but the music stands on its own. From a composition standpoint I would give it a 3 to 3.5 out of 5. Production quality is excellent on this remaster, 5 out of 5. Overall, "The Sleeper Wakes" is a noteworthy effort and progressive rock enthusiasts should seek this one out especially for the epic "What Is - Is What"."
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1