Search - Mostly Autumn :: Spirit of Autumn Past

Mostly Autumn Forever

swriter7 | New Jersey | 09/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, what an album, I had written a long review and decided to shorten it up a bit. The band has three studio albums and this is definately the best. The band sounds like a mixture of Renaissance, Floyd, and has Celtic moments. Vocals are shared by the guitarist and a female vocalist who has to have the best voice since Annie Haslam of Renaissance. Winter Mountain starts the album off on a high note and features both singers with Heather doing mostly backgrounds.
Pieces of love is a beautiful Heather track that is a ballad with great atmospheric guitar. The Spirit of Autumn Past is a two part tune with again, great Floyd like leads and vocals from both singers. The last song is the over 10 minute highlight of the cd, The Gap is Too Wide which is great and goes through various musical passages with the two vocalists. If you like a type of atmospheric progressive music with great guitar, vocals, and flute, this album is a must and goes through celtic, harder prog, folk prog, and atmospheric musical excerpts all in one album. Fans of October Project, Iona, Renaissance, Karnataka, and Fairport Convention will absolutely love this album. This is the one to start with and then get For All We Shared and The Last Bright Light."

Amazing but tough to take in.

Lord Chimp | Monkey World | 09/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Everything by Mostly Autumn has amazed me, often from the very first notes of the album. _The Spirit of Autumn Past_ - the band's second album - however, worked its magic much less rapidly. Does this suggest one of those dreaded "sophomore slumps"? Nyet! I think the reason for _The Spirit of Autumn Past_ being more difficult to digest is that the mix is far less robust. Where the debut _For All We Shared_ had the immediacy and spring of a live performance, this release sounds more subdued and lulling. The opener "Winter Mountain" places a lot of emphasis on texture and an exotic melody, rather than the nonstop hooks of the debut's opening ("Nowhere to Hide"). Regardless, the band's second album is full of incredible music. They continue to mix Floydian rock with Celtic influences and their own compositional magic for some of the best music out there. The title track is split into two parts, the first featuring an ethereal piano melody reminiscent of Pink Floyd. Part II brings in the hub of the song with powerful melodies and atmospheres, not to mention an unforgettable guitar solo from Brian Josh. This man could bring peace to the Middle East with his solos, they are so beautiful. "Please" is gorgeous melancholy. The instrumental trio of "Styhead Tarn", "Shindig", and "Blakey Ridge/When Waters Meet" emphasizes the band's instrumental finesse and Celtic influences.A extra plus aside from the sheer goodness of the music is that Heather Findlay sings lead on several songs rather than just one: the crying, stately "Evergreen"; the enchanting, bittersweet "Pieces of Love"; the jaw-dropper "The Gap Is Too Wide"..."The Gap Is Too Wide" alone makes this album a must-have. The song is nothing short of stunning, from Heather Findlay's delicate singing at the beginning, to the slow build-up of ethereal strings to the choral vocal cadences, which ebbs into Brian Josh's incredible, mountainous guitar solo, which retreats to the ghostly call of bagpipes. If you doubt your humanity, listen to this. If you don't feel get goosebumps as is builds around you, you very well might be an ice ghoul! If you haven't checked this band out, you're missing out. No promises, but I think that will appeal to many different types of listeners. Maybe one of them will be you."