Search - Spock's Beard :: Kindness of Strangers (Spec)

Best of the Batch...IMO

Jeffrey G. Stevenson | F.W.B.,FL | 06/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"O.K., here's the thing about Spock's Beard...they are one of "Those" bands that upon the first listen, very little may appeal to the listener(especially the listener with an "untrained" ear). So when I recieved my first SB album(V), I understood that I was probably not going to get immediate gratification from the first spin...I had long been a 'Prog-head' and was used to spending many hours(and days) with a release to finally get the rewards(without doing that, I would have probably thrown away some albums that I have come to enjoy---Gentle Giant, King Crimson, etc...). Well, this is one of those albums. By the third and fourth spin of KoS, I found myself remembering/humming musical passages,verses and choruses. For me, this is their most consistent and cohesive release...the songs all seem to 'Meld' together to make a very enjoyable 'Whole'(unlike some of their other releases which are all over the place). And although KoS does not contain my personal favorite song from the band(At the End of the Day), it does contain the most songs I like of all their albums. 'The Good Don't Last', 'Harm's Way', 'Flow', 'Mouth of Madness' and 'June' are all SB personal favorites. And the remaining tunes,'Strange World' and 'Cakewalk...', are not far behind. I really like this bands ability to weave technical music with very catchy vocals while still "paying tribute" to the bands that have influenced them. I dare say these guys would happily confess the use of musical elements/ideas in their songs that they borrowed from the various "Godfathers" of the genre---Genesis, Gentle Giant, Kansas, Etc... I won't go into individual song analysis(other reviewers are much better at that), I'll just say that when I listen to this album, I press play and let it go all the way to the end.So If you find yourself "wrapped up" in this album, I would recommend all six of the bands first albums(YES...including 'Day for Night')...you will find something on each album that will keep you coming back for more. I would also recommend Neil's solo material, most notably 'Testimony', 'One', and his self-titled debut...all very worthy stuff. In closing, I must admit that, as much as I like this band, I have held-off on buying post-neil releases from them---from reading the reviews, it sounds like the band has headed in a drastically different direction(even with a major component gone, why would they(Nick?) change a good thing?!? Anyway, if you are new to this band, don't let the "goofy" name stop you from digging into some very inspiring music that may become 'treasures' in your collection. 4.5 stars easily... Enjoy, Jeff"