Cast
Sounds Of Imagination

In the review of the first CD by the Mexican band Cast, I mentioned their prolific nature. Here is the proof of that, as this second work also saw the light in 1994 (as did the third one!). This shouldn't be too surprising, considering that in 15 years of activity, Cast had composed numerous songs, which I presume they were eager to start recording (and once they started, they might as well go all out and produce material for several CDs...).

The particularity of this album, compared to the previous one, lies in the fact that the first 7 tracks are compositions dating back to 1985, while the last 5 are from 1994. It seems that Cast wanted to continue the work of philological reconstruction of their musical history while at the same time begin to give an idea of what their more recent musical production was. However, to be honest, I must confess that I don't sense significant differences between the compositions dating from one period or the other. To be frank, I don't see major differences with the previous CD either: the music produced by Cast is progressive rock of a typically Anglo-Saxon, symphonic nature, within which one can detect references both to the iconic bands of the '70s, Genesis leading the pack, and to the new prog of the '80s, Marillion school.

Again, the somewhat muddled and dull recording doesn't do justice to the tracks which, it must be said, lack that compositional spark that grabs our attention and makes us want to start listening again immediately. The tracks are pleasant, romantic, yet once again, they all resemble each other a bit, making the listening experience quite boring in the long run. Once again, we are faced with an honest record that certainly won't become a classic of the genre: after all, let's not forget that quantity does not necessarily coincide with quality.