mozart61

Dear Zarathustra, your review is practically perfect... if I really had to find a flaw... it would be the 4 stars instead of 5, because I still consider this the absolute masterpiece of Rush! But tastes vary, and that's just fine... and as always, respect is fundamental!

Congratulations on the review, accurate and full of enthusiasm....be careful...in fact "new wave" is not "New Age," which you probably meant....about the album, not much to say: I can't even mentally sketch a comparison between Wakeman and Emerson as composers: I've seen both live, and they are technically perfect....but let's leave Wakeman in a band like Yes (or the Strawbs), where he's not allowed to compose: I find his phrases repetitive, boring, and predictable, and the harmony too simplistic...probably the blond one doesn’t have the classical culture of the old Keith, who can span from Bach to Ginastera to Rodrigo without any issues: he can afford to compose, and that's when things like Karn Evil 9 come out....anyway, as always, my opinion is entirely personal, even though I work as a pianist and think I understand it sufficiently. So...Wakeman? I can barely digest just the "Wives"...!

Certainly, the first point I entirely agree on... is the impossibility of grasping any plot from the psychedelic saga of Radio Gnome, a part of a definitely… well… let’s euphemize… distorted brain matter… About the music: in my opinion, the three parts of the saga represent an escalation of quality. In "Flying Teapot," the percussive contribution of the dearly missed Pierre Moerlen is still lacking, which would have brought, in "Angel's Egg," a breath of robustness and rhythmic inventiveness, combined with the refinement of the vibraphones. "You," the third part, stands as the perfect synthesis of fantasy, melodic inventiveness, rhythmic power, and madness: surely Zappa would have appreciated it. Dear Bogusman, I apologize for letting myself drift into a review rather than a critique of your review, which is very well done by the way… but the love for the Gong has prevailed once again! If Flying is a 3 for me, Angel's is a 4, and You… naturally a 5!

This time my compliments go primarily to the reviewer: it's not easy to discuss a new Fagen product without falling into the obvious, and you have been professional and measured. Well done! As for Fagen... well... maybe it's my issue, but I still can't shake off the wave of chills I experienced in '82 listening to "Nightfly," and all his subsequent products always seem inferior to me. Sounds and arrangements are obsessively and coldly perfect, but I struggle to find the heart. Naturally... if only there were more Fagen!

Finally, a review that gives satisfaction to this great album! Personally, and forgive me for the heresy, I find Moraz more eclectic and imaginative than Wakeman, and the results shine through: the suite is great (and what an emotion to see it performed with the orchestra on the DVD!), powerful Sound Chaser, captivating To be Over. But, yes... I'm diving in!: maybe my favorite Yes album along with Close and Going! Well done MaSo. Your review, maybe a bit "naive," is still genuine and spontaneous. Be careful... the "quartet" is a "quintet"! Unless you’re only counting the "instrumentalists"... but the voice is the most beautiful and difficult instrument to use... and if old Jon can’t handle it...!

Rudess is really establishing himself as a great musician, not only technically, but also in harmonic wisdom and sound choices... which is no small feat! I completely agree with the reviewer about the high technical caliber of each composition... but also about the risk of an overdose if the CD is consumed all at once the first time! Great review, good album... but I still prefer Jordan's debut CD, "Listen." It feels less technical but more inspired.

It seemed over, after Relayer... Yes continued to exchange rather unloving statements from the four corners of the world... and yet, unexpectedly, the masterpiece! Going for the One can rightfully bear this title, if only for "Awaken," which I consider the most poetic and ethereal creation in the entire Yes discography. I've never really loved Wakeman as a soloist, but when he integrates into the group in this way, he truly finds his most fitting dimension. Kudos to the reviewer... unnecessary praise for the legends; perhaps just one hope: long life, another album of this caliber, and let’s quickly forget about things like "Open your Eyes."

Good review of an album that, besides being one of the absolute peaks of instrumental virtuosity in the great phenomenon of progressive music, also holds a special emotional significance for me: 15 years old, year 1976, completely unfamiliar with pop or rock, only connected to my piano which I was desperately practicing, and to composers like Mahler, Bartok, Shostakovich (I was crazy then, and still am!), I was struck by a cassette casually listened to from a friend's collection: Karn Evil 9, Third Impression: "what a marvel... so there are great composers and musicians in rock too!" Today, 2006, I own over 3000 CDs of every genre, I have wildly opened my mind by listening to practically all types of music... and no longer just Mahler, Chopin & co... all thanks to... the immense Keith! What can I say: certainly my love for the legends of progressive remains intact, I may be nostalgic, but Emerson still brings me chills... just like last week when, after 30 years of "running after," I finally managed to see him up close (front row) in Savona... and here come the chills from that distant 1976... it doesn't matter that, instead of the other two legends, there was a band perhaps technically more modest... but Keith, despite all his ailments in his right hand, remains at 62 my eternal idol! Brain is an album that is anything but cold, played in a pyrotechnic way, and the love from back then remains unchanged!