Album Notes

From the Progressive Ears website:

"The music on offer is a surprisingly diverse mix of various prog and non-prog influences. Yes, Genesis, ELP, Rush, Todd Rundgren they all have left their mark on JR - the usual supsects. The end result is a distillation of those sounds - and a bit of a mixed bag.

“The New City” is the ideal opener: Upbeat, lots of gusto. “Change” immediately takes off into a different direction altogether, opening with a snippet from a speech given by England's PM Gordon Brown. Conspiracies and 9/11 seem to be JR's main point of interest in politics and he wears his opinions on his sleeve. “Change” is built on a funky bass riff and features a shouted chorus of 'Down with the NWO!'. It almost sounds like a leftover from Utopia's Swing to the Right album, both in sound and content.

“America” is a Rush/Yes hybrid featuring nice melodies and synths sounds and chords reminiscent of Rush's “The Camera Eye”. “Deep in my soul” is a symph prog number channeling early Genesis and Yes and it sets a more relaxed pace. “Life of Game” is another upbeat rocker with nice harmonies.
“Sun Door” is another nice symph prog pastiche, heavy on Mellotron and atmospherically dense. “The Wave” never really gets off the ground - the melody screams 'Yes light', the second half is quite frankly a rip-off of “Ritual” and the vocal harmonies are not nearly as smooth as on other tracks.

I honestly don't know what to make of “Galaxy Diner” - it's the odd one out on this album. It sounds like something Brian Wilson might program on a midi keyboard. Utterly synthetic, but oddly charming. The vocal harmonies are enchanting and easily the best on the album (augmented by two female guest vocalists), but to me it sounds like something from an 80s computer game soundtrack or a selection you might hear on a late-night show on alternative radio. Odd indeed.

The album ends on great note – “In Progress” clocks in a seven plus minutes and is a wonderful and engaging 'pull all the symph prog stops' instrumental that JR can truly be proud of.
The foundations of this album are sound - the musicianship is competent, the writing is reasonably varied, the vocals are pleasant."

- Progressive Ears