Frameshift - Unweaving The Rainbow
	Released: 2003 Label: Progrock Records Cat. No.: Total Time: 79:30
	Reviewed by: Davide Guidone, February 2004 Frameshift is a side-project almost totally carried by the talented German musician Henning Pauly, who has been living in the States for a few years. He wrote this album exclusively for James Labrie’s voice, who also contributed to the writing and who recorded the vocal tracks in only two weeks. The work is a concept based on the books by Richard Dawkins, one of the most important neo-Darwinist teachers. In fact, the lyrics are complex and therefore you can find some help on the official website for the project, and this way everyone can be involved. Even though the album speaks of the same topic during the whole length, recurring themes can be discovered only on the two parts of "Above The Grass," which bookend the album. Unweaving The Rainbow shows all the skills that Henning has and proves his versatility both in playing instruments and writing music. Although the instrumental part of the release is very important, the vocal section is the main side of the disc, where James can demonstrate that he's still got his vocal goods. To give you an idea of what the music represents, it should be defined as a prog rock with some metal extracts that carries on the journey of the giants of the past like Yes (some echoes in "Nice Guys Finish First") and Gentle Giant ("Spiders"). Moreover, there are a lot of ballads where Labrie gives his best, like "La Mer." Plus some orchestral arrangements like the music of film scores and a few cool electronic loops, all done with perfect production. In my opinion, it's one of the best releases of the year. Rating: 4.5/5 [See also Keith's, Dave's, Duncan's and Marcel's reviews -ed.] More about Unweaving The Rainbow: Track Listing: Above The Grass - Part 1 (0:43) / The Gene Machine (5:32) / Spiders (4:13) / River Out Of Eden (5:40) / Message From The Mountain (9:57) / Your Eyes (2:56) / La Mer (5:55) / Nice Guys Finish First (5:43) / Arms Races (8:33) / Origins And Miracles (5:06) / Off The Ground (5:49) / Walking Through Genetic Space (4:07) / Cultural Genetics (4:23) / Bats (3:58) / Above The Grass - Part 2 (6:51) Musicians: James LaBrie – Vocals Henning Pauly - Electric and acoustic guitars, bass, synthesizer, piano, B3, Warr guitar, banjo, hand percussion, loop programming, orchestration, engineer and mixer Eddie Marvin – Drums Nik Guadagnoli - Additional bass, guitar and Chapman Stick Guests: Shawn Gordon – keyboard solo (8) Steve Katsikas - sax (14) Contact: Websites: frameshift.progrockrecords.com www.frameshift2.com www.henningpauly.comNote: will open new browser window Discography Unweaving The Rainbow (2003) An Absence Of Empathy (2005) Interview: Henning Pauly (October 2003) Interview: Henning Pauly (February 2004) Interview: Henning Pauly (March 2005) Interview: Henning Pauly (May 2005)
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