Cairo - Time Of Legends

Year of Release: 2001
Label: Magna Carta
Catalog Number: MA-9044-2
Format: CD
Total Time: 47:19:00

There are three men called Cairo that make a lot of noise on their new release Time Of Legends. The group's core is currently Mark Roberston (keyboards), Bret Douglas (vocals), and Jeff Brockman (drums). This is a heavy keyboard oriented group much like Yes; in fact the vocals are reminiscent of Jon Anderson's airy inflections. There are additional studio musicians that you cannot take for granted, like Luis Maldonado and Brian Hutchinson, that deserve a lot of credit for giving the group's sound a meatier and more engaging progressive feel. Guitarist Fuhrman and bass player Browne left the nest before this album was recorded. Although it is not essential to have a guitar backing the keyboards, it sure helps to make the music sound more authoritative and broad.

I really cringe when I do this but here it goes ... think of Styx meets Yes meets ELP and you have Cairo. I make mention of comparisons to other groups at times so folks that are unfamiliar with a group or artist can find some commonality; as much as I dislike doing that, it's an effective way of explaining a groups sound. Songs like the epic instrumental "The Fuse" (9:02) and the stirring opus "The Prophecy" (10:15) do shun any comparisons. With tracks like that you get unencumbered musical progression, landing the group smack dab in the middle of the best sounding prog-rock groups in the world today.

This is a really tight group that has its chops down, make no mistake about it. I think if they get a permanent lead guitarist in the vein of a Morse or Howe their sound would be cranked up another notch, quickly launching them into the prog-rock stratosphere. They are still an awe-inspiring group with a great sound regardless of that thought. You should not pass this one up.

Tracklisting:
Underground (8:06) / The Prophecy (10:15) / Scottish Highland (2:39) / You Are The One (5:44) / Cosmic Approach (4:20) / Coming Home (7:08) / The Fuse (9:02)

Musicians:
Mark Robertson - keyboards
Jeff Brockman - drums
Bret Douglas - lead vocals

Guests:

Luis Maldonado - guitars
Brian Hutchison - guitars
John Evans - bass

Discography:
Cairo (1994)
Conflict And Dreams (1998)
Time Of Legends (2001)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: September 24th 2001
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck

Artist website: www.cairoplanet.com
Hits: 3257
Language: english