Craft - Craft

Year of Release: 1992
Label: Kinesis
Catalog Number: KDCD 1003
Format: CD
Total Time: 38:19:00

Listening to Craft's self-titled album, the track "Cancer" stood out immediately. There are militaristic overtones here, and a arrangement that brought to mind both Camel, specifically Nude, and Mannheim Steamroller. The keyboard is brassy - as in a trumpet - and parping spritely.

The style is symphonic prog, full of lush keyboards, interesting arrangements, and some really great playing. While it would make nice background music, it is too good to be regulated to that position. This is music designed to be enjoyed with headphones, eyes closed, mind caught up and carried away. Certainly far from being ambient, of course. There is a strong sense of movement here, of being on a journey. The journey suggested is through the signs of the Zodiac ... well, more than suggested, actually. Tracks are titled, "Aries," "Taurus," "Gemini," etc. It's a tour through the stars, without being far out and spacy. These aren't the gentle, atmopheric synth lines of, say, Kevin Braheny, but rather more angular, percussive sounds.

How different or similar this is to The Enid, I can't say. They are all ex-members of that band. Jerry Lucky writes in his The Progressive Rock Files the following: "Sound like a more aggressive version of The Enid, with not so many soft and subtle parts" [pg. 187]. I have to agree with that statement, as the music doesn't ever give up it's forward momentmum - keeping it even from track to track. The lone exception is the bonus track "And So To Sleep" which is a very quiet, keyboard piece. Beautiful. The more I listen, the more I like.

Tracklisting:
Aries (5:52) / Taurus (3:53) / Gemini (7:11) / Cancer (6:56) / Leo (8:35) / Virgo (2:27) / Branislana (2:36) / And So To Sleep (2:09)

Musicians:
William Gilmour - keyboards
Grant McKay Gilmour - drums and percussion
Martin Russell - bass and keyboards

Discography:
Craft (1984/1992)

Genre: Symphonic Prog

Origin UK

Added: July 25th 1999
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: www.kinesiscd.com/craft.htm
Hits: 2876
Language: english