Year of Release: 2007
Label: ProgRock Records
Catalog Number: PRR370
Format: CD
Total Time: 60:07:00
Most pop bands push out just about an album a year, otherwise they might loose their fans. But as any wine or whiskey connoisseur will know, a good wine or scotch needs time to mature. And although some prog bands are quite productive, most bands take their time to work on a new album. This story applies to the Northern Californian band Puppet Show, who released their debut album back in 1998 and are now back with a very strong follow up album: The Tale Of Woe.
In progressive rock, there seems to be a line between "classic" progressive rock and "neo" progressive rock. Puppet Show has totally erased that line and mixed the two in a highly enjoyable album. Agreed, they do have a huge Genesis influence in both the music and the voice of Sean Frazier, but they offer a lot more than that.
First off, the sound is great, modern and full, with an excellent production. I find this important, since an album should be pleasant to listen to and you don’t want to be annoyed by the lousy production all the time. Well, no problems here. The album was mixed by Terry Brown (Rush, Tiles), so that might have contributed to that as well.
The album holds six tracks, but three of them clock over 10 minutes, two of them even around 15! And each and every one of them conveys a lot of passion and power. Puppet Show offers a lot variety in play. Mr. Grimes plays an important part in the sound, as the keyboards are very up top, but also Mr. Ogburn [guitar] claims his share in the music. The result is a dynamic mix between melodic rock, solid progressive rock and a few hints of hard rock. Yes, there us a strong Genesis vibe, but I also hear hints of IQ and Arena. And in "The Seven Gentle Spirits," I even hear a small reference to Brian May (Queen) at the time of Queen II.
In the long tracks, the band takes their time to work out the compositions and that shows. And besides the good melodies and the abundance of keyboards and the sweet guitar arrangements, they do add a lot more ingredients to the mix … like these quirky sounds, lots of breaks and changes in tempo. And of course, I must not forget this, they have a solid backbone in Mr. Polson (bass) and Mr. Mack (drums).
And there is more: it is important for a band not to take everything serious and that is what they do … just listen to "Harold Cain" and you'll know (hopefully) what I mean, at least … if you listen to the lyrics. Also "God's Angry Men" stands out a bit. This is the only instrumental song on the album and starts out pretty heavy, but then becomes very experimental. Honestly said, the album could have done without that track and still be a great album.
But that track aside, the album is very good and I really enjoyed listening to it. I love those lengthy songs with this symphonic touch to it. And the boys of Puppet Show are excellent musicians. I really hope this album will find its way to many fans, so that it won't take another 10 years before we have a new Puppet Show album.
Tracklisting:
Seasons (8:45) / The Seven Gentle Spirits (14:17) / Harold Cain (4:18) / The Past Has Just Begun (16:41) / God's Angry Men (4:13) / On Second Thought (11:52)
Musicians:
Chris Ogburn - guitars, backing vocals and noises
Mike Grimes – keyboards and backing vocals
Sean Frazier - lead and backing vocals
Craig Polson - bass and backing vocals
Chris Mack - drums and percussion
Discography:
Traumatized (1998)
The Tale Of Woe (2007)
Genre: Progressive Rock
Origin US
