Guerin, Shaun - By The Dark Of Light


Year of Release: 2002
Label: Clearlight 888 Music
Catalog Number: C8M-400
Format: CD
Total Time: 48:41:00

On July 18th, 2003, I received a mail from Erik Norlander in which he told me Shaun Guerin had passed away. As Erik mentioned in the mail: "We all know that Shaun was a top-notch drummer and all-around renaissance man musician, but his warm spirit and always positive attitude was a powerful presence." As I did not know Shaun Guerin, I checked out both his website and his music and it was a pleasant surprise. Guerin was an accomplished drummer, singer, keyboardist and composer, who had been mostly active in Cinema Show, a Genesis tribute band. In 2002 he released his first solo album, By The Dark Of Light.

Guerin plays all instruments on this magnificent album as well as handles the vocals. It is no surprise the sound sometimes reminds of the early Genesis, but that's all there is, the songs are very original and well composed. Although the general sound of the album is a very laid back, Guerin does add some heavier riffs to the music (don't expect anything close to metal, though) to it. With the exception of four songs, the album is instrumental and to be honest, Guerin does know to let the music speak for itself. But in the other four songs, you get to hear his warm voice. "Sing My Prayers" is a very beautiful song, with a slow rhythm, lots off bass, drums and mysterious synths, not to mention a great synth solo. His guitar parts in "Son Of Gorp" are excellent and again he plays some amazing keyboard solos here. The album ends with a nice up tempo song, "Crazy," which shows the jazz/fusion elements even more, that are already present through out the album. But most of all, it shows his amazing drum skills.

By The Dark Of Light was a very enriching experience for me and I'm glad that Shaun Guerin leaves us at least that to remember him by. A great prog album with lots of jazz and fusion elements, performed by a very talented man. If you are like I was and do not know Shaun Guerin, get this album and step into his magical world of music. No doubt you will find it hard to leave this place.

Similar Bands: Spock's Beard

[This review originally appeared November 2003 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]
Tracklisting:
By The Dark Of Light (4:47) / This Is Not My World (4:28) / France (5:57) / Run To Fall (6:01) / She's Sad (4:01) / Victory (5:07) / Sing My Prayers (6:18) / Son Of Gorp (5:17) / No Misery (5:08) / Crazy (2:57)

Musicians:
Shaun Guerin - drums, keyboards, vocals, bass and guitar
Jay J Brown - guitar (7)

Discography:
By The Dark Of Light (2002)
The Epic Quality Of Life (2003)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: December 18th 2004
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.shaunguerin.com
Hits: 2626
Language: english

  

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