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Progland was founded by John Gabbard in 2005. It's purpose has been to provide you, the music community with the latest music and dvd reviews. It will continue to be your link to the most popular music reviews in the progressive world.

 

Agent Cooper-A Beginner's Mind

Reviewed by: Jerry Lucky
Genre: Prog Rock
Country: USA
Language: English
Length: 47:00
Release Date: October 1, 2005
Label:
Prog Rock Records
Band Members: Doug Busbee Guitars, Vox Eric Frampton Keys, Other Vox
  Sean Delson Basses Frank Fontsere Drums
  Glenn Longmuir Basses on East Indian Sun, Shallow Disease Forrest Robinson Drums on East Indian Sun, Shallow Disease, Tai Pei, The Heat
     
Track Listing: 1.)-East Indian Sun 5:35 8.)-She Screams 4:10
  2.)- Shallow Disease 4:00 9.)- Struggle Like I Do 6:29
  3.)- ...In The Bottle 3:53 10.)-You Know 4:52
  4.)-Taipei 3:51  
  5.)- Timing Crucial 4:57  
  6.)-I Never Remember 3:47  
  7.)The Heat 4:45  
     
The Review

This is the second CD release for Agent Cooper and it’s been six years in the making. Anytime you hear a CD introduced in such a fashion you know there is a lot weighing on the outcome. Well, good news, Beginner’s Mind is solid. It’s melodic, it’s textured, it’s lyrically thoughtful, and on top of it all, it rocks. ***

Georgia based Agent Cooper, now in its second incarnation consists of Doug Busbee (guitars, lead vocals), Eric Frampton (keyboards, vocals), Sean Delson (bass) and Frank Fontsere (drums). The previous Agent Cooper collective managed to produce one CD back in 1999 before a myriad of life-changes took their tool on the line-up. The present line-up emerged out of the ashes, stronger for their effort. ***

So what we have here is a CD running just a tick over 46-minutes with ten tracks, most in the three or four minute range with the longest being six and half minutes. That being said, it’s quite amazing how much happens within these short songs. Agent Cooper are very adept at turning things on a dime within these confines. You don’t even really notice how short the songs are because there is so much going on. And it’s not that there is an over-the-top kind of complexity, no, it’s more that these songs seem to tumble, one segment into the next. Lots of nice, smooth shifts in time and tempo, but the one thing that holds this collection of songs together are the driving melodies. They are everywhere, in the slow songs, the mid-tempo ones and even in the up-tempo tracks. This is an amazingly balanced CD. ***

If you had to try to make a comparison try this; mix one part Porcupine Tree with one part Crack the Sky and mix it all together and blend with a modern rock sensibility. The Porcupine Tree feel is certainly felt in the opening East Indian timbres of “East Indian Sun” while the Crack the Sky tone is heard in the arty nature of “The Heat.” But don’t let those comparisons influence you too much. I only mention them to help you get your bearings. Agent Cooper have a sound that is very much their own. The sound of the instruments, the way they’re played and the way the songs are composed and arranged is very original, challenging and yet memorable. Lots of nice crunchy guitar balanced with keyboards and rhythm section. ***

If you enjoy the music of the bands mentioned and are looking for a bit of surprise in your listening fare, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Agent Cooper’s Beginner’s Mind. They say “good things come in small packages” and in many respects the same could be said here. It may only be forty-six minutes but wow, it’s a great forty-six minutes. There is much to enjoy and appreciate here. ***

Jerry Lucky-April/23/ 2006

 

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