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How is it possible that two members of the seminal band
of this genre can release an album of good progressive music
and not have it be the story of the year and the most hyped
disc of the year escapes me, but that is what happened with
a band called Circa: and a disc they put out in March 2007
called, uh… 2007.***
Circa: is made up of current and past Yes members Alan
White and Tony Kaye on drums and keys, along with frequent
Yes collaborator and bassist/vocalist Billy Sherwood and guitarist
Jimmy Haun, who played with Sherwood in the band World Trade
and was featured as one of the session players on Yes's Union
release. At this point you may be saying to yourself… "Hmmm,
I'll bet this band sounds like Yes." You would be correct
in that assumption.***
So it just remains to see if the review of the disc will
be a "why couldn't these good musicians produce a disc that
sounds like themselves instead of one that has so many ties
to the sound and style of Yes?" or, perhaps it will be a load
of fawning garbage with glowing approval of each and every
minute similarity to the afore mentioned deity. Ok then, I'm
definitely not going to do the former and not too much of
the later either, I hope. Why? Because you have a pair of
musicians who got together with a few others and produced
some of the most successful music of Yes's career. Then they
play with one or two new people (guys who learned to play
by listening to Yes and emulating Yes) and they still sound
like Yes. This seems perfectly natural, logical and un-contrived
to me, but I suppose I could be wrong. Next, I cannot avoid
mentioning some of the similarities of Circa: and Yes, and
my language will infer approval because I do like Yes and
things that sound like Yes, you see?***
This is the story then. White wants to do a disc of good,
sometimes retro prog. Kaye wants to do a new band project
where he gets to play Hammond organ a lot, like the old days.
Sherwood is always full of songs and ideas and he eagerly
climbs onboard and suggests his friend Haun to fill out the
guitar slot. Haun is a great guitarist who plays a blend of
rock, jazz and country twang. And he plays pedal steel. Sound
familiar? They write an album's worth of tunes (and two of
them were co-written with Trevor Rabin, just in case this
disc doesn't already have enough ties to Yes) and release
and sell their disc exclusively on the band's website, which
seems like a bad idea to me, and is likely responsible in
part for the relative……..oh sorry, I digress.***
The disc now. Definitely a low budget for packaging, a
minimal black and white affair without lyrics. The production
of the music however is an entirely different story. Recorded
and mixed by Billy Sherwood, the music of Circa: (as far as
its sonic qualities go) is superb. Sherwood has engineered
and recorded a number of discs and has produced a fair number
as well, so he brings a wealth of experience and expertise
to the Circa: project. He is a wizard when it comes to tweaking
parameters or stacking tracks and 2007 is, from a listening
standpoint, a truly beautiful experience. Keyboard parts gleam
and twitter through the atmosphere, guitar lines echo and
ping off the walls and huge overlapping harmony vocals float
on clouds of mist. How's that for inferring approval, huh?
And approve of it I do.***
From the disc's opening track, the driving "Cut The Ties"
to the album's finale, the lengthy and majestic "Brotherhood
Of Man," most of Circa:'s initial offering of song is beautiful
and powerful, the songwriting unusually inspired, the vocal
prowess seemingly unapproachable by mere mortals, the playing
by all involved full of depth, emotion and highly expressive.***
Not every single second of every tune is sublime, but
the highlights of Circa:'s debut are many. The disc's first
tune, "Cut The Ties" is an exciting, rollicking rocker that
is somewhat reminiscent of "Tempus Fugit" with its speedy
bass line that evokes Sherwood's mentor. By the end of this
disc I will become convinced that Billy Sherwood is the only
bassist I've ever heard who really does actually play like
Chris Squire. The second cut, "Don't Let Go," is an extremely
clever example of using changes of meter to stunning effect.
In this case it is even more stunning because of its simplicity
with a verse in 3/4 morphing into a hook laden chorus in 4/4.
The instrumental section in 5/4 that follows, like many that
will follow in later tracks, is outstanding. The progressions,
the arrangements, the playing, all are beyond compare.***
"Together We Are" is the penultimate progressive love
song, able to musically portray the lyrics' sentiments without
a trace of drippy saccharine and thematically strong enough
to stand apart from its text and still thrill. Jimmy Haun's
guitar work is pretty impressive on the track, as he combines
killer 6 string and pedal steel action to simultaneously stroke
and pummel the listener.***
The disc's most modern track follows, and it is the closest
thing to a hit single I've heard coming from this genre in
years, "Information Overload". It is a quickly paced vocal
showpiece that is like "Big Generator" meets "Owner Of A Lonely
Heart." For the hard core types, it also boasts a rocking
instrumental section where Kaye and Haun trade licks.***
The disc ends with the group's epic, "Brotherhood Of
Man." Still seeming relatively short at almost twelve minutes,
Circa: packs nearly everything but the kitchen sink into this
piece. An intro inspired by "And You And I," pedal steel guitar,
thundering Hammond organ, and ethereal harmony vocals, all
adorning a gorgeous composition that is thoroughly developed
with one beautiful motif on top of another.***
It seems to me in retrospect that 2007 was quite a year
for progressive rock music, with an unusually large number
of fine discs released, and 2007 is without a doubt one of
the best of that group. The album is instantly accessible,
yet there is no lack of depth to the music here. I found the
disc quite addictive and it was weeks before I could get through
my mornings without listening to this album once or twice.***
Listening to this disc I find myself wondering why Yes
has been unable to produce a set of tunes that could stand
alongside this material. I have no answer to my own question
but with this disc around, who needs a new Yes album? The
thing I wonder about now is will Circa: last long enough to
put out a sophomore release? Not long ago, I spoke to Tony
Kaye and Billy Sherwood prior to a gig and Tony said this,
"Oh yeah, there will be a second album. We're all about longevity."***
I certainly hope that Tony is right. If, when you're done
here, you'd surf on over to Circa:'s website and get a copy
of 2007, then maybe he will be right. And I'd feel a little
better about the whole thing.
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