| The
Review |
I've seen several good reviews of this disc. I suppose
I would find many more if I took the time to look. It's really
no surprise because Magic Pie's formula seems pretty simple.
Throw in elements of absolutely every band that has attracted
any substantial interest from the prog. community over the
last few years and add some references to a few older bands
that are perpetually popular with progheads. Just trying to
list the bands that this new Norwegian band strikes a familiar
chord with would be quite a task in itself. The Flower Kings,
Karmakanic, IQ, Marillion, Echolyn, Mostly Autumn, and Dream
Theater to name only a few, plus similarities to a few old
bands such as Kansas, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Khan and, as
unlikely as this may seem, they do sound just like Little
Feat from time to time.***
Now there's nothing wrong with any of this, I just feel
a bit strange and out of step because I do not find myself
salivating over this disc with everyone else. There is a lot,
and I do mean a LOT, of good old fashioned rocking out on
this album and the guitarist and keyboardist are both quite
talented, the keyboardist Gilbert Marshall in particular kicking
out tons of nice sounding Hammond organ work. Guitarist Kim
Stenberg has carved out a traditional heavy guitar sound for
himself. I say heavy, but not heavy metal, that would not
be giving the man his due. Sure, he can blast out 64th notes
with the best of them, but he doesn't limit himself to neo-classical
harmonic minor mode shred fests. He has a strongly based blues
influence in his phrasing and he produces a more melodic set
of licks with this influence than your typical head banging
guitar god. The drums and bass playing are not lagging behind
here, they just don't get much of a chance to make a mark
Another notable aspect to the sound of Magic Pie is the presence
of three (yes, three!) lead vocalists. Keyboardist Gilbert
Marshall is one, but the other two are both stand alone (well,
not in this case) mike twirlers. I don't think I can remember
a band with so many dedicated male vocalists since Three Dog
Night.***
As I said, there is nothing wrong with this. But, when
the major points of interest for me are a bands unusual line
up or the ability of their members to play a good solo, then
I know that I'm in shallow waters. The music of Magic Pie
is all cut and paste, a piece of this and a chunk of that.
It's not bad music, but it's not something I'll be listening
to in a few years or even a few months. And frankly, I don't
think many of the people raving about this disc now will be
listening to this for long either. This bands appeal is all
bluster and jamming, and there will be another new band doing
just the same thing within a couple of months and they'll
be the new darlings of the reviewers. Good songwriting and
distinctive melodies will be remembered forever but a hotter
guitar or keys player is always just around the corner.***
Well, with all this said, there are some good things
to be said for Magic Pie. Motions Of Desire begins with their
twenty minute epic "Change". This bold move shows a lot of
confidence and to be truthful, this is an enjoyable twenty
minutes. While I'm listening to "Change" however I'm mainly
noticing the "change" from the band sounding just like Dream
Theater to it sounding just like Deep Purple and so on……..and
on and on. There are obvious references to a dozen or more
bands just in this first cut.***
The title track sounds at first like Marillion, but becomes
very IQ-ish before long. There is even one tune that has a
reggae section in it that is juxtaposed against a very AOR
vocal chorus. This is the only instance on this album of something
just plain not working. It comes across rather badly, but
it is the only flat out stinker on the disc and you must remember
that this is just one small section of one song.***
I don't think the music here is very deep but I'm comparing
this to good progressive rock. Which means that even this
lackluster disc is better than 99% of what's on the market
today.***
If you'd like to hear a talented group of musicians kicking
out the jams and you want something more visceral than cerebral
then you're definitely going to like Magic Pie.***
RATING: 3/5
©Thomas Karr April 22, 2006
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