Supper's Ready - Listen To The Pictures

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Musea Records
Catalog Number: SR 002
Format: CD
Total Time: 50:30:00

Next to No Name, Supper's Ready is probably the only current prog act in the tiny country of Luxembourg. As with their Angular cohorts, Supper's Ready drives mainly on neo-progressive fuel combining the talent of the greats into one new interesting whole. Luckily the band doesn't feel the necessity to copy Genesis, although of course the name would suggest just that.

The opening track "Images Of Childhood" contains both the feel of For Absent Friends and the approach of Flamborough Head (even "lending" the children's voices from their "Schoolyard Fantasies" track?). Partly recorded in Jean Pascal Boffo's studio, the band made sure not to over-produce their musical effort so every detail remains crisp and clear so as to please many an ardent music fan. Max Cinus astonishes with a superb guitar solo which holds elements of Gary Chandler (Jadis) before acoustic guitar steers the song towards the end. Also the lyrics are quite interesting and the band made sure to also include two instrumentals to kind of break up the album into equally interesting parts. The intro for "Ordinary Man" almost sounds like authentic new age, but that idea is soon forgotten once drums, guitar and glorious flute set in, making this song a combination between Camel and Finisterre. That's the nice thing about this band - even though being a fivesome they introduce Giuliano Arpetti as a guest on flute and saxophone, making room for his input rather than include a second rate solo somewhere in a forgotten corner of the song.

Max Cinus' guitar once again shreds "Esperanza Latina" to pieces, but its drums and bass which place both feet firmly on the ground, directing the song towards a more bluesy final part which has singer Pol Feltes partly singing and partly declaiming. "Open Mind" is the first instrumental and has the melody underlined in thick black marker. It's once again the guitar that stands in the spotlight, this time taking over Pol's vocals. Acoustic simplicity introduces one of the calmer songs on this album by means of "Paradise Lost." Tasty harmonica sneaks in on "Harlequin," adding to this beauty a slight Ennio Morricone feel, as this song holds a high cinematic factor as far as the instrumental section goes. I sadly miss some expression in Pol's singing though. The album closes with the longest track, the instrumental "Indochine." Whilst the title would suggest a trip to the East the music holds more of a jazzy feel what with including a nice dose of healthy saxophone. Wappa Gappa or Side Steps anyone? The guitar turns towards Gilmour-ish sounds whilst right at the very end the atmosphere of the song turns 100 % towards ethnic music we were waiting for since the title implied we were travelling to the East. Soothing water and "indochine" vocals give way to some outstanding acoustic guitar dreaming it's way to the very end.

The band's record label Musea regards this band as a heavier version of Eris Pluvia. I dare to say this band is lightyears better than the aforementioned band (no offence Eris Pluvia!). Supper's Ready is by no means a Genesis clone but a strong contender in the current revival of progressive rock. If these guys can keep up their great songwriting skills then we can look forward to some outstanding music in years to come. First limited pressing comes in nice digipack.

Tracklisting:
Images Of Childhood (7:58) / Ordinary Man (5:19) / Esperanza Latina (8:55) / Farewell (4:40) / Open Mind (3:30) / Paradise Lost (2:03) / Days Of War (2:37) / Harlequin (5:30) / Indochine (10:32)

Musicians:
Pol Feltes - vocals
Max Cinus - lead guitar
Roby Hengen - bass
Alain Funck - guitar, synth, keys
Marco Ziethen - drums

Guest:

Giuliano Arpetti - flute, saxophones

Discography:
Listen To The Pictures (2000)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin LU

Added: December 4th 2000
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

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Language: english