What to say about this one - after realizing it's not
pornography just by looking at the title, of course? Well, I've
listened to this one 3 or 4 times so far, and here are the good and the
bad.
Good: While it's not as hard as their previous
two albums from this comeback era, 2008's Phoenix and 2010's Omega
(which are both excellent), the band still shows a knack for creating
enjoyable songs.
Bad: Not enough Steve Howe. It just feels
like he was used sparingly on this album - dare I say, as an
afterthought. When you have one of the top 5 guitarists I've ever heard, you have got to feature him. In the previous albums,
they did, but here he rarely shows his stuff. I thought this might be due to either Howe's being in two
bands at once - the other being whatever collection of dudes are being
called Yes nowadays - or perhaps Howe not being a part of the original
songwriting process. Instead, Geoff Downes' keyboards fill the main
riffs. And when Howe does come in with a solo, I just want it to last
and last; so it always ends too soon for me. (My suspicion was somewhat validated when looking at the writing credits for each song, and seeing that Howe is credited on only two - No Religion, and Judas. There's certainly nothing here on the level of Parallel Worlds/Vortex/Deja from Phoenix; the last three or so minutes of that track are what heaven is like. (Not to be confused with being like the song Just Like Heaven, by The Cure.)
Grade: C+. It's catchy, but nothing special. To me, the album's highlights are No Religion, Faithful, and Face On The Bridge.
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