Blackfield II

Blackfield is a collaboration between Steven Wilson (no introduction needed) and Aviv Geffen. This is their second CD as you might expect from the title. If you are familiar with their first CD then this one will not be a major surprise to your ears. What you have here is great songwriting, infectious melodies, pop sensibilities and prog nuances. This is by no means a progressive rock album but it deserves to be heard and will still appeal to many progheads.

Why? Because Mr. Wilson and Mr. Geffen know how to write. It's a gift that is very evident as soon as you hear the first sounds of song #1. Everyone who knows me knows that I think Steven Wilson is the greatest musical talent of our time. He is amazingly versatile and has a seemingly endless array of ideas in his brain that somehow work no matter what style of music he is playing. He can play psychedelic, heavy progressive rock, ethereal ambient, techno, straight ahead rock, and pop with equal aplomb. Of course, the Porcupine Tree stuff is my favorite but to be able to write and play so many other styles is staggering and not something attempted by most musicians today.

And while I know Steven Wilson's discography quite well, I am less familiar with Aviv Geffen's history. I do know that he is hugely popular in other parts of the world especially in his home country of Israel. But, from his work with Blackfield I can certainly see his talent. Many of the songs on this album were written - music AND lyrics - by him.

My favorite track on the album, "This Killer", is written by Geffen. This song simply crushes me. The melancholy chord changes are stunning in their simplicity and emotional impact (Think "Dark Matter" yet mellower). Wilson's voice is in fine form and the harmonies with Geffen are meticulous. The gorgeous harmonies have become a Wilson trademark and they stand out on this song and throughout the album. So, based on the sound of this song I was surprised to find out that Geffen wrote it.

Another great track is the closer, "End of the World", also written by Geffen. As you might surmise from the title, it is not exactly an uplifting song but as Steven Wilson has said, some of the saddest songs in the world are some of the most beautiful. This song exemplifies that sentiment. Here is a sample of the lyrics from this song:

"It's the end of the world
It's a prison for dreams and for hopes
And still we believe there is god
It's the end of the world
We're dead but pretend we're alive
Full of ignorance
Fools in disguise

In your room doing nothing
But staring at flickering screens
Streets are empty
But still you can hear
Joy of children turned into tears
Disease hides around every corner
Quietly still
Wait for the moment to hit
We forgot what is touch
What to feel"

I can imagine that some of Geffen's lyrics are a result of the place he lives in this world.

The entire album is solid and, of course with Wilson in charge of the mixing and production of the disc, it sounds phenomenal. The various instruments are perfectly mixed and you can listen to whatever instrument you want during the song.

All in all, this second CD by Blackfield may be even better than their first. As a whole, it appears to work better from beginning to end. The way the songs fit together provides for a more coherent album sound.

No ratings here but the album is Highly Recommended. If you click on the "Blackfield II" title you will connect to their myspace site and can listen to a few tracks from this album (Once, Christenings, and 1000 People). I really like "1000 People". Be patient and don't expect Blackest Eyes!

You can also check out their website at www.blackfield.org

The Watch (Concert Review) by David M.

Once every five to ten years or so I find myself stumbling out of a large building mumbling about "the best concert I have ever seen." Well, it has happened yet again.

NEWEARS, otherwise known as the New England Art Rock Society hosted the event at The Brewery Exchange, in Lowell, MA. The evening began with fine dining in the restaurant on the first floor of the giant converted mill. Giant stainless steel vats of a microbrewery are centrally located in the building. The concert area was on the third floor with table seating for about 100 concert-goers…a great venue for sure!

The warm-up band was a local group called Your Move. They describe themselves as New England's premier progressive rock tribute band. Wow! These guys provided just about the most enjoyable warm-up show I've ever seen. Their whole set consisted of 70's Yes and 80's Genesis tunes. What a blast! You can check them out at: http://www.yourmovetheband.com/

On to the main event…The stage has no curtain so members of The Watch gradually took their places and became comfortable. They blasted into the intro for "Damage Mode" and I realized that Simone himself (the lead singer) was seated at the table just in front of us, poised to make his move! At the precise moment of need, he burst out of his seat grabbing the mike and casting his spell. These guys are phenomenal in concert, nearly as precise as on their studio albums.

With no letup in intensity, the second song was "Shining Bald Heads." Incomprehensible! The keyboard performance by Sergio Taglioni blew me away. We were seated close enough to see his fingers flying. So, many instruments…so many transitions. His demeanor reminded me of Richard Barbieri of PT, focused and in total control.

Next on the list was "Goddess." The driving bass of Marco Schembri was incredible. The song was so impressive that Mark A. felt compelled to make a 3-minute cell phone call to Kevin in Montana to share the euphoria! (not sure if the call got through). (It did. KM) The end of "Goddess" was marked by a short but incredible drum solo by Roberto Leoni. Suffice it to say that the baton has been passed to a new generation of "drummers phenomenale!" Maybe P. Collins has sold out, but clearly a new generation of percussionists is prepared to carry the torch. Leoni is the man!

This was followed by a most impressive (new?) song titled "Ivory" that I don't believe has appeared on any of their previous recordings. Great chord structure, unpredictable, and moving.

Then came a staggering, long piano solo by Sergio Taglioni. This guy is obviously classically trained and at this point reminded me of Rick Wakeman. Throughout the entire show he appeared to be reading much of the music off the page! This was a spellbinding performance with only Sergio on the stage.

We were then surprised by a Genesis favorite from yesteryear "Return of the Giant Hogweed." This one reminded me of the amazing performances by The Musical Box. Mark's comment was "he does Gabriel better than Gabriel!" No lie…

After a few more songs The Watch ended the performance with a long rendition of "Vacuum." All the pent up tension and anticipation inherent in this masterpiece was translated and even compounded in live performance. Near the end when the organ/strings gradually overwhelm the existing driving bass and melody it was the most I could do to stay seated…absolutely compelling, and a great final song.

The clapping of the few dozen remaining audience members was a truly feeble encore demand. They came back out quickly, realizing that a small number of fanatics were clapping really hard and we just couldn't do any better! The group finally played a couple of songs including "DNAlien" from Ghost. Superb.

Suffice it to say that Simone Rosetti is truly the mastermind of The Watch, writing all of the music, but the entire group is stacked with truly outstanding musicians. Rosetti did not resort to the costumes or makeup of Gabriel's early years with Genesis. Wearing all black, his performance was emotionally charged, and absolutely electrifying, and sometimes theatrical, lying on the stage floor for long periods during the performance. My assessment? We were watching one of the true greats of progressive rock in his early years. Sheer genius at work…

After the final song the "crowd" quickly thinned out. Within a few minutes band members began mingling with the couple dozen fans who had been blown away by the performance. Since we had just purchased the new CD (Primitive) it seemed like a perfect substrate for autographs! We were able to speak to all of the band members during the process. OK, so there was some language barrier, but they did get the idea that we really appreciated their being here. Hopefully my pronunciation of "magnifico" was adequate. I spoke to Simone, put my hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eyes and said "you guys are the gods of rock and roll!" I assumed he would recognize that line from Genesis' The Lamb.

We met one of Kevin and Mark's friends, Will, at the concert. He relayed that the previous night he had gone to a performance of The Watch in Albany, NY. Due to last minute plans and no publicity he was literally the only person in the audience! Will says they simply treated it like a practice session, playing for an hour or so. It was so good that he drove the following night to Lowell from New Haven! There's something sick about a band of this caliber getting peanuts for tickets and having miniscule audiences after traveling from Europe. Hopefully in Quebec on April 1 they will actually make some money. Tickets for that event were $40.

Jody, Kara, Mark and I ambled out into the cool night air, realizing that we had just witnessed a performance of truly epic magnitude. Ten dollar tickets. Front table twelve feet from the performers. It simply doesn't get any better than this. This was truly one for the ages. Yet another "best concert I have ever seen!"