I loved (and still do) the production/sound of this album. Things were changing in music when this came out...but this album clearly intends to remain in the symphonic camp, and of the Genesis family. Being a kid from the south it just amazed me that recordings could sound like this. I had a couple of synths,... but I had no idea how these guys made their productions sound this way (and was captivated). This has the bag of Genesis (Hentschel) sound tricks, but cleaner. And if you love bass synth (Taurus type)... it's like a tutorial. The album hails from a very special time in my life... and albums like this were like a passport (pun?) into a world I wanted to live in permanently (and I went there often).
It's also partly a concept album (with an interesting premise). And I very much enjoy the vocalist. It's kinda like Michael McDonald doing prog... and I think it's a fun alternative to the tried and true same old, same old. I also find the music to be adventure-ish.
You could make a fairly strong correlation between this album and Renaissance's Azure D'or (same producer). Rich (and updated for the time) symphonic synth use superimposed on a classic band/sound that, while classic,... was headed into a new era. I regret that it faded so quickly afterwards. I truly miss going into the "vinyl" record store and discovering gems like this... seemingly imported from the 4 corners of the world and beyond. Gem / Passport - yeah man!
I have been listening to the album as I write (hence my wistfulness perhaps). One more comment that I would make is that many of the lyrics are lonely... just as a washed up factory worker might feel. Someone who never even knew what it was he was helping to make. Love that premise. Incidentally, though understated... I think the cover is very artful. Splattering the photo negatives with developer solution to get that effect was brilliant !
Nice post
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