BEARDFISH: The sane day

Cover	Release	Style
	2005	progressive rock / jazz rock
	Label
	Progress Records
	Website
	www.beardfish.argh.se
	Contact
	rikardsjblom@yahoo.se
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	CD1: 56:17 CD2:	BEARD 001/002
	Review by	Rating
	Luc Descamps	8/10
nederlands	Review
A love story starts off like a classic Focus song. The organ invoques the sound of the seventies. Other elements to be recognized are the Krautrock style of singing but also a bit of Zappa like atmosphere. Very driven vocals! In “The Sun Is the Devil” it seems as if Frank Zappa himself has risen again. The way of singing, the voice and the composition are all so recognizable. A short but wonderful song. Also in “Mudhill” the playful element is there. Nice melody, but hard to put into a category. Still I’m quite shure that beardfish contains at least a few Zappa fans. They experiment with different kinds of noises in this song and just when you think, yes, this is Zappa, the vocals make you think of Steely Dan. Very confusing to say the least. The “Gooberville Ballroom Dancer” is a rocking seventies song with again a lot of variety in both music, rhythm, vocals (sung and spoken) that makes me think a bit of Zappa’s “Dancing Fool” merged with some Lenny Kravitz. I certainly shouldn’t forget to mention the great guitar solo on this track. “Igloo on two” is a great instrumental, playfully and skilfully performed. It’s great, it’s fascinating and very complex with great guitar and synthesizer solos. “Tall Tales” starts off with a mixture of jazz and funk and blends into a mixture of different styles. A great song! “The Summit” contains even some Led Zeppelin elements! The power of Beardfish is that they succeed into blending all these different styles into one complex unity that never gets boring. On the contrary, it stays interesting until the very end. And as I said: the relation with Frank Zappa is unmistakable, so if you have ever liked the music of this genius, you should try this out! CD 2. The opening track is a nice bit of quiet, jazzy piano play, and other instruments join in in the end. “Blue Moon” sounds much more modern than the tracks on cd 1. Some elements of the British pop industry can be recognized (Blurr, Six Pence None the Richer, Suede). “Do You Remember Fun Mom” is a short but impressive instrumental in symphonic rock style and “Return to Mudhill” is an instrumental reprise of the song on cd 1 with some Deep Purple influence this time. “Waiting Room” returns to the atmosphere of cd 1 with jazzy music and Zappa like vocals. The psychedelic guitar solo on “Mystique of the Beauty Queen” (again with this very typical Zappa vocals) is more than worth while mentioning. Also “Now” sounds a bit more modern: it’s a nice and gentle song with a great organ solo. On the whole I think it might have been better to publish just one cd, combining the strongest parts of both discs. The complexity of the music makes it less obvious to listen to the two cd’s one after the other.
Musicians
Rikard Sjöblom: vocals, guitars, organ, keyboards, synthesizers David Zackrisson: guitars, synthesizer, vocals Robert Hansen, bass, guitars, vocals Magnus Östgren: drums
Tracklist
CD1 A Love Story Sun is the Devil Mudhill The Gooberville Ballroom Dancer Igloo On Two Tall Tales The Basic Blues The Summit CD2 The Sane Day Blue Moon Do You Remember Fun Mom Return To Mudhill Waiting Room Mystique of the Beauty Queen Love Revisited Ask Someone Who Knows Now The Reason of Constructing and or Building a Pyramid


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