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I’m normally not very fond of singer/song writers, but in case of
Steve Thorne, I have to make an exception. First of all, GEP found
his album worthwhile for a release, so it must be something special.
Another important feature of the album are the musicians he called
upon. He’s accompanied on drums by Paul Cook (IQ), Steve Christey (Jadis)
and Nick d’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Tears for Fears), on guitar by
Gary Chandler (Jadis), on keyboards by Martin Orford (IQ, Jadis) and
Geoff Downes (Asia, Buggles) and on bass by Jon Jowitt (IQ) and Tony
Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Liquid Tension Experiment)
Although he attracted all this musicians to help him out, Steve
plays a great deal of the music on this album. (Acoustic guitar,
keyboards, bass pedal, bass, percussion, 12-string guitar,…)
And the most important reason why I like this singer/songwriter is
because he’s very good as a singer and as a songwriter.
He has a beautiful voice which is very versatile and yet
recognizable. You can place his voice somewhere between Cat Stevens
and Tom Robinson. During “Ten Years” he even sounds like Peter
Nichols from IQ.
One of the highlights of the album is the instrumental “Every Second
Counts”, with an awesome Tony Levin on his famous Stick, although
the song reminds me a bit too much of “Voyage 34” from Porcupine
Tree to be a coincidence.
One of the best guest musicians is without any doubt Nick d’Virgilio,
who plays on three tracks and uses almost every possible break he
knows without showing off - very impressive. And Geoff Downes from
Asia proves that you don’t always have to ask Ken Hensley to play a
superb Hammond solo.
The lyrics of the album are also interesting to read. For example,
the second track “God Bless America. The title suggests that it’s an
ode to America, but if you see lines like “Thanks to America, we’re
out of the caves at last”, you know that it’s rather the reverse.
The combination of his skills as musician and as songwriter with the
progressive musicians results in a mix of great ballads, guitar rock
songs, sometimes with a folky touch, and topped off with a
progressive feeling. I think a lot of people will like this album.
And we can expect some more from this guy, because he has already
written part 2 of this “Emotional Creatures”. I can’t wait! |
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Steve Thorne: Lead vocals, Acoustic, electric and 12-string guitar,
Bass, Keyboards, Percussion
Paul Cook: drums on 1, 3 and 8
Steve Christey: drums on 7 and 10
Nick d’Virgilio: drums on 4,5 and 6
Martin Orford: keyboards on 1 and 2 and flute on 2
Arnie Cottrell: mandolin on 2 and 9
Tony Levin: bass on 3 and stick on 8
Gary Chandler: electric guitar on 4 and 10
Geoff Downes: keyboards and Hammond solo on 5
Liz Allen: backing vocals on 5 and 9
Rob Aubrey: bass pedals and loops on 6
John Jowitt: Rickenbacker bass and fretless bass on 10 |
