ROCKET SCIENTISTS: Revolution Road

Cover	Release	Style
	2006-11-20	Progressive rock
	Label
	ProgRock Records / Think Tank
	Website
	Rocket Scientists
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	51:46 / 49:35	TTMD-1050
	Review by	Rating
	Edwin	9,5/10
nederlands	Review
I have a confession to make. My enthusiasm for progressive rock has dwindled quite a bit lately. Maybe the heavy-handed bombast had become a bit tiresome, or perhaps there had been just too few good new releases in the genre in the last couple of months. Fact is that I felt much happier with the familiar sounds of classic rock, the comforting feel of the blues, and the always-exciting basic riffing of old-school metal. Now I’ve had this before, and always there have been one or two quite special releases that were able to rekindle that spark again. This time is no different. I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing the first couple of albums by ROCKET SCIENTISTS, but judging by their newest album, I may have missed something special. The band of course features keyboard player Erik Norlander, vocalist/guitarist Mark McCrite and NS/Stick man Don Schiff – all three of them quite prolific musicians. Drummer Shaun Guerin joined the band in 2002, but sadly he passed away in 2003. He can still be heard on one track on this album, though. ROCKET SCIENTISTS haven’t exactly got a massive back catalogue. In their 13 years of existence, they’ve done just three studio albums and one live one. Their last release dates back from 1999. Now they return with studio album number four – a whopping one hour, forty-one minutes and twenty-one seconds of quite brilliant music on a double cd: Revolution Road. And what an album this is… From the truly brilliant bombast of the ELP-like ‘Sky Is Falling’ and ‘UFO S.H.A.D.O. Theme’ to the oh-so-gentle subtlety of ‘Better View’, and to the heavier, almost prog metal ‘Dream In Red’ and ‘Eden Burns’. Other highlights include the outstanding, CARMEN-like ‘Gypsy (Of A Strange And Distant Time)’, the extraordinary title track, the instrumental ‘Ptolemy’, the incredibly beautiful ‘Enjoy The Weather’… oh well, the list goes on and on. There are so many great moments on this spectacular album, which hardly has any dips. The musicianship is phenomenal. Norlander is just all over the place with his swirling array of keyboards. I’ve known Mark McCrite as a very competent guitarist, but I’ve never realised what a fantastic singer he is. And of course Don Schiff needs no introduction. The guest musicians are not just anyone either: drummers Simon Philips and Gregg Bissonette. Hard rock vocalist David McBee (TEER) complements McCrite’s singing excellently. Revolution Road is a major release – I can’t recommend it highly enough. Yes, brothers and sisters, I’m back among the faithful…
Musicians
Erik Norlander: keyboards Mark McCrite: guitars, vocals Don Schiff: NS/Stick David Scott McBee: vocals Gregg Bissonette: drums Greg Phelps: accordion Simon Philips: drums Shaun Guerin: drums
Tracklist
Disc One: Look Up Sky Is Falling Dream In Red Better View Outside The Painted Walls Revolution Road Forever Nights Ptolemy Gypsy (Of A Strange And Distant Time) Savor Every Moment Disc Two: Castles Fall UFO S.H.A.D.O. Theme Enjoy The Weather Pay Your Dues Eden Burn Hold That Thought House Of Cards After The Revolution
Discography
Earthbound (1993) Brutal Architecture (1995) Earth Below And Sky Above - Live In Europe And America (1997) Oblivion Days (1999) Revolution Road (2006)


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