GREY LADY DOWN - THE CRIME - 1994

Ok, mea culpa. When I bought this CD last year I just gave it a couple of spins and thought it was too much of a derivative band, another Marillion-wanna-be. A few weeks ago I picked it up again and this time I decided to give a little more attention. And I was completely surprised how good The Crime really is! Although their sound is very much that 80´s neo prog style, they still delivered in a fine, modern way.

Grey Lady Down is a tight unit, everything working for the music. They are fine players, but nothing is overblown, which is a big quality in the prog field. I specially liked Julian Hunt´s guitar playing which relies much less in the Steve Hackett/David Gilmour sytle than most of his neo prog peers. He is very soulful, with some excellent melodic solos, but he also adds some hard edge riffs here and there, giving the songs a boost when they call for it. He is not that kind of a million notes a minute guitarrist, he uses his fine skills to enrich the tunes rather than just showing off. The same goes for keyboards player Louis David, who does some tasteful keyboards runs that remind me of Tony Banks or Mark Kelly, without aping neither. The rhythm section is precise and Martin Wilson has a fine voice, with that dramatic tone so beloved in the neo prog field.

There are no real highlights on this CD, but I´d li8ke to point out their longer tracks, The Ballad Of Billy Grey and The Fugitive, both a great showcase for the band´s ability to write great, melodic and varied tunes. Yes, they are not very original, neither groundbreaking, and still The Crime sounds very convincing, refreshing and full of passion. So it´s a must have for any neo prog fan. Or anybody who likes good prog music in genera
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