CRUCIBLE - TALL TALES - 1998

Once in a while you get to hear something that is pure magic from the first listening. When I first heard this CD, it was one of these moments. A really terrific high quality album indeed! The music is very 70's oriented, and it's a mix between GENESIS, JETHRO TULL, KANSAS, MARILLION, RUSH, STYX and YES with loads of Mellotron and long epic tracks. The talented keyboard player Tim Horan writes all songs. The superb singer is reminiscent to Geddy Lee of RUSH or Steve Walsh of KANSAS. The lyrics as well as the cover is fantasy related with fantasy characters and fantasy tales á la J.R.R. Tolkien. This CD has all you could ever want from a progressive release and a little bit more. If only CRUCIBLE had been better known this could have been a future prog classic. Not a single bad track, with "The Poet Liar" and the epic closer "An Imp's Tale" as the absolute highlights. I sincerely wish that CRUCIBLE would make many more albums in the future. Hear my prayer! Buy this CD, you'll love it! Probably it won't leave your CD that often, as it really grows on you with every listening. Highly recommended!
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