Leger de Main - The Concept of Our Reality. 1995 USA

Leger de Main were a trio from Erie, Pennsylvania made up of the Rodler brothers (Brett on drums, and Chris on everything else), along with Melissa Blair on vocals. It's quite astounding then, with such a small lineup, what a racket these 3 were able to create. I first bought this CD toward the end of 1995, not too long after its release, and it quickly rose to one of my favorites of the year. I played it often - seemingly having a permanent place in my Mitsubishi Eclipse as I drove through various parts of Denver with this blasting away in the background (as an aside - still the best car stereo I ever had, including today). After fully immersing myself with the music over a 2 to 3 month period, I finally filed the CD. Where it stayed until tonight, when it finally was chosen for a random listen some 22 years later (if there was ever an argument for not trying to collect too much, this would be it...). On this note, I was just about to meet the future Mrs. Ashratom, and the days of cranking tunes everywhere I went were coming to an end - not that I knew it at the time... Sigh... In any case... back to Leger de Main.

So what made this album special, when many others made a similar attempt? It's the blend, the secret recipe that has patrons lining out the door, while someone else's similar restaurant remains empty. Leger de Main's primary ingredient is that of 1980-81 Rush, and Blair's shrill voice more often than not recall Geddy Lee's when in a similar mode. Though presumably hers are more grounded in estrogen... Now with that in mind, immerse the music of "Moving... Waves" right smack in the middle of 'Gates of Delirium'. And then have that played by Yezda Urfa. Yea, exactly. It won't take long to know if this is an album for you, because the opener 'To Live the Truth' is an overview of the entire album. It's the rhythm section that really makes it work, with Chris' woody bass and Brett's hyperactive drums propelling the proceedings along at a rapid rate. And then Chris will overlay all sorts of guitar and keyboards on top in an exciting fashion. Leger de Main are kinetic, jumpy, and on fire here! I would imagine some folks will struggle with Blair's voice, but I think she fits perfectly considering the manic nature of the recording.

The Concept of Our Reality is yet another great example of the fantastic music that we were lucky to hear in the 1990s, an album that received attention back then among the faithful, but has now been long forgotten. Will this era be recaptured just as the 70s were? I submit yes, but it will take much longer (probably past my lifetime), as the original audience was just a tiny fraction of the 70s heyday. For the 3 people who read my reviews, I highly encourage you to pick this CD up (or the 2 CD comp A Lasting Impression that includes both their albums).

Personal collection
CD: 1995 Progressive Music Management