The Stolen Bicycle (1998)
The Stolen Bicycle is the 3rd, and as it turns out, last studio album from this fine Americana Jazz Fusion group from Virginia. For each album, Boud Deun increased the complexity in favor of melodic development. As with anything in life, when you move the lever from one side to the other, you hit upon a peak in the middle. And for Boud Deun that was clearly Astronomy Made Easy, where they balanced everything just right.
The album is certainly technically proficient, and there's much to absorb. However, the songs are somewhat interchangeable. Take the 14 part (yes, 14) 'Churches' as an example. Seems I could randomly program the entire suite, jumble them in any order, and have the same experience. There's just not much in the way of a composition with a purpose. It's 14 random jams - albeit tightly played and skilled. I thought my perception coming out of the 2024 listen may have been a bit too critical, but as I sit here and jot down some thoughts, I'm forming the conclusion what this album means to me. The other two have special time and place memories for me, while we hear a group growing together in an exciting way. The Stolen Bicycle is Boud Deun's day at the office. It becomes understandable, then, that the band may have felt the same way. They said everything they wanted to, and decided to hang it up.
It's a fine album, and I'll hold onto it for now, especially since its value in the marketplace is too low for this kind of quality. I'd rather keep it for a random listen somewhere down the line. I should stress it is a very good album, but is missing some key ingredients I listen for. ProgArchives has a different point of view, and rates this their highest. It is, for certain, more professional. If such things matter to you.
Ownership: 1998 Cuneiform (CD). Booklet with a children's story written by guitarist Shawn Persinger. Acquired in 1998.
1998; 2/22/24; 3/9/26 (review)
I waxed on below about Boud Deun for the Astronomy Made Easy album. The debut is a bit rougher and less focused, but no less pleasurable. Great guitar and violin work can be heard here, with some inventive songwriting. These guys were at the forefront of the 90s American progressive rock renaissance. As an aside, it appears this is two albums sewn together. Quite literally Fiction ...and... Several Days.
Fiction and Several Days (1994)
To add, I enjoy covers like this one, with the rusted farm equipment and a chicken on the back. Real America.
Ownership: 1995 E.H.P. (CD). Acquired in 1995.
Ownership: 1995 E.H.P. (CD). Acquired in 1995.
1995; 6/18/20 (review)
Astronomy Made Easy (1997)
Boud Deun represents - for me at least - the optimism of the late 1990s. Both in life and in music. In particular, progressive rock had really found its footing again, and new and exciting bands were cropping up all over the world. Boud Deun's privately pressed debut was met with great enthusiasm, so much so that America's premier progressive rock label at the time, Cuneiform, scooped them for their roster rather quickly. Because of this association with the label, you'll often see Boud Deun tagged with the Avant Prog genre, but that is simply not the case here. Cuneiform, especially in those days, were promoting various kinds of progressive rock, beyond their core base. And it didn't hurt that Boud Deun were practically neighbors with the label, hailing from northern Virginia.
The regional note plays a role in their music as well. One can point to the Dixie Dregs as perhaps the blueprint for their sound, at least when The Dregs were focused on jazz fusion verse country rock. But it also becomes clear that Boud Deun had a knowledge of worldwide progressive rock. Their sound mixes in European styled jazz rock but with a touch of Appalachia. And a sophisticated kind of symphonic fusion, that we also find in Europe and Japan. Let's be clear: Astronomy Made Easy does not pull a single punch - it's very intense folks. But here's the kicker - it's also highly melodic, so that it does stay in the memory banks. Technical plus melody plus regional folk customs + rockin' out = success.
On a personal note, I brought along a pile of CDs before I was to be married in April of 1997. It was the long road trip from Denver (where I resided at the time) to Dallas (where I grew up). If I were to associate one album from that period of time - it's this one. So nostalgia plays a big role in my own subjective viewpoint. What's more interesting here for those reading this is... I hadn't heard the album in 22+ years since then. And guess what? I remembered much of it. It came back as each track unwound itself. I often read this is one of those highly technical albums that is academic overall. I beg to differ.
The regional note plays a role in their music as well. One can point to the Dixie Dregs as perhaps the blueprint for their sound, at least when The Dregs were focused on jazz fusion verse country rock. But it also becomes clear that Boud Deun had a knowledge of worldwide progressive rock. Their sound mixes in European styled jazz rock but with a touch of Appalachia. And a sophisticated kind of symphonic fusion, that we also find in Europe and Japan. Let's be clear: Astronomy Made Easy does not pull a single punch - it's very intense folks. But here's the kicker - it's also highly melodic, so that it does stay in the memory banks. Technical plus melody plus regional folk customs + rockin' out = success.
On a personal note, I brought along a pile of CDs before I was to be married in April of 1997. It was the long road trip from Denver (where I resided at the time) to Dallas (where I grew up). If I were to associate one album from that period of time - it's this one. So nostalgia plays a big role in my own subjective viewpoint. What's more interesting here for those reading this is... I hadn't heard the album in 22+ years since then. And guess what? I remembered much of it. It came back as each track unwound itself. I often read this is one of those highly technical albums that is academic overall. I beg to differ.
Ownership: 1997 Cuneiform (CD). Die-cut booklet. Acquired in 1997.
1997; 11/15/19 (review)
Also own and need to review The Stolen Bicycle
4/15/20 (new entry)
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