I've spoken about Cliffhanger here before, on at least two other albums. While dozens of bands had their imagination captured by Genesis, most found their way performing music in the same manner as Marillion or IQ. What we now call neo prog is essentially an updated version of the master prog class of Genesis and Yes. Over time that sound eroded further towards an AOR like friendliness. But there were a microscopic few others who skipped the 80s and went right to the 1970-1976 source itself. Cliffhanger were one of those bands, and to date they have yet to be recognized as anything special. And that's too bad really, as they put a lot of great ideas and songwriting into each of their recordings. On Mirror Site, the 70s are alive and well in Rinie Heigen's guitar sound and playing - and especially Gijs Koopman's woody and edgy bass work. Not so much this time with Dick Heljboer's keyboards, though he does put the mellotron sampler to good use. Much is made of Heigen's unusual vocals, generally panned across the board. I find myself liking the imperfection as it is. Perhaps years of listening to Krautrock bands attempting to sing in English - and further on with the metal bands of the 80s - made my ears numb. All the same, I've always heard vocals as another instrument rather than a pleasant lyrical reader. And in this case, Heigen has this strange Dutch accented Peter Gabriel thing going on that I find compelling. Regardless, it remains unclear if Cliffhanger will ever be considered anything more than an "old 90s Dutch SI" group that will be washed away with history. Or will they one of the bands that is recognized and restored? Not a question that is likely to be answered in my lifetime.
Ownership: CD: 1998 Musea (France). Purchased new online upon release. Jewel case with a fine booklet containing lyrics, band photos, photography, and recording details.
No comments:
Post a Comment