In The Diving Bell is essentially Missus Beastly's final album. Dr. Aftershave was a moniker they'd used in the past, as the album known as Dr. Aftershave and the Mixed Pickles was actually the name of the band and For Missus Beastly the title. But of course no one sees it that way, it was just a legal matter.
Musically it's easy to consider In the Diving Bell as a continuation of where the band was at with Space Guerrilla. They're only a trio here, so the music is not quite as diverse as before. Especially notable is the absence of woodwinds. Mostly it's Burkard Schmidl's keyboards that lead the way, with a superb rhythm section driving the music forward. He plays a mixture of piano, period synths, and analog electric keyboards. At the beginning of the album I wasn't convinced the band had much left in the creativity tank, sounding like any number of 1980 fusion bands out there. But once the lengthy 'Resurrection Agents' gets going, the magic of Missus Beastly steps up with it, and the perception changes. The album was intended to be released real time, so the sound quality is that of a final product. Overall a very fine effort straddling the border of very good to excellent. Knowing how Missus Beastly has grown on me in the past, I figure this album will also grow in stature with time.
Ownership: CD: 2017 Garden of Delights. Recent online acquisition (2022). Not sure why I waited so long to obtain other than information about it is scarce. Usual great job from GoD with complete historical liner notes, excellent sound, and plenty of photos.
9/21/22 (new entry)
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