Somewhere But Yesterday (1994)
If Marillion copied Genesis and brought them into the 80s, then Citizen Cain copied both Marillion and Genesis and brought them into the 90s. Though Citizen Cain were part of the original New Wave of British Progressive Rock movement, they didn't get going until the 90s. Which is too bad really. As I've mentioned before, the term "neo prog" became a misnomer during the 80s, and was shorthand for "corporate AOR Arena Rock". All the groups participating in that scene fell prone to the allure of mucho dollars, and most did not come close. And lost their artistic credibility because of it. When IQ reemerged with Ever, it dawned a new era of excellent neo prog that is with us today. Citizen Cain is very much in that same oeuvre. Had they released Somewhere but Yesterday in 1987, it would be hailed as a modern classic. But it just got lost in the prog shuffle and most of my running set had nothing to do with bands like Citizen Cain in the early 90s. It wasn't until almost 30 years later I heard them at all.
When you have a lead singer named Cyrus in a neo prog band then you can expect a lot of singing, and that remains true here. Yet somehow it still feels like a primarily instrumental album. Lots of negative critical forensic reviews out there discussing the nuances of his voice against Gabriel and Fish. People think too much. Personally I think he does a great job, as does the band at emulating the early Genesis sound with the upbeat 80s styled groups like IQ. There's a lot of music to digest here, but I heard it pleasantly throughout. While I have no intention of loading up on Citizen Cain, I certainly would be interested in hearing all their works at some point regardless of reputation.
Ownership: 1997 Cyclops (CD). With lyric booklet (extensive) and recording details.
6/2/22 (first listen); 2/15/25 (review)
2/17/25 (new entry)
No comments:
Post a Comment