The Wellworkers Guild Call It Home Review by Gary Hill
This disc certainly fits under the banner of progressive rock, but there is a definite jam band element to a lot of it. You might hear bits that make you think of the Dead or Santana. Still other parts are more closely aligned to the pop music of the early 1960’s. A retro sound pervades the entire disc. There are bits of fusion and pure jazz in the mix, too. All in all this is an intriguing blend of sounds that’s both accessible and unique.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2010 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Bring Flowers
Imagine a mellow prog rock jam with hints of surf music and soulful 1960’s styled vocals. This is very retro in nature, but also quite cool. There are some hints of early King Crimson, but also bits of 1960’s pop music.
All Those Golden Lies Take a jam band sound and combine it with a killer retro prog rock styling and you’ve got a good idea of what this cut sounds like. There’s some exceptionally tasty instrumental work.
The Indomitable Song There’s a tasty groove to this and it reminds me at times of a more prog-oriented early Santana. Still, there is a bit of a jazz vibe to it and some killer retro textures.
The Move The retro organ sound is a big part of this, but the guitar drives it in some killer ways, too. This is the most purely progressive rock oriented cut so far, but there’s still plenty of that old school 1960’s pop rock sensibility to it, too.
Winter Rounds There’s a definite jam band texture to this, but the keyboard soloing brings in more of that retro pop meets prog element. I definitely hear a lot of The Grateful Dead on this number. The instrumental section mid-track, though, is about as purely prog as you’ll find here.
Mea Culpa This mellow number has one of the most prominent vocal arrangements. At the same time it’s got some of the most pure progressive rock sounds of the whole set. There’s a definite fusion groove to this, too. There’s a cool false ending and then a reprise of the main themes with a killer groove added to it’s. It’s got an almost honky tonk feeling.
Love and Learn While there’s a funky tilt to this it’s purely progressive rock with fusion thrown into the mix. There is some seriously killer jamming later on in this piece. The vocals on the number make me think of a cross between the Grateful Dead and modern King Crimson.
