Joe Deninzon might be known best these days as the violinist in Kansas, but here at Music Street Journal we’ve been covering him for many years, well before he took on that role. Every single album or project the man releases is quality. That said, this album is one of his best to my ears. There is so much great prog here that seems to bridge the gap between classic and modern sounds. There is a healthy range of volume and style, and the whole thing just works really well.

This opening instrumental comes in fast, but a bit understated. It powers out to  smoking hot prog jam that has elements of fusion in the mix.    

Piano starts this and holds it for a time. As it evolves, it reminds me a little of Kansas for a time. The cut works to more modern prog zones from there. This has hints of things like Spock’s Beard.

After an introduction that’s a fast paced prog extravaganza, this drops to a stripped back movement for the entrance of the vocals. This is another potent progressive rock number that has a lot of shifts and changes built into. There are parts of this that make me think of Kansas, but there are plenty of other angles, too.

There is some smoking hard rock built into this beast. It’s also got some great hooks. The lyrics are very topical, commenting on our modern world.

This works outward as more of a balladic piece. The first vocals are delivered over that motif. The cut drives out to a harder rocking jam beyond there, making this more like a power ballad. It’s also very powerful. For some reason, it reminds me a little of Queen.

I really love this King Crimson cover so much. The violin really adds some dimensions and intriguing angles to it.

This instrumental is another potent piece of progressive rock goodness.

Violin and vocals are the key points of this track as it gets underway.

Piano starts this track. It builds out gradually from there. At nearly 12-and-half minutes of music, this is the epic of the set. It evolves naturally and gradually with basically the piano and vocals driving it for the first minute-and-a-half or so. Then it gets other instrumentation added to the mix, but the paradigm isn’t altered, just augmented. The track does shift later to more soaring, driving progressive rock and continues to explore from there. It turns harder rocking around the three-and-a-half minute mark. There is some killer bass work in this connecting section. Then it fires out to more frantic, edgy rocking sounds from there. Eventually that gives way to mellower, exploratory stuff that has some definite classical music elements. I’m a sucker for harpsichord, and that instrument shows up for a time. Female vocals (Chloe Lowery) bring some variety later. The cut continues to evolve with more hard rocking stuff further down the road. The number keeps getting reinvented, and there are some positively driving prog parts at times. Then it drops way down to a stripped back arrangement for much mellower vocals as it approaches the late parts of the piece. We get a dramatic and edgy prog jam that emerges after a time. That movement closes the track, and album, with style.