| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Fountains | | | | | |
| 2. Dawning Of The Day | | | | | |
| 3. Silver Winds | | | | | |
| 4. True To The Light | | | | | |
| 5. Portraits | | | | | |
| 6. Diamond Song (Deep Is The Light) | | | | | |
All songs written by Tassler/Luttrell/Strater/Schildt/Stewart/Hagler.
Aside from their embarrassing final album, Starcastle were a good, second-tier progressive band during their brief career in the mid-1970s. Although more than a bit derivative of the British progressive bands which came before them (Yes in particular), they were nevertheless able to craft several space-drenched mini-epics before impatient record executives pushed them along a rather different path.
Fountains Of Light, considered by some to be their best release, captures the group's talents fairly well. Schildt is clearly the dominant musical talent on the release, providing numerous keyboard effects and solos which virtually scream of elaborate stage lighting and flowing white gowns. ;) Lyrically, Starcastle may have been the band which hostile critics often accused Yes of being -- the enraptured descriptions of natural phenomena somehow manage to outdo even Jon Anderson in their childlike sense of wonder. Whether this is a good or bad thing might be best left to the listener; one occasionally wonders if a bit less naivete might have improved things somewhat. For this, however, there is little on the release of an overly offensive nature.
The album has a few problems as well. Even at this stage in their career, Starcastle were something plagued by some traces of AOR along the edges. The introductory theme to the first track ultimately sounds more like Kansas than Yes, and some further developments show that the Boston/ REO Speedwagon infection had made its way into the mindset of group to some degree. For the moment, though, this had not yet come to fruition. A more immediate problem is that many of the tracks sound quite self- similar, as though the band didn't have a terribly large gamut of concepts to run through. While each track is fairly good in its own right, the work as a whole is brought down somewhat by this factor.
Vocally, well ... Luttrell's high range/falsetto was certainly impressive, but he had neither the range nor the warmth of Anderson. Some of the harmonies seem a bit awkward as well, creating a convergence which sometimes seems more silly than profound.
Such are the flaws of the album, and of the group -- not without reason did I refer to them as a "second-tier" prog band in the opening sentence. But none of this negates the better attributes of Fountains Of Light.
"Fountains", the opening track, begins with the aforementioned Kansas-esque riff; this is followed by a keyboard section which suggests the introduction to Rick Wakeman's No Earthly Connection more than anything else. A band section develops after this, wherein vocal sections and instrumental breaks are exchanged fairly casually; the bass tones sound identical to those of Chris Squire from the very beginning, and a noticeably Hovian guitar line emerges after about three minutes or so (the influence of Howe is especially evident in the first guitar solo, possibly the best part of the song). The track continues to develop along these lines for some time, eventually leading to an instrumental bridge (dominated by keyboards) and a return to the opening theme. Although one might wish for a bit more structural variety from a ten-minute track, this is still a good way to start the album.
"Dawning Of The Day" is the relative weak link of the release, a simplified reduction of the group's "essence" which was obviously designed with pop appeal in mind. It's still a fairly good song, though, with a good hook, a fairly decent keyboard solo halfway through, and an interesting vocal round section at the end (unfortunately marred by synth/ vocal effects that seem to be a blatant imitation of the introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody"). The lyrics border on unbearable at times here, but the track still rates roughly on par with the rest of the work.
"Silver Winds" begins with some good progressive keyboard and guitar lines which basically map out the structure for the entire track; though the music is fairly good, my previous complaint about a lack of internal development fits here as well. Luttrell's voice works better here than in some of the other tracks, and the rhythm section provides some clever adjustments on occasion. Another good track, if not a groundbreaking one.
"True To The Light" generally continues the musical course set by the previous tracks. It begins with keyboards and guitars trading licks, and generally works as a prog number despite the occasional hints of AOR. Some of the keyboard sounds here are a bit unusual, and it's significant that Schildt almost entirely dominates the middle section of the track. Luttrell's voice is fairly impressive again. The strangest thing about this track is probably the similarity of its melody to that of "Head Over Heels" by Tears For Fears (which wouldn't be written for another seven years) -- it's a decent melody in any event, though, and fits the song fairly well.
The introduction to "Portraits" is easily the most distinctive section on the album, and quite possibly the best. The music occurs on bass and acoustic guitar, and features a fairly developed vocal section as well (in which Luttrell is clearly not the lead voice). It may be worth noting that the most "original" moment on the release is one of the few sections not to be dominated by Schildt's keyboards; interpret this as you will. Perhaps unfortunately, the song soon shifts to a more "conventional" Starcastle section, albeit one still dominated by acoustic guitar and relative lyrical coherence (a befits the nature of this ballad). This probably could have held together better, but it's one of the more notable tracks here in any event.
The album then ends with "Diamond Song (Deep Is The Light)", most immediately notable for a powerful vocal hook within the chorus (sounding like a more proggified "Heat Of The Moment" in some ways). The bass performance is quite good as well, and the obvious influence of "Roundabout" in the keyboard solo is bound to bring a smile of recognition to the faces of many prog listeners. This works quite well as a "closing track", and even it's less proggy elements have some merit.
Fountains Of Light is not an essential album, but it is a good album. I cannot recommend this to every prog fan, but it's probably safe to say that fans of The Yes Album will be able to find something to like here.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 3 April 1998)