c o n r a d

Rain is an artist from Guildford, the home town of Genesis, who has with this debut album caused a few ripples in the comparatively small pond of progressive rock. He has opted for a marketing scheme whereby he makes a moderate-quality MP3 version of the album available on the net as a marketing tool. The theory, oft expounded but rarely tested, is that sales gained by people being exposed to the music and then choosing to upgrade to the CD will exceed sales lost because some who would have bought the album now have it for free. With attractive packaging, cheap pricing and a CD enriched with bonus materials, chances are fairly high that it will work in this case. The album itself, which after all is the main reason Rain is getting attention, is a melancholic one, both in terms of its music and subject matter. It is a concept album concerning a Mr. Jaeger, who has a series of postcards sent by a young man on his tour of America, and is following his path. The plot itself is moderately engaging and the twist at the end serves to give the listener a different perspective on the second listen. What is exceptional about the story is the richness of it references, which are as diverse as the "Tao Te Ching" and Van Gogh's "The Crows in the Cornfield." Rain may be occasionally prone to being too clever for some (a reference to Manhattan in "Parsifal" won't make sense to someone who does not know that Avalon is sometimes referred to as "The Isle of Apples"), but for those of us who want to release their inner Lit student, the RTF file on the disc discussing some of the ideas on the album provides interesting reading. The music has numerous influences (Peter Gabriel and Radiohead stand out most obviously to me), but aside from "Silver Apples of the Moon," which reeks of Gilmour-era Pink Floyd, Rain follows his own path, drawing on others for inspiration rather than direction. A string trio of violin, viola and cello play under the gravelly narration of Rob Brown at the beginning of each track. The fact that the introduction segues into the main part of each song so naturally says a lot about the care and thought that has gone into the construction of this album. Most of the instruments are played by Rain himself, and tend to the atmospheric rather than virtuosic. He makes up for a lack of instrumental fireworks with a fine voice, reminscent of Ray Wilson. Relying on his own musical talents so heavily there is obviously a lot of multi-tracking that goes on with this album. His execution on tracks such as "Jerusalem" is from the Olias of Sunhillow school, building layer upon layer, working towards a climax. This album, with its sombre mood and sophisticated lyrics, is a breath of fresh air for the more mainstream variety of progressive rock. However, despite its many strengths, I would class this album as a very promising rather than great in its own right. Although I enjoy the atmosphere, I personally feel there could be more moments of intricacy and virtuosity. This is still one of the better albums I have heard from recent years, and would happily recommend it even if it were not being sold at such a reasonable price. review by Conrad Leviston — 5-2-05 —