JUDY DYBLE REVIEW

Judy Dyble

Talking with Strangers

Review by G. W. Hill
At first I wasn’t going to put this into the progressive rock heading. The first track is more of a folk tune. The thing is, once it moves past that, the prog is obvious. The closest comparison is Renaissance and a lot of this sounds like that. Still, there are sections that make me think of other things. Wherever the influence lands, though, this is a potent album with a lot going for it.

Track by Track Review

Never Knowing Starting very much in a folk manner, this whole song is more or less like that. There are some little bits of sound over the top that hint at something more. This tune connects directly into the next one. Once it switches, it delivers on that promise.

Jazzbirds This comes straight out of the previous tune. There are bits that make me think of early King Crimson. Psychedelic elements emerge and Renaissance is another valid comparison.  There are some great flourishes of sound that re-enforce both the King Crimson and the Renaissance links.

C'est La Vie Here Dyble covers one of my favorite Emerson Lake and Palmer songs. This is so pretty and so powerful. It’s quite symphonic and quite true to the original. But, Dyble’s voice, along with some changes in the arrangement make it quite stunning and different in some ways. I love the bits of vocals that sort of float angelically over the top at times.

Talking With Strangers Piano based, this is a pretty tune. It’s a powerful balladic number.

Dreamtime Gentle and very old world in nature, this is a pretty and powerful piece of music.

Grey October Day There’s some pretty and powerful jazz meets King Crimson music here. This is another great tune on an album that’s full of great tunes. There are male vocals on this and really it does make me think of early King Crimson quite a bit.

Harpsong Playful, this is very much of a folk meets prog kind of thing. This continues the same kind of killer old school folk prog sound. There is some great saxophone soloing here. We’re taken into some great space music beyond that point, too. World music also shows up in the mix as this evolves. Then, at around the ten-minute mark, this thing fires out into some seriously hard rocking music that fits close to fusion. After it seemingly ends, we get a section where folk and prog meet nicely on a movement that has a lot in common with Renaissance. At over nineteen minutes in length, this one is definitely an epic.

Sparkling The first of two bonus tracks, this is dreamy and gentle and also very lush. Again, Renaissance would be a great comparison.

Waiting World music merges with folky prog on this tasty number. This is pretty, delicate and quite a powerful piece of music. http://www.musicstreetjournal.com/index_cdreviews_display.cfm?id=103986 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO Talking With Strangers CD - £9.99