When Genesis made their transition from heavy symphonic prog to shorter more commercially acceptable tunes during the decade of the 80s' it was the neo/prog band Marillion who came to the forefront with the epic 17+ minute track "Grendel" to fill the void vacated by magnum opus Genesis tracks like "Supper's Ready", "Firth Of Fifth" and "Cinema Show". The spirit of Gabriel era Genesis still existed within early Fish-era Marillion as well as bands like IQ and Pendragon. And when Pink Floyd ultimately tossed in the towel as the deepening rift between Roger Waters and David Gilmore widened, coupled with the untimely passing of Rick Wright, it was the album "God Has Failed" from the German group RPWL that gave Floyd fans reason to rejoice. Pink Floyd may have been gone - but RPWL resurrected the spirit and refined upon it while retaining the once familiar refrains of Floyd's spacy appeal. And when Porcupine Tree moved away from the quirky psychedelic albums like "On The Sunday Of Life" and "Up The Downstair" to the more polished and refined "The Sky Moves Sideways" Floyd aficionados were doubly delighted. So with the emergence of bands like RPWL, Porcupine and Airbag's latest album "The Greatest Show On Earth", the cosmic music of Pink Floyd continues to live on and evolve into the New Millennium.
And now for the intrepid fans of King Crimson, who wait patiently with baited breath as to the fate of Crimson's ultimate future - which hinges on the temperamental whims of Robert Fripp - we have something to tide you over til then ... Jason Sadites latest release "Tales".
"Tales" is the fifth solo project from Canadian born guitarist Jason Sadites, who has been playing guitar since the age of ten. He also became quite studio savvy in the ensuing years, by recording, engineering and producing projects for other local artists.
From his first album "Orbit" up to an including "Tales", Sadites recording have become more and more sophisticated, garnering him critical acclaim and access to world class musicians. On his second album "Weve" Sadites brings in talented drummers like Kenny Aronoff, Marco Minnemann, Jerry Marotta, Gregg Bissonette and Chad Wackerman, as well as bassists Matt Bissonette, Martin Motnik and Crimson alumni Tony Levin to augment the recording. And on subsequent albums "Behind The Laughter" and "Broken" Sadites continued to amass an extensive collection of guest musicians which would include additional Crimson alumni Trey Gunn and artists like Mike Keneally, Alex Machecek, Phi Yaan-Zek, Brett Garsed, Bryan Beller, and Adam Nitti.
But for his fifth album, the 2014 release "Tales" guitarist Jason Sadites scales back to a powerhouse instrumental trio with solid performances from Ric Fierabracci (Billy Cobham) on bass and Marco Minnemann on drums.
The music is highly reminiscent of later period King Crimson ("Power To Believe", "The ConstruKction Of Light" and "Thrak") as well as the Crimson ProjeKts recordings.
Other bands which spring to mind include Philharmonie, Djam Karet, Spoke Of Shadows, Bi Kyo Ran, Liquid Tension Experiment, Gordion Knot, and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
The music is awash with loud crunchy dissonant guitar distortion, poly-rhythmic interplay between guitar, bass, and some amazing drumming from Marco Minnemann.
Jason Sadites guitar playing is a bit more jazzy or bluesy than Fripp but the tones and textures are in keeping with Fripp's sonic pallet, with a focus on complexity and technique rather than the flashy light-speed arpeggios associated with most speed metal guitarist. There is a Fripp/Holdsworth flair to his guitar style.
So to anyone in dire need of a Crimson fix grab a hold of Jason Sadites "Tales" and satisfy that inner craving. You won't be disappointed.
Reviewed by Joseph Shingler on April 30th, 2014
