STeve Thorne - "Emotional Creatures, part one" Review

Artist/ Band: Steve Thorne
Title: Emotional Creatures, part one
Label: GEP Records
Year of Release: 2005
Artist/ Band Link (click for details/ ordering)

The Review:

When I received this CD a few months back, I wasn’t sure what to expect being that I never heard of Steve Thorne before. It seems that Steve has assembled a who’s who list of supporting musicians on his debut, Emotional Creatures part one. Joining Steve are Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Liquid Tension Experiment), Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Genesis, Tears For Fears), Geoff Downes (Asia, Buggles, Yes), Martin Orford (Jadis, IQ), Paul Cook (IQ and fishing in Scotland) and John Jowitt (IQ, Dirtbox, Jadis, ex-Arena).

In all honesty, having the above musicians didn’t excel the music beyond a fairly regular release. You do hear Tony Levin’s trademark bass as well as musical similarities to IQ and Jadis. One thing I found to be a pleasant surprise is Steve’s vocals weren’t the typical style found in this style of music. Now what style of music is it? I’d say a bit of singer/ songwriter with pop-prog and a splash of neo-prog. It’s not at all complex, in fact it’s quite simple and chock-ful of memorable hooks and melodies. I don’t see it being on many top favorites of 2005 but I think Steve is an artist to watch out for in the near future.

Emotional Creatures, part one is strongly recommended to fans of IQ, Jadis Arena and Asia. If those bands appeal to you then get a copy today. Oh and for those interested, Steve has plenty of material for "part two".

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on May 24th, 2005

Tracks:

1. Here They Come!

2. God Bless America

3. Well Outta That

4. Ten Years

5. Last Line

6. Julia

7. Therapy

8. Every Second Counts

9. Tumbleweeds

10. Gone

11. Goodbye

Reviewed Discography

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