Stan Whitaker and Frank Wyatt, better known as the founding members of progressive rock band Happy the Man, put out a side project which resulted in Pedal Giant Animals. Joining Stan & Frank are bassist Peter Princiotto (However) and drummer Chris Mack (Illuvatar).
While their band is on hiatus, Stan and Frank decided to give the fans a slightly different view of the musical abilities. Most of the vocal tracks are a more accessible side of the duo but there’s plenty of symphonic prog , light fusion, quirkiness and some bombast to modernize their music even more.
I’ve enjoyed the whole album but there’s some stand out pieces such as the aggressive sounding "Chapter Seven", fusion sounds of "Mists of Babylon" and "Turning My Head".
I‘ve noticed that Stan‘s vocals on Pedal Giant Animals is very close to the modern Peter Gabriel, Frank plays his heart out as he does in Happy The Man. I believe by doing this side project, they’re allowed themselves to spread their wings beyond the Happy The Man borders. To round off the musical side, the rhythm section does an excellent job. Hopefully Stan & Frank will use them again.
In addition to their output on Happy the Man, Frank Wyatt and Stan Whitaker have again given their fans another great body of work on Pedal Giant Animals. This is one CD that deserves every bit of success and appreciation. Without any doubt, I would highly recommend this to their fans as well as fans of the non-world music side of Peter Gabriel.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on February 28th, 2007
