An incredibly strange album ...
"An incredibly strange album" probably isn't the best way to start a review for a new CD but that is exactly what this Jack Potter album is.
A Christian musician/voice artist Jack admits in his profile that he isn't a singer, so I was expecting a guest list of vocalists and not just musicians to help him tell the conceptual story of 'Celestial Adventures'. Unfortunately (or not?) there are none. Instead Jack Potter narrates the lyrics like a spoken word poem, which helps link the lengthy well-played and performed prog rock musical passages that make up the bulk of this album together. Now whilst I have enjoyed the music, the narration (which sees Mr. Potter playing all the parts in what is really a play set to music), stopped working after a while and I found my attention wandering (never a good sign).
Jack Potter might be a very talented man, who can obviously play and write complex prog music and stories: but for myself, I found the use of one voice playing all the parts a mistake. I'm afraid that eventually I couldn't distinguish between one vocal character and another; because of this, a lot of the story arcs and excitement that a group of actors or singers might have injected into the story became lost. The album really needed and cries out for a great singer(s), to inject some life into the words/lyrics, because as well played and written as the music is, it just doesn't shout "play me again" once it has finished spinning.
Now as I always say, please make up your own minds because I think a lot of prog music fans would/will get what is going on and will probably like it a lot more than I obviously did.
Ian Johnson
Subscribe to this comment's feed
