Search - Finneus Gauge :: One Inch of the Fall

Exciting, driving, grooving, interesting, different....PERFE

Squire Jaco | Buffalo, NY USA | 12/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In case you couldn't tell from my lead line, I think "One Inch of the Fall" is pretty awesome. Even slightly better than the band's first release, "More Once More".



And it's great for all of the right reasons. This is jazz/fusion progressive rock of the very highest order. The very confidence, audacity and courage in the music and playing actually raises one's emotional level while listening! And THAT's why we listen to music.



The sound of Finneus Gauge is frequently compared to early Bruford and the first U.K. album, and rightly so (though perhaps a bit more aggressive here). Along with the complex meters and melodic, angular lines, there is the great guitar playing of Scott McGill (sounding much like Allan Holdsworth); group leader(?) Jonn Buzby on drums who makes great use of the high snare drum and cymbals, similar to Mr. Bruford; brother Chris Buzby (of Echolyn fame) doing his best impersonation of the great Dave Stewart; and Laura Martin singing the avant-garde jazz vocals that are very reminiscent of Annette Peacock (and, at times, even Joni Mitchell). The bass guitar is handled very ably on all tracks by Chris Eike; he doesn't play like Jeff Berlin, but he's a great talent for this demanding style of music. Harmony vocals are provided by the Busby brothers.



"Oh, so this is derivative music?" you say. Well, yeah, a little bit I guess.....but what better place to start being derivative than with 1977 Bruford? I mean, there's a virtual goldmine of music in this genre/niche that's barely been touched. Personally, I'll buy more.



Compared to "More Once More", this album seems to be mixed a lot cleaner - no speaker overload, and everything is distinct and balanced. And this album gets a little more rockier than the first album on a couple of tracks (notably, "Open up the Fog Lines" and "Golden Pretzel", the latter of which also contains an absolutely killer instrumental section with non-stop guitar soloing over an ever-changing time signature that I just can't count out! Good luck to you Pythagoreans.) The quieter "Early Sun" is the most acoustic song FG ever did, and very cool. Everything else is a musician's workout.



If you can find the Cyclops label release that includes three bonus tracks that are live versions of songs from the first album, you've really hit the jackpot.



As the title implies, this music plays dangerously close to the precipice without going over. Since this is the last cd from this short-lived group, why not snatch up the cd, and experience the thrill for yourself? You'll only fall....in love with the music.



I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:

Music quality = 9.1/10; Performance = 9.5/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 10/10.

Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 9.3 ("5 stars")



"

Lead vocals may be an acquired taste

WillieB | 03/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is filled with outstanding music (kind of prog-fusion), but at a price. On "Open up the Fog Lines" and "Golden Pretzel", the female vocals (Laura Martin) are distracting and sound off pitch or just weird. However, on the remainder of the disc the vocals sound fine. If you can overlook this minor criticism, the band is phenomenal. The drummer (Jonn Buzby) is intense, amazing keyboard work (Christopher Buzby), solid bass (Chris Eike), and the guitarist (Scott McGill) has an unmistakable Holdsworth tone and style on many of the tunes.



Recommended if you like the first solo Bruford disc or Echolyn.

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