The great stories are few.
Francis W. Porretto | Mount Sinai, NY United States | 11/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The great virtuosi are few. The great composers are fewer still. And the truly great stories, which will bear the burden of being set to music, are fewest of all. Enter Glass Hammer... This two-man musical ensemble, keyboard wizards Fred Schendel and Steve Babb of Chattanooga, Tennessee, had already made a considerable mark on the world of conceptual music with their Tolkienian albums Journey Of The Dunadan and The Middle-Earth Album, and their Perelandra and On To Evermore discs of music inspired by the fantasies of C. S. Lewis. With Lex Rex, their most recent release, they stride to the forefront of truly audacious, truly accomplished contemporary music. Lex Rex tells the story of the Roman centurion Longinus, a man deeper than his fellows, who searches lifelong for "the source of glory." He finds it in a Man who defies the religious authorities of the province in which he serves, and is condemned to die in the time's most horrible fashion: Jesus of Nazareth. It is Longinus's fate to administer the coup de grace to Christ, piercing his side with a lance. The libretto is simple, elegant, and utterly beautiful, telling this timeless tale in the artless words of a man of the sword who has no pretenses and is beset by a yawning desire for transcendence through truth. The music is beyond description. It combines careful, elaborate composition, lit by one piercing melody after another, with a rapturous brilliance of execution. It pours over the listener like a waterfall of stars. Lex Rex is a sorely needed record -- not for its polemic value but as an example of what heights contemporary music can achieve when it dares to reach really high. The norm for polemic efforts in the arts, particularly in the Christian vein, is esthetically low; I offer the crudely told Left Behind books of Jenkins and LaHaye as Prosecutor's Exhibit One. But it needn't be that way; Glass Hammer has proved it. ... Highly recommended. A perfect Christmas gift!"
Almost Perfect
Mark A. Wellman | Plaucheville, LA United States | 02/05/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have three other Glass Hammer CD's and many other prog albums. I have been a prog fan since the glory days of ELP, Yes, Camel, and Kansas. LEX REX ranks right up there with the best of them. It is a keyboard tour de force! The bass playing is excellent too. There are not any weak songs, unlike the other Glass Hammer CD's I have. In some places the vocals are only good, not excellent. The same is true of the drumming; in one very brief place it is irksome. If this CD had been recorded with a great prog drummer like Phil Ehart or Nick D'Virgilio, LEX REX would be prog classic."
Absolutely Magnificent!!!
Paul Bellocq | Slidell, LA USA | 12/10/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For those looking for a unique Christmas gift for someone you loves the "heyday" of progressive music (you know, tons of keyboards, liquid guitar leads, esoteric lyrics, precision drumming, and bass pedals..aka..1970's Yes, ELP, and Genesis),
I can think of no better CD from 2002 to surprise the living daylights out of them. I am a huge fan of the Swedish progressive band Flower Kings, and was blown away by their latest relese called Unfold The Future. Well Lex Rex arrived from Amazon[.com] on the same order, and I must rank Lex Rex right up there with any of the Flower King's releases except for Rainmaker. If you know a die-hard prog fan or happen to be one yourself, do yourself a favor and just order this one. I previously owned Chronometree and was not all that impressed, but Lex Rex puts this Chattanooga progressive band over the top. Bravo!"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1