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Gerald Peter Project

Incremental Changes, Pt. 2

Review by Gary Hill

This is a very strong album. The music here has elements of classical music, fusion, progressive rock and much more. Most, but not all, the songs have non-lyrical vocals, but otherwise it's sans vocals. Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess appears on the disc. This is potent, dynamic and exceptionally effective music that manages to be high art, while also having a real vital rocking side that grabs the listener.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2022  Volume 5. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2022.

Track by Track Review
Prologue (7th Movement)
Atmospherics bring this into being. There are some non-lyrical vocal elements in the mix. The cut rises very gradually in a classical music meets atmospheric prog vibe. The classical angle brought by the piano. Some understated, but powerful, guitar soloing rises up later to bring the more rocking angle. This crescendos to flow into the next tune.
Enigma (8th Movement)
Powering in with killer synthesizer. This feels like a cross between Dream Theater and space rock as drives outward from there. The non-lyrical vocals return lending a soaring sort of drama to the number. There are some smoking hot twists and turns on this with some definite fusion angles emerging. While it remains rocking, more classical things, largely brought by the piano work, return mid-track. The drumming gets particularly intense later, and the whole song becomes pretty crazed at times.
Flow (9th Movement)
There is a lot of piano as this gets underway. Classical music merges with space prog angles early. The track turns more toward fusion as it continues to explore the sonic territory. The piano really gets to put in a lot of stellar soloing on this, at times landing toward jazz, and at others bringing the classical angles.
Transformation (10th Movement)
Another powerhouse, this showcases the same basic concepts. That said, dramatic prog and fusion probably have the biggest impacts on this. The piano solo with non-lyrical vocals as accompaniment does brings some classical things to bear, though. There is almost a funky sort of groove as it drives out from there. I'm also reminded a bit of Herbie Hancock's electronic period.
Submerge (11th Movement)
Beautiful Beethoven like piano creates the main magic here, while non-lyrical vocals create some mysterious atmosphere over the top. That holds the cut for more than a minute-and-a-half before other things come on-board bringing more proggy things to the table. It builds to more driving, fusion-like jamming, and then the piano again takes over, but in a pure jazz way. This turns more prog-like as it keeps driving forward to its conclusion.
Gleam (12th Movement)
Piano starts this number. The song goes through some serious transformation, turning out into some driving and powerful prog rock jamming as it evolves. Yet it drops back down to piano focused stuff to end.
Timeless (13th Movement)
Dramatic spacey prog, space rock and more merge on this classy tune. The piano really gets to shine with some powerhouse jamming mid-track, bringing a jazzy groove when it does.
Pulse (14th Movement)
This features some smoking hot prog jamming and quite a few cool twists and turns. There is some killer fusion jamming further down the road.
Epilogue (15th Movement)
Atmospheric, spacey textures with more of those non-lyrical vocals get this piece underway. This does grow out a bit, but largely stays mellower than much of the rest here. 
Finale (16th Movement)
Coming in with piano at its heart, this builds as a mellower number before eventually firing out into fierce fusion-leaning prog rock jamming. We are taken through a number of twists and turns on this powerful tune. At over ten-minutes of music, it's the longest thing here. I'd argue that it's also the best. It's certainly the most dynamic. This has just about everything we've heard on the album represented at some point. It really has some of the strongest instrumental work of the whole set, too. That really says a lot given the competition.

 

 
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