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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Tapio Ylinen Left Unsaid (The Longstanding Problems of Happiness) Review by Gary Hill With a singer-songwriter air to all of it, this disc has a lot of class and style built into it. It's only six songs, and I wish there were more. That's because the songs we do have work so well. All in all, this is quite an effective release. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.

Track by Track Review

Bright Young Star A balladic kind of movement opens this number. There is a drama to it. The cut works out of after the first vocal movement into an uptempo jam with an intriguing timing that almost lends a progginess to it. It settles back into the song proper to continue from there.

Brother Come Back This up-tempo rocker just oozes cool and style. It's a real powerhouse number. This has some great tones and hooks.

Life of a Bird Slow moving, and rather balladic, there is a lot of drama, charm and emotion in this piece. It's so powerful and pretty. While this is somewhat understated, it's one of my favorites here.

The Great Gamble More of a rocking tune, this has a mainstream vibe to it. I dig the killer guitar work on this number a lot. In fact, there are some meaty guitar fills throughout most of the tune. It's not built on just the guitar, though. It has some strong hooks, too.

Noble Heart This has a lot of slow blues built into it. It's a rather laid back tune, but still has a lot of drama and emotion in the mix. The guitar has such a great blues tone to it.

Snake in the Grass Another classy rocker, this is more of a mid-tempo piece. I love the guitar that runs over the top of so much of this piece. The cut has a bit of a progressive rock edge in that aspect. There is a bit of a blues rock feeling to it, too. This is a tasty mainstream rocker however you slice it.

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