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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Bill Mumy Circular Review by Gary Hill The name Bill Mumy might be familiar to you. Perhaps you remember him as Will Robinson on Lost In Space. Or perhaps you think of his Babylon 5 character. Well, did you know that he’s also a successful musician? This is his latest disc and it shows a definite talent for songcraft and performance. There’s not a weak tune on show and the variety from piece to piece keeps it from becoming at all redundant. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2009 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Never Gonna Stop Old school rock and roll textures make up this smoking cut. This has a really bleak view of the modern world and some lyrics that get a parental advisory warning.

You Know You Never Know Tom Petty meets the Byrds on this. Of course, Tom Petty has often been quite Byrds influenced over the years, so that combination is not a huge stretch of the imagination.

Johnny's Gone To Heaven The format isn’t drastically different here, but this track doesn’t feel redundant, but rather fresh and vibrant.

Man Of Pride The leanings aren’t precisely the same here, but this is a solid roots rock number.

Care Here is a mellower song that’s quite stirring.

A Deal's A Deal More of a rocker, this one is definitely bluesy and at times reminds me of Led Zeppelin. The lyrics on this again get a parental warning.

The Heart's Fantasy Mellow, intricate and very pretty, this is a great song. It’s possibly my favorite here and nearly fits into progressive rock. There are also some elements that make me think of early Neil Young.

Don't Have Anything An acoustically driven ballad, Bob Dylan comes to mind on this one. .

Turn Yourself Around I can hear hints of Tom Petty on this one, too, but it’s a mellow balladic number. There are also some bluesy jazz oriented elements to the track.

The Past Won't Be Denied Another mellow one this is a bit grittier. It’s got some definite bluesy elements to it.

History Pretty and delicate, this balladic cut is rather progressive rock like in nature in the introductory section. It shifts out into a banjo driven rather Beatles-like movement – that heightens the progressive rock nature of this. In fact, this is a very diverse and dynamic piece of music that would be quite at home on a prog rock disc.

Circular Blues This one is bluesy. It’s also pretty and ballad-like. It’s an instrumental and a nice change of pace.

Hereby Invited Banjo brings a down home texture, but in many ways this feels like Tom Petty meets Porcupine Tree. It’s a tasty cut and one of my favorites on show here.

I'll Seeya Around Mumy closes things with a little old-time pop music dittie.

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