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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Potter's Daughter and Annie Haslam - Blood and Water (CD single) Review by Gary Hill This is a new single from an act I've not heard of before. Of course, the appearance of Annie Haslam brings this more toward familiar known commodities, though. There is a real classical music edge here, furthering comparisons to Haslam's band Renaissance. With Haslam's vocals presented here along with vocals from Dyanne Potter Voegtlin there is an almost wall of vocals vibe to this. This single is release in both CD and vinyl format, and I've reviewed both in this issue. The two reviews are nearly identical, for the sake of consistency, since the music is the same but there are some small differences. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2019 Volume 5. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2019.

Track by Track Review

Blood and Water The keyboards that open this bring an intriguing, cheery kind of concept. There is a very old school tone to the voice of that keyboard sound. The cut grows out from there to a prog arrangement that at times gets rather rocking, while at other points lands more along the lines of a Renaissance kind of classical treatment. The multiple layers of vocals go a long way toward really selling this, but given the quality of the musical arrangement, that's icing. The track is full of shifts and changes and differing flavors. Some of the guitar on this really rocks. It's amazing how much range and variety is packed into a roughly three-and-a-half minute song.

Blood and Water Revisited This alternate version is more of an acoustic take. Piano is the driving factor here. In some ways this more stripped back take allows the melodies and vocals to shine more than they do in the other version. I can't pick a version as my favorite, though. Each on has its charms. It's class all the way.

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