Stones From The Garden
Melodic Revolution, 2023
8/10
Listen to Stones From The Garden
The Chicago singer-songwriter and guitarist Kurt Michaels has been making music since 1975, and here he’s joined by a lengthy and accomplished cast for the 8 progressive tunes.
The thick and rumbling “Trouble” opens the listen with Len Szymanski’s thumping drums and Michael Sherwood’s flowing keys alongside the soulful backing vocals for the dense climate, and “Why Must Life Be Such A Fight” follows with Scott Williams’ swirling bass and Jim Gully’s warm keys making for a melodic delivery.
Halfway through, “Relax… Nothing’s Under Control!” uses Dennis Johnson’s skilled bass and Amanda Lehmann and Annie Carlson’s pretty voices for the dreaminess, while “Forever (So Completely)” is a more driving affair thanks to John Abbey’s bouncy bass and strong riffs and vocals from Michaels.
“Will I Ever Pass This Way Again?” and “The Road Beyond” exit the listen, where the former places Billy Sherwood on drums for the lush, retro-rock spirit, and the latter spends 17 minutes mesmerizing us with its strategic haze and chilling ambience of prog-rock mystery.
Michaels’ debut solo studio album was in 2003, and this first new release since 2011 offers a hard hitting yet very thoughtful, creative version of prog-ideas that we could never tire of.
Travels well with: Fortunato- From High Above; Overhead- Telepathic Minds