Writing On The Wall

The album title refers to the Victorian house where four Scots took refuge during his exile in London becoming the mansion into a genuine commune dedicated to music, art and God knows what else in the early 70s. A pleasant surprise, it is true that there were thousands of bands like this at the time but Writing on the Wall is at hand now…

"Writing on the Wall" were a progressive rock band from 1967 until 1973. Continually on the road for six years- everything from radio, TV, British & European tours, recording and of course Brazil. One of the very few bands to have held two residencies at the famous Marquee Club in London…

Prog rock that’s epic and intimate… dense and hummable. Soaring vocals lead into quirky instrumentals going in unexpected directions. Every Waking Hour is not ashamed to say they play prog rock. Heck, they're proud of it. Guitarist Tim Kestle boasts, "We think prog is about epic songs, spooky moods and twisting instrumental passages, and that's where we live musically". Their debut CD "Writing on the Wall" is proof positive of this.
Kestle and keyboardist/drummer/vocalist Paul McLean have been collaborating on and off for more years than they are willing to admit. They were first drawn together by a mutual love of classic prog bands like Yes and Genesis as students back in the 1970's…

On his first album in four years and sixth for Alligator, blues guitarist Coco Montoya alters his musical M.O. a bit. Writing on the Wall marks the very first time that Montoya brought his live working quartet into the studio. Tony Braunagel returns as producer and guests on drums on four tracks. Keyboardist Jeff Paris co-produced and recorded at Jeff's Garage. In addition to Paris, the band includes bassist Nathan Brown and drummer Rena Beavers. Guests include guitarists Ronnie Baker Brooks, country star Lee Roy Parnell, and Dave Steen. The 13-track set includes five tunes composed or co-written by Montoya, four from Steen, and one from Paris – they co-wrote the title track with Montoya. The shared songwriting makes this, arguably, the most homegrown affair in Montoya's Alligator catalog. The contents intuitively balance electric blues, blues-rock, roots rock & roll, old-school, and R&B.

Writing on the Wall's only album was theatrical heavy blues-psychedelic-rock that, despite its power and menace, was too obviously derivative of better and more original artists to qualify as a notable work. The organ-guitar blends owe much to the Doors, Procol Harum, and Traffic, though the attitude is somehow more sour and ominous than any of those groups. The vocals are sometimes pretty blatant in their homages to Arthur Brown, particularly when Linnie Paterson climbs to a histrionic scream; Jim Morrison, Gary Brooker, and Stevie Winwood obviously left their imprints on him too. Throw in some of the portentous drama from the narrations to the Elektra astrological concept album The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds (particularly on "Aries") as well…