Strater

Listening to this album is always a strange experience for any Yes fan. Clearly Starcastle are following Yes. But did Yes then follow Starcastle? Probably not…but released a year before Yes' Tormato, this album's thin synth sound and electric timbre seem to foretell Yes' fate, even as it mimics the polyrhythms and vocal phrasings of Yes from years gone by. Still, the album has its own charms, largely due to the tight unison work of the rhythm section: Stephen Tasster's cascading tom fills in "Fountains" and Gary Strater's supple bass behind the delicate opening of "Portraits" are both marvelous. Herb Schildt's synth sounds, on the other hand, haven't always aged well. Still, he leads the band into some rousing instrumentals in the latter halves of "True to the Light" and "Diamond Song."

The group's third album is another Yes-like affair, Herb Schildt's keyboards dominating the sound in the best sub-Rick Wakeman manner while Steve Tassler's drumming holds the band's sound together. Terry Luttrell can't quite hit Jon Anderson's high notes, but coupled with the backup singing by Tassler, bassist Gary Strater, and guitarists Matt Stewart and Steve Hagler, the Yes illusion is maintained, especially when Hagler's angular lead playing comes in, as on "Shadows of Song." "Change in Time" is the best of the Yes-style numbers here, a driving little tune with gorgeous choruses and soaring synthesizer breaks. The two most interesting numbers, however, are "Can't Think Twice" and "Could This Be Love," serious attempts at catchy Top 40-type tunes that reconsider the group's whole progressive sound, and which hold the group's talents in check in service of an unchallenging AM approach…