Craven, Ben: Last Chance To hear

Ben Craven is a multi-instrumentalist and composer hailing from the land down under. There seems to be more and more bands from Australia that are starting to get noticed and Craven's fourth offering Last Chance To Hear certainly deserves your attention.

The disc is set up like vinyl divided into side one and side two. The first track "Last Chance To Hear Part 1" is an excellent proggy tune with a great groove, lovely Hammond and first rate guitar work. Craven is an excellent musician, showcasing his thoughtful keyboard and guitar interludes. On "Critical Mass Part 1" choral vocals, dreamy keyboards and dramatic crashes makes for a symphonic and orchestral delight. "Critical Mass Part 2" is somewhat darker with eerie keyboards and evocative cello. Craven's lead guitar has a touch of Gilmour. Other gems include "Spy In The Sky Part 2" with its swirling keyboards, the smoothly flowing "Spy In The Sky Part 3" featuring orchestral swells and the voice of William Shatner, the lovely acoustic guitar and heavy psychedelic soloing in "Last Chance To Hear Part 2" and the gorgeous ending piece "Mortal Remains" with its tasty piano melody recalling Rick Wright.

The tri-fold digipack also contains a bonus DVD including videos of selected songs and a documentary outlining the making of the album. Very informative stuff to be sure.

Last Chance To Hear is another nice surprise of 2016. Like many progressive rock artists he deserves to be noticed more than he is. Hopefully the word will get around, this guy is the real deal.

Track Listing:
Side One
1. Last Chance To Hear Part 1 (4:23)
2. Critical Mass Part 1 (3:00)
3. Critical Mass Part 2 (3:25)
4. Spy In The Sky Part 2 (4:42)
5. Spy In The Sky Part 3 (8:23)
Side Two
6. The Remarkable Man (5:00)
7. Spy In The Sky Part 1 (4:47)
8. Revenge Of Dr Komodo (2:35)
9. Last Chance To Hear Part 2 (6:41)
10. Mortal Remains (3:16)
Bonus DVD
1. On The Set With Ben Craven – The Making Of "Last Chance To Hear"
2. The Remarkable Man (Official Video)
3. Critical Mass Part 2 (TuneLeak Video)
4. Revenge Of Dr Komodo (TuneLeak Video)
5. Spy In The Sky Part 1 (TuneLeak Video)

Added: August 11th 2016
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 1814
Language: english

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