Discography Review: Pinnacle
For my second discography review at this blog, I thought that I would review one of the greatest Progressive Rock bands that you may have never heard. I have had the absolute joy of listening to the Prog outfit, Pinnacle, for years, and I have to say that they have become one of my very favorite bands. Their music is both fresh, and exciting, even if it does have many moments of looking back at prog bands of future passed. If you know the band, chances are that your opinion may vary from mine, but you know what they say, "Opinions are like right feet, everyone has them." Well, okay, I don't have a right foot, but I do have an opinion, and what follows is my opinion on the ranking of the four phenomenal Pinnacle albums.
Pinnacle's debut album, "A Man's Reach", is sadly out of print. I say sadly, because I really enjoy this album. And while it does come in at the bottom of the list, as far as favorites in the Pinnacle discography, I still love this album. There is so much here that points to where the band has gone since its release. "Unsung Hero" has some very tasty, melodically beautiful music on it, and may be one of my top favorite cuts in the band's catalog. The lead track, "Timberline" is a feast for the ears, that calls up images of Eric Johnson meets Marillion to me. "A Minstrel In the Gallery" is one of my very favorite Jethro Tull covers, and is very well done by this wildly talented outfit. "Fairytales End" starts off so beautiful, as the band slowly build up into a terrific prog-rock track, that again calls images of Marillion to my ears (I think it's probably that Rothery style guitar work!). As far as a debut album, I think it measures up to the band's later catalog very nicely, and it would be a shame if this one got lost to history.
For Pinnacle's second album, "Meld", fans of the band are treated to a more polished style that the band had begun to develop on their debut album. Once again, there are comparisons to Marillion, and of course Rush, but there is also a style that is clearly all of their own. The band have really seemed to find their niche here, even if the lineup was just a trio, and not quite yet filled out. Each member of the band are performing at the very top of their game, and it really shows in tracks like the opening cut, "Information Overload", the epic "Love In Our Hands", and "Built For Speed". But for me, as I'm a sucker for those huge prog epics, this album's closing track, "The Life In A Year" is my favorite song. This song has everything, including the kitchen sink. And the drums are just about as top notch as anyone could ever hope for. At nearly nineteen minutes, this is without a doubt one song that all progressive rock fans need to hear. If it weren't for "Blueprint", and "Welcome..." this album would be at the top of my list. For a sophomore disc, when most bands are unable to live up to their debut, it's amazing just how good this album is!
The fourth Pinnacle album, and my second favorite, "To Whoever You Are Now" kicks off with some strings, piano, and a beautiful vocal melody, before kicking into one of the coolest keyboard lines I've heard in some time, bringing the full band in. The music is already progressive rock all of the way, something that I of course am I huge fan of. Right off the bat there are so many bands that the opening track make me think of. Around the mid point of "Prelude/Flying Colors" there is a total Pink Floyd vibe, that kicks into a Queensryche feel, and into ELP/Kansas mode, with an incredible Dream Theater sound in the guitar department, before easing into a sound that would be at place on any Rush album. And if that doesn't sum up this amazing band, I don't what does! That's not to say that they don't have a sound all their own. They have a fantastic sound that they have fully developed, and one that really finds its place on the last couple of albums. And while this album doesn't take my number one spot, I'm sure with time that it could. Other highlights are "Because of You" (with that killer guitar intro, and the pretty damned cool drum bit towards the end!),"1001 Days" (one of my very favorite Pinnacle tracks, with its Marillion-esque sound, killer guitar, and organs), "New World View" (AMAZING instrumental track!), the beautiful title-track, and the epic (in every sense of the word!) "Stained Glass".
My favorite Pinnacle album, and the one that introduced me to the band, "A Blueprint for Chaos" is perhaps one of my favorite prog-rock albums of all time. For this album, I think that the band were really firing on all cylinders, and then some. The music on this disc is so expertly written, and performed, and the vocals are absolutely stunning throughout the entire album. I honestly find it to be an outright crime that this album isn't riding high on all radio charts. This disc is that good! The highlight of this album for me is the five part suite "Some Just Sleep". This track is everything that I love about progressive rock: beautiful melodies, intense instrumental passages (drums, guitars, keyboards, bass... all at the top of their game!), and vocals delivered with passion, and true love of the material; not to mention more twists and turns than the worlds longest, and curviest driveway (only Spock's Beard fans are going to get that reference). If you listen carefully I think you'll hear influences from pretty much every classic prog band that ever played (the same can be said of the entire album)! "Some Just Sleep" is the very definition of "epic", as far as I'm concerned! This track alone is worth the price of admission for "Chaos". Other highlights on this one for me, include the beautiful (if all too brief) "Non Dimenticar" (Tony Banks would be proud!), "Music Man" (which has been a favorite of mine since the first listen to this album), "Too Far Gone" (a song that is an epic, melodic beauty to behold), and the album closer "Somewhere Between". Maybe my opinion on this album is a bit biased, as this was my first Pinnacle album, but to me this disc is a masterpiece.
In a world where well written progressive rock is completely ignored by mainstream radio, it's sad to see such a fantastic body of work ignored by the world. But for us fans that know better, I believe that we are all treated with a better caliber of musician, and songs that show more depth, and beauty than anything that you can hear on your FM dial. And leading the pack of relatively unknown bands, I believe, is Pinnacle. A band with more talent than anything topping the charts on popular radio these days. But again, that's just my (and many others) opinion.
A Man's Reach:
Meld:
For Pinnacle's second album, "Meld", fans of the band are treated to a more polished style that the band had begun to develop on their debut album. Once again, there are comparisons to Marillion, and of course Rush, but there is also a style that is clearly all of their own. The band have really seemed to find their niche here, even if the lineup was just a trio, and not quite yet filled out. Each member of the band are performing at the very top of their game, and it really shows in tracks like the opening cut, "Information Overload", the epic "Love In Our Hands", and "Built For Speed". But for me, as I'm a sucker for those huge prog epics, this album's closing track, "The Life In A Year" is my favorite song. This song has everything, including the kitchen sink. And the drums are just about as top notch as anyone could ever hope for. At nearly nineteen minutes, this is without a doubt one song that all progressive rock fans need to hear. If it weren't for "Blueprint", and "Welcome..." this album would be at the top of my list. For a sophomore disc, when most bands are unable to live up to their debut, it's amazing just how good this album is!
To Whoever You Are Now:
The fourth Pinnacle album, and my second favorite, "To Whoever You Are Now" kicks off with some strings, piano, and a beautiful vocal melody, before kicking into one of the coolest keyboard lines I've heard in some time, bringing the full band in. The music is already progressive rock all of the way, something that I of course am I huge fan of. Right off the bat there are so many bands that the opening track make me think of. Around the mid point of "Prelude/Flying Colors" there is a total Pink Floyd vibe, that kicks into a Queensryche feel, and into ELP/Kansas mode, with an incredible Dream Theater sound in the guitar department, before easing into a sound that would be at place on any Rush album. And if that doesn't sum up this amazing band, I don't what does! That's not to say that they don't have a sound all their own. They have a fantastic sound that they have fully developed, and one that really finds its place on the last couple of albums. And while this album doesn't take my number one spot, I'm sure with time that it could. Other highlights are "Because of You" (with that killer guitar intro, and the pretty damned cool drum bit towards the end!),"1001 Days" (one of my very favorite Pinnacle tracks, with its Marillion-esque sound, killer guitar, and organs), "New World View" (AMAZING instrumental track!), the beautiful title-track, and the epic (in every sense of the word!) "Stained Glass".
A Blueprint For Chaos:
My favorite Pinnacle album, and the one that introduced me to the band, "A Blueprint for Chaos" is perhaps one of my favorite prog-rock albums of all time. For this album, I think that the band were really firing on all cylinders, and then some. The music on this disc is so expertly written, and performed, and the vocals are absolutely stunning throughout the entire album. I honestly find it to be an outright crime that this album isn't riding high on all radio charts. This disc is that good! The highlight of this album for me is the five part suite "Some Just Sleep". This track is everything that I love about progressive rock: beautiful melodies, intense instrumental passages (drums, guitars, keyboards, bass... all at the top of their game!), and vocals delivered with passion, and true love of the material; not to mention more twists and turns than the worlds longest, and curviest driveway (only Spock's Beard fans are going to get that reference). If you listen carefully I think you'll hear influences from pretty much every classic prog band that ever played (the same can be said of the entire album)! "Some Just Sleep" is the very definition of "epic", as far as I'm concerned! This track alone is worth the price of admission for "Chaos". Other highlights on this one for me, include the beautiful (if all too brief) "Non Dimenticar" (Tony Banks would be proud!), "Music Man" (which has been a favorite of mine since the first listen to this album), "Too Far Gone" (a song that is an epic, melodic beauty to behold), and the album closer "Somewhere Between". Maybe my opinion on this album is a bit biased, as this was my first Pinnacle album, but to me this disc is a masterpiece.
In a world where well written progressive rock is completely ignored by mainstream radio, it's sad to see such a fantastic body of work ignored by the world. But for us fans that know better, I believe that we are all treated with a better caliber of musician, and songs that show more depth, and beauty than anything that you can hear on your FM dial. And leading the pack of relatively unknown bands, I believe, is Pinnacle. A band with more talent than anything topping the charts on popular radio these days. But again, that's just my (and many others) opinion.
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