ALL ABOUT EVE ‘Iceland’ (All About Eve/Voiceprint 2002)
It's difficult to assess the appeal of this, a seasonal offering from the much-lauded eighties folk to prog rockers.
In the pre-publicity, vocalist and band spokesperson Julianne Regan is at pains to point out this is a winter
not a Christmas album, but with the inclusion of four Christmas-related tracks (out of seven) it does stretch the
proposition a bit.
All About Eve are another band doing their own thing away from the glare of a large label after their painful experiences with
Phonogram a decade or so ago but they have competition these days from bands like Karnataka and Mostly Autumn who
are fast inheriting their folk to prog mantle.
That doesn't mean to say we should give up on them just yet but with Marty Wilson-Piper missing from the current formation they
are going to find it more difficult. The addition of contemporary stylings to their old chestnut 'December' is interesting and the remix cool, 'Melting' brings to mind a latter day Sam Brown and is therefore
derivative, but all in all this is good fan fodder and that's about it.
***** Out of this world | **** Pretty
damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly
