Published on May 8, 2002
Okay, I think I’ve got it. After months of listening on and off
to
The Hidden Step, the 2000 release from Ozric Tentacles, I
think I understand what this British prog-jazz band was trying to
accomplish. Correct me if I’m wrong (and, since this is a prog
band, I know people will), but it seems like the group started with
an Egyptian theme in both album direction and music, borrowed some
concepts from Sun Ra and his Arkestra, and decided to push the
envelopes in Egyptian (expanding to more Middle Eastern) music with
musical precision in the streams of jazz and progressive rock.
It all seems to be such a noble effort. If only
The Hidden Step weren’t so goddamned boring.
Whoof, I can feel the heat from the flame mails now. Let me
elaborate before you end up roasting me. In general, I don’t have a
single problem with this project on paper. I admit I know precious
little about Middle Eastern music (especially Egyptian), but I can
appreciate Ozric Tentacles’s passion to bring such a style to the
masses through their unique form of music. I also don’t have a
problem with mixing the worlds of jazz (particularly fusion),
progressive and rock. When done right, it has an absolutely amazing
sound.
And herein lies problem number one with
The Hidden Step. In honesty, this is not a disc that is
interesting to listen to. More often, it sounds like an exercise in
musical excesses for the band’s sake than for the listener’s
enjoyment. Tracks like “Holohedron” and “Ashlandi Bol” all seem to
be perfectly happy meandering about in their own little worlds, not
caring a tinker’s damn about whether the listener will be able to
comprehend and enjoy what is being performed.
That kind of leads into problem number two. While the members of
Ozric Tentacles (who all are featured by first name only in the
liner notes) are undoubtedly masters of their instruments, they
often try to show how well they know their respective musical parts
without mesmerizing the listener. I have no doubt after listening
to this disc about ten times that multi-instrumentalist Ed is a
talented guitarist; he tries to show this often on “Holohedron”.
But as I listened to guitar lick after guitar lick, all I could say
was, “Yeah? So?”
Oh, sure, one could say that this was an example of soloing
without being gaudy. Nonsense. Phish made a career of being masters
of their instruments without seeming like they were trying to
impress people. And as much as people think I hate a band like Yes,
people like Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman could often perform solos
on guitar and keyboard (respectively) that would make my jaw drop
in amazed awe, yet it would never seem like either musician was
trying to put on airs. Maybe that’s a bad phrase; I’m not accusing
anyone in Ozric Tentacles of putting on airs to show how talented
they are. But the precise musicality on this disc is so sterile, it
sometimes sounds like that portion of
This Is Spinal Tap when they turn into a fusion-jazz
combo.
When you boil it down,
The Hidden Step often seems like there’s not a whole lot of
humanity behind the songwriting and playing. I can’t put my finger
exactly on what Ozric Tentacles could have done to make this disc
more approachable, but there is indeed something missing which
could have made this disc much more interesting to listen to. Of
course, fans of Ozric Tentacles will undoubtedly disagree with
every word of this review – and, if they see something in the music
I’m missing, that’s fine. If they’re happy, I’m happy. But for the
casual listener who might want to discover Ozric Tentacles by
picking up this disc, all I can say is, watch
The Hidden Step, it’s a long fall.