new horizons
His own musical influences (Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Jellyfish) shine through - and indeed they don't just shine, they sparkle. Kendall layers and blends a whole range of instruments, plus soundbites, to create a variety of moods, from gentle soulful keyboards to rocking guitars, whilst retaining his own musical identity throughout. The twelve minute epic track 'No More Rain' starts with birdsong inter-twined with delicate chimes and quiet keyboards, which are gradually overawed by an increasingly insistent bass line and explosive Dave Gilmour-esque guitar. About eight minutes into the piece the mood changes, becoming more contemporary and contemplative whilst gently easing into the next track 'The Rose'. Here we have the tinkling piano contrasting with the almost angry rock guitar and vocals - reminiscent of Bon Jovi. 'Not Water', from which the album takes it's name, has a hypnotic intensity which ebbs and flows around the simple yet effective vocals. Another of my favourites is the deceptively simple 'Harvest' - while this is the nearest thing to a sing-along, it does not lose the intricate and distinctive feel of the rest of the album. To sum up, although this CD has it's faults, Root show great promise - the music is complex yet, at it's best, has a wonderful clarity. David Kendall is obviously very talented - both a poet and composer as well as a multi-instrumentalist. 'Dreams of Green' is an impressive first album whose appeal grows the more one listens to it and - at the price - is recommended for those looking to the future of music. I, for one, am certainly looking forward to Root's next release - due later this year.
Marisa Hill
Hard Roxx
Cutting to the chase dear readers, if you like Spocks Beard and Pink Floyd, then Root will appeal to you, indeed the comparison with the former is quite startling. Root is the vehicle for multi-instrumentalist and vocalist David Kendall (DK) who performs everything you hear on the album, so he is an all round clever bloke. Opening number, ’No More Rain’ is nearly 12 minutes of Pink Floyd heaven with Dave Kendall reproducing Dave Gilmour’s guitar sound to a tee. Put Roger Waters’ voice on it and you could imagine the first seven minutes as being an out-take from ‘Wish You Were Here’. At this point the song takes on a rather more contemporary prog feel and a nice keyboard solo. From here the album takes on the Spocks Beard (SB) theme with the electric piano sound favoured by that band on their last album being prevalent, particularly on 'A Rose’. I could go through each of the nine tracks on offer but they tend to follow a similar pattern and don’t stray too far from the SB feel. What is impressive is how DK uses a multitude of instruments to flesh out his sound, there is a lot going on underneath without coming across as too clever clever. I particularly like the groove during It’s True, which is one of my favourite numbers. lndeed the section where it builds into the guitar solo is quite spine-tingling. there is no getting away from it, David Kendall is a talent end a very good musician and with the slight reservations about the vocals in places I would recommend you check this out. I was glad I had plenty of time to live with the album as it grew on me big time.
Hard Roxx
Wondrous Stories
We have an album that is, vocally and instrumentally, entirely the work of Kendall himself. He lists his influences as ‘Yes’, ‘Pink Floyd’, ’Genesis’ and ‘Jellyfish’ and the Floyd inspiration is immediately there to see in the 12 minute opening track No More Rain’ which features sound effects, guitar work and killer keyboards that could have been by the great band themselves. Throughout the nine tracks on display ‘Kendall maintains a very high musical standard with some exquisite guitar and haunting keyboard work. Now vocally he is not the strongest you will hear but this is only a minor drawback as the quality of the material really does compensate. The overall feeling is one of harmony and melody as showcased on ‘So Soon’ but he can also cut loose as shown on the thrilling ‘Not Water’, this guy can certainly play guitar! Obviously, he will have to expand the band if he is to return to a live format and I would say that this has to be the next logical step. An excellent debut and one that promises a great talent developing, ’David Kendall’ is one to watch with great interest.
Terry Craven
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