October Tree - 2012 - The Fairy's Wing

(46:47; Canvas Productions)






















Nick Katona is always doing his best to promote albums from the past which he thinks need more time in the spotlight, and one day I was on Facebook and saw him talking about this album from 2012, so I thought it was worth giving it a shot given I never heard it at the time. Something which is fascinating about this release is that although it is credited to October Tree, it is actually Canvas plus the addition of Greg Lounsberry’s wife Tammy on lead vocals, and an appearance by their son Daniel. Everyone apart from Daniel would then appear on the next Canvas album, 2013’s ‘Long Way To Mars’. This album was written by Greg for his wife based on a story he wrote about fairies, as that is what she wanted the album to be about, and for some reason the artwork made me think this would be a prog folk release, but although there are some folky elements, for the most part this is much more middle of the road crossover in its approach.

It is a concept album, which has some wonderfully light moments, such as on the sassy “The Ogre” where Tammy reminds me of Maggie Bell, and that combined with the swagger and bounce of the music and very Seventies keyboards definitely make me think of the much-missed Stone The Crows and is definitely one of the highlights. This doesn’t have the project feel one often gets with studio-based one-off projects as here was a real band, but the music often feels pedestrian with a lack of drive, yet somehow now relaxing either, falling into a middle ground. I was listening to this on headphones, and even so found myself at times drifting away and not really paying attention, coming back when the music did something interesting. Greg may have written this album for his wife, but I am not sure if he really did her justice as she has a lovely voice, but there are just too many times when the arrangement is too leaden and quite contrived (just listen to the bass on “Mortis Urgan” to see what I mean).  Overall this was interesting, but I cannot find any details of a follow-up, and perhaps that is not too surprising.   

Kev Rowland, March 2026

Links:
https://canvasproductions.net/
https://mrrmusic.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tonnen von Hall - 2025 - Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen

Image
(61:45; Iapetus [Unsung Records] ) Track list: 1. Erdmantel 4:05 2. Vorhalle 0:40 3. Antlitz 4:12 4. Stahlhalle 1:01 5. Kraken 5:02 6. Mitralsaal 0:55 7. Kanister 5:56 8. Sockelwald 0:49 9. Kaiserlicht 5:46 10. Schacht 0:43 11. Zivilisationsfolie 4:27 12. Nebelgarten 0:58 13. Donnermesser 6:41 14. Blutrille 1:01 15. Rauschmitte 5:22 16. Klingensaal 0:50 17. Endgegner 3:39 18. Ätzung 0:41 19. Thronfolge 3:09 20. Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen 4:55 21. Herzkammer 0:53 Line-up: Markus Reuter - guitars, loops, sounds Alexander Paul Dowerk - guitars Asaf Sirkis - drums, percussion, vocals Prolusion. Germany based band Tonnen Von Hall was established back in 2022 or thereabouts, and the threesome consisting of Marks Reuter, Alexander Paul Dowerk and Asaf Sirkis has been developing the style and sound of this new formation ever since. The results of that process first came to light on an EP released towards the end of 2024. A few months later the band have now released their debut album ...
Read more

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more