(Neo-Prog) Grey Lady Down / The Crime - 1994, FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

In 1992, vocalist Martin Wilson, keyboard player Louis David, and guitarist Julian Hunt were in a band called Shadowland. When bass player Sean Speer, and drummer Mark Robotham joined, they realized there was another band using the Shadowland name. Not wanting to run into this problem again, they chose to name themselves after an obscure 1978 movie, starring Charlton Heston, and a pre-Superman Christopher Reeve. Thus GREY LADY DOWN was born.
They became well known around Oxford, and even distributed large numbers of demo tapes to far corners of the world. This led to them Phoenix Studios in 1993. The seven songs that were recorded would become the makeup of their debut album. A rigorous tour, and a performance at the Marquee Club, resulted in signing a two-album deal with Griffin/Cyclops. The Phoenix recordings were released as "The Crime" in early 1994. The supporting tour had GREY LADY DOWN opening for such acts as Jadis, and The Enid. The live shows were very well received, and the year ended with The Classic Rock Society awarding them with the "Best New Band" title, and "The Crime" taking third place in the "Best New Album" category.
With new material having been written during the previous year, the band entered The Warehouse studio in 1995. "Forces," produced by Tim Turan, was released in June. Many critics were pleased with the sophomore effort as well. Wonderous Stories even awarded it a 6 out of 6. More accolades followed. GREY LADY DOWN came in fourth for 'Best Band,' and second for 'Best Album,' in the Classic Rock Society rankings. They were also Cyclops' best selling act. The performance at The Marquee club was also one of the most successful by a non-mainstream band. This led to a Christmas show at the Astoria Theatre. Unfortunately, this was also Louis David's last appearance.
Mark Westworth was brought in to fill the keyboard slot, and the band prepared to tour Europe, and the U.S. in 1996. Before hitting the States, Julian Hunt had to leave due to personal issues. Sphere's Steve Anderson was brought in as a temporary replacement, but it ended up a permanent assignment. This would be the lineup for 1997's "Fear," again produced by Tim Turan. Technically, their contract with Cyclops had already been fulfilled. However, they were Cyclops' biggest seller, so keeping them on the label was a no-brainer. The reviews for "Fear" were again positive, and the supporting tour had them playing with Mastermind, and Ars Nova.

Ok, mea culpa. When I bought this CD last year I just gave it a couple of spins and thought it was too much of a derivative band, another Marillion-wanna-be. A few weeks ago I picked it up again and this time I decided to give a little more attention. And I was completely surprised how good The Crime really is! Although their sound is very much that 80´s neo prog style, they still delivered in a fine, modern way.
Grey Lady Down is a tight unit, everything working for the music. They are fine players, but nothing is overblown, which is a big quality in the prog field. I specially liked Julian Hunt´s guitar playing which relies much less in the Steve Hackett/David Gilmour sytle than most of his neo prog peers. He is very soulful, with some excellent melodic solos, but he also adds some hard edge riffs here and there, giving the songs a boost when they call for it. He is not that kind of a million notes a minute guitarrist, he uses his fine skills to enrich the tunes rather than just showing off. The same goes for keyboards player Louis David, who does some tasteful keyboards runs that remind me of Tony Banks or Mark Kelly, without aping neither. The rhythm section is precise and Martin Wilson has a fine voice, with that dramatic tone so beloved in the neo prog field.
There are no real highlights on this CD, but I´d li8ke to point out their longer tracks, The Ballad Of Billy Grey and The Fugitive, both a great showcase for the band´s ability to write great, melodic and varied tunes. Yes, they are not very original, neither groundbreaking, and still The Crime sounds very convincing, refreshing and full of passion. So it´s a must have for any neo prog fan. Or anybody who likes good prog music in genera

- Mark Robotham / drums
- Louis David / keyboards
- Julian Hunt / guitar
- Sean Spear / bass
- Martin Wilson / vocals