G Clef Fusion, aka Chuck Moyer, finally did it. He incorporated it in previous releases, but now, with the release of Tales from the Long Tail, G Clef Fusion dives headfirst and fearless into the realm of melodic, precise but boundless, long-form progressive rock. With a title that recalls two oft-cited progressive rock masterpieces (Trick of the Tail and Tales from Topographic Oceans), the ninth part of G Clef Fusion’s Experiments and Explorations series is a multi-part, 20-ish-minute epic comparable to those wrought and expressed during rock’s most experimental, elemental phase. Ready to indulge in music as a boundless, limitless force featuring classical architecture and aural world-building? Let’s hit the highlights.
Here’s what grabbed us:
Tales from the Long Tail consists of 30 parts, but because I’m not seeing any time breaks, it’s hard to determine where one part begins and another ends. This is not unusual, as it simply takes time to become familiar enough with the piece to eventually determine separation. I can, however, say this: It begins with piano, classically adept and moving, and a thick, swirling organ creeps in. There are odd meters and earthy lower arpeggios – the stuff of Keith-you-left-us-too-soon-Emerson and his equally talented ELP bandmates.
As we encounter each trial and tragedy, every hard-fought victory experienced by those dwelling in Long Tail, the music, throughout its sequential pieces, ebbs and flows. At about 10:30, there’s a more reserved passage until cathartic organ and piano strikes rumble beneath a streaking analog-synth lead.
At about 14:07, underneath piano and organ, is blistering bass responses. It’s very John Entwistle-esque with its pulsing double-finger picking. Good stuff.
At the 17-ish-minute mark, there are arpeggios mimicking rapidly flailing wings before a slower, almost reserved jazz section brings us to a calmer but still very alert state. And when the album ends, it’s gentle, almost abrupt, twinkling with earlier themes, and then complete.
But is it good?
Folks, music is more than that easily digestible, vacuous and cliched ear candy epitomized by most “popular” artists. It can open the gates to new worlds, and take you throughout emotional highs and lows while themes build, traverse, and crescendo. G Clef Fusion has successfully created the ultimate expression of music: the kind that has no boundaries. The progressive kind. HIGHLY recommended.
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