Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Alan Burant: Occam

Alan Burant: Occam

By AAJ Staff
February 1, 2000
Sign in to view read count

Alan Burant is lead and background vox, guitars, keys, percussion, lyric-smithing, Glenn Gray is lead guitars, mandolin, bass, background vox, Corrine Lillo is main keys, background vox, Ian Whitman is bass, fretless bass, and double bass with Scott Arrison on drums and percussion. Mike Spindloe guests on saxophones and Geoff Redman guests on acoustic guitar.

Find within: polished, neo-proggish rock with some prog metal leanings in the lead vox and lead riffage. Lead vox reminded me of a near-Journey/Perry or higher timbred yet relaxedly slick Queensryche/Tate. Vocal stylings leaned many times towards the days of spandex rock crooning. Obviously straight up rock leanings pervaded, especially evident on “More To Realize”, “Mirror Image”, and “Surround”. A few delightful Jade Warrior moments were found on “Total Strangers” and “Occam’s Razor”, with plenty of acoustic guitar magic and effective synth embellishings. Tracks ranged from 2:05 to 16:16 with few purely instrumental tracks. Another group’s sound that comes to mind is the mellower ballads of Saga. The ferocious riffs and chops of Saga are lacking here. A nice touch here and there is the backing feminine vocals of Lillo.

Fans of Journey, Saga ballads, Queensryche, some Supertramp, and most all poppish neo-proggers will find much to enjoy here. I must pass however, desiring less theatrics and bombast in my prog. Still, quite strong and tight work.

Reprinted with the permission of John Collinge and Progression Magazine .

Personnel

Alan Burant

Album information

Title: Occam | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Active Records

< Previous
Ron Carter: Brazilian Charm

Next >
Ipsis Quest

Comments

About Alan Burant

Tags

For the Love of Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.