Artist: Rich Casey Album: House of Cards Label: Private Release Website: None Reviewer: Chris Piccirillo

Track List: Epic On Planet Earth These Four Walls Move To You Bloodsucker Built With Clay Just Within Reach One-Eyed Jack Leaves The Big Top/Full House Masochists On Parade Never A Time The Last Of The Digital Holdouts In Between The Rewind When Tomorrow Comes No Regrets? (Parts 1 & 2) Rich Casey is a talented keyboardist from Massachusetts and this is his second release of symphonic, keyboard oriented prog rock. His latest release, House of Cards is a 15 song album, comprised of 9 instrumentals and 6 vocal tracks. The album starts with a few instrumental pieces, setting the tone for the album. Sparkling keyboards begin the record, with a short intro entitled “Epic” with horn and guitar patches in a processional style. The next track “On Planet Earth” begins with more solo keyboards but progresses into an up-tempo rock song lead by the ‘guitar’ keyboard patch. Personally, I am not in love with the sound of this patch and would really like to hear an actual guitar playing the line. This song mixes up styles from straight ahead, groove oriented rock to a multi-layered progressive section. The real drums add to the piece and while slightly shift in and out of time, are a welcome addition. Another instrumental follows, entitled “These Four Walls”. Emulating a 12 string guitar, this slow ballad employs use of very “A Farewell To Kings” era sounding synth solo and strings. The first vocal track is “Move To You” and the wonderful, soulful voice of Gabrielle Agachiko really takes this song to another level. Heavily effected piano dominates this song from a sparse and slow verse to a driving and memorable chorus. This tune reminds me of “Brave” era Marillion, in tonality and structure. “Bloodsucker” is an instrumental that begins with an electronic drum pattern and very dark sounding organ playing a rather spooky riff. A second organ sound is syncopated on top and has a total Keith Emerson feel. More layers are added and add to the evil chaos. I definitely get images of vampires while listening to this track. A “guitar” comes in toward the end and I wonder if it’s the keyboard patch or guitar sound, but it just isn’t appealing to me. It sounds very fake and thin. The only male vocal on the album is performed by Mark Helms on the ballad “Built With Clay”. This piano laden track is one of loss and questions conveyed quite well by the emotional delivery of Helms. The track sort of bounces between a Genesis and Echolyn feel, heavy in mellotron and flute samples. The melody is catchy, but would definitely benefit from some harmony vocals and variation of note choice. Again, there are some moments when the drums don’t quite land on the beat and being a drummer, this sticks out to me like a sore thumb. It’s slight and in a few spots but noticeable to me. Gabrielle returns with the hard rocking “Just Within Reach”. This song keeps moving and doesn’t slow down. The drums in the chorus play a nice homage to Neil Peart’s classic ride pattern. The most impressive parts of this relatively straightforward song are the gritty vocals of Agachiko and the great guitar solos put on tape by Walter Stickle. This is probably my favorite track from the album. The hard rock recedes and is replaced by a fat synth sound and very progressive sounding organ. The oddly, yet aptly named “One-Eyed Jack Leaves The Big Top/Full House” is a progressive trip mixed with a circus organ. The progressive section being the 2nd part; “Full House”. It’s a short section, but fun and light. The 4 part “Masochists on Parade” is up next, yet another instrumental which uses the aforementioned “guitar” keyboard patch. It’s a cool riff but I can’t get beyond the patch sound! (Yes, the beating a dead horse award goes to me, I get it.) A locked in programmed drum beat is constant through the song and its various shifts and changes and has a total ‘trio era genesis’ atmosphere about it. Think “In The Air Tonight” or “Duchess”. This is the longest track on the CD and unfortunately, feels that way. I find myself longing for the vocal tracks, since they are the most focused and memorable. However, up next is a short instrumental piece entitled “Never A Time”. This is a slow, piano piece with a definite Tony Banks lilt. Spacey synths float above the piano in a new age fashion, almost reminiscent of early “Shadow Gallery” sound. A great title in “The Last of the Digital Holdouts” is up next, a vocal track about changing and keeping up with the times and the fear that can bring. Again, the wonderful Gabrielle sings confidently and uses her full range to express the character’s reluctance to move forward and stop looking behind him. The simple beginning of church organ and bass leads into a rather forgetful chorus with drums that just don’t seem to be on time. It almost feels like the drummer’s click track wasn’t in synch with the rest of the music or there was no click track used in the recording. It just adds a feeling of uneasiness and distraction. The verses of this song clearly dominate and are the best part of this rather repetitive and uneven track. A short instrumental “In Between” is just that…a breather into the next track “The Rewind”. A very proggy piece with syncopated “guitar” and drum interactions, wildly different feels in various sections, and spoken word vocals coupled with soaring melodies. The drums here are pretty impressive and right on time, playing interesting and tricky tom fills. The chorus is totally “Magenta”, with the 2 female vocalists sounding very similar in this section. I can’t say enough about Gabrielle’s wonderful vocals and her addition to this CD is crucial to it’s success. Her range shown especially on this song is very impressive and engaging. The last vocal song “When Tomorrow Comes” is a pretty sparse piece; consisting of synth pad and harpsichord sounds underneath a longing vocal. The song sings of finally finding a love and the peace of mind accompanying that discovery. The keyboard/horn sounding solo at the end has a Wakeman-esque choice of notes to it, ala the “Tormato” album. This new agey piece leads into the albums closer, a short instrumental “No Regrets”. This track begins with melancholy piano and synth strings and is a very relaxing and soothing tone. Midway through the piece, things turn darker with the addition of more instruments, but then resolves itself on a more upbeat note. A very “interesting” ending to the album. Overall, this record is very uneven for me. The vocal tracks are clearly the standouts here. Wonderful vocal performances from both singers really outweigh the instrumental tracks. In fact, I felt that there was no overall flow to the album; it sounds rather disjointed and the instrumentals feel forced. I would love to see Rich work with Gabrielle on a fully vocalized album. The recording, while decent for a home studio has some weak spots, notably in the drums and synth-guitar parts. The drums sound thin and distant while the overtly electronic keyboard representation of a guitar just doesn’t sound convincing. The vocal songs are extremely well written, and while I believe they could benefit tremendously from some more vocal harmonies, the melodies are strong and memorable. While I am not in love with the sonic production of this album, but the packaging is fantastic. The artwork and layout is fantastic and very professional looking. One would be hard pressed to see that it was a self-released CD from just seeing the packaging. I think Mr. Casey is primed for a very stellar release, but this one just falls short for me. Band Members: Rich Casey – All Keyboards & Synthesizers, Electric Guitar, Bass Synth, 12 String Emulation on tracks 3 and 12 Guest Performances By: Walter Stickle – Guitar Solos/Textures on Track 7 Joe Whalen – Drums on Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 Tony Caliendo – Drums on Tracks 11 & 13 Gabrielle Agachiko – Lead Vocals on Tracks 4, 7, 11, 13, 14 Mark Helms – Lead Vocal on Track 6