Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: IQ
Label: Giant Electric Pea
Release: 1989
Running time: 50:52
Rating: 3/5
»Are You Sitting Comfortably« was IQ’s second and last album with Paul ‘P.L.’ Menel behind the mic. These days the cult neo-prog band understandably rarely brings up this stylistically rather out-of-character effort, which was recorded shortly after a tour with the famous Mike And The Mechanics, where IQ got the support slot. At modern gigs, for instance, you haven’t been able to hear songs from this record in ages, which wasn’t exactly surprising after original singer Peter Nicholls came back and the band rebuilt its solid prog rock foundations. »Are You Sitting Comfortably?«, packed with traces of new wave and pop rock, was in many ways a stylistic continuation of its predecessor »Nomzamo« (1987), except that most of the compositions here, with the band chasing commercial appeal harder, came off a notch less inspired, mainly because of the heavier dose of melodic arrangements.
The problem wasn’t that the members of IQ were incapable of writing some more commercially minded and potentially interesting pop-flavored tunes, but that most of them were played without any real fire or chemistry, as if the band wanted to break onto the radio charts at all costs, while bashfully flirting with its prog roots at the same time. While listening to »Are You Sitting Comfortably?« it often feels like the band is forcing a stylistic change way too hard and without sincerity, carelessly tossing pop rock elements into its recognizable symphonic prog seasoning and strolling transparently through the emotions, with a convincing ambience only rarely emerging. Of course, most longtime fans weren’t exactly thrilled when »Are You Sitting Cofortably?« came out.
Not a whole lot of the traditional IQ sound is left in this phase, apart from the distinctive guitar passages courtesy of Mike Holmes and the occasional solo flashes from keyboardist Martin Orford, who on this album is ‘demoted’ to a purely supporting role a few times. The rhythm section doesn’t stretch itself much over most of the record, drummer Paul Cook especially, though at least bassist Tim Esau, who left the band for several years after this album, shows some technical progress compared to past outings. As for Menel, who was never a particularly happy choice of vocalist, it has to be admitted that he made up for his noticeable lack of vocal charisma next to Nicholls by having a voice that fit the band’s more commercial direction a bit better.
The opening anti-war call »War Heros« was a rather pale start to the album by usual IQ standards, a composition where the atmosphere, despite the typically very good technical execution, never really develops in the right direction and mostly comes off as a kind of warm-up for… nothing in particular. The openly commercial »Drive On«, which was also released as a single, was a pretty average attempt at creating a (failed) pop rock hit with simple rhythmic seasoning and an anthemic chorus. On the just-over-two-minute symphonic prog instrumental »Nostalgia«, that trademark dark IQ atmosphere, which this album is chronically short on, finally comes to life for a brief moment, and Holmes and Orford treat themselves to some welcome improvising. »Falling Apart at the Seams« is yet another odd prog pop hybrid with a noticeable It Bites stamp, trying to merge both worlds but, despite a promising intro, leaving mixed feelings in the end. »Sold On You« is a cheerful, lovey-dovey pop rock ballad and one of the most commercial creations in IQ’s entire history. It’s also one of those songs fans most often, and rightly so, forget about.
Even more anemic is the next love ballad, »Through My Fingers«, where things get a little repetitive for lack of real ideas. »Wurensh« is one of the few tracks on the album that sounds interesting and deserves a bit more attention, since it has quite a few of the traditional IQ symphonic prog finesses, making it seem like the band has suddenly found ‘itself’ again, even if the whole thing is nearly spoiled by a rather limp chorus delivered by an at times fairly annoying Menel. The solid closer, »Nothing At All«, one of the few successful prog pop hybrids on the album, with just the right balance of synth textures against a melodic chorus, also deserves credit for patching up somewhat the very average impression left by most of the »Are You Sitting Comfortably?« songs. So it’s no surprise that a live version of »Nothing At All« shows up as a bonus track on the CD edition of »Are You Sitting Comfortably?«.
IQ’s various, mostly unsuccessful attempts to morph into a hybrid prog pop rock band, which peaked on »Are You Sitting Comfortably?«, were thankfully short-lived and ended with Menel’s (expected and welcome) departure. The credibility of the cult neo-prog band, which only returned to the scene in 1993 with the superb album »Ever«, when Nicholls came back and Esau’s successor Jon Jowitt showed up, was badly dented by the end of the eighties, and it soon became crystal clear to Holmes, Orford and Cook that flirting with pop rock isn’t what fans want. From here on, to the delight of most fans, IQ’s artistic drive shot steeply upward again.
Lineup
Paul Menel – vocals, backing vocals, tambourine
Mike Holmes – guitar, guitar synthesizer
Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals, saxophone, flute
Tim Esau – bass guitar, bass pedals, backing vocals
Paul Cook – drums, percussion
Production
Terry Brown
Track list
1. War Heroes (6:26)
2. Drive On (4:57)
3. Nostalgia (2:22)
4. Falling Apart at the Seams (7:47)
5. Sold On You (4:40)
6. Through My Fingers (5:30)
7. Wurensh (9:37)
8. Nothing At All (4:46)
Bonus track:
9. Nothing At All (live) (4:43)
