Artist: Cairo
Label: Magna Carta
Release: 1994
Rating: 4/5
In the early and mid-1990s, symphonic rock made a big comeback. That’s not all that strange, considering symphonic was the most popular of all the progressive rock subgenres. What’s stranger is that a lot of symphonic bands popped up in the US, which wasn’t exactly known for its symphonic acts in the seventies. For the most part, this revival period was based mainly on imitating bands like Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant. Maybe that’s exactly why Cairo are so interesting. They clearly took their cues from the pompous style of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. There were probably more bands geeking out over those three madmen, but Cairo were one of the few with the chops to play this fast and this well.
The most obvious thing, of course, is the influence of Keith Emerson on Mark Robertson’s playing. Some would even claim Cairo are an Emerson, Lake and Palmer clone, but that would be painting with too broad a brush. Their music has plenty of other elements that make it worth a closer look. The standout here is the excellent guitarist, whose style is some wild mix of Steve Vai, John Petrucci and Steve Howe. Fuhrman is a pretty typical “shredder”, i.e. a fast-fingers guy, and those usually don’t do much for me, but with Cairo it works. It kind of shows you how ELP would sound if Hendrix had been playing in the band. Sure, Hendrix had his roots more in blues, but for his time he was (and then some) what the guitarists mentioned above are now. The canon-style singing is interesting too, since you don’t hear it in rock very often. The singer gets help with it from the bassist and the guitarist. Even more present than the canon singing is the multi-part harmony singing, where the two backing vocalists sometimes carry different melodies from the lead singer. Cairo are a seriously strong outfit when it comes to “choral” singing, and that makes up somewhat for the lack of good enough melodies. The most noticeable thing, of course, is Mark Robertson’s keyboards, which bring Keith Emerson’s spirit back to life with his Hammond and piano bits. Now and then his style (especially on the synthesizer) recalls Rick Wakeman. The rhythm section is nothing special; the bassist and drummer do their job well, but nothing more. The only things that catch the eye are the occasional unusual and interesting electronic percussion.
The album’s opening track is an instrumental with an alluring oriental flavor and gives no hint of what’s coming. Two very good tracks follow when it comes to vocal melodies. Those are usually their weak spot, but these two are probably their best on that front. The annoying part is that the chorus drags on way too long at the end and spoils the overall impression a bit. The next two tracks are already a lot weaker – all virtuosity and too few ideas. Luckily, the lyrics are mostly very good, and that saves the day quite a bit. And the best for last. An epic composition that could easily be called “Son of Tarkus” is their most complex work so far. The structure isn’t simple like on many of their songs, and it’s not just aimless soloing. The track is interesting from both a structural and a melodic standpoint, and for me it’s the peak of their output. Of course, plenty of tricks are lifted from Keith Emerson, but the composition is polished and inventive enough that you forget about it pretty quickly.
Cairo are one of the most interesting bands to show up in recent times. The fact that they borrow heavily from Emerson, Lake and Palmer isn’t that bothersome, since there’s plenty where they differ from them. Their music has a lot of pomp and arena rock elements, so they could win over listeners who want something bombastic with instant impact. I recommend the album to all lovers of Hammond organs and wild shredding on them. It’ll also please those who prefer the kind of progressive rock that’s constantly dynamic and doesn’t swing so much between faster and slower sections. The most annoying thing is that the album often turns out overblown and forcedly dramatic.
Lineup
Mark Robertson – keyboards
Alec Fuhrman – guitars and backing vocals
Bret Douglas – lead vocals
Rob Fordyce – bass and backing vocals
Jeff Brockman – drums and electronic percussion
Tracklist
1. Conception 2:10
2. Season Of The Heart 10:13
3. Silent Winter 8:25
4. Between The Lines 9:25
5. World Divided 10:16
6. Ruins At Avalon’s Gate 22:35
Album length: 63:39
