Since the release of Mostly Autumn’s first album For All we Shared in 1999, I’ve always had the impression that the band was either busy recording or busy touring. Thus, I guess, there’s never a dull moment in the musical life of Bryan Josh and Heather Findlay. After releasing eight studio albums, six live albums and five DVD’s they decided to compile a three-disc package containing their best (?) songs. Bryan, as the main composer and guitarist of Mostly Autumn went to the Fairview Studios to do the remastering with John Spence. Choosing the best songs of their repertoire must have been a hell of a job. Just as difficult for me to give objective critics about this giant production. Being a huge fan of the work of Mostly Autumn, I possess most of their albums, so for me there’s nothing new under the sun. This compilation contains no new songs and the production and mastering of the original recordings were, in my opinion, not bad at all. For those who never heard of the band - which I can hardly believe - this triple album is a real good start, because their interpretation of progressive rock is reflected in the various musical styles on these three CD’s. Surely, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Pendragon and many other bands were a source of inspiration for Bryan and Heather, but they always managed to put something extra in this melting pot of influences. Bryan had a deviating approach for the compilation of this album. He sorted the songs into three different categories, three different moods actually and gave each CD his own name: Something For The Spirit, Something For The Campfire and Something For The Candlelight. The individual songs fit these titles perfectly. Normally I’m ending up a review by giving my personal favourites and highlights, but this time I won’t. I think every Mostly Autumn-song is special and unique, just as the sincere musicians in this band are. ****+ Cor Smeets (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy?
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