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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Kino is the new band from "The Urbane"'s frontman John Mitchell. Although sharing some common ground with the two albums by "The Urbane" this is something very different. For those unfamilar with them, "The Urbane" are a modern style rock band in the early "Foo Fighters" and "Radiohead" theme, although Kino are a rock band as well their music seems to be more "rounded". There are so many different styles of music on this album that it is hard to describe them all. For instance, the classic opener "Loser's day parade" (I think it's about the emptiness of life on the rat race) starts with catchy agressive guitar riffs, before going into acapello style funky singing. This then returns to the original riff but this time with a guitar and then a keyboard solo over the original sound. After another bout of solo singing the song ends in a rousing repeated lyric followed by a soaring guitar solo. Most of the songs are generally "Rock" in style although each differs greatly in its style, this album is likely to draw great longevity from this. The final song is something special, a touching piano ballad which would make a good single. In conclusion this is an excellent thinking man's rock band, it's complicated yet still catchy, aggressive, and reflective in equal measure. One thing to remember, "Kino" has been touted as a "super group" due to the inclusion of the bassist from "Marillion", the keyboardist from "It-Bites" and the ex-drummer from "Porcupine tree", and the guitarist from "Arena" and "The Urbane". Fans of these bands may well buy this album for the names alone, however if you do not consider yourself a fan of these bands DO NOT WORRY, this music is strong enough to find an audience without standing on any shoulders.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
One more prog super group, with members from Arena, Marillion, Porcupine Tree and It Bites, with the main difference that all these band members are from England. The pillars of Kino are keyboard player John Beck (It Bites) and vocalist/guitarist John Mitchell (Arena).
Picture, the first album produced by this group is very impressive, leaning slightly to the heavier side of neo-progressive at times, particularly with the impressive (Spock's Beardish) opening track, Losers Day Parade. Most of the rest of the album sounds more like post Fish Marillion with some Arena and Genesis influences and with plenty of good hooks and melodies throughout. Quieter moments are usually held together by Beck's keyboards and Mitchell's impressive and broad-ranged vocals.
The fact that this is not a full-blown progressive album may disappoint some listeners. But for what it is — a rock album with progressive influences - it is very good indeed. Highly recommended.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Because of the people involved the main reason anyone is likely to investigate this album is if they are a fan of Arena (John Mitchell), It Bites(John Beck), Marillion (Pete Trewavas) or Porcupine Tree(Chis Maitland). It's true, the guitar work sounds very like Arena, there are lots of poppy, quirky It Bites moments and some parts do sound like Steve Hogarth should be singing them. But, as often happens, the child may inherit some features of its parents, but it also develops its own identity. In this case, Kino lean much more towards Pop than any of the above bands, often sounding more like Joe Jackson or Sting. The songs do have a progressive element though - usually in the solo middle sections. This is most evident in the nine minute opener which sounds a lot like Spocks Beard towards the end, lest we also forget that Trewavas was also in Transatlantic with Spock's Neal Morse. So, it's more Pop than Prog, but that doesn't mean it's rubbish. The songs are well written, catchy and with that elusive property that makes you want to play them again. In then end, like It Bites before them, Kino probably fall squarely between two stools - too prog for a pop band and too pop for prog rock. Time will tell, Kino expect to be around longer than most supergroups.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant
I really did not want to like this album, because, being an It Bites fanatic, I was not ready to be swayed to John Mitchell's "other" side project. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Nick
Wow - excellent work
I only bought this for the It Bites connection, so perhaps I wasn't expecting it to be fantastic, not least because It Bites have now reformed. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by Mr. Stephen Hall
good stuff but!
John Mitchell is one of the unsung heroes of the rock world. A hugely talented guitarist and can sing a bit too. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2009 by D. Weeks
Dry run for It Bites Reunion ?
Now I have heard the new Tall Ships album by reformed It Bites, this sounds like a dry run.
Full of strong retro (80's) poppy prog but with a 00's twist, excellently... Read more
Full of strong retro (80's) poppy prog but with a 00's twist, excellently... Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2009 by R. W.
hmmmm
There is nothing progressive about this music. There are however, a million prog cliches that are churned out one after the other just for the sake of it, but unfortunately it's... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2008 by D. Clayton
KINO - bloody marvellous!
hey this is bloody marvelous - you ought to have it! John Mitchell is an outtasight guitar player - and the band fuse heavy rock with a beatle-esque pop sensibility - if it... Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2008 by Mr. S. M. Kelly
A Breath of Fresh Air
Prog-Rock in its many forms has been in serious decline since the mid eighties suffering it seems from an image problem and labouring under that damning of all labels,... Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2006 by N. ADAMS
Excellent!!!
Buy this it really great,Too many good songs to pick one... I have always been a massive fan of John Mitchell, who I feel never got the recognition he deserves...
Published on 3 Jun 2006 by P. Linden
Kino - Picture
Being an It Bites fan, I have been slightly frustrated by the lack of an LP/tour since they reformed 2 years ago. Read more
Published on 16 July 2005 by "trevor_down"
Very good effort from this prog supergroup
I was initially in two minds about this album. On the one hand this collaboration of John Mitchell (Arena), Pete Trewavas (Marillion), John Becks (It Bites) and Chris Maitland (ex... Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2005 by Dr. D. B. Sillars
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