Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the wait, 2 Jun 2004
It has been over 20 years since the last new album from Woolly & his band Maestoso and the wait has been well worth it. To me it sounds slightly heavier than his previous albums at times, but there is no mistaking it as one of his albums. This is the sound that BJH have been missing since he left them in the late 1970's. Plenty of Mellotron layering various tracks.Stand out tracks are Blood And Bones, A Waiting Game, Souk & Carpet, but that may be to do with the fact that I had heard demos of three of these tracks and the forth track I heard in concert in London in May. The other tracks on the CD do not instantly hit you, but grow on you as you listen to the CD more, each time revealing hidden gems in the sound. If you liked BJH in their heyday of the 1970's you will love this CD
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, melodic music, 23 Oct 2006
Maestoso is the band fronted by ex-Barclay James Harvest keyboards player Woolly Wolstenholme. 2004`s "One Drop in a Dry World" was the first music from Woolly to be released for over 20 years, following his long sabbatical from the music business.
"One Drop" is an album that is as musically rich as Maestoso's other album, "Grim" but, in contrast to that, Woolly seems to have been suffering a great deal of angst that he has vented into his lyrics. Thankfully that does not detract from the enjoyment of the album. The music is often sublime, even on the lyrically darkest pieces, so that some of the highlights actually occur as he pours his heart out. For instance, "It's U", a lyrically vitriolic attack on another's viewpoint, has a really catchy tune; "The End of the Road", chronicling the end of a relationship, has a beautifully haunting melody; "Carpet", full of a lyrical bitterness that eschews the sentiments in "Harbour" (one of Woolly`s love songs for BJH`s "XII" album), ends the album on a powerful, rocky, spiralling mix of guitar and keyboards.
All the songs are credited to Woolly with the exception of "Souk", co-written with Steve Broomhead, the band's fine lead guitarist.. This is a rocky song with an eastern flavour and it's a contender for "best track" along with "Blood and Bones", a brooding song about the meaning of life, and "A Waiting Game".
As is typical of Woolly, "One Drop..." showcases a number of musical styles so it's almost inevitable that most listeners will at some stage stop and think "what the ****?..." For me "ANSS" and ""The Starving People of the World All Thank You for Your Time" are two such moments. I suppose the musical treatment on "ANSS" is appropriate to the message Woolly is trying to convey but I'm glad that "One Drop.." is not full of "Woolly does reggae" moments! "The Starving People..." is actually quite effective, in that the title is the only lyric and is repeated mantra-fashion such that it eats its way into your brain - probably more effective than lots of clever words that would have been instantly forgotten.
Despite these moments and the angst in many of the lyrics what remains in the memory are the beautiful melodies and the superlative keyboards complemented by fine lead guitar. Overall, this is an excellent album. It is a great shame that Woolly had such a long sabbatical from music; all we can now do is enjoy every new release and hope that his legacy lasts.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wooley and post-BJH band are back!, 21 Feb 2005
Following Wooley Wolstenholme's departure from Barclay James Harvest in 1979, after a twelve album career with them, he set about forming his own band Maestoso and recorded an album of the same name. This album contained tracks considered for inclusion on the BJH album X11 but not used and subsequently recorded on the Maestoso album. This excellent album was not strong enough however for Polydor who refused to back another album. So around 1982 Wooley 'retired' to work instead on his own organic farm. This long-awaited return came after a brief reunion with BJH guitarist John Lees, both of whom may work together again in the near future. In the meantime, this album should be enjoyed as a majestic return, with dynamic mellotron sound and superb playing by a band reunited and inspired. Pick of the bunch are Blood and Bones, Souk and The End of the Road. In addition there is a second disc containing extra tracks, including Music for Wind in the Willows and The Angelus which are both beautiful. One has to admire Wolstenholme's belief in his music and band to return after such a long gap. If only all reunions were as good and genuine as this. Long live the music!
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