George Roldan

December 14, 2001

From San Diego, CA comes this progressive rock band with elements of pop and metal fused in called Left Coast. This quintet features Neal Hedegard: electric, acoustic & bass guitars; Chris Kokesh: synthesizers, piano & organ; Alan Smithery: electric & fretless basses; Roger Nigg: drums & percussion; Richard Pavelec: vocals; Neal Hedegard and Roger Nigg: produced, engineered and recorded the album at Left Coast studio’s, in San Diego, CA.

This is a wonderful CD that is very listenable and well written. This group is similar in styles of Rush, Queen, and Yes. But believe me, this band is no rip off.  They deliver the goods in the form of their music. There are eleven tracks on this album that are worth listening to; beginning with the first track “Earthquake”. This song features smooth guitar work and great drumming, not to mention the great David Bowie style voice of Richard Pavelec. As a matter of fact, its Pavelec’s deep and clear voice and range that makes this CD worth coming back to many times. Track # 3, “You”, is Left Coasts bid at commercial airplay; this song is indeed good enough to be played on many adult contemporary radio stations. It has a great melody, great guitar playing and a nicely trimmed down accordion style sounding keyboards in the background.  Track # 4, “Moment Of Truth”, is a beautiful melodic piece showing great guitar work being played with feeling. Track #6, “Shadows”, is very well constructed and one of the more progressive pieces on the album; it shows some nice tempo changes and smooth atmospheric change to the flow of the album. Track #9, “Spanish Lover”, is a Spanish style piece featuring congas & bongos and great acoustic and electric guitar work. This is the most notable track on the album, and my own personal favorite. Track # 10, “Rainmaker”, is Left Coasts hardest piece on the album, and my least favorite track on the album. Track # 11, “ Dancing On Crystal”, is an instrumental piece that contains good musicianship and shows good depth.

The only drawback to this album is the drums are mixed in a bit too loud, but the rest of the album is smooth and crisp. This is a good release but it’s not breath taking. The album is refreshing and somewhat upbeat; it’s worth going out to give them a try.  I hope the band keeps going in the same direction and keeps putting out good music.  I rate this album eight out of ten keyboards.