Metaphor – Starfooted

“Baby’s so serene, like a goddamn beauty queen” How someone could not fall in love with this album is beyond me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited about an album. Starfooted is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. It rates up there with King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King and Pendragon‘s Masquerade Overture. In fact, I loved it so much, that after the first listen I contacted Guitarist Malcolm Smith to set up an interview with him.

There is not a weak moment on this album. Every song has its place, every second of every song is pure pleasure on the ears and the mind.

As it is part of being human to compare things, the first parallel one will draw while listening to this CD is the Genesis influence. Not that it sounds like what Genesis did, but rather like what Genesis would be doing now if Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel had stayed… And if Phil Collins had continued playing drums. Yet that’s the only parallel one can draw: The rest is totally original.

I couldn’t begin to say which song is my favorite, every song has its high points. Also, it being a concept album, everything fits in together. The story itself is courtesy of Singer John Mabry. Rather than attempt to explain it myself, I asked John about it. Please read the interview for his explanation.

The music is superb and executed with style. Everyone has a place. There are a lot of exchanges between the various instruments. And, believe me, these guys can play!

The lyrics are intelligent. Such word smithing as “I am the first, I am the last/I am the barren, but I’ll breed many nations/I am the revered, and yet I got no class/I am the whore, I am the holy/I am the only comfort in my own travail” (Ladder From the Sky), or “And I came down from heaven on the same ladder that she took, only to find her and to bring her back home if I could/And to all the myriad sparks of God held captive in mortal flesh I will the secrets of the ages, so that they might find their rest/So yes I came here to find you and to give you a way to be free/And just to thank me you nailed all of my limbs to a tree” (The Illusion of Flesh (Why Krishna Can’t Tie His Shoes)). Love the title, by the way.

The combination of the music and the lyrics is something you’ll be listening to for years to come. If you buy only one CD this year, buy this one.