Steve Cochrane - The Purest of Designs

1. To the Glory of Man (6:44) 2. When Music Speaks (5:14) 3-9. Songs for Spring: I. Overture / The Melting Snow II. The Hopeful Seed III. The Flower IV. The Dreadful Weed V. The Storms of Passion VI. The Scent of AfterRain VII. The Garden of Earth's Possibilities (27:26) 10. Dreams of Reason (4:39) 11. The Promise of the Music (15:50)

Total Running Time: 59:32

Steve Cochrane's third album, The Purest of Designs, is an interesting pick process-wise. Although it is his latest release, it very probably is one of the multi-instrumentalist's earliest ideas, and Roland Ivarsson's contributions to the record came to fruition as a result of an Internet relationship. Unfortunately, however, the record is not half as interesting when it comes to its music and lyrics, the latter of which are largely based on author Ayn Rand's ideas, much like Rush's conceptual track "2112" once was.

The Rush relationship, however, doesn't quite stop there. Apart from the fact that both artists are from Canada, there are hints of the legendary trio that appear a couple of times throughout The Purest of Designs, culminating in certain parts of the suite "Songs for Spring" that are strongly reminiscent of A Farewell to Kings; namely "Overture/The Melting Snow" and "The Garden of Earth's Possibilities." And to be perfectly honest, they aren't quite bad at all, but there is already a Rush in existence, and one that does it better than anyone else ever could. That is not, however, the real problem. The main grudge that most listeners will have against The Purest of Designs is a mellifluous candy-coated approach that gets to be too much more than once, too much even for the idealistic lyrical stance that Cochrane gives his work.

And although I'd rather read something from Thomas Mann or Marcel Proust than concern myself with something from Ayn Rand, Cochrane's own reading preferences are none of my business. The record's lyrics, however, are, and they suffer from an all too simplistic naïveté that is further brought down by the musical blandness that dominates the course of the record. Songs like "When Music Speaks" and "Dreams of Reason" suffer particularly, and they eventually managed to unnerve me tremendously and make me wish it all would stop.

Fortunately for me and for my objectiveness, however, it didn't, as the album's last track, the instrumental "The Promise of the Music," left progressive rock behind and switched into an enjoyable new age mode that, although not absolutely unforgettable, certainly made for a good moment of relief. Moreover, for the sake of fairness, it must be said that Cochrane scored a really good one with chapter seven of "Songs for Spring," "The Storms of Passion," which evolves in a neurotic Genesis-like progression that, along with the Rush-like moments of the record, salvage the potential within The Purest of Designs and put it on display, even if it only serves as a small compensation for the rest.

-by Marcelo Silveyra

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