Scott's Song by Song #52: Myth of Logic: The Memory of After

Welcome to issue #52 of Scott’s Song By Song (#scottssongbysong).For more information about this series, click here: https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk

Today, I am checking out an artist I had not heard of until I received a request for a review from Anne-Claire of Bad Dog Promotions, with whom I have had a loose association for several months now.  She has such a large and wonderful slate of artists that she sends me, I just don’t have time (unfortunately) to review them all.  But something stuck out with this one.  I realized that the man behind the project, Scott G. Davis, not only shares my first name, but resides in the area where I grew up, the Tampa Bay area of Florida.  While I grew up in Clearwater/Dunedin, he lists St. Petersburg as his hometown.  They are in the same county, and I began my college career in the mid 80s at what is now known as St. Petersburg College (then known as St. Petersburg Junior College).  So I had to check it out.  He calls his project Myth of Logic, and this is his fourth album under that name.  According to his bio, he had the idea for the “band” since the 90s, but never acted on it until his friend Jim Beilman encouraged him to make something happen in 2021.  By 2022, he had released the first album, called “Surrounded by Ghosts” on which he played and sang everything.  It was the first part of a trilogy, with parts 2 (“Pictures from a Previous Dream”) and 3 (“Light at the End”) coming in 2023 and 2024 respectively. This album, “The Memory of After” is set to be released on November 14 of this year.  According to the information I received, the album is built on the following concept: “This story-driven album follows our heroine, Mercy, as she decides the fate of everyone on Earth”, intriguing!  Furthermore, the cover art is done by an artist many of you reading this may recognize from Facebook, Charlie Roy.  Davis says his main influences are classic 70s proggers like Genesis, ELP, Rush, Kansas, Yes and Saga.

This is the first album on which Davis has guest musicians credited as follows:

- Scott G. Davis / keyboards, bass, electric & acoustic guitars, vocals

With:

- Chris Barbosa / violin (1,8)

- David Pate / tenor saxophone (6)

- Jerry Outlaw / lead guitar (7)

- Louis Alexi / drums & percussion

- Tara Jennings / voice-over (8)

Disclaimer:

While Anne-Claire sends me the music files, there is no other compensation for the reviews I do of albums she sends me.  I am free to “call it like I hear it”.

Without further ado let's take the plunge.  This is a cold listen with the exception of listening to the first minute or so of “An Empath in Exile” on YouTube.

Track 1 - Keep a Silent Watch (14:41)

This is one of four tracks that are greater than 9:40 in length.  This begins with a quiet synth part giving it a bit of an eerie vibe. At around 40 seconds a piano joins in with melodic chords. At around 2:15, bass and drums take over on an exciting, syncopated riff.  The bass tone seems influenced by Chris Squire and/or Geddy Lee.  An organ part joins next, joined soon by guest violinist Chris Barbosa, giving it strong Kansas vibes.  The groove changes around 3:50, this is an epic introduction to an epic track. At around 4:15, the tempo cuts to a half-time feel.  At around 4:45 there is a new, proggy organ riff. The rest of the instruments build on it.  He begins singing at around 5:10, and the tempo is quick.  His voice is moderately high and clear.  I’d say his voice range is similar to Greg Lake or John Wetton, but with his own personality.  There is another rhythm change at around 6:45 and we have an instrumental break with Violin, then guitar taking the spotlight, built on an organ riff.  By 7:50, the synth is on top.  The Kansas feel continues.  I am loving this!  Another verse follows the break. The syncopated riff from earlier comes back at around 10:00.  In addition to Kansas, I can detect the Genesis influence as well. Half time returns around 11:50 and I am reminded of Marillion’s “Lavender’s Blue”. Great synth run just before 13:00!  Things build to a climax then calm down around 13:20.  There is a rhythmic synth sequence keeping momentum for a while but it fades out before the song fully concludes.  WOW!!  That is fantastic prog!  Anyone who loves 70s symphonic prog will surely love this.  If the rest of the album is this good, we are in for a treat!

Track 2 - Shadow Box (9:42)

This one has a piano intro with some jazz chords, evoking a Keith Emerson flavor.  A moderately slow beat kicks in at around 40 seconds.  That could possibly be mellotron backing the vocals along with bass & drums.  The drums (played by Louis Alexi)  are playing a lot of fills as we go along. Vocal harmonies hit at around 2:30.  The beat changes and gets faster around 3:20 and we have a brief synth feature before vocals return. This one has a “Lamb Lies Down” feel to it, evidenced by the organ riff.  The synths at around 5 minutes sound like fat analog ones.  I believe we are in a meter of 5 here, then it changes to 6. Alexi is doing a great job of navigating the time changes in this instrumental break. Solo piano returns around 7:25, joined by organ, then the bass & drums.  Davis really pays homage to classic prog, yet maintains his own voice as a composer.  There is a grand half-time section as we approach the closing of the track.  There is a quick-tempo piano bit just before the song ends.  More great classic-style prog here!

Track 3 - An Empath in Exile (4:33)

This is the one I took a sneak peek of.  Only Davis and Alexi on this track as well. It begins with an intro that reminds me of Head East’s “Never Been any Reason”, but proggier.  The groove is driving at a moderately fast tempo as the vocals begin. At 1:30 there is a cool synth fill leading to the chorus.  Davis is a fantastic multi-instrumentalist!  The synth run between 2:30 and 2:35 is terrific, making me say “Whoo!” out loud!  I like the harmonies as the song reaches its climax.  The synth riff afterward is wonderful!  Another great track!

Track 4 - Machine Language (4:14)

This begins with staccato keyboard chords, joined by the rhythm section before the vocals begin.  The guitar is a little more prominent in the second part of the verse. The staccato riff returns for the next vocal section.  The guitar riffs make this one slightly heavier than the previous 3. At around 2 minutes there is a moment of vocal harmonies, followed by an instrumental break with some shifting meters.  Another round of verse/chorus follows.  Good track, maybe not quite as strong as the first three, but still good.

Track 5  - Disconnect (4:53)

This one fades in on a synth crescendo, before they lock into a groove. There is a bit of lead guitar between the verse and chorus.  This one has a driving rhythm.  I’d say Rush is the biggest influence on this one, particularly, rhythm-wise.  Nice synth, then organ solo in the middle. Guitar follows.  This is another strong track, but still not quite as good as the three opening tracks.

Track 6 - The Sky Is Falling (6:40)

Terrific piano playing starts this one off; I wonder if Davis is a classically trained piano player.

 David Pate joins Davis and Alexi on tenor sax here as the rhythm section joins.  Vocals begin at around 50 seconds. This one is moderately slow, and his vocals take on a bit of a dreamy tone.   Pate lends a wonderful sax solo in the middle.   I like the melodic contour of the vocals.  At around 5:20 there are some cascading arpeggios in the guitar and piano parts.  Pate takes another sax solo to bring us to the song’s close.  Pretty good track.

Track 7 - Mercy Paradox (15:20)

Back to the epics for the final 2 tracks! Guest musician Jerry Outlaw is on lead guitar here.  A spooky synth part that oddly reminds me of the intro to “Ghostbusters” (Ray Parker Jr.) commences the festivities here. Then at 20 seconds, we have an explosion of proginess.  The vocals start after the 1 minute mark. The vocal harmonies at around 1:40 remind me of Styx.  There is an occasional measure of 6-4 breaking up the 4-4.  At around 3:10 the keyboards take the spotlight.  I love his bass tone, it reminds me of Dave Meros of Spock’s Beard (who was influenced by Chris Squire). The mood changes just before 5 minutes, to a mellow dreamy tone, and Outlaw’s guitar solo begins with some Holdsworth style whammy bar work.  The solo is over a sustained wash of synth tones with only a hint of timing.  Outlaw’s style has Steve Vai influences as well.  The vocals return to this soundscape at around 7:45.  The drums give us a subtle sense of movement.  The vocals and guitar do a bit of call and response in this segment.   The intensity is slowly building around 9:45.  Outlaw is a very fluid player.  At 10:19 the “band” hits some big chords and then the prof riffing returns in a very complex flurry of precision playing.  The next verse starts by 11:40.  They recapitulate parts from earlier in the song.  Nice drum fills around the 13 minute point, backing the synth in a grand half-time finale segment. Things quiet down at around 14:20, and  gives us a peaceful final minute with a melodic bass part backed by synth sequences.  This one is on the level of the opening tracks.

Track 8 - The Skeleton Flower (19:44)

On the closing epic, which is the longest on the album, Chris Barbosa returns on violin, and Tara Jennings is the narrator.  A foreboding synth and low notes on an acoustic guitar starts it off, with plenty of reverb. A bell rings and Tara begins narrating. Her voice could be a little more prominent.  I believe she is representing the protagonist named Mercy.  Just before 3 minutes a big musical theme begins, complete with violin. Then a faster one follows. It is prog-tastic. The keyboard playing, in particular, stands out.  This has the feel of an overture of things to come.  At about 5:20, a new section begins.  Vocals enter at around 5:45. The music and vocal melodies and harmonies are terrific!  A new section begins at around 8 minutes.  The tempo remains quick for a good while.   At 11:10, the organ stands alone for a moment, then the rest join back in.  The violin is featured afterward. The tempo changes at around 12 minutes to a slower one.  But only briefly.  At 12:30 everything but piano drops out in a dramatic fashion.  Davis sings along after a moment. The rest of the instruments return at around 14:30, with a big half-time feel.   At 5:14, it suddenly gets fast with a phenomenal synth solo. There is a very cool part at around 16:40.  The tempo gets even faster around the 17 minute mark with violin taking the lead. Another dramatic segment happens just after 18 minutes. Sustained chords take us to the end.  Brilliant epic!  Great prog!

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

I am very glad that I chose this album to review.  This is the work of a man who KNOWS how to prog!  While his influences clearly come through in his music, he makes his own voice heard!  He seems to be the strongest on keyboards and bass, and his vocals are quite good.  If you have never heard Myth of Logic (Scott G. Davis) before, and you love classic prog, I highly recommend this album.  Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 are all amazing, while tracks 4, 5, and 6 are still good, even if not quite as good as the others.  I give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars!  Check out the links below!

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Prog On!

Scott

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Links for Listening (and buying)....

First, here is the Bandcamp page where you can pre-order the album: https://mythoflogic.bandcamp.com/ 

YouTube Videos:

“An Empath in Exile”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2HPuPrRi7U

“Disconnect”

https://youtu.be/ObsjlOQQIB8