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Enchant - Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10
Enchant - Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10
Inside Out Music - 2001
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Throughout their career, Enchant hasn’t liked the label “progressive” attached to them. While they do show many musical aspects of bands like Dream Theater, Kansas and Rush the band likes to think outside the “progressive” spectrum in writing their music. With their latest album Juggling 9 or Dropping 10, this is definitely the case. Through out the album I can hear similarities to bands far out side the progressive world like U2 and The Police/Sting. This is what makes Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 a very noteworthy and mature album and it ended up being a pleasant surprise to my ears.
One of the most important aspects of this album are the very mature lyrics. They deal with a lot of emotional and serious themes, and it makes it refreshing to hear songs that come from the heart. “What to Say” is one example of very mature lyrics. This is one of the songs that reminds me of Sting (my girlfriend likes Sting and this is the only reason I know why it sounds like him).
Another strong aspect is the amazing singing ability of Ted Leonard. His voice is soothing and tranquil, powerful and soaring. His vocal melodies really shine in the beautiful and catchy chorus of “Rough Draft”. The majority of the choruses are simply amazing and it is where Ted really belts it out. I was quickly able to remember all the choruses and I totally sing along. “Broken Wave” is another song that features a superb chorus.
“Bite My Tongue” is the song that reminds me of U2 (I like U2, anything wrong with that?), especially in the introduction. The way that the guitar and bass are played in the beginning it is just totally reminiscent of the Irish band. The instrumental section from 4:05 to 4:39 is amazing! I totally get a tropical vibe when I listen to this part. This song showcases the amazing talents of bassist Ed Platt. “Shell of a Man” is another song where Ed really shows what a great musician he is. “Juggling Knives” is the song that inspired the title of the album. This song is one of the most unique of the entire album. The intro features the bass and the drums (played by Paul Craddick) in a funk music type of feel and then goes off into The Police territory in the verse. The keyboards by Michael Geimer also get to see the spotlight in this song in a very cool solo. This is one of the better songs of Juggling 9 or Dropping 10.
One of the best songs of the album is “Colors Fade”. Despite the title, this is one of the most upbeat songs in the album. The intro is pretty cool. All the instruments come in one by one, starting with an acoustic guitar, the bass, the keyboards, and then the drums. This song also features one of the best guitar solos of the album courtesy of Doug Ott. Finally, I will talk about my favorite song of the album “Paint the Picture”. It features the best intro in the album played by the guitars and keyboards. The guitar solo is excellent and the best of the album. The singing is fantastic and the keyboards add a lot of atmosphere to the song. If I would introduce someone to Enchant, this is the song I would play.
Enchant is another excellent band that is found on the InsideOut Music America label. While Enchant is not really a metal band, they are more of a progressive rock band (yes they don’t like that term but it describes them well), it should appeal to many people. If you want to hear some excellent and mature music give Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 a listen.
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