Thielus Grenon - Platypus on the Prowl

Hear The Track Here

I think that most Soundclick forum regulars will agree that one of the best times on this site was 2004; the site was gaining fresh blood from the collapse of other MP3 sites and the musicians that were already around were eye poppingly good. One of the names that still reverberates from that period is one Thielus Grenon, at the time a prog rock musician in the manner of Sylvan & Bonamici who were elevating the bar for that genre on Soundclick. Personally, I cannot stand prog rock in any form but - when in the hands of masters - even I can take a few listens of it without running for the sick bag. So that should tell you something about the quality of this artist. He's wandered in and out of Soundclick since that time because I reviewed some tracks of his is 2006 but obviously there has been some kind of hiatus in his musical output. The last track I reviewed of his was The October Scale (November 2006) which got a highly recommended from me - principally because Thielus is a rare guitarist.

Platypus on the Prowl is a song about 'a Platypus who doesn’t like chicks with hairy pits' and that should give you a clue that the word to apply here is odd, eccentric even. Certainly the arrangement is one of the most eccentric you are ever likely to hear, lurching drunkenly from one theme to another without any apparent rhyme or reason. In any other circumstances I may have assumed that the musicians were indeed drunk and disorderly but I know this artist of old. He IS odd and eccentric, its one of his trademarks. It's a given that if the name Genesis makes your eyes light up, this track is tailor-made for you - and the greatcoat you live in.

Although it only tops out at two minutes and some twenty seconds there is a whole world to discover in the flowing, incredibly fluid lines from both guitar and bass. According to the song blurb there are four separate sections to this track and I guess it would be a prog rock fans delight to figure them out but I've never been into those kind of brain games. So, I settled for my usual 'yeah but do I like it?' routine and found that - as much as I admire the production and inspired playing - the track leaves me personally a little cold. There again, it is a the soundtrack for a short video Thielus has in the works so maybe that will help me to get into it more. No doubting the quality of the work though.

Short, if effective, slice of prog rock. Highly Recommended (for the genre)