For those not in the know, Prog ensemble The Far Cry has released their debut album If Only ....

Though not intended in any way to be a concept” album, If Only ... very much exhibits a connecting common thread of human emotion and perspective meeting real human conditions.

Apparently, some people just won’t give up on long held goals and aspirations. Jeff Brewer and Robert Hutchinson, co-conspirators behind the inception of what was to become The Far Cry, can vividly recall the musical awakening that occurred in their younger days when The Beatles landed and with all that followed.

Soon thereafter, they each were even more deeply moved by the emergence of the Progressive Rock bands of the early 70’s, most notably King Crimson, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis and Gentle Giant.

Jeff and Hutch first crossed paths around 1976 with the formation of a short-lived rock covers band. Common ground occurred later, though not simultaneously, when both were members of Connecticut prog-rock band Holding Pattern, Hutch as co-founder from 1980-83 and, after Hutch left the band, Jeff joined as lead vocalist and percussionist from 1984 to 1993 when the band ceased operations.

Fast forward to 2013 when Hutch purchased a speaker cabinet Jeff had for sale. In the attendant dialogue, the pursuit of the likely impossible was quickly broached and a decision was made to chase the dream just one more time. Thus the seeds for The Far Cry were sown.

Unfortunately, due to the ambitious and stylistic nature of the music they were pursuing, connecting with suitable personnel to complete the band lineup was met with recurring difficulty and disappointment.

Eventually, the duo decided to enter the recording studio to get the material up and running. Guitarist Bryan Collin had already been in contact, having answered a Craigslist ad, and was amenable to playing on the recordings.

As he did so, he became intrigued and more strongly connected to the music and the band concept. Certainly his stellar contributions and playing on the If Only ... CD demonstrate that. Bryan Collin was now The Far Cry guitarist.

Still, a highly competent keyboardist was required. Studio owner and master engineer John Bolduc was asked if he knew of any keyboard man who could properly interpret and perform the music he was hearing.

John responded instantaneously: Chris Dabbo. No time was wasted in contacting him. At first, Chris came on as a session man but very quickly demonstrated his impressive skill set as well as a connection to and understanding of the music.

All involved were highly enthused and Chris was drafted in as keyboardist for The Far Cry.

Hence, the If Only ... CD is a result of a step by step evolution by what has now become a fully formed membership. Robert Hutchinson, Jeff Brewer, Bryan Collin and Chris Dabbo are the artists that comprise The Far Cry. The future awaits

1. The Mask Of Deception
2. Programophone
3. Winterlude
4. Simple Pleasures
5. The Missing Floor
6. Winterlude Waning
7. If Only
8. Dream Dancer

Opening on the rambunctious, near 12 minute opus The Mask Of Deception, they back that up with the shorter duo of the synth-tastic Programophone and the ornately beautiful, tender grand piano work within Winterlude, before launching back into the near 14 minute AOR Prog epic Simple Pleasures.

Next up is the slightly heavier guitar ambiance of The Missing Floor which is itself followed by another delightful dose of piano play and warm acoustic guitar on Winterlude Waning, with the album rounding out on the Renaissance-flavored, melodiously layered, uproariously triumphant glory of the near 17 minute title track If Only, closing on the ambient mystique of Dream Dancer.

Says the band, Our fondest wish and recommendation is that this music should be listened to from beginning to end uninterrupted through a great set of headphones.

The Far Cry is now formulating plans for the creation of videos to support the music from the CD. Certainly, live performance will be part of the near future and into 2022.

Also, work on the next CD to follow If Only ... will begin within the next couple of months.

Musicians:
Chris Dabbo: piano. keyboards, vocals
Robert Hutchinson: drums, percussion, bells, spoken word
Jeff Brewer: lead vocals, bass, bass synth, bass pedals, guitar
Bryan Collin: lead guitar, Electric and acoustic guitars

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