Record Reviews

The Journey

www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/6565/
Simon Hill, New Horizons

A dark and Dangerous Rhythm

"Wondrous Stories" magazine
www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/6565/
CYCLOPS/GFT distributed CDs
Simon Hill, New Horizons

Light My Darkness

Steve Ward
Simon Hill, 2New Horizons

The Journey

The Journey - Review 1

Taken from "www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/6565/wMedicineMan_Journey.htm"

Medicine Man was set up by drummer John Bowman as a vehicle for his songwriting. He managed to put together a band consisting of Ian Gould erstwhile Landmarq vocalist, Pendragon bass player Peter Gee and the core of Shadowland - and Thin Ice Studios - Clive Nolan on keyboards and Karl Groom on guitars. The Journey, released in 1995 is their debut album. The band were supported on this album with Kelly Hudson and Matt Goodluck on backing vocals. All the songs were written and composed by John, while Clive did the orchestration. The album was produced and engineered by Clive and Karl at Thin Ice studios.

Another Lonely Night opens the album with an up-tempo rocky number driven along by the bass and drums with some great keyboards and guitars. Running From The Rain is a more mellow song with Ian's vocals during the song. John has managed to write a song with definite Twelfth Night overtones, although the instrumental section is almost military in its progression. Burn With Rage is a more powerful track with John's lyrics spat out by Ian: "Burn with rage, I burn inside from all the hate and all the lies". Playing The Part is a more mellow track with Ian and Kelly's vocals intertwining above Clive's rich tapestry of keyboards.

Death Of A Nation opens with John's Red Indian drumming as Ian's spoken voice chants over the top, then Karl and Peter join in as the track gains momentum. Some strong lyrics showcased by Ian who is let loose at the microphone. The dying chorus "death of a nation" is accompanied with some great guitars and drumming. Up In Smoke has some more powerful lyrics from John with a wonderfully emotive chorus. Clive manages to produce some great Arabian-style sounds before Karl's scorching guitar solo, but it is the sheet ambience of the pain and grief encapsulated by Ian makes this the track of the album. Between The Sheets is a harder rock number with Karl and Clive combining to produce a more late Uriah Heep sound to the track. Karl's soaring guitar solo with bass and drums riffing along in support adds to the hard rock feel. Where Were You God? is the quietest song on the album as Ian questions God: "1916 in the French countryside 60,000 dies: did you run and hide?" Great mellow guitar and keyboards, and some nice switching of melodies and tempos throughout. Two Sides opens with a rather irritating electronic voice but this is used as the launching pad into another powerful song. Strong lyrics sung with power and feeling, although for me the highlight is the lovely tinny electronic keyboard instrumental section from Clive which is counter -balanced by Karl's guitars. The Journey is Medicine Man at their most progressive with Ian's vocals cutting through a very bass and drums led song. That is until Clive is set free on the keyboards to unleash lashings of keyboard orchestration as the song builds to a final crescendo; Ian's cries soaring above the rest of the band as they build to the final epic climax. A great ending for any album.

Medicine Man are more towards the rock end of progressive rock, often falling off the end into pure hard rock territory. John's songs are all powerful and well written and he has managed to collect together a strong band to showcase them. As you would expect from their Shadowland work Clive and Karl bind together well, their instrumental sections show wonderful understanding ; while the rhythm section of Peter and John provide a great rocky framework for the music.

The Journey - Review 2

Taken from: Simon Hill 7th February 2000 New Horizons (www.elrose.demon.co.uk)

The first incarnation of Medicine Man was, on balance, a fairly short lived affair. Founder John Bowman had started writing a series of songs in 1994, and while working on them he was introduced to Peter Gee and Clive Nolan who collaborated on the project. At the start of '95 the music was ready for recording work to start and Karl Groom (Shadowland/Threshold) was brought in on guitars and Ian 'Moon' Gould (Landmarq) was approached as vocalist. The full lineup is completed by the inclusion of Kelly Hudson and Matt Goodluck on backing vocals. 'The Journey' was completed in February and released in May 1995 - but by July, when Medicine Man were due to play their first gig, only John Bowman still remained from the initial lineup (a full history of the band can be found on the Medicine Man web site).

This debut album consists of ten songs in all which are credited as being written by John Bowman. Clive Nolan is shown as being responsible for the orchestration however, having listened to the album, I suspect that Clive's actual input goes far beyond this since some of the songs seem to carry very clear hallmarks of Clive's style.

The opening track 'Another Lonely Night' is plagued with too many twiddly keyboard runs which, although they do sound fun, are very derivative of the early Marillion sound. The song is very upbeat in pace helped along by Peter Gee's bass sound. Moon's voice is also well up to the job in hand - but the actual lyrical content is somewhat banal to put it mildly.

'Running from the Rain' is a much slower piece and the main features are Moon's vocals and the rhythm section which are complimented well by fairly inconspicuous keyboard and guitar work. Towards the end of the track the percussion takes on a more regimented and almost military feel and the vocals build up to fine crescendo, but for the final twenty seconds or so the sound is rather spoilt by what can best be described as a simulated bagpipe effect. 'Burn With Rage' for me is one of the strongest pieces on the CD and one that seems to clearly carry the Nolan hallmark. It is a song that would not have been at all out of place on a Shadowland CD, and in parts of the chorus there are similarities to Nolan's 'Mad as a Hatter'.

Throughout, the keyboards and guitar work well together in a very tight partnership, they dance around each other and then go off to develop their own themes. The structure of the song is a standard verse/chorus one and the chorus itself is particularly memorable. The pace slows down again for 'Playing the Part' which has a more ballad like approach with excellent harmonies from the backing vocals.

'Death of a Nation' has a very ethnic feel which fits the subject matter well. The song is ostensibly about the persecution of the indigenous American population, but could equally well apply to Australia or Africa. It begins with a rhythm beating out on a tom tom, and the main vocal opens as a narrative section while set against it are 'tribal' chants. As the vocals develop further into the melody the guitar picks up on the rhythmic approach to great effect as Moon builds up the sense of passion and feeling. This track is another one that has similarities to Shadowland (particularly tracks such as Zuleika).

This is followed by another deeply emotive track 'Up in Smoke'. This again has ballad like qualities to it, and it is again Moon's powerful and haunting vocals that really hold the attention. The musicianship is superb but during the vocal parts it is very unobtrusive, however when the singing stops Karls lead guitar work rises like a phoenix from the simmering cauldron that has been brewing all along.

The direction of the album changes completely at this juncture. 'Between the Sheets' is another track with very weak lyric content and the sound is very upbeat and with an almost pop/rock feel to it. It's saving grace comes in the shape of Karl Groom's guitar work in the instrumental mid section, although whatever it's shortcomings it is almost impossible not to sing along with the chorus line which is catchy in the extreme! Following next comes 'Where Were You God' which is a fairly uncomplicated mid tempo number with vocals and piano parts taking the forefront - pleasant but not particularly memorable.

I first came across the next track 'Two Sides' on a compilation tape about a year ago and, at the time, I thought it was a song by Damian Wilson as the vocal tone was very close to his! The song is very direct and drives along without deviation; percussion, bass and keyboard work are all very strong but it is the vocal build up that is most inspiring - a great song. The final track is the 'The Journey' itself which is quite slow and melancholic. The subject matter also seems a little on the bleak side, lacking in hope and with this in mind it would not seem the best theme to finish on - however the keyboard part and orchestral crescendo is brilliant and the build up is such that when it stops it leaves the listener wanting more. I am aware that in places I have given this album more criticism than usual, this is not because it is a bad album but more due to the fact that it could have been so much better.

Despite its shortcomings the overall sound is generally good and it is very enjoyable to listen to. Understandably the personnel involved in the project will have a major impact on the appeal of this particular album, and quite rightly so, but from the point of view of what constitutes the true Medicine Man sound I would have to say that in my opinion the follow up album is a better indicator.

A Dark and Dangerous Rhythm

A Dark and Dangerous Rhythm - Review 1

Taken from "Wondrous Stories" magazine June 1997 by Terry Craven.

The follow-up to the 1995 debut "The Journey" sees Medicine Man as a far more confident and complete outfit. This is mostly due to having a more settled format in Paul Wilson on vocals, Nick Martin on guitar, Paul Brown on bass, Wayne Curcher on keyboards and Main Man John Bowman on drums.

John has written all the lyrics whilst the music is a band effort. The songs are more complex than anything on "The Journey" which was more of a pop music album. So Medicine Man are now a prog outfit and they certainly seem happier with this style.

John has recruited well as the band members have gelled into a tight, smooth unit and Paul's performance on vocals shows that in no way is he in the shadow of brother Damian.

The CD features 9 tracks generally from 4 to 6 minutes in length, so no epics but they have mastered the art of getting everything into the song without messing with the "twiddly bits". All the material is very catchy and will soon have you singing along.

A Dark and Dangerous Rhythm - Review 2

Taken from: "www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/6565/wMedicineMan_DarkDangerous.htm"

Medicine Man were originally set up around the core of drummer John Bowman and Pendragon bass player Peter Gee. Their debut album "The Journey"(1995) also features Shadowland duo Clive Nolan and Karl Groom with Ian Gould on vocals. Since then there has been a total personnel change with John now working with Paul Wilson on vocals, Nick Martin on guitars, Paul Brown on bass guitars and bass pedals and Wayne Curcher on keyboards. The band were supported on this album with Kelly Hudson and Gill Peachment on backing vocals with Clive adding additional keyboards and backing vocals. The band take combined responsibility for the music composition, while John wrote most of the lyrics except for Look Around which is a Paul Brown composition. The album was produced and engineered by Clive and Karl at Thin Ice Studios.

The Vision opens with a great instrumental fanfare before launching into a powerful rocky song with driving guitars and rhythm section. I was pleased to hear new vocalist Paul Wilson's style was a lot more in tune with John's songs. I think he has found the right man for the job there. With respect to the last two tracks which are also great, this comes over as my favourite track of the album. Sell Me The Dream continues the power and the glory with a two minute instrumental introduction which bulid up to the lyrics. …Dream has a great catchy chorus with the girls adding excellent backing vocals. Frozen Heart is a more mellow track chock-full of keyboards. The band work together to get some great instrumentation through the song. Again a great catchy chorus with some smooth guitar soloing from Nick.

Dark clouds gather and thunder rumbles as Take Me Home hits the player. Paul has quite a low but very clear voice, and this is balanced here with Kelly (or maybe Gill)'s duetting vocals. This is a much slower song relying on the strength of Paul's vocals to carry the song through to its monumental climax as Wayne and Nick take over for a great guitar and keyboards finale. Fatal Cure is as close as we get to a title track: "It's a dark and dangerous rhythm that we're dancing to tonight". This is a very immediate track, very upbeat with another catchy chorus, but I felt that after a couple of listenings, it fails to maintain interest. Morning Runs Quickly reminds me of the lighter side of Uriah Heep circa the "Abominog" album. Strong vocals with riffing guitars and keyboards filling the sound out which the drums and bass chug along underneath. New Rules is another hard rock number which would not be out of place on a Heep album.

Look Around is a superb track, more mellow with a certain yearning quality to it. Great vocals with nice harmonies in the chorus. Wayne gets some nice keyboard sounds too, and the middle guitar solo is a nice piece of work too. This Is Your News Today opens with one rather stressed news reporter which melds into the lyrics. However it is not until the main verse starts that the song gets going. A powerful song with another catchy chorus. Very heavy on the keyboards with some nice machine-gun rattling snare drum underlying the song. And just when you think it is over, there is a great instrumental coda with keyboards and guitars duelling while the rhythm section battle it out underneath. A great way to finish an album.

This is a great album which shows a maturing on John's writing style. Whereas the second album is notoriously difficult to write - this has taken John two years to produce - the end results are worth it. I am most impressed with John's ability to produce catchy choruses. Each song, it seemed, had a chorus better than the last. The music is still towards the hard rock end of progressive rock, and without Clive Nolan there are less overtly proggie bits. However what is emerging is a powerful rock band with its own identity. John and the new guys have melded together to form a very tight unit. I would slot it closest to a more mellow eighties Uriah Heep, and I think that this album should appeal to both prog fans and those into a more heavier sound.

A Dark and Dangerous Rhythm - Review 3

Taken from: CYCLOPS/GFT distributed CDs Webpage

Medicine Man are a 5 piece who have played together for about one and a half years. The band now consists of Nick Martin - lead guitar, Paul Brown - bass, Paul Wilson - vocals, Wayne Curcher - keyboards and John Bowman - percussion and songwriter. Their first CD "The Journey" was produced in February 1995 at Thin Ice Studio and has sold over 5000 CDs to date, largely in Europe being particularly popular in Poland and France.

Medicine Man were reviewed in "Best" magazine in France as "one of the best new bands of 1995" and have also had good reviews in "Paperlate" - Italy, "Metal Hammer" - Poland and "Frontiers" in the UK.

"A Dark And Dangerous Rhythm" simply exudes class. In a similar vein to the heavier American AOR bands every track on this album would grace the charts if released by an established act. A rare example of an album where every track stands on its own merits with no wastage. Strong songwriting coupled with great musicianship and tremendous vocals make this one of the rock albums of the year.

A Dark and Dangerous Rhythm - Review 4

Taken from: Simon Hill 4th January 2000 New Horizons (www.elrose.demon.co.uk)

The musical project that was eventually to emerge as Medicine Man was begun by drummer John Bowman back in 1994. So far, the band have released two CD's, this being the second, and it seems that a third, provisionally entitled 'Light My Darkness', is in the pipeline. From the beginning Medicine Man have had an interesting and somewhat turbulent history, with many line up changes along the way. In addition to John Bowman, the lineup for this CD also features Nick Martin on guitars, Paul Brown (also of Janison Edge) on bass, Wayne Curcher on keyboards and Paul Wilson on vocals. Produced and engineered at Thin Ice Studios, the album also contains some additional keyboard work from Arena and Pendragon's very own Clive Nolan.

The album in broad terms fits into the progressive category, but the influences seem to be much wider ranging than the traditional prog standards. There are nine tracks in all on this CD and the emphasis concentrates far more on well rounded songs rather than works of epic proportions. The band as a whole take credit for the music while the lyrics are provided by John Bowman, with the exception of 'Look Around' which was written by Paul Brown.

The opening track, 'The Vision' starts with drifting atmospheric sounds which are quickly joined by sweeping keyboards and heavy drum patterns. As soon as Paul Wilson's vocals cut in I was struck by how like his brother Damian he sounds. The vocal sections are well paced and interspersed with slower instrumental passages, while the guitar and keyboard parts are suitably restrained. The style of the song, in parts, is very similar to the sound that Pallas later developed on their "Beat the Drum" album.

'Sell Me the Dream' follows next with its quiet keyboard/bass intro, building slowly as the guitar joins in and then the overall pace picks up further as the percussion starts. The vocal melody is excellent and is supported by some nice keyboard runs. The chorus is quite catchy and enhanced by the use of backing vocals included.

'Frozen Heart' is another great song with a light airy feel to it, making good use of jangly guitar sounds and a forceful rhythm section. 'Take Me Home' is beautifully presented and opens with a quiet piano part augmented by string sounds and sounds of waves breaking. There is also strong use of acoustic guitar to support the vocal melody, which is further emphasised in parts by the backing vocals mirroring the main vocal line. The song builds gently as it progresses and the guitar break towards the final section is really masterfully played.

'Fatal Cure' is very upbeat and has quite a punchy sound to it. For me the backing vocals, singing the song title as a refrain, gives the song a sound that is vaguely reminiscent of Duran Duran's "Wild Boy's". The style of this song is quite different to most of the content on the CD, but the song is a very strong one and it fits in well.

'Morning Runs Quickly' is without a doubt my favourite track. The intro is very mellow sounding and it may sound an odd comparison but it put me in mind of some of Ah-Ha's material. Vocals are superb throughout and define the melody which really holds the attention. The bass line is also very strong and gives the song a real sense of direction while the keyboards, for the most part, are used to create a full background for the track. The chorus is also very catchy and gives the song a real stomp-along feel. After the final repetition of the chorus there is a short, but brilliantly executed, backing vocal section featuring Kelly Hudson and Gill Peachment - great stuff!

In complete contrast 'New Rules' comes over as a fairly straightforward rock song with a much harder edge to it. The song uses some heavier sounding guitar riffs again with a driving bass line and the keyboards again more in evidence.

'Look Around' is a slower paced number with good lyrical content. The instrumental work is excellent and backing vocals are used to good effect in the chorus. Although this is a very good track I am not sure that Paul's voice is best suited for this type of material.

The final track on the CD, 'Your News Today', seems to deal with the media presentation of wars. For the most part I did not find this a particularly inspiring piece, especially when compared with some of the other songs on the album, as it seems a little on the plodding side. However, the closing instrumental section is very well put together and quite uplifting which goes some way to make amends.

All in all, I have been very impressed by this album and I have given it a lot of playing time with no signs of tiring of it yet. The songs are all well written and well presented and the sound is both mature and clean. This CD is well worth the investment and, on the strength of it, I am already looking forward to hearing the new album when it arrives.

Light My Darkness

All the songs were written by John Bowman and the album was produced by Nick Martin. Vocalist Steve Dyke makes his debut with the band on Dark Nature… and Don't Walk Away, while Paul Wilson sings on the remaining four vocal tracks. Paul Brown (now also of Janison Edge) plays bass and bass pedals, Nick Martin plays guitars and does backing vocals and John Bowman plays all the drums, percussion and keyboards.
Initial sales are encouraging so if you haven't already got your copy get in touch now.


Light My Darkness - Review 1

Review by Steve Ward

When Medicine Man recorded their debut album 'The Journey' in 1995 they were basically a studio project of John Bowman's for which he recruited quality musicians such as Moon Gould, Clive Nolan, Peter Gee and Karl Groom to bring his ideas to life. This new album features a new band line up with Paul Wilson and Steve Dyke sharing the vocal duties, Paul Brown on bass, Nick Martin on guitar and Bowman himself on drums and keyboards, as well as writing all the eight tracks himself. Despite this the album comes over as much more of a band effort. The eight and a half minute title track opens up the album in fine style and it's complexity should certainly appeal to prog fans whilst the second cut 'Dark Nature, Dark City' has a great, almost Japanese opening section and features some excellent guitar work from Nick Martin.

All the tracks feature generous helpings of guitar and keyboards, none more so than the two instrumental cuts 'Imbalance' and 'In Imbalance'.

The only drawback, to my ears at least, is the vocals - Steve Dyke features on only two tracks as lead vocalist but his voice is much more pleasing on the ear than that of Paul Wilson (Damian's brother) whose vocal style is something of an acquired taste.

All in all though this is an album well worth further investigation. John Bowman has a limited number of demo CD's available at £5 each and can be contacted at 33 Fairwater Drive, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, RG5 3JG.

Light My Darkness - Review 2

Simon Hill, 2nd July 2000, New Horizons (www.elrose.demon.co.uk)

After a break of nearly 3 years, Medicine Man are finally back with a new CD. As one might expect, there have been some line-up changes in the interim period with Wayne Kurcher having departed from the keyboard slot, which has been taken up by drummer, and band founder, John Bowman. Other key personnel remain the same with Nick Martin on guitars, Paul Brown on bass and Paul Wilson still providing vocals for the majority of tracks, but new in is Steve Dyke who provides lead vocals for two of the songs.

This time around the band have also assumed full studio control of their work, with production from Nick Martin who, together with John Bowman, has also engineered and mixed the tracks.

The title track is split into three distinct parts, 'The Awakening', 'Light My Darkness' and 'Doubts'. The first of these; a short instrumental section, opens gently with swirling synth sounds that initially give a space rock feel, but the intensity slowly builds and the mood becomes heavier as bass and guitars come in, gradually joined by a strong rhythm set up by the percussion. Full marks go to Paul Brown who does a blinding job as the powerful bass line hooks into the main vocal part of the song and drives things along from here without ever looking back. Wilson's vocal tone is unmistakeable from the outset, and the chorus sections for 'Light My Darkness' are very catchy indeed. Keyboard work in the closing sections is excellent and the inclusion of a 'brass section' gives a more mainstream feel to the final part of the track which works very well. All in all, this is a strong opening track which seems to be a logical progression from the band's previous outing.

The second track, 'Dark Nature Dark City', seems a litle slow getting going, compared to the opening track, with what seemed like an overly long instrumental start. However, I found after listening to the album a few times that this track did finally start to grow on me. Musically the track starts quietly and seems to use a layered approach gradually building upon the opening theme with additional instrumentation; the result is pleasant enough, but not really one of the band's best tracks to date. This is also the first opportunity to hear Steve Dyke's vocal work and, notwithstanding my previous comments, he deals with things pretty well, with good delivery and an uncluttered approach which, at times, reminds me of Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley!

With 'Need To Hide' Paul Wilson is brought back into play for another fairly upbeat number. From the outset there is an instrumental build up with swelling keyboards and some great lead guitar work from Nick Martin, which re-emerges between the vocal sections. Wilson's voice seems to deliver with a sense of urgency and once more Paul Brown's driving bass works well and seems to emphasise this fact. A good solid performance all round!

'Imbalance' brings the first of two short instrumental pieces on the album - making strong use of rhythm section and keyboards, with nice guitar overlays, the style put me very much in mind of Pallas.

Steve Dyke makes his second excursion with 'Don't Walk Away' and, if I thought Steve was like Tony Hadley before, this time the whole band join in with a sound that Spandau Ballet would have been proud of. That having been said, I love it! The vocals seem to capture a power and emotion that is really uplifting and the musicianship is subtle and yet compelling.

With 'I Can't Help It' we are back again on more familiar territory but now it's Paul Wilson's turn to raise his game. Heavy bass and guitar work is set against a lighter quirky keyboard sound. This is another song that has an insidious effect on the listener and is sure to catch you up with it's dark and dangerous rhythms!

The second of the two instrumentals, 'Inimbalance', is next. To my mind this track serves more as a link passage than anything else and, despite its nearly four minute length, it never really struck a chord with me ... nothing at all wrong with it, just not particularly memorable.

Finally we come to 'The Storm (Give Me Shelter)' which is another of my favourites and gives the album a good strong finish. This is another track that seems to draw on some of the better aspects of eighties music, particularly with some of the keyboard work which seems very familiar - in terms of tone if not actual tune. I'm not sure quite what it puts me in mind of but Tears for Fears comes to mind! This tracks seems to provide Nick Martin some more rare opportunities (for this album) to shine and Wilson is again giving his best.

Before closing I had better add a quick word about the presentation - due to the fact that the band do not currently have a distribution deal the album is released on CDR, but I have not found any ill effects from the point of view of sound quality resulting from this. The actual packaging is clear but perhaps a little on the basic side, especially when compared to the band's previous CDs. The only downside I can see is that the lyrics are not included, but if the band could put them up on their web site this would not be such a problem - how about it guys? (Click Here for lyrics) Seriously though, despite that minor grumble, I should point out that this has been reflected in the price being charged, so this should not really be seen as any kind of major obstacle.

In some respects this is a more toned down work than before, with less emphasis on lead guitar work; this time it seems that the bass has really come to the fore. Also by producing the album themselves the band's overall sound may not be as polished to some ears but it does, at least, mean that it is all their own!

When viewed as a complete work, Medicine Man have certainly continued the trend of pushing their music forward and have, again, admirably demonstrated that they are not afraid to experiment beyond the confines of more traditional progressive influences. The decision to include two such varied vocalists, for whatever reason, has also paid off very well and I hope this trend will continue.