Rocket Scientists - Looking Backward (2007) [4CD + DVD Box Set]

ROCKET SCIENTISTS marks the beginning of the career of the talented keyboardist Erik Norlander back in the late 80's when with the guitarist Mark McCrite decides to form a band.

According to some critics, ROCKET SCIENTISTS are responsible of a new stage in the evolution of Neo Prog, but in my opinion they went much further and explored different sounds including Hard Rock and some Metal but their main structure is 100% Symphonic.

But before talking about the band it's important to mention a bit of Erik Norlander, the brain behind the band, he was born in 1967 in Hollywood California, since he was a kid started to study Classical music and the Jazz, but his main influences (In his own words) were found in Prog Rock mentioning Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord, Keith Emerson, Mike Pinder and Geoff Downes, as we see the eclectic spirit of his music was present from the start.

After 3 or 4 years of founding ROCKET SCIENTISTS, the and releases their first album "Earthbound" (1993), with the assistance of Dom Schiff (Bass and Chapman Stick) and Tony Amato (Drums), who soon became part of the band but of course we can't forget Erik's muse and wife Lana Lane. This debut album is a bit simpler and less challenging than the rest of their production.

Their second album "Brutal Architecture" features the definitive lineup with Norlander, McCrite, Schiff and Amato, representing a leap in their career, still we can find some poppy moments but the structure and sound is pure Symphonic.

Still the band released two more albums "Earth Bellow and Sky Above" an excellent live album released in 1998 and in 199 the heavy "Oblivion" again with Lana Lane and almost two different lineups being Norlander and McCrite the only members who play in all racks.

During the early 2000's Norlander, McCrite and Schiff dedicated more to their solo career until 2006 when they release the double album "Revolution Road" which presents a much more mature band with much more ambition, we only need to hope they won't make us wait much more before a new release because the evolution of the band has been simply impressive.

by Iván Melgar Morey, progarchives

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Rocket Scientists - Looking Backward (2007) [4CD + DVD Box Set]

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The best place to start as of late is the new box set LOOKING BACKWARD. This 5- disc set came about as a result of the band's entire 90's studio back catalog going out of print. Bandleader and keyboardist Erik Norlander decided the best way to reissue those albums would be to remaster all 3 of the albums (their 1993 debut, EARTHBOUND; their 1995 sophomore effort, BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE; and their third album, 1999's OBLIVION DAYS), add on a disc of rerecordings from 2007, AND a DVD of candid studio footage dating from 1993-2007, an interview with Stick genius Emmett Chapman, and the 2007 Sessions plus interview segments all shot by HD film crews. PLUS, a nice little 64-page book chock-full of lyrics, pictures, and commentary of EACH SONG. As Borat would say: VERY NICE! Now onto the review, which I promise will go into great depth about the whole entire release. Here it goes!:

CD 1: LOOKING BACKWARD: THE 2007 SESSIONS - This disc contains mostly rerecordings of songs from the EARTHBOUND era, some remixes, and a couple of new chapters to add to the ''Dark Water'' saga. Here a lot of the songs are quite unique to their original versions, especially ''Picture Show'' whose length has been nearly doubled, thanks to nearly 15 years of playing and perspective. Songs like ''Earthbound'' and especially ''Dark Water Part One'' contain new elements while eschewing some old ones, the latter showcasing the full band near the end. There are also the two remixes of ''Escape'' and ''Break the Silence'', both from OBLIVION DAYS. They aren't too necessary, since they don't sound too different from the originals. Also, there's a version of the song ''Mariner'' with four minutes trimmed off its playing time and featuring the emotive vocals of Kelly Keeling. On this disc, all the musicians are in top form. Especially Erik Norlander and drummer Greg Ellis when performing the new ''Dark Water'' songs. ''Part Five'' showcases Ellis' brilliant percussion skills (if you liked Ellis here, check out his world music project VAS) amid atmospheric Mellotron from Norlander, while ''Part Six'' is a short, ominous drone of atmosphere similar to ''Part One''. This disc is very enjoyable and shows the EARTHBOUND songs with a more prog touch.

CD 2: OBLIVION DAYS - Rocket Scientists' third album is their heaviest, oftentimes bordering on progressive metal. Since I'm an avid listener of prog metal, this release no doubt jumps out at me the most. OBLIVION DAYS opens atmospherically with ''Dark Water Part Three: Neptune's Sun'' with Norlander having a little bit of fun before segueing into the heavy ''Aqua Vitae'', opening with a very distorted bass line. Here, the mood for the rest of the album is set. Heavy guitars with a nice warm, yet light crunch, pounding drums, flowing bass and Stick, with Erik Norlander's signature keyboards. On top of that are Mark McCrite's warm Beatles-esque vocals. The title track continues in the same vein as ''Aqua Vitae'', also carrying the apocalyptic concept present in the aforementioned songs and ''Break the Silence''. ''Archimedes'' is a groovy prog instrumental, much like ''Copernicus'' from BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE. ''Escape'' is the epic of the album, and is very depressing at first until picking up the pace a bit. ''Banquo's Ghost'' is very decieving, starting out gently before abruptly switching into one of the best instrumental passages in RS's history. ''Space:1999'' and ''Compass Variation'' are nice little tunes too, with the latter showing wonderful guitar acrobatics from McCrite. ''Break the Silence'' is a very somber song about the eventual end of days. Finally, ''Dark Water Part Four: Heavy Water'' lulls the listener into a false sense of security with lush keyboards before becoming a straightforward metal song. The last two bonus tracks aren't that great, although I prefer the live version of ''Wake Me Up''. I recommend this album to the metalheads out there. Not to be missed!

CD 3: BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE - This album showcased the ideal Rocket Scientists sound. It's the first album to exclusively feature Don Schiff's amazing Chapman Stick skills, and the only album not to feature any other guest musicians, except for Norlander's wife, Lana Lane. Here, RS show their truly progressive side, with more instrumentals, and much longer songs. Right off the bat, BA opens with ''Dark Water Part One'', a chance to let Erik Norlander spread his wings a bit with lush atmosphere. After that is ''Wake Me Up'', where we get to hear Don Schiff put his Stick to good use, although Tommy Amato's drums seem a little bit forced at first. ''Copernicus'' is a rather funky tune, while the title track is a laidback number. ''Nether'' and ''Dark Water Part Two'' are some more instrumentals to chew on before coming the piano ballad that is ''The Fall of Icarus''. ''Resolution'' is a nice pick-me-up after that, but ''Rainy Days & Pastel Grays'' is an absolutely beautiful piece of music that picture some guy would probably sing to some girl to woo her. I would. ''Millennium 3'''s chorus is impossible to shake out of your head, with Schiff's impeccable Stick laying down a good rhythm. The sad ballad ''Mariner'' follows, which didn't really impress me too much, but neither did the bonus track ''Stardust''. All in all, a very nice album to listen to on a rainy day. Just don't forget your pastel grays!

CD 4: EARTHBOUND - Rocket Scientists' debut release. Of all of their releases, EARTHBOUND is the odd one of the bunch. It's not very progressive at all, instead showing a more 80's poprock influence (just listen to some of Norlander's keyboard accents). Also, Don Schiff only uses the Stick on three of the songs here, instead using a regular bass or sometimes a fretless (like on Down Trodden). Many of the songs are also shorter, and are written with commercialness in mind. The album's best moment comes with their cover of Pink Floyd's ''Welcome to the Machine'', the poppy ''Picture Show'', and the proggiest moment of the album: the 57-second instrumental ''Pythagoras''. This album is a bit of an aquired taste, but will still prove to be one of their most unique releases.

CD 5: The DVD - The main feature of the DVD is the recording of the 2007 Sessions, which was filmed with HDV equipment. It's very interesting to see all of the angles in the recording of the songs. Also strewn about are interview segments which are as informative as they are entertaining. Another feature is an interview with Stick creator Emmett Chapman. We also get to see him play his instrument alongside Don Schiff, plus you will learn so much about the ''standard EC Stick'' and the NS/Stick. Lastly there is the Brief History of Rocket Science segment which shows videoclips from the sessions of all of the Rocket Scientists' studio albums. You gain some witty jokes from Tommy Amato during the EARTHBOUND sessions.

The booklet is absolutely incredible. The artwork is interesting (Mark McCrite with highlights?), the lyrics are accurate, and the commentary of the songs are informative and amusing. Well done guys, you have just reissued your 90's catalog true form. DO NOT MISS THIS!

by ZeroDreamPlasMaximus, progarchives

Tracklist CD1: Looking Backward - The 2007 Sessions:

01. Dark Water Part One [4:32] - new 2007 recording
02. Earthbound [6:12] - new 2007 recording
03. Picture Show [8:46] - new 2007 recording
04. Pythagoras (Unbound) [3:54] - new 2007 recording
05. Minstrel Saviour [7:28] - new 2007 recording
06. When Sorrow Falls [5:13] - new 2007 recording
07. Carry Me Home [5:18] - new 2007 recording
08. Escape [10:01] - 2007 remix, previously unreleased
09. Break the Silence [6:01] - 2007 remix
10. Mariner [7:31] - Kelly Keeling vocal version from 2003
11. Earthbound Reprise [2:16] - new 2000 / 2007 recording
12. Dark Water Part Five [6:36] - new 2007 recording
13. Dark Water Part Six [2:12] - new 2007 recording




Musicians:

- Mark McCrite / vocals, guitars
- Erik Norlander / keyboards, vocals
- Don Schiff / NS/Stick, Chapman Stick, bass guitars

With:

- Greg Ellis / drums and percussions
- Tommy Amato / drums
- Lana Lane / vocals


Tracklist CD2: Oblivion Days (1999, remastered in 2007):

01. Dark Water Part Three: Neptune's Sun [1:46]
02. Aqua Vitae [6:28]
03. Oblivion Days [7:07]
04. Archimedes [5:38]
05. Banquo's Ghost [6:00]
06. Space 1999 [4:38]
07. Escape [10:02]
08. Compass Variation [3:59] - 1999 Japanese edition bonus track
09. Break the Silence [6:01]
10. Dark Water Part Four: Heavy Water [4:44]
11. Wake Me Up - Live in Tokyo 1999 [6:22] - 1999 edition bonus track
12. Stardust - MM96 Mix [4:55] - 1999 European edition bonus track




Musicians:

- Mark McCrite / lead & harmony vocals, acoustic and electric guitars
- Erik Norlander / keyboards & backing vocals

With:

- Tommy Amato / drums on 2,4,5,10 & 11, hi-hat loop on 3, percussion on 5
- Neil Citron / solo guitar on 3, rhythm guitar on 9
- Greg Ellis / drums on 3,6,7,8 & 9, percussion on 2,3,6,7 & 9
- Tony Franklin / Fretless bass on 2 & 5
- Lana Lane / harmony vocals on 2,3 & 7
- Arjen Anthony Lucassen / rhythm guitars on 2,3,6 & 7, solo guitars on 7
- Don Schiff / Chapman Stick on 4,6 & 11, NS/Stick on 3,7,8,9 & 10, bass guitar on 2 & 3


Tracklist CD3: Brutal Architecture (1995, remastered in 2007):

01. Dark Water Part One [4:12]
02. Wake Me Up [5:44]
03. Copernicus [2:53]
04. Brutal Architecture [6:20]
05. Nether [4:04]
06. Dark Water Part Two [1:39]
07. The Fall of Icarus [6:30]
08. Resolution [7:31]
09. Rainy Days & Pastel Grays [7:13]
10. Millennium 3 [7:16]
11. Mariner [11:31]
12. Stardust [4:57] - 1996 Japanese edition bonus track




Musicians:

- Tommy Amato / drums, piano
- Mark McCrite / guitar, vocals
- Erik Norlander / keyboards, vocals
- Don Schiff / stick


Tracklist CD4: Earthbound (1993, remastered in 2007):

01. Earthbound [4:57]
02. Down Trodden [3:30]
03. Picture Show [4:59]
04. No More Lies [4:28]
05. Killing Joke [3:46]
06. Avalon [4:05]
07. Welcome to the Machine [4:48]
08. Minstrel Saviour [6:09]
09. When Sorrow Falls [3:46]
10. Calm Before the Storm [4:27]
11. Pythagoras [0:57]
12. Temple of Pain [3:58]
13. Carry Me Home [4:12]
14. To the Edge of the World - 1993 Demo [3:42] - previously unreleased bonus track




Musicians:

- Mark McCrite / acoustic, electric and slide guitars, vocals
- Erik Norlander / keyboards, drum and bass programming, sampling, vocals
- Curtis Balmer / classical and electric guitars
- Don Schiff / bass, Chapman stick
- Tommy Amato and Tim Gehrt / both on drums
- Lana Lane / vocals


Tracklist DVD:

"LOOKING BACKWARD" Feature [102 min.]
1. Dark Water Part One / Main Titles
2. Earthbound
3. Interview segment
4. Picture Show
5. Interview segment
6. Pythagoras (Unbound)
7. Interview segment
8. Minstrel Saviour
9. Interview segment
10. When Sorrow Falls
11. Interview segment
12. Dark Water Part Five
13. Dark Water Part Six / End Titles

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES:
"AN AFTERNOON WITH EMMETT CHAPMAN" Featurette [25 min.]

"A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROCKET SCIENCE"
Candid Studio Footage 1993-2007 [21 min.]


Musicians:

- Mark McCrite / vocals, guitars
- Erik Norlander / keyboards, vocals
- Don Schiff / NS/Stick, Chapman Stick, bass guitars

With:

- Greg Ellis / drums and percussions
- Tommy Amato / drums
- Lana Lane / vocals







All thanks go to asderas and Pasheka-Pacheka