Dredg, the newest would-be prog-rock revivalists are lucky I'm in a fairly good mood. First of all those of you who know me know of my enormous fondness for Progressive Rock. And you're also aware of how I feel about the great uncircumcized mass of lilliterate bastards I call "knee-jerk prog-bashing critics." (In case you're curious as to what these common little bottom feeders look like - go out in your back yard and turn over a rock.) One other interesting note to bear in mind if you happen to be starving to death is, as long as they're not equipped with their poison pens, they're perfectly safe to eat and oddly enough are virtually flavorless - that's right - altogether now: They Have No Taste! Thank you.

I'm really quite loathe to categorize Dredg as a Prog band, mainly because there's nothing in the least bit Progressive about them. Regressive, to be sure - but breaking new ground - no? Toward the beginning of the 80s, well after the last rattling gasp of breath escaped from the true art/prog bands (I'll not name them - here) a number of individuals from some of the more high-profile acts began to converge into Prog Super Groups. With Adrien Belew and Bill Bruford joining ranks with Robert Fripp and Tony Levin, King Crimson loosely fit into this category. But the two most guilty were GTR an outfit which included what I consider to be the two greatest guitar players in the world period end of story. Steve Hackett (Genesis) and Steve Howe (Yes). GTR's only album spawned a number one hit, but they were a novelty act in the eyes of critics and in this case I was inclined to agree.

All of which brings me to the point of this laborious preamble - the most notable all-star prog act was Asia. Alas it is Asia that is the point of all this - and if you'll indulge me I'll try to demonstrate why.

I'll just cut to the chase - Dredg sounds like an Asia tribute band. Which is really not a good thing regardless where you stand on any issue from abortion to the Patriot Act. Yes the most successful of these art-rock supergroups, was comprised of such icons as Carl Palmer (ELP) John Whetton (King Crimson) Steve Howe (Yes), and I believe the guy from the Buggles if memory serves. There' just isn't any way to twist this into a compliment, what can I say? Dredg sounds like Asia - except not nearly as good. That's pretty harsh. Though you may well remember such hits as "Heat of the Moment," and Wildest Dreams," Asia were not well thought of among Prog-rock purists - and were rightfully bashed by normal every day critics - and even though, to date they've released 9 studio albums (gasp), and even more live albums - the money-grubbing, opportunistic stigma is something they'll never out-run.

Naturally critics who were always contemptuous of art rock's bombastic pretentions - were even harder on these "pop-prog" spin-off bands and the thing that really sucks the most about it all is that to some degree it tarnished the memory of some of the greatest bands that ever stepped up in an attempt to fill the black hole left behind by the Beatles. From Yes to Genesis, to King Crimson and Jethro Tull. These are some of the finest bands ever and by and large none of them got a fraction of the credit they deserved. There were the real envelope pushers like Gentle Giant and Happy the Man, not to mention John MacLaughlin's Mahivishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa, Captain Beafheart and one of the few who found favor both with fans and critics, Pink Floyd. The Prog-Jazz acts - Jan Hammer, Pat Metheny, the Dixie Dregs, Larry Cartlon, not to mention the acerbic brilliance of Steely Dan plus a few of my personal pets Camel and Kayak. For all the flack that these beyond-brilliant bands absorbed collectively and individually - the critics of the world need to be ashamed and I'm calling upon them now to aplogize en masse. A moment of silence please? . . . There now - we all feel a little bit better. You see I too love the Sex Pistols and the Clash, but regardless how influential and timely their emergence, if we're talking about music and not society then Mick and Joe and Johnny and Syd - hop in the backseat for this ride. Peter Gabriel and Roger Waters called shotgun.

Which brings me to Dredg a spiffy little quartet out of Los Gatos CA. These cats have been toying about with art rock and concept albums - over their last 3 records. Catch Without Arms is divded into two acts - the first being: PERSPECTIVE 1 and the second being PERSPECTIVE 2. Listen though I did, with the aid of the lyrics from the liner notes I was not only unable to discern a particular perspective for either half - but I had a hell of a time trying to make sense of the title song. Obviously there had to be some sort of subtext - a metaphor at play with a title like "Catch Without Arms," but I'll be damned if I was able to make heads or tails of the concept. It's definitely the most likable song on the album, starting off with a nice piano-driven very Supertramp-like verse part, and though the chorus is a catchy one talking about all this "Catching Without Arms" the concept is a bit too obtuse for this reviewer. Maybe it's meant to be taken a little more literally - playing Catch Without Arms can be a somewhat dangerous activity known to result in nosebleeds, a fat lip or at the very least a shiner. If any of our fine readers out there have got a better handle on the concept feel free to enlighten me. I will say that the chorus of this song - is the strongest hook on the album - irregardless of what the lyric might actually mean.

The biggest problem with Dredg is that the very cornerstone of a prog-rock band is outstanding musicianship, which is really not these guys' long suit. Much of the time guitarist Mark Engles gets caught up in these one-note arpeggio spasms that at their best remind of early U2, but at their worst make every song sound exactly the same. Singer Gavin Hayes can belt it out, but he sounds so much like John Whetton (which 20 years ago was a bonus but nowadays sounds terribly out of place.) Listening with headphones reveals a few tasty licks courtesy of the bassist and the drummer is nothing if not disciplined in a Steely Dan (solid but no frills) kind of way. But with an album so studied and sanitized a bit of sloppy drumming would have been more than welcome.

In general because of the constant arpeggio guitar and straight forward discipline the album sounds nicely shimmering and glimmering (there's not a note or a rim shot out of place) Sadly all the shimmer and glimmer becomes dimmer and dimmer with each song with precious few turns that can be considered hooks. Occasionally the boys from Los Gatos break it down into classic Art rock territory - on track 10 "Jamais Vu" everything stops in it's tracks for a lovely open-necked fingerstyle moment that is all "Steve Hackett. (I'll go to my grave ready to debate God that Hackett is the most influential and most "copied" guitarist ever) And the reprise on the finale "Matroshka" winds down with a plaintive piano sequence that is classic art rock.

Still and all I don't know that I could safely recommend this album to anyone. It's not progressive enough to be art rock and it's certainly not a bit like anything else out there that it could be compared to for the purposes of recomendation. The best thing I can do at this point is to direct those who still pine for that mystical and magical art-rock sound - check out Sunny Day Real Estate's The Rising, Mars Volta's Francis The Mute, Fire Theft - Fire Theft, Radiohead's O.K. Computer and Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. I'd recommend you skip Dredg - unless you're just a fool for Mike and the Mechanics - you can safely pass on this one.