James LaBrie is the Celine Dion of progressive rock. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I have a secret confession to make. I like a lot of the songs that Celine Dion chooses to sing. Given the right material, she can knock it out of the park without even trying. But quite often, she over-emotes or affects her delivery, accentuating in a way that, quite frankly, ruin the whole thing.

The material written by Henning Pauly on Frameshift’s debut is strong enough that James knocks it out of the park, even if the first few stanzas of the first track got me wondering whether he was going to “pull a Celine” and over-emote. J la B is best when he cranks up the volume and lays off the vibrato, and fortunately there is plenty of that here.

This album was much, much better than I thought it was going to be when I read the blurb. At one point they liken it to Queen, and yes, there is one track at least where that is not hyperbole. Recommended.

Grade: A- (a point off for the odd vocal affect)