Where do I start with this?
 
Let me tell you that this Norwegian band have made a project that combines music, poetry and visual art that comes together to tell a story - I totally understand this type of release (labelled 'Hybrid Art') but how can I truly see the grandiose vision if I only get the CD to review and not the accompanying book? It's a bit like reviewing a 3D film...without the glasses - I can give you the jist of things but not really the true experience.
 
That said, the music displayed on the 16 tracks (including 5 theatrical scenes) is pretty good and fans of classic rock may well enjoy this on its own. The whole basis of this disc is to tell the tale of Sonny Terrence Brentwood, a rock 'n' roller that takes his final steps down from the stage. "Shoot The Breeze would like to challenge the listener to spend some effort on processing all of the components to understand the depth in the story that is being told " - sounds a bit prog doesn't it? A bit 'Intelligent' maybe? In fact it's far from the whistles and bells, animals and synth sound of someone like Pink Floyd or the camp entertainment of The Rocky Horror Show. Simply think Deep Purple whilst taking in grunge and you'll be a lot closer.
 
'Bad Blood & Beef' takes in Alice In Chains, 'Days Of Burdened Times' is a slight trippy hit ala Coheed And Cambria, The excellent 'Contapazzo' could be someone like Shinedown whilst 'Child Of My Mind' could be an early Extreme track - they take in a wide influx of styles and present them all to a point that you probably could listen to this without realising that there is a story running through it if it wasn't for the scene breaks that intersperse the disc.
 
In fact my only criticism would be that I want to see the whole thing together as it was intended. I'm pretty sure that this actually works.
 
www.myspace.com/rockwithshootthebreeze