Wake up The Child (Red Sand, 2024)

By browsing this site's past reviews you'll find several tracks by Red Sand, an excellent neo-prog band from Québec, Canada. Their 2024 album titled "Pain't Box" is another beautiful collection of melodic, hypnotic songs. This "Wake up The Child", for example, offers everything a prog fan could dream of: a well written theme, inspiring variations, sensitive vocals (Michel Renaud recemtly joined the band and is a valuable addition)  and of course Simon Caron's dreamy guitar solos. 

Red Sand surely know how to paint musical landscapes...

Perry Angelillo's impeccable drums and Simon's keyboard atmospheric work wrap up this song with good taste and heartwarming colours. This warm, soft and hearty feeling is the trademark of a band I will ever recommend to my prog fellows.

Blame (Red Sand, 2004)

OK, OK, I know... this sounds like that famoud band, this is so easy, this isn't adventurous at all. I see your point, but I like "Blame" all the same. Let's say these notes are just to explain to myself why on Earth I like it so much. The problem is that Simon Caron really cares about his music, he loves it, feels it, refines it. Most of all, he puts all his deepest feelings inside it. "Blame", for example, isn't just a collection of moods and atmospheres (you'll find some very good ones here), it's a soul honestly, directly displaying its sorrows and delights.

This album includes three long tracks plus a "cameo" one.

You don't need any special devices to express your inner feelings and if you master your favourite genre's basic, well, that will be enough, IMHO. "Blame", taken from Red Sand's debut album is exactly like that: 12 minutes of good old neo-prog filled with genuine emotions and nursed like a baby by a loving mother (or father, if you better like). I think these are the main reasons why you'll find this song - and some more by Red Sand -  in my blog.

Sad Song (Red Sand, 2009)

Red Sand are a proud band, they really are. Their extra-melodic prog, something like Marillion meet Camel, will never rule the world charts and isn't exaclty what the music magazines acclaim. This "Empty Calendar", the opening track of the "Music for Sharks" album shows what Simon Caron & friends like and the music producers dislike. It's a well written and well performed neo-prog with a slow and majestic keyboard carpet on which the electric guitar draws its dreamy frames.

Music for Sharks is dedicated to the music industry "sharks".

They'll never release a Red Sand album... but they're wrong, IMHO.

The Floyd-esque intro introduces the listener to Caron's musical Neverland, made of sweet and sad stuff, and the guitar solos really make me feel like one of Peter Pan's Lost Boys. I also like this track because of its sincere lyrics about the band's notion of music: When I write a new song, Caron says, I don't think it's my best, but I know it's not my last one, I feel it reflects my loyalty. True, Red Sand are loyal, they give me what they promise, no more nor less than this. And I hope they'll always do so.