For All We Shared is the debut album of what is still a fairly unknown band. This is the album that launched Mostly Autumn on the unsuspecting public and began a series of fantastic, original and generally awe inspiring albums. The artwork throughout the album gives a bit of a flavour of the band. Most of the photographs used, even for the band shots seem to be in the wilds, amongst majestic mountains, camping in snow almost part of nature. There seems to be an outdoor adventureous spirit running through these people and the imagary and ideas within the songs reinforce this.
From the strange opening sounds of a group of people singing some form of drunken pub or campfire song, which probably only has relevance to the band, the vocals kick in, a rush of full on harmonies, to be followed by the rest of the instruments and before you have time to grab a coat and hat you are being dragged through the great outdoors as depicted by Mostly Autumn. One thing that becomes immediatley apparant is the great use they put the vocals to. Always rich, layered and big hitting, and nowhere is this better illustrated than on the first two tracks, Nowhere to Hide and Porcupine Rain. The latter track has the most tantilising opening piece, a guitar riff that builds and repeats hypnoticaly and just when you are caught up in its web it dumps you into the song proper,
"Point me at the sky let this love die
call my name now, call my soul now, "
In a review of one of their later albums i suggested that they are what Pink Floyd would sound like if they where locked in a room full of folk instruments. On this album they are even less easy to define. From some strong guitar and keyboard fronted songs that are easily classified as rock they can at a turn move into very ethereal territory, minimal music that requires only the very least of notes and which sounds almost like a movie sound track.
The Last Climb features some prominent violin passages which lend a haunting quality to the song, matching the lyrics which appear to be about a man climbing for the last time in his life and dying alone out on the rock face. The songs is a bitter sweet memorial, a man dying doing what he loves most, climbing in the beauty of nature, but never coming home to the ones he loves again. This leads into Heroes Never Die which begins with some inspiring guitar and flute work and continues the theme. The album is dedicated to life of Robert Josh, presumably father of the Mostly Autumns main player, Bryan Josh, and you feel that many of the songs are on a very personal level. This song highlights the progressive rock feel to some of their work. It builds up from single guitar notes to full on epic sounding rock and dies out again a number of times. The use of dynamics is a skill in itself and this is a band who know how to get the most out of a song, just but raising and lowering the force and pace of the playing.
"If I were to steal you, and capture your mind
and open your heart, and leave far behind
a home where your problems lie
eating away at your time"
Folklore is an instrumental number that shows of the bands abilites and also their folk leanings as it slowly builds into their rendition of a well known traditional ceildah tune, before heading off again into original territory of sweeping violins and washes of keyboards.
The mix of instumentation keeps you interested through out, some songs are carried through on guitar riffs, others rely on violin, flute of keyboards, and always a great mix of male and female vocals combining to make a fantastic front end to the songs. Shenanigans, another instrumental for example begins on just a whistle, a folky celtic jig that is then pushed into a whole different dimension as the whole band join in and the whistle is accompanied by the violin.
One of the strange moments of the album is Out of the Inn, a recording of part of the Radio 4 adaptation of Lord of the Rings, before becoming its own master.
There is not a weak song on the album, and although some of the tracks are quite long they have enough imagination and originality about them to keep you interested.Its difficult to categorise or compare this band, which is another indication of their originality, rock deffinately, folk leanings..yes and certainly a good working knowledge of progressive and even classical compositions. Jethro Tull may spring to mind, maybe Pink Floyd, Horslips and even Marillion. Really there is something in there for most discerning listeners, check it out and prepare to be amazed.