Pathways
The “beginners’ guide”! If you’re new to Solstice,
this is the place to start, with both Silent Dance and New Life reproduced
in full on this lavish double disc. However, for the long-term fan, this
is also rather more than the usual reissue with a couple of money-grabbing
bonus tracks. Indeed, the dozen extras are enough to make up an album
in their own right. The back story is provided by early demos, including
a fascinating version of Sunrise recorded with vocalist Shelley Patt,
whose short tenure coincided with a cover feature in UK rock paper, Sounds.
Other highlights are a post-Silent Dance live set, including a couple
of the ‘looney tunes’ which were so popular in concert, and
a studio version of Spirit, showing the direction in which the band may
have gone in 1985 if they had stayed together. The final enticements are
a trio of demos from Circles, one of which – Freedom – didn’t
make it to the final cut of the album. An essential overview of the first
phase of Solstice and beyond.
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