Presents of Mind

Presents of Mind Artist: Tiles
Label: Magna Carta
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 026245903821
EAN: 0026245903821
ASIN: B00000J6AQ


Release Date: 1999-06-29

Presents of Mind


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Tracks:

  1. Static
  2. Modification
  3. Crossing Swords
  4. Facing Failure
  5. The Learning Curve
  6. Ballard Of The Sacred Cows
  7. The Sandtrap Jig
  8. Taking Control
  9. Safe Procedures
  10. Reasonable Doubt
  11. Bonus Track: Patterns (Live)
  12. Bonus Track: Token Pledge (Live)

Similar Items:

  1. Window Dressing
  2. Second Life Syndrome
  3. The Great Divide
  4. Fence the Clear
  5. Time of Legends

Album Description

Tiles' third album is a combination of the live approach, getting all the basic tracks down, and overdubbing keyboards and guitars until we felt they had been arranged according to what is called for." <P>What results is a stunning and electric display of guitar-charged oddity, not so much metal but hard rock well outside the rules. The compositions on 'Presents Of Mind' build on Herin's love of latter-day song-based Rush, lost prog like Kansas and, of all things, mid-'70s Elton John. "All of us have wildly divergent tastes, lots of prog in there like Genesis and Queensryche, some metal like Maiden and Priest but also jazz, classical, and this strong current of people I would consider great songwriters."

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars One of the best albums I've heard in a loooong time!.......2002-03-04

I got turned onto Tiles when I went searching for "Rush" links on the web. One site I went to said that if you like Rush, this band comes highly recommended. Thankfully, the site played the entire album in streaming audio format. Though the audio quality was low, I instantly liked what I heard and ordered the album. It turned out to be one of my favorite albums!
It's unfair to compare them to Rush, because though there are similarities, there are many more differences. What *can* be compared to Rush though is their virtuosity with their instruments, their coherence as a band, and their ear for catchy tunes! Musically, each member works with the rest of the band to create a full, rich sound, never stealing the light from the other players. They are all accomplished musicians who know how to put together a great song and a great album. I can't believe any rock fan wouldn't like this album. One person I recommended the album to referred to it as "brilliant"! It's definitely worth the investment.

4 out of 5 stars Worthwhile.......2002-01-03

A few fantastic songs, and the rest good songs. The comparison to present-day Rush is obvious (given the Hemispheres/Presto-style album cover and Terry Brown's production, it could hardly be otherwise), but it is not a typical comparison -- here, Tiles emerges the better of the two.

"Static" and "Modification" are excellent, radio-ready tracks. The album dips slightly from there, but redeems itself into four-stardom at the end... Presents of Mind is worth buying just for "Reasonable Doubt". I look forward to their next album.

5 out of 5 stars Presents of Prog.......2001-11-15

(...)Rating: 9/ 10

When I first heard the cd, the first thing I thought was that this was a Rush tribute band? They had Terry Brown doing the mixing and Hugh Syme doing the artwork, was this to be "Moving Pictures" relived? The answer to all these questions was YES but for all the right reasons. First off, I don't think Tiles rips off any Rush material in any way. They have their own style, their own music, their own identity; which I believe is influenced by Rush.
Paul Rarick is the person that I was most impressed with. He has a distinctive voice which gives him great style. He has all the range needed by Tiles and feels at home for all types of songs, from ballads(ex: Reasonable Doubt) to powerhouses(ex: Modification). The backing vocals, provided by PL and PR, where amazing and definitely added to the overall sound of the album.
I love the drumming done by Pat DeLeon, from the opening of "Static" to the end of "Token Pledge".(Note:the North American version has 2 bonus live tracks not available elsewhere.) He is a drummer that has knows just what a song needs, he doesn't overplay(which is common these days), but does what is fitting. Don't get me wrong this guy can play, just check out "Safe Procedures" or the insane instrumental "Ballad of the Sacred Cows".
Chris Herin seems to bring alot of different influences/diversity to Tiles. He can draw from prog-style soloing in "Facing Failure" to tradional music such as "The Sandtrap Jig" where he uses non-typical instruments the Banjo and the Mandolin. Hearn writes most of the music and the lyrics and I must give him immense credit for creating some of the catchiest music I have heard in awhile.
Lastly is Jeff Whittle who is not a bass player who just copies the guitar lines. He can copy any difficult guitar lines where it is needed, but he can do so much more. He writes techical and solid bass lines which adds to the things I love about Tiles. To hear what I am talking about listen to "Modification", "Ballad of the Sacred Cows" or "Reasonable Doubt".
Overall this album will leave you singing lines from it all day long, to the point where you need to go home and listen to it again.
Special thanks to Tiles for giving us here in North America added tracks that we don't usually get, but have to order from overseas.

4 out of 5 stars HONEST REVIEW OF TILES 'PRESENTS OF MIND'.......2001-10-31

THIS IS MY THIRD PURCHASE OF A TILES ALBUM. RUSH'S OLD FRIEND TERRY BROWN IS WITH THEM AGAIN. EXCELLENT PRODUCTION, TEXTURE AND QUALITY. (hey Hugh Syme, nice artwork) THIS ALBUM HAS A FEW RADIO FRIENDLY SONGS JUST LIKE THE LAST ALBUM. THEY ALSO HAVE SOME LONGER/EPIC SONGS JUST AS A GOOD PROG-ROCK BAND SHOULD. MAYBE IT'S NOT FAIR TO LABEL TILES AS A PROGRESSIVE ROCK BAND. JUST BECAUSE THEY USE ODD TIME SIGNATURES, HAVE 11 AND 14 MINUTE SONGS AND USED A BRAIN ON THE COVER, DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE A PROG BAND. HOWEVER, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE ALL ABSORB OUR ENVIRONMENT.

TILES HAVE WRITTEN A GREAT ALBUM. THIS REVIEW WILL BE A LITTLE SHORTER THAN THE OTHERS I HAVE WRITTEN FOR THIS BAND. THERE ARE SONGS I ABSOLUTELY LOVE AND THERE ARE SONGS I COULD DO WITHOUT.

I'VE READ THE COMPARISONS TO OTHER BANDS. I HONESTLY DON'T HEAR MUCH RUSH IN THESE GUYS. 'SAFE PROCEDURES' HAS MORE OF A 'YES' INFLUENCE ON IT. HOWEVER, ABOUT 4 MINUTES INTO 'BALLAD OF THE SACRED COWS', I DISTINCTLY HEAR A 'BY-TOR' INFLUENCED BASS LINE LEADING THE CHARGE FOR THE 'BY-TOR' WHAMMY BAR ANTICS AND THE FREE-WHEELING DRUM ATTACK. ALSO, 'FACING FAILURE' USES SOME ALEX LIFESON STYLE CHORDS. I HEAR THE 'SEVENTIES FOLK' INFLUENCE THROUGHOUT THE ALBUM.

THE SONGWRITING IS STILL EVOLVING AND MATURING. I THINK THE SONGWRITING HAS A GREAT FLOW. THE LYRICS MAY BE GEARED FOR REACHING A BROADER TARGET THAN THE LAST ALBUM. THEY REALLY SPAN A GOOD RANGE OF EMOTION.

GOOD MUSICIANSHIP, GOOD VOCALS, GOOD SONGS. OVERALL, THIS COLLECTION OF SONGS IS A LITTLE LESS ACCESSABLE TO ME THAN THE COLLECTION OF SONGS ON 'FENCE THE CLEAR'. I THINK 'PRESENTS OF MIND' IS A VERY GOOD ALBUM. SOME OF THE STRONG SONGS ARE STRONGER THAN 'FENCE THE CLEAR' SONGS.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS:

1.
TAKING CONTROL

2.
STATIC

3.
RESONABLE DOUBT

4.
BALLAD OF THE SACRED COWS

MIKE ETTORE

5 out of 5 stars Need a fix until the next Rush album? This is it!.......2001-05-05

Wow! This disk is really, really good. Like the other reviewers have commented, Tiles is very much hooked to the sounds of Rush and Dream Theater. Not quite as prog metal oriented as DT, but a bit harder than recent (oxymoron?) Rush stuff.

If you like the harder side of Rush you won't be able to stop listening to "Taking Control" (easily my favorite track), "Static", "Modification" and the addictive instrumental "Ballad of the Sacred Cows" (Gotta love the 'see-and-say' cow sounds at the beginning!)

I'm one of those "loyal-to-the-death" Rush fans whose been going through withdrawl pains over the last several years - until now. Between Dream Theater and Tiles, all of us Rush fans out there can rest assured that there are quality groups to carry on the prog hard rock/metal banner.

As a final thought - this disk has really shown that the band has grown musically and lyrically since the first self-titled album. After three albums, had Rush shown this much development? Remember, it was thier 4th album (2112) that really propelled them to stardom. If Tiles follows suit - they could be huge.

Music Album:

  1. This Ain't My Time ~ The Barracudas
  2. The Endless Looping Game ~ Specimen 37
  3. The Impossible Leap in One Hundred Simple Steps ~ From Monument To Masses
  4. Play ~ Larsen
  5. Snow on the TV ~ DDM
  6. 10,000 Stones ~ Adrianne
  7. Living Loud ~ Living Loud
  8. Invisible Means ~ French Frith Kaiser Thompson
  9. Golden Classics ~ Shades of Blue
  10. Pot Luck with Elvis ~ Elvis Presley

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

The Nightowl

Upper Limbo ~ Ken Nordine

Dedication ~ Peron & Spangler Quartet

Soundscapes ~ Abbey Rader

Yog I - Pitchipoy

Cool Struttin' ~ Sonny Clark

O Melhor de Chiquinha Gonzaga ~ Leny Eversong

Liebeslieder ~ Konstantin Wecker

Pureness/Nanairo ~ Nana Kitade

Buzz a While ~ Privates