This might be the week of shapeshifters. Entrance or a guy that goes by the name of Guy Blakeslee can certainly fall into that category. Do you want blues? Guy’s done it. Do you want straight-out psychedelia? Guy’s done it. After almost two decades on the scene and almost as many musical changes, what is he up to now?
Well, it seems something more poppy. The critics reviewing the new Entrance album “Book of Changes” (changes, really?), have thrown out almost as many names Blakeslee resembles here as there are titles on the album: T. Rex, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Roky Erickson, Love, Phil Spector, Lee Hazelwood, The Zombies… (actually a few more).
All great names, but it seems that not all the fans of Blakeslee's previous work are enamored with this one. It has gotten quite a few blasts from those favoring his more bluesy or psychedelic stuff (like there isn’t enough of it here too). As if Guy has betrayed something or somebody. What’s the worry, about?
Well, you see, after the entrance into “The Book of Changes”, there is a trap. A trap of what at a first listen sound like a standard set of love songs, even arranged in some sort of listed events as they took place. But boy, are they good!
Blakeslee is a definite craftsman. He is able to fit in all those great names mentioned (and more) in there somewhere and has done something that only the best can do - turn a set of seemingly “conventional” pop songs into something that is better than just a sum of its parts.
Let’s try one story from this “Book of Changes” - “I’d Be A Fool” has a prominent acoustic guitar and string arrangement that are a careful variation on Love’s “Alone Again Or…” and a few other themes from “Forever Changes”, combined with vocals not far away removed from Colin Blunstone’s on “Odyssey and Oracle”. Still, it would easily pass any form of a musical “Copyscape”.
Blakeslee has obviously been inspired (and despaired) by his love experiences and has been able to infuse all of them in the bet possible manner into his music. This is one of those albums that definitely deserve a title of a grower, once you get the trap set… at the Entrance.
