| Artist: | Casino |
| Title: | Casino |
| Label: | Verglas VGCD008 |
| Length(s): | 56 minutes |
| Year(s) of release: | 1992/1997 |
| Month of review: | 09/1997 |
| 1) | Prey | 10.40 |
| 2) | Crap Game | 5.42 |
| 3) | Drunk | 12.00 |
| 4) | Crying Onto Baize | 10.58 |
| 5) | Stranger | 4.57 |
| 6) | Beyond That Door | 11.40 |
Musically Clive Nolan seems to have had the over hand although some parts are typical of solo work by Geoff Mann (the wobbly guitar that tends to evoke a sense of spaciousness). The starter Prey is rather typical of Nolan being an up-tempo track with numerous keyboard and guitar solo's. My impression is that musically this might as well have been an Arena song. The Overheard ... part 1 thiny is appended at the end of this song and can be more likened to Mann's Second Chants.
This also holds for the repetitive and slowly evolving opening of Crap Game. The song is almost a ballad with introspective singing and layers of keyboards. The last part however is very percussive with more aggresive vocals. A very good song.
Drunk is with twelve minutes the longest track. Divided in three parts the first part is rather subdued with lots of lyrics, while the longer Play On! part is in fact a part with mostly playing and little singing. Play On! starts with a long crying guitar solo that reminds me somewhat of Pendragon. After a soft vocal part we get a louder piece which sounds uplifting, although the lyrics point in a different direction. At the end we get a guitar solo that is more in the line of Nolans other work.
Crying onto Baize is another great epic track with some more introspective and sad parts but also with some energetic parts. It strikes me again that the music is often sadder and more introspective then Nolans other work and to be honest I like it better like this. After a more experimental part with lots of percussion and somewhat in the vein of Mann's Second Chants we end with soft synths and a strange up-tempo part.
Then we ghet to the awful Stranger, that must have been meant as a joke. Mann sings with a sort of accent that well makes it sound like he's from America and just in from the Midwest. Anyways, the closer Beyond that Door is a lot better. Being the fourth track over 10 minutes is consists of three parts: the first is a part in which is recited a statement of the management of the Casino with regards to the disposal of the Stranger. The music in this part is rather oppresive. In Beyond that Door, the second part, the music sounds more hopeful, and Lucky Jim, one of the characters escapes from the Casino. An emotive end to a great album that deserves attention notwithstanding the fact that it is already five years old.