This is the sophomore release for the Proggy-influenced melodic rock band Pinnacle Point co-led by American singer Jerome Mazza and Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen.
Written by: Dave T
ARTIST: Pinnacle Point
ALBUM: Symphony Of Mind
LABEL: Escape Music
SERIAL: ESM343
YEAR: 2020
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Jerome Mazza – vocals * Torben Enevoldsen – guitars * Rich Ayala – guitars * Howard Helm – keyboards * John F. Rodgers – piano * Takeaki Itoh – bass * Mark Prator – drums * Valeria Pozharitskaya – violin
TRACK LISTING: 01 Ascent To The Point * 02 So Alive * 03 Weight Of The World * 04 Hero * 05 Never Surrender * 06 In The Wake Of Hope * 07 Shadows Of Peace * 08 Beyond * 09 Nothing At All * 10 Prodigal * 11 Symphony Of Mind
RATING: 60/100
WEBLINKS: FB Page
Background
This is the sophomore release for the Proggy-influenced melodic rock band from Florida called Pinnacle Point, who are co-led by American singer Jerome Mazza and Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen (Section A, Fate).
The duo are supported by ex-Zon and Refugee keyboardist Howard Helm, violinist Valeria Pozharitskaya, Rich Ayala on guitars, bassist Takeaki Itoh, drummer Mark Prator (ex Autodrive) and John F. Rodgers on piano completing the lineup.
The sound achieved by Pinnacle Point is pristine, one of the warmest I have heard in a long time while Mazza’s technical performance is superb, he’s a dead ringer for Steve Walsh. In fact, all the individual performances are top notch, with a special mention to the drumming.
The Songs
Best songs to these ears are the melodic hard rock of ‘Weight Of The World’ in which I detect a Rainbow flavor, and ‘Never Surrender’ with its superb chorus; followed by the one-two of the opening instrumental ‘Ascent To The Point’ and the proggy ‘So Alive’. All are within the first half of the recording, and I like it when they go for the melodies and a more personal style.
In Summary
That said, the influence of Kansas onto Pinnacle Point, especially their classic era, is overwhelming. That’s not a bad thing per se, but for me the problem is the lack of enduring melodies.
I could hear the shadows of ‘The Wall’ (the Kansas song) in a good deal of the songs that start promisingly but fall short in the end. In addition to that, the performance lacks a certain ‘feeling’ to it, which made the hour-plus album laborious to listen to. Still, it’s worthy of a listen if you are inclined toward all things Kansas!
Video
Weight Of The World
Never Surrender
Symphony Of Mind
[Gdazegod] Other than watching the YouTube video of Pinnacle Point I haven’t really given the album a good listen. I think I might have to now as I like Kansas but I’m not that thrilled with the guitar work of Enevoldsen.
–
[RichardB] I liked the Pinnacle Point album and there’s no doubt Jerome Mazza has a terrific set of pipes. However I agree that whilst the musicianship is outstanding (and good to see Howard Helm in action) the songs do lack a certain memorability. The Kansas influence is ever present though it just isn’t as good as the ‘Absence of presence’ which is quite simply superb..
[Dave T] I think Enevoldsen is not noodling that much here. Thing is, apart from that song ‘Weight Of The World’ where they really shine, most of the songs sound like an inferior Kansas and I could hear no soul in the performance. Of course Mazza is a great singer, but too much taken from Steve Walsh here with little bits of Steve Perry. I liked the last Kansas album, released around the same time, much more. Maybe other ears have a different opinion.