I want to recommend the debut-release Emotional Creatures Part One of STEVE THORNE to everybody who appreciates sophisticated music. In Great Britain the multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter THORNE was able to draw some attention to himself as solo-musician and member of the bands Colony Earth and The Salamander Project. Just recently one was able to enjoy his music on the continent as the support for Jadis. He himself was supported on his album by colleagues like Martin Orford, John Jowitt and Paul Cook (all IQ), Gary Chandler and Steve Christey (both Jadis), Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard), Tony Levin (King Crimson) and Geoff Downes (Asia). But it is not the collaboration of these high-class musicians with THORNE that gives the album its quality. Their contribution merely is a symbol of their respect for a brilliant musician.
One trademark of Emotional Creatures Part One is the excellent, very unique and emotional song writing. Only here and there one can rather feel than hear that THORNE is inspired by the music of Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters and Genesis. And on some points his music creates an atmosphere like the one of Fish and, as a matter of course, of early Pink Floyd. STEVE THORNE creates and arranges beautiful melodies in masterly fashion. They make the listener feel easy and dreamy. But we have to swallow hard as soon as we take the lyrics into consideration, which exceptionally deal with different negative emotions and conditions in a critical, sarcastic way. By the contradiction between the sweet, wallowing music and the worrying-sad and very angry topics the explosive importance of these is underlined subtly and effectively. On the one hand we are carried away safely by the multi-faceted music, on the other hand we easily drop off of it due to THORNE's statements that leave us without a straight path, thinking, interpreting: does the repetitive "This is the last line/This is the last time" in Last Line mean that the poor woman will free herself of her addiction - or will it be her last line, because she will die of it? What had happened to Julia in Julia? Did she commit murder after having suffered something unspeakably terrible? Or why is she running away? Is THORNE of the opinion that (psycho-) therapy, the topic of Therapy, is helpful to rescue somebody, who is drowning in the circle of daily life with all its boredom, listlessness, disorientation and fear? Or does he think that therapy makes no difference in the end? Is it that what he means by singing about bridges and fences that have to be built only to be burned down - just two lines further? Slightly more definite THORNE becomes in Tumbleweeds, where he is singing about aging, while a wonderfully played acoustic guitar and a mandylion, together with sensitive percussion, are soothing our reluctant feelings against our natural perishing. In the song God Bless America THORNE expresses his disapproval of the way Great Britain's politicians blindly follow the USA with bitter sarcasm and absolutely harmless but beautiful music. After all, with Every Second Counts he shows how much he appreciates life with all its emotions - the title is a skillfully developed instrumental that truly makes the listener experience every single second.
One more fact is worth to be mentioned here: STEVE THORNE played most of the music on this record himself. It is amazing how virtuously he uses instruments like acoustic guitar, electric guitar, nylon guitar, bass guitar, fretless bass, keyboards or percussion. By no means unimportant is the effect of his voice that he uses in an adequately emotional way. It also perfectly matches his songs, which are dominated by acoustic guitars, wonderful harmonies and opulent vocal-arrangements.

The debut album Emotional Creatures Part One is a supernatural one. It is clearly audible that music and lyrics had time to grow a while to become almost perfect. It could be hard for STEVE THORNE to beat the quality of this album; nevertheless we should look forward to Emotional Creatures Part One. The material (and more) had been written and roughly recorded already and according to THORNE it contains some of his best songs.
This man certainly will serve us some more musical delicacies in the future. Bon appetite!