This marks Tiles' fourth studio album. This special edition comes with a bonus live CD that is a bootleg concert when they were supporting Dream Theater a few years back. The sound quality is actually pretty decent on the live disc, and it gives those who aren't familiar with Tiles a peek into their music before this new disc. Window Dressing was mixed by Terry Brown (Rush, Cutting Crew, Fates Warning), and you can definitely hear the Rush influence (and a lil Dream Theater and King's X). Overall, Tiles play a great blend of progressive rock with some hard rock tendencies (not to mention that these guys are fabulous musicians). The album opens with the long, 17-minute title track. The song is very good, but it has a few lulls that make me itchy to hit the skip button. I guess it's the progressive metalhead in me that finds it hard to swallow all the slow meandering that progressive rock bands tend to get into. The song goes through many changes along the way and actually grows on you after numerous listens. They often switch from hard rock to soft acoustic with long instrumental passages. The lyrics are excellent on this song. It basically speaks about how what we see is not always actually true reality. "Faces I see/Tell little about/What to believe/Layers of window dressing/Barely hint at what's beneath/Covered up like paint on rust/Who to trust?" This entire album is very impressive lyrically. Not just because of the topics they address, but the beautiful and poetic way that they address them. They are worth reading even if you don't enjoy this style of music. Picking best songs is tough, but I'd have to go with the band's more aggressive stuff. Songs like "Paintings," "Spindrift," and "Capture the Flag" are all excellent. The haunting and somber "Slippers in the Snow" also begs for a vote. Honestly, there are no bad songs on this album. The design and artwork for the album was done by Hugh Syme (Aerosmith, Rush, Megadeth). The packaging is wonderful and very high quality. My only complaint would be that the front cover has a little kid looking in the window of a clothing store, only to see a women putting on a pair of shorts with only her undergarments on. And on the inside cover that same women is taking off her shirt with part of her bra showing. I understand the concept behind window dressing, but I could've done without the risqué photos. Overall though, this band has made me an instant fan. I've never cared for progressive rock too much, but I think I'll stop and take a closer listen in the future. This is definitely not an album to casually listen to once and form an opinion. It takes multiple, open-minded listens to let it sink in. The reward for your patience is an album that you'll be going back to often.
Editors' ratings — Doug 3.5/5, David 2/5
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2004Reviewed by Brian A. SmithIt is fitting that "Window Dressing" is the title track for Detroit prog rockers Tiles' fourth release: the leadoff track clocks in at over seventeen minutes, and comprises over one fourth of the album. It is in itself a miniature rock opera that could stand on its own as an EP. Chris Herrin's guitar falls into the King's X/Dream Theater range, while Paul Rarick's vocals are more in line with…Similar sounding releases
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