Ian Crichton Talks Six By Six's Sophomore Album
The guitar legend, known for his work with Saga, discusses "Beyond Shadowland"
Thank you for spending part of your day with Michael’s Record Collection. It doesn’t seem like it’s been nearly two full years since I spoke with Robert Berry about the self-titled debut by Six By Six (stylized by the band as SiX BY SiX, which is exhausting to type and, therefore, I’ve abandoned it), but it has.
The band drops its sophomore album, Beyond Shadowland, today on Inside Out Music. The new record sees the power trio of Berry (vocals/bass/keyboards), Saga’s Ian Crichton (guitars), and Saxon’s Nigel Glockler (drums) return with a worthy follow-up, offering 11 new tracks of progressive-tinged melodic rock.
After speaking with the always delightful Berry about the debut album, I sought a different viewpoint for the second release, and was fortunate to land an interview with Crichton, who is the second member of Saga (following lead vocalist Michael Sadler) to grace this newsletter.
Let’s get to that story.
Just about two years ago we were gifted a new “supergroup,” consisting of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Robert Berry — best known for his work in 3 with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer — Saga guitarist Ian Crichton, and Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler. Known as Six By Six, the new power trio’s music had elements of three primary styles of rock music — hard, melodic, and progressive. The self-titled debut was well received and was one of the more interesting releases of the 2022 calendar year.
Six By Six returns in 2024 with a brand new album, Beyond Shadowland, on Inside Out Music, available as of today. The band clearly embraced a heavier sound on this album but without losing the melodies and playing on display on the self-titled debut.
Berry writes all the lyrics, although Crichton said he has made suggested changes and that his input is always welcome.
“I leave it to his devices, and I do add some input at little spots. We change a few things and stuff like that, but (lyrics) comes from Robert,” Crichton said.
The album explores lyrical themes of how humanity can move forward in a positive way.
But themes and lyrics aside, the album is comprised of songs that sound good and fit together well, with enough variation in styles and influences to prevent it all from sounding like the same thing. There are elements of Rush, Saga, Asia, and even some heavier bands like King Kobra in the music, but Six By Six manages to sound not quite like any of them — and that’s not a knock. The follow-up to 2022’s Six By Six is a worthy successor that takes the listener for an enjoyable ride for just under an hour.
The new Six By Six record came together the same way as the first, with Crichton sending parts to Berry and the California-based musician finding ways to turn them into songs.
“Robert and I basically write everything,” Crichton said. “I send him all kinds of sections and parts and verses and licks and intros and all that stuff. And Robert is a brilliant arranger, so he gets his hands on these parts. He puts in a few of his own parts, verses, you know, things like this, and a full lyric. And he sends it back to me. Blows me away.”
The album-opening “Wren” was the first song worked on for Beyond Shadowland, according to Crichton. The record came together in 2023 and was completed last November. Crichton was busy throughout the year with Saga but when not on the road he continuously worked on creating new ideas for Six By Six.
“Robert starts calling me up, going, ‘Come on Crichton, send me some parts here. Let’s get going,’” Crichton said with a laugh.
The band announces its return with authority, using power chords and Glockler’s heavy touch on the drums to open “Wren,” which quickly settles into a nice groove. As always, Crichton’s guitar work shines throughout the album, with his intricate bits woven into songs, joining Berry’s keyboard work in providing texture and depth.
“Wren” was the first song Crichton mentioned when I asked him which songs stood out to him as one of which he’s particularly proud, although he quickly added the names of half a dozen other songs. The instrumental groove late in the song pulses along, leading up to a cinematic finish.
The album’s first single was “The Arms of a Word.” Crichton plays some tasty lead guitar throughout that ranges from shredding to melodic playing. His technical ability ranks among the best in the business and it’s great to hear him stretch out in ways he couldn’t always do in Saga. There’s a lot going on in this song, and few would believe that only three people are doing so much over the course of five and a half minutes. There’s almost a danceable groove being laid down by Berry’s bass and Glockler’s drums. Berry doubles his vocal line with a harmony throughout, thickening up the sound to match the killer music. It might be my favorite Crichton song on the album.
“Can’t Live Like This” features some studio chicanery on Berry’s early vocal lines and a positively evil low-end guitar riff with heavy distortion in the opening bars. The lyrics speak to clickbait news mentality and how harmful it can be to have news organizations focusing on competing for eyeballs moreso than reporting the news accurately in a nonpartisan way. The chorus is catchy, though.
Nobody Could Live Like This
Nobody Could Last That Long
You Just Can’t Stop Desire
Nobody Can Live Like This
The song ends with a vaguely “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” lawnmower sound, although I’m not sure if that was a tribute or a happy accident.
“Obiliex” is a title that Crichton made up and was a working title that stuck on the finished song. A bit more subdued than the ballsier songs that preceded it, the chorus of “Obiliex” — the album’s second single — might be Berry’s finest moment on the album from a vocal perspective. Crichton’s solo shows how well he can play expressively while simultaneously exhibiting his technical prowess.
“It’s really about leaving planet Earth and finding a more calm place,” Crichton said of the song. “So, I think Obiliex is that planet.”
“Only You Can Decide” shows a more pastoral side of Six By Six, with a lovely acoustic guitar intro. It’s a short song at just 2:58. Although it’s a simple song, it’s beautiful, and it serves as a musical sorbet, as “Titans,” then crashes in hard and heavy right from the jump. But it’s more than a heavy number. It’s catchy as hell, and even though some of the lyrics are a bit nonsensical, they’re fun, they sound good, and I constantly find myself singing along with them.
Um pop pop
jump make a change
pop pop
let it go
um pop pop
shake shake away
oh…. Um pop pop
go find it
there’s more than you know
um pop pop
shake shake away
Crichton’s guitar solo here, as well as in a few other places on the record, is quite angular and reminds me of something you might get if you crossed Alex Lifeson with 1980s Adrian Belew.
“Outside Looking In” is chock full of interesting bits and has a memorable chorus. I probably didn’t rate it highly enough on my first few listens, but it’s grown on me and has some of my favorite Crichton moments on it. It reveals some cool intricate-yet-subtle parts upon repeat listens. Glockler’s drumming features a lighter touch here and shows that he offers more than sheer power — although he has plenty of that!
“Spectre” is one of my favorite songs on the album. I like everything about it — the playing, the changing tempo, Berry’s lyrics, etc.
Got The Right To Live
How You Wanna Live Ok
You Got The Right To Say
What You Wanna Say So Say
You’ve Got Your Own Ideas
And The Price You’d Pay Ok
Just Try To Stay Out Of Your Own Way
Crichton scorches through another blistering solo on “Spectre,” while Berry and Glockler provide the song with its musical bedrock.
“Sympathise” is a rapid-fire number with some fun twists. “One Step” is the closest thing Beyond Shadowland has to an epic, clocking it at just over eight minutes long. It’s a song that builds in intensity throughout.
“The Mission” starts like a Saga-style song but quickly shifts gears with some acoustic guitar, what sounds like a sitar, and some 1970s-style Styx keyboard sounds. It’s got perhaps the album’s most infectious musical hook, and Berry sings some ‘do-do-do-dos’ along with it that has no business making the song better, but it somehow does. Crichton chips in another wonderful emotional solo, and again Glockler takes a little bit of the heaviness out of his drumming.
I would say “The Mission” is up there with “Titans,” “Spectre,” and “Obiliex” at the top of the album’s considerable offerings. Those are the ones that have emerged as my favorites so far.
“My wish is everyone’s wish,” Crichton said of the band’s sophomore release. “I mean, that they really dig the record and the band and the feeling and all of that.”
Everything the band did well on Six By Six has been done just as well on Beyond Shadowland. Even better at times. The album will not likely disappoint fans of the first record. It still delivers a punch, interesting twists and turns, and plenty of memorable hooks.
The album is available digitally, as well as on double vinyl (with bonus tracks), and CD.
To find out more about the band, check out their website at sixbysixband.com.
Tracklist:
Wren (5:06)
The Arms of a Word (5:35)
Can’t Live Like This (5:09)
Obiliex (5:23)
Only You Can Decide (2:58)
Titans (5:06)
Outside Looking In (4:44)
Spectre (4:00)
Sympathise (4:15)
One Step (8:08)
The Mission (4:36)
For my complete interview with Ian Crichton, check out the video below or download/stream Episode 132 of the Michael’s Record Collection podcast. In addition to the new record, Ian talked about his musical background, starting Saga with his brother, getting involved with Six By Six, and more. He unfortunately had to cut the interview a little short to get a tooth fixed, but it was still a fun conversation, even if I had to figure out on the fly how to shorten my planned questioning and sacrifice some of my questions about some of these new songs.
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