This second album from French musician Gabriel Keller is an album of two distinct parts, on one hand you have a treatise on the horrors of war seen through the eyes of a soldier on the front line, the other part of the album is much more light hearted in nature and traces the journey of a drop of water from glaciers and the northern lights to the sands of the Sahara desert. It concludes a quest for inner peace and an ode to love. So it is, in essence, quite an interesting musical album ranging from gentle acoustic numbers to heavier Porcupine Tree musical styles.
The album begins with a brief introduction, Why?, which introduces the first part of the album with sound effects of war. Guns, rockets and military sounds set the scene very and this leads into The Letter – Part 1, in which the soldier shares his torment of being on the front line and his mother, who longs for her sons safe return. This track verges between Rush-like guitar sounds and a harder edged sound interspersed with the fine vocals of Emi B. It also has symphonic touches too which makes for a somewhat unusual sound. It is a great sound though with some great guitar fills and solo’s. The Guns Are Approaching emphasises both the futility of the war that is taking place around him and the fact that it is also drawing closer every day. It opens delicately and acoustically before a more punishing riff is introduced, adding a more metallic sound, more like European power metal. This is another strong piece overall and the vocals from Emi B again make a strong impression, as does Gabriel’s soaring guitar solo and playing. The Letter – Part 2 opens with eerie sound effects and a distorted guitar playing harmonics and arpeggios. This is the album’s longest track at just shy of ten minutes duration and has great dynamics among a lot going on. This song also has more than a passing nod to Rush in the guitar playing (shades of La Villa Strangiato). More guitar and power chords are at play here as the track gathers impetus making this the most compelling piece on the album, mixing its styles and sounds in a most satisfying manner.
My Son is a plea for the return of the mother’s son from the frontline. The vocals are superb as they harmonise on this sad plea. No Surrender and Oppression are about standing in opposition to submission in the face of difficulties. The former is a more traditional rock number with definite Rush influences and touches, I’ve noticed this in other albums I reviewed from French outfits like Pryzme. Obviously, Rush made an impact on French musical styles over the years, mainly their post 70’s epic period. The latter song continues this theme of solidarity and resistance, opening with the Cello of Lucie Lacour. This is another harder sounding track with good rhythmic switches in style that really sound great. There is a lot of inventiveness within this track, possibly one of the best for me, after the both parts of The Letter.
We then move into the second part of the album which is more acoustically driven, although the cello is evident in parts. Poussières Eternelles is sung in French and sounds suitably ethereal in style and tone. Your Way has more excellent guitar playing, mainly acoustic with electric embellishments, which sounds really good, I like this track a lot, it’s very positive and uplifting. Change is the album’s penultimate piece and has a real swing to it with long suspended chords that have a jazzy touch to them The great vocals from Emi B again make a good impact. I love how this song shimmers and sways very elegantly making it very cosmopolitan sounding There is a superb guitar solo as well that really sounds excellent. Mahaut is an ode to love. This is a slightly downbeat, subdued piece with lots of intricate guitar fills and is a fitting conclusion to a most interesting album.
‘Hope Despite Everything’ is a very impressive collection of songs with some strong performances and material, all of which are imaginatively portrayed. This album is most definitely worth a listen If you can!
Jordan Rudess is best known as the current keyboard player for progressive metal giants Dream Theater, who he joined over 20 years ago. During this time he has contributed significantly to their ever evolving sound, mainly because of his development company that produces new technologies for musicians.
Jordan is certainly an intelligent and articulate musician who is always pushing the boundaries in some way or another but he is also a solo artist in his own right. This new album, ‘Permission To Fly’, sees him joining forces with a hand picked collection of musicians to make a classic prog rock album. His choice of musical compatriots throws up some interesting choices, Steve Dadaian, by trade a highly acclaimed cosmetic dentist who is also a keen shredder (guitarist), along with Devin Townsend’s drummer Darby Todd. For the vocals, Jordan turned to Joe Payne (formerly of The Enid) who also works for the likes of John Holden, amongst others, while also maintaining his own solo career. Jordan was highly impressed by Joe and reached out to him for this album.
The album opens with The Final Threshold which features a stunning opening keyboard segment full of bombast (very ELP!) which then fades to a gentle piano before Joe begins singing softly but with his very expressive and wide vocal range. The album has just nine tracks (two extra on the initial CD release) and has a mixture of styles from ballads to all out prog rock tracks. Into The Lair is something of an epic track with a very strong vocal from Joe and you can see why Jordan chose him for this project. There is also a great bass solo in this track and a fiery guitar solo by Chilean guitarist Bastian Martinez. This track has it all, storming keyboards, brilliant guitar playing and above it all soars Joe’s sterling vocal performance. Haunted Reverie has discordant and eerie keyboards setting the scene. With its supernatural theme, this is a slightly unsettling track but very well delivered. All the lyrics for this album come from Jordan’s daughter Ariana.
The Alchemist is another longer track initially driven by keyboards. There’s a rather unusual mid-section vocal part which is very different from what you heard before and it’s possibly unhinged or mad, it certainly makes you take notice! The song has a sad ending when the Alchemist realises his life’s work is futile and has accomplished nothing of any worth and he is, after all, just a man. Embers is far more normal sounding and has an excellent piano motif that runs throughout (just like on Bowie’s Life On Mars) and an epic guitar solo that plays out the track superbly. Shadow Of The Moon opens with a very gothic sounding piano and drums. The song is about space exploration and the possibilities that this offers to the world but also of the potential risks we. The track ends with an extended keyboard outworking in conjunction with the superb bass.
Eternal is very much like Dream Theater in places, certainly more familiar territory for Jordan, the opening eventually gets to the vocals at the 2.40 mark! This is another good track, albeit it a tad Andrew Lloyd-Webber in style at times. There is a definite operatic or musical theatre leaning tot he song, albeit with a very prog style musical backing making it most impressive really. For what is a love song, this has some excellent keyboard parts from Jordan. Footsteps In The Snow is a more even tempo track with great lyrics. This track appears to be about the brevity of life and about the memories that remain behind, a rather philosophical track overall. The album concludes with an instrumental entitled Dreamer, full of deep chords and swirls of keyboard voices It is all very ethereal sounding and very stately and a great ending.
‘Permission To Fly’ is a real roller-coaster ride of an album, from bombastic thunder to gentle melodies and all points in between. This is a highly impressive album and one that befits the highly acclaimed Jordan Rudess. Whether this is a one off remains to be seen so, for now, dig in. In places it is totally weird but most enjoyable with it! Highly recommended indeed.
Inspiration can come in many forms and as a result of many different factors and influences, such as a new experience or a new relationship or a trip somewhere new that strikes a chord within. These Inspirations can be worked out in a number of different ways.
Such is the case with this new album from iconic Yes guitarist Steve Howe, whose creative juices were extremely stirred by his purchase of a new keyboard. This meant Steve had to become deeply acquainted with his new purchase to the extent that he composed these tracks for this latest solo album. Solo, although utilising the percussive talents of his son Dylan Howe, with whom he recorded the 2020 release ‘Love Is’.
‘Guitarscape’ is totally instrumental in tone and Steve’s recent acquisition of a Novatron Summit keyboard was the inspirational basis behind the album. As always, Steve offers the listener a variety of styles, both electric and acoustic, performed on a variety of Steve’s classic guitars, a breakdown of which guitars are used for each track are noted in the album’s booklet.
So enough preamble let’s detail exactly what this album offers the listener…
The album commences with the driving electric guitar track Hail Storm in which Steve really cuts loose with some fiery guitar runs and fills. Spring Board has a country music feel to it and, again, shows Steve’s mastery of tone and styling. There is some very technical and proficient playing on display here with the keyboard tones adding warmth and depth. It’s a really fine track that works very well. Distillations is an acoustic number that shows fabulous playing and a sympathetic keyboard sound that gives this track depth too. Up Stream opens with keyboard swirls and electric guitar. The track relies heavily on volume swells and sustained notes and Steve seems to be getting in touch with his inner David Gilmour, as it follows a similar sort of sound, to these ears at least. Secret Mission is another fleet-fingered acoustic track where the really delicate finger work makes for a memorable piece.
Passing Thoughts is another brief acoustic piece that follows a similar line to the previous track withSteve showcasing his impressive skills. Touch The Surface sees Steve using a tremolo effect on his guitar tone, rather impressively it has to be said too! The good thing about this album is that it offers listeners a showcase of Steve’s highly impressive, tasteful and varied guitar styles. In addition, nothing is very long so tracks and styles change rapidly, which is a good thing I feel. Spring Rhyme, in line with its title, has a real bounce to its step. It is a very short, but very fine, track. On Equinox we find Steve playing pedal steel guitar very effectively and Seesaw revisits the acoustic guitar tones in another very brief track.
The keyboard voicing sets the tone for acoustic track Gone West. Steve’s delicate fretwork also supporting the track well. It is the albums longest track and I rather like it a lot. Suma is a brief electric interlude that leads into the album’s penultimate piece, Spring Tide. Another shorter electric track where lots of interesting runs and fills play off good rhyming support from the keyboards and Dylan’s excellent drumming. The album closes with Steel Breeze an electric pedal steel guitar piece that Steve does so well. I like the way he has doubled the guitar at various points, it really sounds great.
‘Guitarscape’ is an interesting and different sort of album for Steve and one that offers a snapshot of where he is now at seventy seven years of age. His prowess and skills thankfully show no significant sign of deterioration or decline, for which we should all being thankful. It is proof that Inspiration is never that far away.
This may not be to everyone’s tastes but the more musically inclined will find much to appreciate here.
John Wenlock-Smith: So ‘The Lamb Lies Down’ gets its own outing, much to the fans delight. How much of it are you doing exactly?
Steve Hackett: We’re doing nine songs from it. I chose tracks that work as songs by themselves, as most folks will be familiar with the story already.
JWS: Will be you be recording the show and, if so, where?
SH: Yes, we’re recording the last UK show at The Royal Albert Hall, I’ll be joined by my brother John that night too.
JWS: Amanda Lehmann, is with you this time as well?
SH: Yes, Amanda asked if she could do the whole tour this time. It will be great having her with us full time, joining the old boys club!
JWS: So we’ll get a full version of Shadow of the Hierophant then?
SH: Yes, rather than the crescendo that we’ve done on previous tours. It really needs a female vocalist, as it was originally done with Sally Oldfield. Amanda does a great version of it, it’s a great track that had a young Phil Collins on drums.
JWS: So what’s next for you Steve?
SH: Well I’ve been working on some live acoustic stuff. I have also been writing stuff for the next album, no idea when that will be though! In addition, I’ve also been working some more with Steve Rothery on an album we’ve been working on and off for the past year or more. I’ve been playing some harmonica for that as Steve likes that and I enjoy doing it too.
JWS: I saw John and his band a few rimes this year, they were excellent. He has a new album coming out this year.
SH: I spoke with him yesterday and he’s coming here tomorrow. We’re having a family visit, for which I need to find cutlery and plates! We’re a busy lot us Hackett’s!
JWS: So it would seem!
SH: Growing up, I guess you could say we were industrious. Dad would be paintng his pictures in the front room, John would be practising his flute and I’d be off in my bedroom playing the guitar! Aah, those were the days!
JWS: Your friend Nick Fletcher has a new album coming out in October, called ‘A Longing For Home”.
SH: What sort of style is it?
JWS: Progressive jazz/rock fusion, he has some highly acclaimed musicians like Anika Niles and a Norwegian keyboard player.
SH: Is that Lalle Larson?
JWS: No it’s a guy called Jan Gunnar Hoff. Again, highly respected by his peers. I’m really looking forward to it, should be great.
SH: In amongst all that going on I’m also doing some shows at Trading Boundaries in East Sussex.
JWS: I’ve never been there.
SH: There are hotels nearby.
JWS: For us, it’s a long way from Cheshire. It’s a place I’d very much like to go to really.
SH: I normally do a couple of acoustic shows around Christmas there. Although I was there last year for the John Wetton tribute show, which was the first time I’d done an electric show there. It was great but very loud!
John was a good friend of mine, we’d often do a version of All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix together and he did a few shows with me over the years, Tokyo and a few revisited ones too. I do miss him, he was a very funny man and a good friend to me.
So, all in all, plenty of things going on at present. As I said, we’ve just moved house and we’re living out of boxes and I’ve got to go and get some cutlery and plates as we can’t easily find the ones we packed! So it’s all a little hectic at present.
Anyway I’d better dash as these shortages won’t rectify themselves. Seeing as we have the family around on Thursday I need to to get the place prepared for their arrival. I’d best go, so keep well and we’ll speak again no doubt. I’ll see you both in Stoke in a few weeks time where I hope you will enjoy the ‘Lamb Lies Down’ show, as much as I do performing it!
Meer are an eight piece Norwegian prog outfit based around the vocals of Knut and Johanne Nesdal (brother and sister) who meld together progressive rock with distinctly pop leanings. In doing so they offer a rather different soundscape, this, combined with the excellent vocals, makes for some rather unusually satisfying music. This album, ‘Wheels Within Wheels’, is their third following on from 2021’s ‘Playing House’ and their earlier debut album, ‘Meer’, from 2016.
Meer have been getting a lot of attention in prog circles of late and this latest release can only aid them in their own musical journey so let’s delve in and see what this album offers, shall we?
I have to say this is the first encounter I’ve had with Meer and whilst not entirely converted to the cause, I certainly do find lots here to enjoy. Opening track Chain of Changes begins with delicate piano lines and some rather subtle electronics before a more strident melody is introduced. It certainly captures the attention with the excellent vocals of Johanne and Knut, who together sound really good, clear and strong with great dynamics and crafting an expansive sound. The song returns to the earlier melody and it is rather stately in places, this track really impresses greatly. Behave begins with an upfront bass line and a sultry vocal from Knut, along with a bit of whistling and some viola backing. There’s a very strong chorus to this track and great backing vocals from Johanne and this allows Knut free reign for his expressive vocal. The strings really play their part gracefully on this track, the song is excellent and very strong. Take Me To The River is equally as impressive with some more great bass work underpinning the joint vocals of Knut and Johanne. Again, sensitive and delicate support from the other musicians definitely help with this excellent track. A dazzling guitar flourish from Eivind Strømstad helps the track gather momentum as it hurtles towards its conclusion. It is very impressive stuff all told. You know I said I wasn’t converted to their cause? Well I think that I may just be by this opening salvo of these first three tracks, which have shown me afresh what all the fuss is about.
Come To Lightopens seductively with another shifting bass line, delicate piano and a very seductive vocal from Joanne. Once again this music is spellbinding and it creeps up and overwhelms you with its brilliance and understatement. This is where Meer score large, with great arrangements that grab your attention with their sheer musicality. It is simply gorgeous stuff that is excellent and most satisfying to experience. Golden Circle follows with some further great guitar work from Eivind, whose chord play makes for a wonderful cauldron of sounds that set the stage for the vocals of Knut and Johanne who sing together so wonderfully. The groove returns to that opening section and, as the song moves into the chorus once again, you are caught up and swept away by the emotion of it all, simply an incredible track. I am getting deeply impressed with this album.To What Endopens with more syncopated guitar fills, all set against Joanne’s earnest vocal and, when Knut joins in, the song gathers in its intensity. This track has a harder edge at certain points and has great dynamics to it. Today Tonight Tomorrow features a mostly Knut vocal. This is a slow burner of a song, I like the build of the track, how it has peaks and valleys in the same song, another highly impressive track with an excellent vocal.
World Of Wonder is a very brief track that acts as a bridge to Mother, this has an orchestral motif to open with and the lyrics are a little darker in tone. The song suggests a loss of innocence and the desire for connection and inclusion. This is Meer at their most vulnerable, there is both beauty and depth to this track and it is quite mesmerising really. The penultimate song is Something In The Water, which begins with some heavy guitar alongside an almost ethereal vocal from Johanne, with assistance from Knut at key points. The subject appears to allude to hidden things being brought to the light, although I could be very wrong of course. What I do know is that it is another fine track which leads to the album’s last and longest track, This Is The End. This song adapts a harder tone, almost Porcupine Tree-like at times. The dynamics on this track are most enticing and agreeable and I like how it plays out its mixture of soft and brutal within the same track, it works really well.
I have to say that repeated listens to this album have allowed me to appreciate it more fully and I can certainly appreciate the crafting that has gone into making the album sound as good as it does here. ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ is a most worthy album and one that will hopefully win Meer many new fans.
Man on the Shore is a wonderfully intriguing, eclectic and emotionally vibrant album from Ozul – the solo prog-driven project of the Norwegian/Costa Rican documentary filmmaker, Paulo Chavarria. He provides the vocals and plays all the musical instruments – creating a real smorgasbord of progressive rock, electronic-led soundscapes, psychedelic rock, post rock and metal – with a cinematic and ethereal sweep. The music can switch between yearning delicacy to dynamic power, with Paulo’s accented vocal style creating a vulnerability and deeply personal aspect to the narrative of the album.
The first Ozul album, 2023’s Provenance, was an excellent and well-received album which highlighted Paulo’s musical talents and compositional skills, as well as his ability to switch from heavy, driving riff-laden power to atmospheric, introspective fragility, often within a single song. Man on the Shore is cut from the musical cloth, but is a concept album with a unifying theme, concerning a real-life news story of the body of an unknown man, found dead, lying on a fjord. Nobody knew who he was, and no one had reported him missing.
Paulo decided to write a fictional story of what might have happened to him – drawing upon the documentary be directed in 2022 called ‘The Bothersome Father.’ It dealt with the subject of child/parent separation and the complicated political, judicial and emotional issues raised. It related to his own father’s experiences with the breakdown of his first marriage, and how it affected Paulo as a child – so this is certainly has a deeply personal dimension for him.
The story revolves around a man having to fight to keep contact with his child after a divorce, and his efforts, challenges, and tribulations through the process, and ultimately the desperation that leads him to take his own life. The lyrics, not surprisingly. have a powerful, dark intensity to them, but it is the way that the music ebbs and flows to accompany the story that makes the album a compelling listen.
Paulo’s musical influences are varied, and they are often displayed on his Ozul albums. This makes it difficult to pigeon-hole the ever-changing style. For me it was the echo of Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree and The Pineapple Thief that struck me first, but there are heavier elements such as those of Opeth, Katatonia and Devin Townsend, as well as Leprous. However, the classical and cinematic influences sometimes feel like a Hans Zimmer meets Pink Floyd soundscape, as well. Basically, this is an album you need to listen to, in order to formulate your own interpretation, but in my view, it will definitely be worth your while.
The album starts with the dramatic, pulsating drive of Promise, as the man find himself in the midst of a divorce and he looks at his little child and promises to fight to be a father. There are some nice changes in musical tempo, a yearning guitar solo amongst the swirling keyboards and some slight touches of electronica, both musically and vocally. How Could I? sees the man remembering that first encounter with his newborn child, and reflects on how now the mother, and the legal system, asks him to ‘let go’. The track deals with how impossible this task seems to him, and how foolish it is to ask a father for forego his own child. It has a more melancholic, minimalist feel at the start, with resonating piano notes (not unlike the start of Pink Floyd’s ‘High Hopes’), before rhymically building up in intensity. However, a softer guitar-led interlude and some string effects create an unsettling undertow, prior to a bombastic prog metal-edged passage before those opening sad piano notes return.
There is a real sense of yearning frustration with Modus Operandi, as he sees the dishonest machinations of the divorce process trying to separate him from his child – especially those of his wife. The deliberately laborious and plaintive tempo then switches to a more powerful bursts of guitar and retro keyboard chords, swirling chaotically through to the end. In Kafta World, starting with the sound of a phone message, the man now feels on autopilot, trapped in an absurd, repeating circle of endless meetings with the court, counsellors and bureaucrats, with no one seemingly able to help him. There is a dreamy, unreal atmosphere here, lifted by some energetic drum patterns, but the tiredness of the man is still felt within the music.
Pariah Caste does provide a refreshing change in tone at this point. Some serene guitar patterns and chords provides a lighter flow and tone, as the father sings to his little son. Paulo says it is about the father’s worries about what is going to happen to his son as he will become a man, in a world where everything masculine seems to be now negative and denigrated in his view. It is about how hurt this father feels on behalf of his child, having to grow up in such a world. The intimacy and love shown is touching, but with the introduction of spoken words imparting future advice, a darker veil is drawn over the music with some unrelenting prog-metal touches not dissimilar to Dream Theater at the end. If there were signs of hope here, it looks like they are starting to fade.
Venus Will Not is a plea to the mother not to make things worse and let the child to keep his father. But here, Venus is no longer the goddess of peace of classic mythology, but now Venus is the goddess of war. The music is dark and hypnotically sinister, with classical elements enhancing the cinematic soundscape (maybe with a touch of Holst’s ‘The Planets’ in the shadows). Meanwhile Coping Mechanism, deals with the strategies the man tirelessly attempts to implement to keep his sanity. A reflection on how much of himself was annihilated under his last relationship, and the rediscovering of his vitality and sexuality, for a time at least. Paulo uses an electronica-themed, robotic, dance-like beat, suggesting a less human character has taken over our protagonist. A nice change of style with almost a rap-like intensity.
Grievance Entrepreneur is a return to heavier rock style and deep guitar riffs, as the man reflects on the roles of the multitude of experts dealing with his case and living off the grievances and ‘truths’ being revealed, and in his mind, siding with the woman against the man (so often seen as the danger). I’m not usually a fan of the metal death growl, but the snippet here expresses the man’s internal state of mind well – prior to the impersonal spoken word passage in court trotted out to justify these ‘experts’ and the course that the divorce settlement takes. Lost, as the title of the song suggests, just shows how damaged and isolated the man has become. The guitar-led music sways, with acoustic guitar and snatches of lead soloing produce a feeling of melancholic wistfulness. The feeling of helplessness is further highlighted by Admission. Here, it seems his child has become so brainwashed by the process he feels he doesn’t want to meet his father – a blow that seems absolute and final – and the man recognises that the battle is now lost. Lyrically it is a heartbreaking moment, and the rich musical template complements the vocals well. A touch of Rush-like guitar earlier on, but I’m struck by the nods to the likes of his fellow Norwegian compatriots Airbag and Gazpacho here, and throughout much of the album.
After the desolation at the end of the last song, Man On The Shore (Nomen Nescio) has a more up-tempo electronic feel, but the vocals betray what is to come. The man approaches the cliff and reflects on what has happened and the promise he made at the beginning of the story. A promise that he tried to keep, but in the end, failed. He never able to let go of his child inside of him, but he has gone. So the only thing left to let go of now, is himself, as he plunges towards the waves. Some dramatic guitar soloing and sweeping synthesised strings provide a mournful grandeur, but there is a poignancy within this song, and the album as a whole – which ends with a spoken section of news item – reporting the discovery of the body, and also, like many in the past, the unknown deceased would be buried with the Latin phrase ‘Nomen Nescio’ (N.N.) or ‘I do not know the name’ at the funeral.
Paulo, under the project name, Ozul, has produced a dark, moving and narrative for our times. Whatever, the real reasons why this man fell to his death, the story is a powerful one – with a deep, resonant and cathartic musical soundscape. The instrumental playing is of the highest order and the vocals are suitably haunting and integrated. It’s certainly not an easy listen from an emotional viewpoint, with little ray of light coming through any gaps in the dark veil, but it is certainly a rewarding one. I am certainly hoping the promise shown already by the albums Provenance and Man On the Shore is continued in the years to come. Yet again it shows the musical talent and quality, modern progressive rock emanating from Norway in the last decade or so. Check Ozul out on Bandcamp, if you are intrigued by this review.
Released June 21st, 2024 (Digital)
Paulo Chavarria: All instruments, vocals, mix and master
Occasionally, as in very rarely, you come across a real gem of an album such as this one. ‘Favourite Places’ is the latest in a steady stream of albums from Lincolnshire based musician, composer and studio engineer Brendan Perkins, who has over twenty-two releases on bandcamp, most being digital only releases. Although I believe Brendan is open to the possibility of a physical CD release for this latest album that seems to be garnering very positive reviews by folks who appreciate the quality and crafting that these songs utilise so convincingly.
I’d not heard of Brendan before but I have to say is a really splendid and uplifting album of very strong and interesting tracks, each being of a place that Brendan has visited and been touched by his time or experience there. They range from Polzeath in Cornwall, Caistor in Norfolk, Chinley Churn (a hill near High Peak in the Peak District) to Saltburn On Sea near Whitby. There are also two non place related songs, Skylarks and the emotionally laden A Song For Friends which, whilst a bit downbeat is neither mournful or dour, rather it is a celebration of friends who are no longer with us but whose memory remains alive in our hearts and mind. This song celebrates such warm fond memories as these. In fact, the whole album is a very positive listen, the songs are good, the instrumentation is excellent, the production is clear and all taken together form a very solid and convincing piece of work.
I actually feel this very pastoral and very English album would find a highly receptive audience with fans of Big Big Train as they share a similar musical viewpoint, history, culture and stories. I also think folks who like ex Genesis man Anthony Phillips and his excellent ‘Private Parts & Pieces’ series would find much common ground and, indeed, much to enjoy here. All the music is composed and performed by Brendan himself, although he is aided by Helen Lunder on backing vocals on Skylarks and Lucy’s Lane.
Opener Skylarks sets the scene well with its fluid guitar and punchy bass lines helping to propel the song along. The track laments the decrease in the number of skylarks that are around, thirty years ago we had more hedgerows for these birds to nest but times have changed and the numbers have decreased substantially over the years as hedgerows have been removed. The song has a very fluid and ascending guitar motif which is wonderfully supported by a very solid bass line which grabs the attention. The motif is repeated at various points, it really lifts the song with grace and style elevating things significantly. It’s a really strong opener and when the guitar solo comes in this really impresses as does the interplay with the bass which really shines and shows off the talent that is on offer here, a great opening track. The aforementioned A Song For Friends is a testament to the value of friendships and how, even though they may no longer be with us, their memory and warmth of their friendship lives on in our lives. It is not a morbid song, rather it is highly celebratory in tone. Petrichor Dance is about a trip to Polzeath in Cornwall and, especially, the rich earthy smell of rain on dry soil. The song is very evocative in tone and has a very fluid guitar line that runs throughout the track, another excellent piece of music.
Lucy’s Lane is about Caistor in Norfolk, picturing the feel of the market place and how when it winds down the townsfolk gather to celebrate the day. The next track is Chinley Churn, which is about a hill near Chinley, near High Peak in the Peak District. This piece is an instrumental with some great simple piano fills and some very Floydian guitar tones. I really like this one a lot, there is a lot of great guitar in this track, the bass is strong and muscular and versatile too, dancing around the chugging guitar rhythms. It’s probably my favourite song of the entire album and is very lyrical without words, a truly impressive track. The album closes with the more reflective The Funicular, which is about the cliff railway at Saltburn-On-Sea that takes visitors from the clifftop to the pier. It really captures the area and the beauty of this water balanced cliff railway from the Victorian era and is a beautifully warm song.
What’s remarkable here is just how much I have come to appreciate this album. I like everything about it and I especially love Brendan’s beautiful guitar playing and bass playing. The songs are emotively strong and Brendan’s voice suits them. ‘Favourite Places’ will be near the top of my best albums of the year list, it really is an outstanding work and one that, as you become more familiar with, will definitely enrich your life. Buy it, listen often and appreciate this wonderful release for yourself then you can thank me later!
September sees the release of ‘A Strange Inheritance’, Nick Magnus’ highly unusual, nautically themed, concept album, concerning itself with the tale behind an unusual inheritance. This being a chest full of artefacts received anonymously from an unknown relative, the artefacts taken together telling a story of bureaucratic incompetence, harsh decisions taken without much, if any, compassion or sense of fairness and certainly not in the best interests of the victims.
The opening track, An Almost Silent Witness, sets the scene for what follows and is enlivened by the fine harmonica playing of one Steve Hackett, who began his musical life voyage playing this very instrument having been greatly impressed and inspired by the playing of Lou Adler and Paul Butterfield, along with Britain’s very own John Mayall, all players who brought the humble mouth organ to a whole new slew of musicians on their early recordings. This opening track has a lot of interesting things going on during its ten plus minute running time. What makes it unusual is that the teller of the story appears to be the brightly coloured bird who appears to have seen the entire story as it unfolded. He is a most reliable narrator as he tells his sad tale. The great orchestrations and the splendid harmonica solo adding to this nautically themed song admirably and with a certain panache. It really does an excellent job of scene setting as the tale unfolds with observations on the nature of man and his insatiable greed.
Blood Money features the wonderful vocal skills of Tony Patterson of Re-Genesis. It is a tale of greed and how the local people in the Caribbean are ripped off by the marauding interlopers, who take their silver and gold and leave them wooden crosses, not a very fair exchange at all! The song is greatly enlivened by the dextrous acoustic guitar of the talented John Greenwood of Unitopia. In Philadelphia we learn of how young couples are forcibly torn apart and ostracised with devastating consequences. It’s a very moving song with excellent orchestrations and sounds that convey the deep sadness contained in the lyrics.
This album is one that will touch your heart and cause you to wonder and rail against the injustice of our world and how our history is littered with tales of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, something that lies adjacent to greed and the lust for gold. The next track, At Sea At Night, concerns itself with our heroine’s travels to the colonies and how she feels lost lonely and adrift. It’s a rather mournful track with suitably downbeat music and performances but still manages to convey its emotions exceedingly well. Four Winds is a lengthy instrumental that portrays the four winds and their character and how they interact with the world today. It is in four parts each signifying a wind and its behaviour. This superb track is heavily orchestral in tone with massed choirs and orchestrations featured heavily. It is an excellent listen as you can sense the malevolence that is characterised in the various winds and it also acts as a good break before we take our tale further into cannibalism and piracy before we reach a kind of conclusion.
Welcome To The Island introduces us to the very different way of life the island offers, not all of which is healthy or even sane! Black And Scarlet concerns itself with piracy and how our two heroes find themselves on the wrong side of the law, becoming pirates and outcasts as a result. To Whom It May Concern brings this brilliantly involving tale to its conclusion, drawing together the disparate threads of our story. We see our heroine reveals that the life she has lived has not bought happiness but rather has caused hurt and pain for those around her and she ends it with a plea that we live by reason and not by fear. A cautionary tale if ever there was one!
‘A Strange Inheritance’ is a highly enjoyable and compelling album from Nick Magnus and one that is a bit different from the norm. Like a lot of the best albums, it repays repeated listens as herein lies a real treasure trove of delights for the brave hearted to discover as they take a journey through uncharted waters. I highly recommended it and thoroughly enjoyed it, the artwork is also really strong and the production is clear and well defined.
I am definitely of an age where technology is not especially my friend. I recently bought a new phone that, a month on, I am still barely scratching surface of what it can do and with music, whilst I appreciate the ease and speed of downloading, I can’t help but miss actually getting a physical copy of the music on CD and reading the credits, booklet lyrics et al. For me, at least, the CD is definitely still very much alive.
Which brings me to this set of the early EMI recordings by Scottish proggers Pallas who, at one stage, held the prog flame alive, along with Marillion, Twelfth Night, IQ and Pendgragon, all of whom initially had major label input and support. Pallas were probably the unluckiest of the bunch though as they underwent major changes and trauma’s during their tenure with EMI.
Their journey starts in this collection with ‘Arrive Alive’, a recording that was originally released independently on cassette and which, for a low key cassette release, was actually very good. It did later get a vinyl release but here it gets both an updated sound and is also accompanied with the original 7 inch single version of Arrive Alive and it’s B-side Stranger on the Edge of Time. This is vintage Pallas where you can hear their intent and their promise. Stage favourites like Arrive Alive, Heart Attack and Crown Of Thorns (my favourite Pallas track) are all here in good solid live versions and, as an opening disc, this is very strong and satisfying indeed, neo-prog seldom sounding so good. Disc 2 is a collection of tracks recorded at various BBC shows, including the Friday Rock Show recordings, it also includes Paris Is Burning and the infamous The Hammer Falls. Make you own mind up about this track but my verdict is underwhelming at best, good live tracks from the Reading Festival and the live BBC session do both impress though.
Disc 3 is their EMI debut ‘The Sentinel’, which was issued in 1984 and contained merely six tracks, bolstered here by both Eyes In The Night and Shock Treatment and other tracks which make up the bulk of the later issued InsideOut version of the album, which has all ten tracks as we get here. The album was decidedly different from what was originally envisaged which was a suite about Atlantis. The final album only had a few of those intended tracks on it, the others were lost as a result of EMI’s reluctance to issue a whole Atlantis concept piece, although segments have appeared on various other releases. Disc 4 gives us the US remix version of the original album. Again, you can make your own mind up about this, personally I think it’s okay but adds very little to what we already know.
Disc 5 gives up ‘The Wedge’ and ‘The Knightmoves’ EP, from 1986 and 1985 respectively, both of which are very good and, even though Pallas were trying for a new more commercial sound, the material is still very progressive and strong. These recordings featured their new vocalist Alan Reed who replaced Euon Lawson after the disappointing experience of ‘The Sentinel’ album and all the issues the band faced as a result. The quality of their material is seldom in question here nor are the performances. What we have with Pallas is another case of record company interference and misunderstanding of exactly what they have signed to their label. It’s happened many times over the years along with the hit single dilemma that has faced many bands over the years, with Pallas being no exception. What was worse for the band though was that EMI pulled tour support midway through ‘The Wedge’ tour, leaving the band stranded and on the verge of imploding. The fact that they survived the ordeal and decided to walk away from a major label in order to embrace being independence once more again is testament to their spirit and integrity and these valuable recordings offer ample proof of that.
Whilst this set is not cheap, it does offers a fair package to all listeners along with a Blu-Ray of a London show from ‘The Wedge’ tour, there is also a live show from Aberdeen in October 1985. In all, it’s a big yes from me and a very interesting and informative booklet completes this set to the usual Esoteric high standards.
The name Leslie Mandoki may not be familiar to most prog fans but bear with me for his music is something slightly different. Leslie Mandoki’s was born in then communist Hungary in Budapest in 1953, he became fascinated by English Progressive Rock music from the likes of Gentle Giant and, especially, Jethro Tull. Leslie was part of the Student Uprising and was imprisoned on 17 occasions, after which he and some friends decided to escape the country and seek a new life in the west.
Upon arrival in the west Leslie joined the German group Dschinghis Khan who were a six piece outfit formed to compete at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, coming 4th. In 1992 Leslie decided to to start his own group, Mandoki Soulmates, where his would fuse his love of progressive rock with jazz music. To this end, he used his record producer contacts to assemble some ‘A’ list musicians to help him realise his vision.
The original incarnation of Soulmates featured such talented artists as Ian Anderson, JackBruce and Al Di Moela and Leslie has continued for over 25 years to attract serious talent for his albums, like Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Greg Lake and John Helliwell, amongst others.
This latest album continues in the same manner, although this time it was recorded using Leslie’s own old analogue equipment and released primarily on vinyl for optimum sound quality. It was also recorded with the musicians being present and not through file sharing, this gives the music a definite presence and warmth, allowing for some great interactions amongst the musicians.
The album begins with the track Blood In The Water, which features Ian Anderson’s flute very much to the forefront.It is an excellent track and Anderson’s flute really makes an impact. Enigma Of Reason is another great track, which does have more than a whiff of Toto to it. Leslie’s vocals are excellent here and the guitar of Al Di Moela adds great colour to the track, as do the wonderful brass parts, making this a track that certainly impresses and stays with you. The Wanderer puts me in mind of Annie’s Song by John Denver as it has a similar sound and the oboe plays a similar melody, rather unusual but effective nonetheless. This is a gentle track with good sentiments and lyrics, it is actually a nice touch and makes a positive impression when listening.
The Big Quit is very jazzy in places, which gives the fusion players in the band room to shine, as Leslie bemoans that “We’ve got Zoom, we’ve got Skype, we’ve got everything but real life”, as the song calls out on the quitting culture ,how folks give up rather than pushing on through. This is all relayed with some nifty acoustic guitar runs from Al, great horns from Randy Brecker and Leslie’s propulsive drumming. A really strong track indeed. Devil’s Encyclopaedia again features Ian Anderson and his dextrous flute playing. The song is a call for people like us to seek reality and to stand against brutality. It’s a strongly political track as, indeed, is much of the album, although the music in which it is enveloped makes it more palatable I feel. A Memory Of My Future is a slightly wistful number in its opening part, although, at the two minute mark, there are strong touches of Al Di Moela’s solo albums in the guitar playing and it sounds really impressive. This is an interesting, almost autobiographical track.
I have to say that the more I hear of this album, the more I find to appreciate and also to enjoy. I feel this mixture of progressive elements with jazz fusion has much appeal. While the lack of blistering electric guitar solos may be problematic for some, there are some excellent musical passages here and a lot to enjoy, Age Of Thought does have a great Mike Stern blowout that kind of redresses the balance somewhat.
I think fans of Steely Dan and Toto will definitely like this interesting album as it has an excellent cast of musicians who all respond very positively to the direction and leadership of Leslie Mandoki. This is a most satisfying album and one that warrants frequent replays to get the most out of it. I recommended it highly, why not give it a listen and see what you think. I personally enjoyed it as a slow burning, groove led, album of great depth and integrity.
