Tag: John Wenlock-Smith

Review – PALLAS: EYES IN THE NIGHT – THE RECORDINGS 1981 – 1986 – by John Wenlock-Smith

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.

Released 28th June, 2024.

Order from Cherry Red here:

Pallas: Eyes in the Night – The Recordings 1981 – 1986, 6CD/Blu-ray Remastered Box Set (cherryred.co.uk)

Review – Mandoki Soulmates – A Memory Of Our Future – by John Wenlock-Smith

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, Jack Bruce 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.

Released 10th May, 2024

Order the album here:

A Memory Of Our Future (lnk.to)

Review – Focus – Focus 12 – by John Wenlock-Smith

Focus need little or no introduction to most folks, I would imagine. Although most of that Knowledge will be a familiarity with either Hocus Pocus, Sylvia or House Of The King, all of which come from their heyday in the early 1970’s, some 50 plus years ago. Well, Focus are still very much an ongoing concern with Thijs Van Leer at the helm and still very active for a 75 year old man, Pierre Van Der Linden is actually 78 and still a very powerful drummer.

This album is unsurprisingly Focus’s 12th official studio album, although there have been a few more recent live releases like ‘Live At The Robin’, ‘Live In Europe’, from around 2010, and the excellent ‘Live in Rio’ which had a bonus album of the Focus numbered tracks Focus 1 to Focus 11, entitled ‘Completely Focused’ and was a great addition to their catalogue.

Which brings us back to this new album from the Dutch veterans and possibly Holland’s most legendary band. ‘Focus 12’ is an album of ten tracks mostly written by Thijs Van Leer but produced by the younger guard of band members Udo Panakeet (bass) and Menno Gootljes (guitar), who also contribute two compositions on the album. This fresh perspective is all part of keeping the music fresh and exciting. However I’m not entirely convinced that this works the way it should or could have, let’s listen and I’ll try to explain my feelings about this album more fully.

The album begins with Fjord Focus, which I guess is not about the long standing production model of vehicle. Well it certainly is a sprightly little number and one that sets you up for what is to follow. Which, in this case, is Focus 13, this is the latest in the continuing series of numbered instrumental tracks. Again, this is certainly pleasant enough but initially fails to really ignite and capture the listener. There’s a nice guitar tone and lines but, thankfully, the latter part of the track gains in both pace and intensity which really redeems things. Bela opens with a graceful piano melody which really shines but is then overtaken by a highly mixed guitar line from Menno that ties into the piano melody, Thijs then switching to Hammond organ to provide a counterpoint melody. This track is good, if a tad pedestrian in its pacing, it has a really great sound though.

Meta Indefinita has some great tones including a plucked bass part playing harmonics, some dirty growling guitar parts and the percolating percussion of Pierre Van Der Linden. I suspect this is the totally improvised track on the album, as it seems to fit the bill. Thijs Van Leer’s flute floats over the top of it all and Menno adds more countrified licks, which is a good touch and works well, it’s pretty good, all told, and definitely shows good intentions. All Aboard is an even tempo piece with a good bass line from Udo and some fine, fluid guitar from Menno which morphs into a harder section that closes the track out. Born To Be You is a brief piano vignette that, while pleasant enough, adds little to what has gone before, even when the rest of the band join in. Nura is initially pedestrian until around the ninety second mark when it comes alive with real power and energy to become something a little more special and interesting.

Bowie fares a lot better as it is a bit more interesting, Whether it is a tribute to David Bowie or something entirely different is really not clear as the bulk of the track is a long solo piano piece from Thijs, it is beautifully performed though, it must be said. Quite why Focus have chosen this approach is slightly baffling to me as many folks will not listen long enough to enjoy the changes of pacing. The penultimate track, Positano, is another case in point, the initial part leading you into a false sense of security with mainly gentle guitar lines and piano before, around the two minute mark, everything changes for the better as a crashing guitar riff enters the fray, bass and drums pile in as does Thijs’ flute. Again, it’s all very good indeed but a bit late in the day, I expect excitement nearer the start of the track. Gaia is the album’s final track and this starts with a sultry organ part and some great ensemble playing with little guitar fills from Menno being added. It is not until halfway through that the track gains any urgency or even intensity as, until then, it has been very pedestrian. Menno adds some almost country style guitar fills which enlivens things a little but it’s all a little to late to save the track for me.

Now I must say that I am working from a download and the final album may flow a lot better. I guess I won’t know till I get my own CD and see for myself but, based on this, I’m sad to say that this album fails to capture the imagination fully and is not really up to the stands one expects of a band like Focus. The cover from Roger Dean is, of course, splendid but I just wanted more from this album somehow…

Released 5th July, 2024.

Order from Burning Shed here:

Focus (burningshed.com)

Review – Kaipa – Sommargryningsljus – by John Wenlock-Smith

‘Sommargryningsljus’ is the 15th, and latest, from Swedish outfit Kaipa who have been in existence for over 50 years. Whilst they may now have been active for all 50 of those years, when they do regroup and re-emerge, they offer something new and fresh. This new album is a step further for the band after the excellent ‘Urskog’ from 2022, which I reviewed favourably for Progradar, being captivated by its lush symphonic textures and sounds. ‘Sommarskymningsljus’ continues this in a similar vein and sounds really lush, fans of Swedish symphonic prog will find much to appreciate here.

The album begins gently with Sommarskymningsljus, the beautifully clear and expressive voice of Aleena Gibson rising over an expressive melody from Hans Lundin, it is an engaging number that leads us into the equally captivating epic Seven Birds, which builds in a very satisfying way. Layers of sound make for an interesting track with excellent vocals from Aleena again, the mid section has a fine, lengthy keyboard excursion leading into a brief but exciting guitar break from Per Nilsson. A second longer solo occurs later in the song, where Per and Hans play in tandem delivering a great sounding track. Like Thousand Dawns is greatly enlivened by the excellent bass playing from Jonas Reingold, who is very busy on this, track adding foundation and definitions to the track. The song has another stellar vocal from Aleena Gibson, whose powerful vocal is actually a thing of beauty here. The mid part of the track has a twisting, turning part which, again, gives bassist Jonas a chance to impress and he does admirably, leaving room for a few short but dynamic guitar fills from Per Nilsson. It’s another epic song from Kaipa, proving, once again, that their brand and style of progressive rock is both worthwhile and entertaining.

It’s worth pointing out that of the albums 9 tracks, Six are over nine minutes in duration. This means this is an album that will require your involvement and an investment of your time that you will not regret one bit, for this album is full of superb tracks with some excellent extended musical passages featuring the expressive and poignant violin of Elin Rubinsztein and the recorders and whistles of Frederick Lindquist and it greatly benefits from these guest appearances.

Chased by Wolves And Burned By The Sun is another lengthy track with more great violin parts, giving a slight tone of Kansas to proceedings (no bad thing to these ears!) and another chance for some muscular bass lines from Jonas whilst Per provides the insistent riff that underpins the song. I really like the dynamics of this track as it uses the counterpoint of the instruments to really allow the track to evolve and shine, it really is utterly engrossing. Spiderweb Train dates from the 1990’s, as does second track Seven Birds, Hans had to do some extensive reworking of these songs to bring them into today’s age. Spiderweb Train is  the albums longest track at over fifteen and a half minutes. This means it has lot of room for improvisation and for the various parts to emerge. There’s an almost Gothic tone in places and parts that really makes it an interesting and exciting track.

This is followed by the album’s last long track, Songs In Our Hands at just shy of Thirteen minutes, before the shorter title piece Sommargryningsljus. The former track features some very impressive vocals from both Patrick Lindqvist and Aleena Gibson, along with some great synth lines from Hans Lundin, another excellent track from the band. The album closes with a longer take of Sommargryningsljus, allowing the full version of the song to be heard as it was originally envisaged.

The album takes us on an interesting journey through the dark and the early hours before dawn with dawn finally emerging and the darkness falling away. The first two tracks representing Twilight and the last two representing Dawn. As always the artwork is excellent and definitely fits the theme of the album well.

Overall, this is another excellent album from Kaipa who are now a studio band only as they have finished with live performances now. Fans of symphonic progressive music will find much to enjoy herein, it is a wonderful release that is most definitely worthy of investigation.

Released 28th June, 2024.

Pre-order the album here:

Sommargryningsljus (lnk.to)

Interview with Hans Lundin of Kaipa – John Wenlock-Smith

John Wenlock-Smith asks the questions of Hans Lundin ahead of the release of Kaipa’s new album ‘Sommargryningsljus’.

JWS: The album appears to be a cycle of songs that encompass the day shifting to dawn and beyond. Can you explain more about this?

HL: I had written all the songs for the album and the total playing time was seventy minutes, but then something unexpected happened. One day when I was recording with Aleena Gibson, we took a break and went out into my garden to have a cup of coffee. Suddenly Aleena started singing some notes and I said it was beautiful. Okay, let’s write a song, she said. So we returned to the studio and fifteen minutes later a new song had been born. We were both delighted with the result and said that this song must be on the album and the lyrics must be in Swedish. I developed the song and created an interlude built on the same chords. The melody was hovering around in the studio and it landed gracefully in my fingers when I started to play. One early morning a few weeks later, the words suddenly came floating down and landed in my consciousness.

I decided to split the song into two parts ”Sommarskymningsljus” which is about dusk, when the sun goes down and use it as the opening track of the album. The second part ”Sommargryningsljus” (Summer dawn light) is used as the closing track. I thought it was a good idea that felt logical because several of the songs are about dusk and dawn. One song “Chased by Wolves and Burned by the Sun” takes place at night when you can’t fall asleep. So you could say it’s a journey from dusk to dawn even though that wasn’t my intention when I originally wrote the songs.  

JWS: The album title ‘Sommergryningsjus’ is obviously in your own language but what does it mean?

HL: Summer dawn light.

JWS: You really like long songs, as do I, why is that do you think?

HL: I never decide in advance how a song should be. Songwriting is an exciting and unpredictable journey. Sometimes it’s just a little excursion that results in a short little song. But often the imagination takes me on a longer exciting journey and then it becomes a long song.

JWS: A couple of tracks were apparently old ideas that you have restored and developed, were you happy with them?

HL: The basic structures of two of the songs on the album (Seven Birds & Spiderweb Train) were originally written in the late 90’s. The same period as the songs for Kaipas comeback album Notes from the past (2002) were written.

I found two old long instrumental songs that I really liked. I only had the songs mixed on a cassette tape. At the time when they were recorded, I used an Atari computer and the Logic program Notator where I could record midi-files addressed to all my different keyboards. The songs were saved on a floppy disc. I managed to transfer these midi-files into my modern recording system and slowly I could build up these old songs again. I had to dust off a couple of old synthesizers, that had not been used for many years, to find some of the original sounds I used at that time. I edited the songs, removed some parts and wrote some new bridges.

I also decided to use some of the instrumental melodies as vocal tracks and wrote lyrics. One of the songs was called Seven Birds and it inspired me to write lyrics where I could keep the title intact. Some of the synthesizer solos on these tracks are actually recorded in the 90’s. Working with these songs was really fun and inspiring and I felt I was building a bridge between the past and the future, the old and the new. This is the 10th KAIPA album on Inside Out and I think it’s logical to celebrate this with two songs that are like a melting pot, born some 25 years ago and dressed up for success today.

JWS: The artwork for the album is very impressive, does it play a role in telling the stories of the album?

HL: I always try to make a cover that harmonizes with the music on the album. Something you can look at and dream away with while listening to the music.

JWS: Kaipa seem to have burst of activity and then a break, why is that?

HL: When I started Kaipa in 1973, we started from scratch. At that time, no one had heard of the band and we began a long journey towards success. Three years later we had recorded two albums and became Scandinavia’s leading progressive rock band. We did over five hundred concerts, recorded three more albums and continued until 1982. At that time the conditions had changed as people showed more interest in punk and synth groups. So we decided to take a break. However, a reunion never happened and it wasn’t until 2001 when I decided to record a new album that chapter two of Kaipa’s history began.

During the 80’s I continued to write music and released three solo albums: Tales (1984), Visions of Circles of Sounds (1985) and Houses (1989). In 2019 the 6-cd box “Hans Lundin: The Solo Years 1982-1989” was released where the three albums are included remastered + three albums of previously unreleased material also including some Kaipa demos.

JWS: Aleena has such a unique voice, where did you find her?

HL: When we recorded the album “Notes from the Past” in 2001, there was a song I had written, “A Road in my Mind”, that was supposed to be performed by a woman. I asked Patrik Lundström if he knew anyone who could sing it. He returned a few days later with Aleena and when she started singing all the pieces fell into place. That’s how it started and she became a permanent member of the group. We have now collaborated for 23 years.  

JWS: Your music is beautifully layered and very harmonic. It’s classic symphonic progressive rock, it must take a while to plot each track, do you follow a process or is it just intuition?

HL: I usually say that the melodies come knocking on my door and ask me to take care of them. It’s a special feeling when a melody comes out of nowhere and lands in my consciousness. Often it is a long process from the small melody to the finished piece of music. Usually, I continue to make small fine adjustments in the arrangements until it’s time to record.

JWS: What’s next for Kaipa? any live activities planned?

HL: The last Kaipa concert was in December 1982. Kaipa is now a studio project and we never play live. This summer I celebrate my sixtieth anniversary as a musician. I am now an old man and I can look back on many highlights of my life. I am happy when I get inspiration and can create new music and that I have the privilege to collaborate with some of the world’s top musicians. What more could I wish for.

‘Sommergryningsjus’ will be released on 28th June, 2024.

Pre-order the album here:

Sommargryningsljus (lnk.to)

Review – John Holden – Proximity & Chance – by John Wenlock-Smith

‘Proximity & Light’ is John Holden’s fifth album in six years, it all started with ‘Capture Light’ in 2018 which was followed by ‘Rise and Fall’ in 2020, ‘Circles in Time’ in 2021 and ‘Kintsugi’ in 2022, all of which contained some remarkable and diverse music from John and his chosen cast of colleagues. Well, this album is slightly different in that the circle of assistants John has used this time is a lot smaller, with the missing parts being mainly provided by John himself. I have to say, I think it works very well indeed, especially with the amazing cast of vocalists, Peter Jones, Shaun Holton (Southern Empire) and the evergreen Sally Minnear.

Another difference this time around is that John has used a virtual studio system, Slate VSX, which allows you to recreate the sounds of top end studios without either the cost or the hassle. I must admit that it sounds very good to these ears.

The album begins with the powerful and intriguing tale of 13, which was a club that, over its time, included notable bastions of American society, including five US Presidents. The purpose of the club was to debunk superstitions surrounding the number ’13’ being unlucky. This is an excellent opening song with a lot happening in its confines. John is in good form here, playing some great guitar fills and riffs, he even provides a fine first solo, leaving room for a brief appearance from Dave Brons, who adds some joyful guitar runs to close the track out. The Man Who Would be King introduces Shaun Holton on vocals, his vocal style is very different to Peter Jones (who sang on the previous track) and here it works very well. The song is based on Rudyard Kipling’s book ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ and is, in part, about colonial misunderstandings. It is also about how we, the British, used to behave towards the local population, not always in a good way either, as you can well imagine!

A Sense of Place is an instrumental that features John Hackett on flute and Vikram Shankar on piano. It is a beautiful and delicate track inspired by visits to Veddw in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh borders and is a very charming piece of music. It leads into my favourite track of the album, Burnt Cork and Limelight, which tells the gruesome tale of Richard Arthur Prince and William Terriss, a noted victorian actor who meets his death at the hands of an unhinged understudy, Prince, who felt he was being unfairly held back by Terriss and so stabs Terriss in the back outside the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1897. Prince is arrested and sent to Broadmoor Psychiatric hospital where he performs, literally, to a captive audience of fellow inmates. This track has an emotionally charged vocal from Peter Jones and great piano melodies from Vikram Shankar. It is a sad tale told exceptionally well and I really enjoyed it.

Agents concerns itself with the exploits of foreign powers acting within our borders, in this case the events in Salisbury when Russian provocateurs attempted to assassinate Sergei Skripal, a defected Russian military officer and his Daughter Yulia. They were poisoned with a nerve agent, novichok, and this act of aggression came to be seen as the boldness of the Russian state to impose its will indiscriminately, as we see in the war against Ukraine that continues to this day. This is a well written and expertly performed track with guest guitarist Luke Machin sprinkling his magic over this track liberally. In addition, Peter Jones plays great organ and sax solo on this song. Fin is a rather sad and mournful recounting of a love that failed to reach it potential with our heroin reaching the realisation that it is over whist being left alone in Paris. A very emotionally laden track which gives great scope for Sally Minnear’s expressive and honest vocal.

Proximity is a very well orchestrated instrumental which combines melodies from some of the other tracks to create an interesting new piece that talks about how life came to Earth rather than to, say, Mars. Again, John has done his research for this track and it really shows with a strident, confident delivery and some interesting ideas. The final track of this fine album is the superb Chance (Under One Sun), which explores the issue of chance in our own family trees and how this evolves and makes us who we each are and how random it all is, making us look to the skies and wonder, what if? This is a well written and delivered track, it’s mostly positive but encourages you to think about your past and why it is in a world of proximity and chance such as ours. I must say one thing that really stands out on this album are the incredible orchestrations that John has used so very carefully and intelligently in order to craft music of real depth beauty and warmth. From the sympathetic horn parts in Fini, the sinister tones in Agents, all the way to the theatrical nuances that abound in Burnt Cork and Limelight, they all sound really great. Obviously John has put much effort in doing so for our benefit and to deliver such a gloriously strong sounding album

For me, this is John’s strongest release yet and one can only wonder what this unheralded creative force will bring us next. For now, though, this will suffice in the interim but we should certainly applaud the efforts here on a release that will definitely will be high on many end of year listings, including mine! ‘Proximity & Chance’ is utterly brilliant and very highly recommend indeed.

Released 29th May, 2024.

Order mp3 from bandcamp here:

Proximity & Chance | John Holden (bandcamp.com)

Order CD direct from John here:

John Holden Music | New Album Coming Soon!

John Wenlock-Smith Interviews John Holden

Ahead of the release of John Holden’s fifth studio album, ‘Proximity & Chance’, John Wenlock-Smith caught up with John to have a chat..

JWS: This album is your fifth, did you ever envisage releasing a fifth album when you released ‘Capture Light’ in 2018? 

JH: I am not sure I ever set a target. I am really guided by producing high quality material. If I did not believe the music was of the standard that I demand of myself then it would not be released. So, there was no guarantee that I could come up with something after the debut. Although ,on reflection, I guess five albums in six years is quite prolific.

JWS: The way you record now has changed a lot over the five albums, why is this? 

JH: On the earlier albums I was still learning so much, especially the technicalities of production. It was quite overwhelming. I was fortunate to have someone like Robin Armstrong to guide me through the first couple. He instilled in me the attention to detail that makes a recording sound professional. Of course, you never stop learning but you do become more confident in the best way to achieve the vision you have for the finished piece. 

The realities of home recording mean you are not in acoustically treated rooms with £10k monitors so for ‘Proximity & Chance’ I changed to using Slate VSX. This system comes with specially designed headphones and software to recreate virtual studio simulations and environments such as high-end studios, headphones and even vehicles. I mixed and mastered everything without conventional monitors and just did some sanity checks at the end. From a production perspective this was really useful and I hope everything sounds pristine to the listener.

JWS: This album sees a definite shift in that you personally perform a lot more rather than having collaborators doing a lot of the soundscapes. Is there a reason for this?

JH: There was no real intention at the outset. It was really dictated by how the music evolved. There are some songs that have fairly complex (for me) orchestral arrangements. That is something I had to do myself as there was no way I was going to hire a sixty-piece orchestra! 


Having always done quite detailed demos that I then sent to others to add or replace elements, this time the initial parts I recorded sounded really good so I just kept them and just added the more technical/ virtuoso parts that were beyond my capability. One on song I had someone replace my guitar parts but it just sounded ‘wrong’ – maybe because I was so used to hearing the original. Of course, the one thing that I will always need is guest vocalists. 

JWS: You have gathered an excellent and exciting list of guests for this album. Who would you like most to work with given the opportunity?

JH: I have been blessed to work with such high-level artists and I always keep my eyes and ears open for potential future collaborators. I think it might be interesting to go a little left field maybe someone like Mariusz Duda (Riverside). So far, all my albums have been solely written by myself. It might be intriguing to try a writing collaboration as well.

JWS: How do you choose the subject matter for your songs? As some of these subjects are rather diverse.

JH: When I start a new project, it is a completely blank canvas, which is always daunting but also exciting as well. I have no preconception of what will end up on the finished album. Inspiration comes from many different places and it’s almost like a diary of my mindset for the year. I will be influenced by documentaries I have watched, books I have read. World events, conversations and emotions from my personal life, it somehow all influences what I write.


I do like to go down internet rabbit holes! A good example of this is the opening song ‘13’.I wanted to write about superstitions, this eventually led me to discovering ‘The Thirteen Club’ which was a gift for a song idea. Sometimes I end up writing something and I can’t even remember what the starting point was!

JWS: Is there any possibility of you ever being able to perform any of your albums live? If so, how soon could we hope for such an experience to happen? 

JH: John I am asked this in every interview with no new take on it! ☹

JWS: You must be proud of the fact that your music is so warmly received by prog fans?

JH: Prog fans are a discerning set of music lovers and not easily impressed. It’s a difficult genre in which to get credit as you are not just being compared to current music, you are also judged against the historical giants of the past. However, IF you manage to create something that is recognised as being worthwhile then you are embraced. I have been very fortunate in that from my debut to now I have had amazing reviews and wonderful comments from fans. 

I compose firstly for my own creative need, but the goal is ultimately for that music to touch others.

JWS: You have made some great working relationships with folks like Peter Jones and Sally Minnear how rewarding is that to you personally?

JH: It is always a joy to work with Sally, she is such a lovely person. I have recently seen that she is working with more artists such as Lifesigns and Pendragon, who obviously recognise her amazingly beautiful voice. Hopefully that will also be noticed by the wider prog audience.


As for Peter, well is there a more talented musician out there? I love Pete’s music and over the years we have become good friends and often talk for hours. We can relate to similar situations and provide each other support in our musical endeavours. I hope that our collaborations will continue and possibly get even stronger (no spoilers).

JWS: Your wife Elizabeth is crucial to all of your efforts, how does that work for you both?

JH: Libby is a vital part of what I do. She is always the first person to hear my initial demos and musical sketches. Never holding back, she tells it like it is! If she finds something too long or lacking focus, she will point it out and I will then look at things in a more considered way. During the writing the new album she had a lot of serious health issues but she still helped review and improve the lyrical content. As she says she is my ‘harshest critic but biggest cheerleader’!

JWS: What is next for you? 

JH: I have a few things that are going to keep me active for the rest of the year. I hope to contribute to some ideas other people’s albums. There is a small commission I am working on both musically and visually, which is quite exciting. 

I also want to write some new music for a project that will appear early next year. So, plenty to keep me busy!

John’s new album, ‘Proximity & Chance’, was released on May 29th, 2024.

You can order from bandcamp here:

Proximity & Chance | John Holden (bandcamp.com)

Review – Renaissance – Tuscany – Expanded 3CD Edition – by John Wenlock-Smith

I guess that, like many, I became acquainted with the lush symphonic sound of Renaissance through their wonderful 1978 single Northern Lights and the album ‘A Song For All Seasons’, from which it was taken. Renaissance were a very different sort of group to many others, they seemed to possess some different kind of stature and class and style. They, of course, had quite a history and an extensive back catalogue of music. I remember getting the excellent compilation albums ‘Tales Of 1001 Nights’ Volumes 1 and 2 on import, both expensive but gathering together much of the essential Renaissance canon.

After ‘A Song For All Seasons’ came the somewhat less brilliant ‘Azure d’Or’ in 1979, which effectively finished the group as the coming years were not good for Renaissance. After their contract with WEA ended they signed to Miles Copeland’s IRS label which was a much smaller label and lacked much commercial clout and promotional skills. The band released the very different ‘Camera Camera’ album, as it largely ditched the lush symphonic sound to be replaced by a techno pop style that was largely ill suited to the band and, as such, they lost a lots of fans. This was compounded by the disastrous ‘Time-Line’ album which muddied the water even further with a move towards pop music which, again, did not yield the expected results and, as such, the album bombed significantly with the inevitable departure of Jon Camp.

Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford recruited some US musicians and continued to tour both the USA and Japan, both of which were strong markets for the band. However, in 1987, the group disbanded until, in 1998, Haslam, Dunford, and Terence Sullivan regrouped once again to work on new material that was more in keeping with the heyday in the 1970’s. They were also joined by John Tout on several tracks, with keyboardist Mickey Simmonds further augmenting the band. The resulting album, ‘Tuscany’, marked a return to form. Although its release was delayed until October 2000, the album was well received by fans and marked a strong return to form for Renaissance. In 2001 the band returned to Japan once more where they recorded a show in Tokyo, which later emerged as the live release ‘In The Land Of The Rising Sun’. This is included in this 3CD reissue of ‘Tuscany’ and it sounds very good indeed including, as it does, four songs from the ‘Tuscany’ album alongside familiar Renaissance staples like Carpet Of The Sun, Opening Out, Northern Lights, Mother Russia and Ashes Are Burning.

‘Tuscany’ the album is very much a return to form with excellent performances and strong and satisfying tracks like Lady From Tuscany, Pearls of Wisdom, Dear Landseer and the very epic One Thousand Roses which, again, recaptured much of what those difficult early 1980’s albums had thrown out. This was Renaissance reborn and revitalised, this made everyone happy that, from the ashes of disaster, a stronger, energised and invigorated incarnation had risen like a phoenix.

The album begins with the stately and lushly symphonic Lady From Tuscany, which has a graceful and powerful vocal from Annie. The song is very sensual in parts and is an excellent opening song which shows the Renaissance we loved are back in style. Pearls of Wisdom is another glorious track, again, very sensual lyrically and sumptuous musically. This is followed by the wonderful Eva’s Pond with its delicate piano motif and lush orchestral backing and the clear distinct voice of Annie Haslam, who adds a touch of class with her delicate and yet powerful vocals, another beautiful song. Next is the excellent Dear Landseer, which is the story of a painter who’s work is appreciated in royal circles with resulting commissions happening.

In the Sunshine features Annie’s ex partner Roy Wood on bass and keyboards, he also produced the track with Annie and Michael Dunford. Again, this song has a very sensual theme and oozes passions, mostly unfulfilled but hopeful, it is a wonderfully evocative song with excellent performances and strong content. You can capture much of Wood’s multi instrumental brilliance here, this wouldn’t have been out of place in his own earlier works. In My Life is rather more introspective in tone and wistful as the words seem to seek to right previous wrongs and lack of support. it is a very honest track and has lots of warmth and hope in its themes, another well written and delivered piece of music. The Race is another great sounding track with a great bass line from Alex Caird, who plays beautifully on this track, really driving it along with Mickey Simmons’ synths adding gracefully to the lush orchestral sounds. It is a rather up-tempo song for Renaissance but it really does work well for them here, most impressive sounding. Dolphin’s Prayer opens with a sole synthesiser sweep and sound, this shorter track has some exquisite vocals which show the strength of Annie’s voice to great effect.

The penultimate track, Life In Brazil, is rather good too, having a slightly Latin feel to it in parts. It works well enough but I feel that it somehow isn’t bold enough in embracing its Latin roots, it’s good but could have been outstanding. The album closer One Thousand Roses returns us to the sensuality that pervades much of this album, speaking as it does of an unrequited love and unfulfilled passions. There is much aching and longing to this track and it is a strong conclusion to what is a really strong later album from Renaissance. It’s great to have the band back, once again treading a well loved path and having new adventures which continue to this day.

Released 3rd May, 2024.

Order from Cherry Red Records here:

Renaissance: Tuscany, Expanded 3CD Edition (cherryred.co.uk)

Review – Refestramus – Intour​í​st – by John Wenlock-Smith

I read about this album before I actually heard it and what I read certainly piqued my interest. The collection of bands I liked were name checked as either an influence on Refestramus’ sound or style so I knew I simply had to hear this album for myself. After a few false attempts, I managed to secure a download of the album from which I am able to write this review, so here we begin the journey into ‘Intour​í​st’.

The band Refestramus came about in May 2020 during covid lockdown sessions when main man and drummer Derek Ferguson assembled a group of like minded musicians to bring to life his ideas for a band. He found many of these through Fiverr.com although he had also been in touch with local Chicago internet radio DJ Ian Beabout who introduced Derek to Colouratura bandmaster Derek Pavlic, vocalist Nathan James, saxophonist Mitch Lawrence and Wisconsin multi- instrumentalist Jerry King. They later added Dave Newhouse, who plays accordion, and who helped Derek guide the debut album to completion.

Now, with all that history out of the way, let’s talk about the band’s second full album ‘Intour​í​st’, which was released earlier this month through MRR (Melodic Revolution Records). The album begins with a very strong track, DMK, which definitely has strong hints of classic pomp rock bands like Starcastle, especially in the synth and bass departments. As such, this blistering opener really makes a great impression on you and, in addition, the guitars are very solid and precise. It’s a very busy track musically with a lot going on throughout. There’s a long lead up to the vocals and Craig Cairns has a good voice, it is a great song with a great chorus to it. Second track Asunci​ó​n relates to the fact that Refestramus are big in Paraguay apparently. Again, this song has a great chugging melody along and a fine viola part, which sounds really good. There’s another fine chorus and the vocals are clear and crisp, this track works very well indeed. The Devil Returns is a longer track that opens with a smoky Hammond organ and saxophone interjections. It all sounds highly impressive and strong with another long intro before the vocals kick in. This is another impressive song which shows the talents the band possess. A strong sax break adds mood to this track, sounding very Styx like in places, a good thing to these ears.

What comes next is the albums showcase and longest track, the three part Intour​í​st Suite, which is a little different and off kilter and has elegant string parts and an almost pizzicato guitar in the opening section overlaid with a viola melody. Part(a) is Nevalyashka which is a Russian toy doll that is weighted so that it doesn’t fall over, Part(b) is Agent M vs The Sex Lizard, which leads onto the very 80’s sounding Part(c), Zombie Love, with its fabulous back beat that really enforces the strength of this excellent track, even if its meaning is a little unclear. Mr Darwin is a comment on human survival and natural selection. This piece has a wild saxophone all over another very busy musical track. I really like it I think it is a great song, as are the vocals from NIDA. Side Hustle evokes Jethro Tull in its style and tone. It is a short but very strong track with Nathan James in fine voice. The Red Apple recalls the Maxim Gorky tale of a Russian Horse thief, it has a great vocal again from NIDA which is suitably ethnic sounding. Again, this is a fairly short but nonetheless strong track. This is followed by the excellent Smiling, which has a great melody and fine vocals from NIDA, who sings with great feeling and emotion making another really excellent track.

Next we have a trio of bonus tracks, the first being a cover of Spirit’s Mr Skin, which is apparently a favourite of Derek Ferguson. The song was written by Jay Ferguson in the early days of Spirit and made a big impression on Derek in his youth. This version gives guitarist Derek Pavlic room to shine as he plays over the ending of the track. An acoustic version of The Red Apple works very well, showing the song’s inner beauty and strength. It is a really excellent version with more than a hint of Russia and France in equal parts. The final track is a Spanish version of Asunci​ó​n which, while adding very little to the original, is most likely aimed at Paraguayan radio where it gets frequent plays.

So there you have ‘Intour​í​st‘, an album of many delights, great songs and excellent music. Refestramus have delivered an an album that is a pleasure to listen to and one I have no reservations in recommending!

Released May 3rd, 2024.

Order from bandcamp here:

Intouríst | Refestramus (bandcamp.com)

Review – Trifecta – The New Normal – by John Wenlock-Smith

‘The New Normal’ is the sophomore album from Trifecta,the band of Nick Beggs (Bass and Chapman Stick and Vocals), Adam Holzman (Keyboards and Synths) and Craig Blundell (Drums and Percussion). With Beggs and Holzman from Steven Wilson’s band and Blundell from Steve Hackett’s band, this trio craft mainly Jazz/Fusion pieces although this time around there are several vocal track on which Beggs sings, he actually has a really melodious voice.

The majority of these tracks are under three minutes in length but, even so, within those short pieces there is a definite invention and ingenuity within the playing to make something different to what could be expected. Chinese Fire Drill being a good example of this, out of a gentle keyboard melody comes a fiery guitar passage which later returns to the gentle melody earlier heard. Ouch! My OCD is another weird track, with dialogue between Beggs and Blundell on sibling rivalry that is a carry over from the previous track. There’s good use of a didgeridoo that plays a central part to the track too, a very ingenious track this one, another sturdy drum pattern is also important and Impressive here. Other tracks have a funky backbeat and Hammond organ blazing away to fine effect with Beggs’ bass or stick usually propelling the pace of the music from the front. Daddy Long Legs is a really interesting track with a rock solid bass line and some synth noodling from Holzman, all bound in the precision of Blundell’s drums. It’s a most gripping track with a great sound tand classy rhythm.

Also of note is the off kilter, acid jazz feeling, Just feel It Karen. Again, a great bass line from Beggs helps drive this track along and Holzman’s synths dive all over the rhythm section’s propulsive thrust. It’s another ingenious track which shows the formidable talents of Beggs, Holzman and Blundell off to a tee. The interplay behind the trio is highly impressive and extremely musically tight and satisfying, how they manage come up with these odd pieces is a question only they can answer but at least they are prepared to share these fruits of their labour with us, which is all the more rewarding. Once Around The Sun With You is possibly the most normal song of the album as it has a melody and a theme of sorts, whereas Ornamental Lettuce is just plain weird and sounds like something Frank Zappa could have conceived on an off day! This brief, yet very busy, track has a really powerful drum part that makes it stand out.

Canary In A Five and Dime is a song about ex US president Donald Trump and it is not a flattering song for him by any means. Stroboscopic Fennel is another brief but entertaining track with an Interesting tale to tell. Stupid Pop Song brings to mind Beggs’ Kajagoogoo years in style and it’s actually rather good and memorable. Wacky Tobaccy is a more jazzy track with great bass or stick playing throughout. Wake Up Call is another jazzy tune with an almost call and response feel to it and this works well here.

‘The New Normal’ is rather short and yet, within its eighteen tracks is some really excellent and unusual music. Okey, some tracks work better than others but, overall, I would propose that it is definitely much more hit than miss. It’s an interesting release and, whilst I understand it may not be to everyone’s taste, I enjoyed it immensely.

Released 12th April, 2024.

Order from the link here:

Trifecta – The New Normal (lnk.to)