Lee Abraham releases his eleventh album since the debut in 2003.
Origin of the Storm has seven high quality tracks from an artist who is just so consistent, musically and sonically. Joining him again is a plethora of quality guest musicians (alongside one Mr Andy Tillison producing the cover art), including Clive Nolan on keys, with vocals provided by Marc Atkinson, Peter Jones, and Galahad comrade, Mark Spencer. The Lee Abraham Band feature Rob Arnold on piano, Ken Bryant on bass and Gerald Mulligan on drums.
We open with the title track, immediately hitting you with a bombast wall of sound, the quality of the keys instantly recognisable in a delightful burst of pomp rock, Mulligan especially noticeable driving matters along on his skins, with Abraham treating us to a soaring guitar solo. A massive start to proceedings, the type of track pretty much made for FM Radio back in the day.
This is followed by The Same Life which starts with the same fullness of sound and classic pomp rock beat fairly racing along. The main piece introduces the emotional voice of Jones who is perfect as he points out the cost of brave Ukrainians defending their land, flying their flag, against the most appalling aggression, but the main lyric a cry for human unity with us sharing the same life, hopes, tears, and fears. This is Abraham at his best, intelligent commentary wrapped in a sumptuous accessible musical blanket, especially the moment when the guitar solo jumps out at you.
Chalk Hill follows. The drum machine opening takes one back to the feel of 1980’s Genesis, but that is about as far as the comparison goes in a track which oozes feeling in its reminiscence of childhood play, looking back on a carefree life under deep blue skies. Jones again demonstrates such quality, a voice which crackles with earthy emotion, and the harmonies are very nice as well. For those of you who love melodic progressive music, this is about as good an example as you will hear all year, the piano nicely set against a pastoral soundscape, the closing notes perfect. It is embedded below for you.
Isolation Disconnection is up next. Instantly darker, with a short dystopian opening set of notes before a harder rock edge crashes in, with riffs crunching along. When Spencer enters the vocal fray, he does so with understated power before turning up the juice with the singing of isolation and disconnection from the world in a track which very emotively discusses the acute difficulties those with severe mental health difficulties face. The midway point instrumental is hard and rocks relentlessly before settling into a disturbing set of words and notes accompanied by an acoustic guitar weeping leading back into the crashing rock music. This is intelligent rock at its very best.
Hole in the Sky features one of my favourite artists, Marc Atkinson in a song providing clear reference to the ongoing climate crisis. Arnold again gives us a lovely piano against Nolan’s higher sounds, the track a counterpoint to the crashing riffs of the track immediately before it, but in terms of its subject matter, no less devastating. I have embedded this below for you, a melodic gem which features some beautiful acoustic and electric guitar work.
When I Need a Friend is next, with Jones returning to the vocal fray in a song over nine minutes long, and lyrically strikes me as a direct follow on thematically from Isolation Disconnection in its mental travails, but emphasising just how much the subject relies on his friend, a dependent ally and rock on which to lie, providing safety, warmth, and love. This gorgeous piece of music really ought to be required listening in NHS mental health service locations (if you are lucky enough to be able to find one), Jones really letting loose, the guitar work here pitched perfectly leading into a beguiling mid-section noticeable for its percussive work. The closing section of the song is achingly sad.
The longest track here is the final one, Siren’s Song, of epic length and dealing with mythical sirens of the sea. Atkinson returns on vocals for this wonderful song, an incredibly late entry for this website’s “epic track of 2024” award. From start to finish, this is filled with proggy goodness, the swirling keys, tight rhythm section, ghostly guitar work, all that we love and admire about our music in this genre, including the words inviting you to exercise your imagination of the beasts inhabiting the deep depths we rarely visit, but occasionally, lifting themselves to the surface to create all sorts of havoc. If you enjoy classic symphonic progressive rock, with twists and turns, Mellotron & Hammond infused, a guitar solo Hackett himself would have been proud of, then this epic more than stands up against those heady tracks of yore and is worth the entrance price alone.
This is an exceptional album, and my very good friend the Prog Rogue was spot on about it in his review when he provided an analogy as an exceptional bottle of wine that needs to be ceremoniously sipped.
Going through my catalogue after writing this review, I noticed that I am two albums short of the Abraham collection full monty. Mm – Santa is coming later this month. Must be time to rectify that shortfall! For those of you who have dipped your toes in the Abraham sea before, this is essential. For those of you who are not familiar with Lee’s work, this album is essential. End of.