The rock opera – a particular strata of music lore which has, to be fair, received a mixed reception over the years. Personally, I love it. Tommy & Quadrophenia remain to this day two of my all-time favourite albums and performed live they were even better. Queen’s A Night at the Opera was less to my taste, but nobody can deny the impact the incredible bestselling single Bohemian Rhapsody had on musical history, and for those of a purer progressive bent, Pink Floyd’s magnum opus, The Wall, was brilliant, and is still being played to packed out stadia (belying, by the way, its original intent) by the main creative force behind it, Roger Waters.
One of the three drivers behind Imaginærium and the album The Rise of Medici, Clive Nolan, has with his foremost progressive rock creative outlet, Arena, always brought a sense of the dramatic and pomp. As a longstanding fan, this is, indeed, one of the main attractions for me. For this project, he joined forces with the late, great, Eric Bouillette, and Laura Piazzai.
The de’ Medici were the rulers of Italian Renaissance period Florence (in those times, Italy was split into several city and regional states. The modern nation was not formed until the 19th century), and it is fair to say that they made modern day egotistical and narcissistic pretenders such as Johnson, Trump, Truss, “Dishy” Rishi, and Hancock look like amateurs. The story revolves around the first ruler, Cosimo, and his wife Contessina, and their rivalry with Rinaldo degli Albizzi. These people were extraordinarily wealthy and oozed power, mainly by sheer dint of personality and violence. No Instagram or Twitter nonsense back then.
This is a hugely enjoyable album. The concept, music, and final execution provide us with something joyful, a concept which during the 2022 “crisis” of just about all facets of life is no bad thing at all. Clive Nolan brings his sense of operatic drama to the part of Rinaldo alongside his always classy keyboards, Laura Piazzai with a gorgeous voice plays Contessina, and Eric Bouillette oozes class as ever on his guitars and violin.
ANDY SEARS
SCOTT HIGHAM
ELENA VLADYUK
Before I discuss the music, a word about some of the other contributors to the album. Andy Sears plays the part of Cosimo. Sears is one of my favourite vocalists from the second wave of prog which emerged from the UK in the 1980’s. The Twelfth Night album XII from 1986 was somewhat controversial. Many prog fans hated it. Personally, I thought Blue Powder Monkey and Take A Look were two of the finest tracks of the period. Elena Vladyuk plays Lucrezia, Mark Spencer provides the voices of the monks (no Renaissance period piece would be complete without these), Bernard Hery, Eric’s bandmate in Nine Skies, plays bass guitar, and Isabella Cambini plays harp.
In addition, a separate paragraph to honour one of my personal favourite modern musicians, Scott Higham on drums. I thought Higham was hugely impressive with Pendragon and I was very sorry to see him leave. Clearly, Nolan still thinks very highly of him, and it is good to see him on this.
This album is huge and, pardon the pun, operatic in its scope.
This website of mine is dedicated to intelligent music and culture, as opposed to being a purely “progressive” site. Therefore, appreciate the thought behind Festina Lente, “Make Haste. Slowly”, the motto adopted by the Medici’s, but itself utilised in ancient Roman times, particularly by Augustus, probably the master of overcoming adversity and political intrigue.
With Duty of Love, we get the first burst of the collective and the drama of Piazzai playing Contessina. The music itself brings about a nice combination of modern rock and medieval sensibilities. Indeed, if you are a fan of Blackmore’s Night (I am), you will find a lot to enjoy in this. Equally, if you feel more at home with, say, Cavalleria Rusticana, that thrilling saga of Sicilian vengeance and criminality, then you will also enjoy. It is a fantastic mix of rock, opera, and the denouement is suitably stirring setting the scene for the story to follow.
House of Dreams introduces Sears, and it immediately took me back to those heady days. Happy memories. The track itself soars in places with Clive & Eric’s monumental keyboards, Higham thumping out his drums, and Sears and Piazzai make for an effective vocal pairing both belting out the mutual dependence, love, and, of course, high ambition. Dramatic stuff.
The Tide Will Change introduces us to Nolan’s depiction of the “villain” of the piece, Rinaldo. It is deliberately overblown, in the manner of all the finest operatic villains, and I have always liked Nolan’s vocal contributions. It is fair to say that Rinaldo does not like the main protagonists very much. They will never be free again, never to be seen again. What, though, is particularly impressive are the Introspection verses, when the persona reflects, and plots quietly set against some gorgeous piano and orchestration. These are true highlights of the work as a whole.
Never Close Your Eyes is gorgeous, with its vocal choruses introducing Lucrezia. Vladyuk’s vocals on this are stunning, and it reminded me very strongly of one of my favourite albums of 2021, Dark Horizons by Illuminae. Indeed, the astounding vocals on that modern masterpiece were delivered by another Nolan collaborator, on Alchemy, The Musical, namely Agnieszka Swita. Listen to it below.
Glass Throne is embedded below. It is beautiful. The vocals by Piazzai are rich and drip with emotion. This track, incidentally, talking as it does about the uncertainty and fragility of power, could quite easily be applied to the modern day. Think of the stories of the narcissists and egoists I mentioned above. Also consider that there was a reason that generals and latterly emperors in Ancient Rome had slaves whispering in their ear “memento mori”, “remember you are mortal”, so as not to offend the gods watching from above.
Treachery is an extended track in the context of the album and dramatically tells us of the move by Rinaldo against our heroes. In history, Cosimo was sentenced to 20 years exile, which came as a bitter disappointment to Rinaldo, who wanted the death penalty (death by the state in those days was particularly brutal). The track is pure theatre and is huge fun. The interaction between the three main characters is brilliant, all calling for their version of “justice” and Bouillette gives us a wonderful, if too short, guitar burst just short of five minutes in.
Fall From Grace, which I have embedded below, gives us another vocal burst from Vladyuk telling the story of Cosimo’s exile. It is simply beautiful, and noticeable are those synth overlays Nolan has treated us over these years, and combined with Eric’s mandolin, this track is a treat to the ears. In normal circumstances, I would advise against listening to tracks in isolation away from the concept, but this one, really, should form a part of any 2022 playlist, and should be submitted by the producers to every single quality music radio outlet.
Will I Never Return deals with the self-doubt of Cosimo in exile. This is a cracking rock track, and Sears together with the collective belts out an emotional tour de force. Eric’s guitar solo one and a half minutes in is laden with emotion. Of course, the central message here is the addiction of powerful men to power itself. Aside from Florence the city, there is no sense of Cosimo missing the people he wished to serve, but, instead, missing the thrill of power, and I think the lyrics here are very clever in their depiction of the thoughts of humans who seek power for power’s sake, as opposed for more positive intentions.
Fortunes Reverse sees the De’ Medici return in glory to Florence, and Rinaldo’s bitterness at the failure of his strategy. Interestingly in the concept of modern politics, it was a flight of capital from the city that led to calls for his return, in much the same way that Truss and Kwarteng were the architects of their own downfall and the return of Sunak. Plus cá change. The track itself is another one of those which mixes the bombastic with the richly emotional. It pours from the speakers with a wall of sound.
Return of the Medici does what it says on the tin. Our heroes return in triumph, cleverly reprising the opening theme of making haste slowly (revenge is a dish best served cold), whilst Rinaldo is placed in exile – he never returned, by the way. Lyrically, the track is an interesting study of ego and power, the winners and losers who present themselves throughout history, and, of course, whilst most people will have at least a vague recollection of the name Medici, barely anyone has heard of Rinaldo. History loves a winner but forgets the loser. I love this track. Five plus minutes of dramatic joy.
Legacy closes the main album and is a contender to Glass Throne as female vocal of 2022. It reprises the theme and feel of that track, alongside Eric’s delicate and sympathetic acoustic guitar, before 50 seconds in we get an explosion of noise and the following passage with its pomp rock sets the scene for the grandiose conclusion of the story – the foundation of a dynasty which still counts amongst its number in the 21st century European royalty, even if there are very few thrones left to sit on. The guitar solo that Bouillette provides is about as sumptuous as you will hear – what a legacy, but also what a bloody loss to our world of intelligent music. Nolan drives the mood on his keys, and the rhythm section is positively pounding in its triumph.
As is usual for this website, this review is of the main album. There is, however, also a bonus album available. Take a listen to Elena & Laura, accompanied by Isabella on harp, singing this version of Fall From Grace and drink in the sheer joy of life. Damned stunning.
The Rise of Medici is a very good album. The limited special edition pre-release cd at https://imaginaerium.bandcamp.com/album/the-rise-of-medici has sold out. Very shortly, details of the general release and the various formats will be published, and I will share this on the website as soon as I hear. Further, I am planning an interview with Clive, Anne-Claire, and Laura shortly to coincide with the general release.
You can see Laura’s website at https://www.laurapiazzai.com/ Clive Nolan at http://www.clivenolan.net/ and Eric’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ericguitarviolin/