PENDRAGON - LOVE OVER FEAR
A wonderful piece of artwork to accompany a wonderful album
Well, a new Pendragon album is always something to celebrate in Lazland, and Love Over Fear is no exception.
Trailed comments prior to release suggested that the album was a return to the pomp glory days of yore. To a degree, yes it is. By and large, the experimentation with a far louder and harsh hard rock sound has gone. Neither, however, is this a clone of, say, The Masquerade Overture. Rather, this album provides us with a band in ridiculously rude health in 2020, and an extremely personal statement on the part of leader Nick Barrett. This is pretty much a perfect fusion of those old much loved albums, and essential modernity.
This album is, as the title suggests, an uplifting experience, something that is surely much needed in these challenging times. Given that my son and I were supposed to be seeing them live this weekend, I (and you, dear reader) have had to make do with this review.
The whole work is beautifully produced. From the opening key bars right through to the surround sound end, what we get here is an album which oozes passion, if you will pardon the pun, and a work very much influenced by Nick's move to SW England and his love of the water.
Many highlights, but to these ears, I have never heard Nick sound as good as he does on the wonderful second track, a gorgeous ballad Starfish and the Moon. Deceptively simple piano accompanies a delicate vocal and trademark Barrett guitar. Nick's tattoo is on his heart indeed here.
Truth and Lies is a very thoughtful prog rock track which highlights all four working together well in the closing instrumental passage. New drummer, Jan- Vincent Velazco, is a perfect fit for the band, and he clearly works well with Peter Gee. Clive Nolan, as ever, provides the stunning backdrop to a most wonderful Barrett guitar solo, leading to a trademark emotive vocal and wall of sound at the denouement.
Perhaps surprisingly, though, my favourite is the Celtic folk infused 360 degrees, an utter joy of the celebration of life and local community. I just love the violin on this, and the closing passages simply want to make you to jump up and down with sheer joy at the experience of living.
Eternal Light provides us with a wee bit of a jump back to classic kids telly, when Nick exhorts us to turn off that TV set and read a good book instead (you had to have been there), but, again, the theme of waking up and experiencing life, not simply breathing, is so utterly strong on this track, and I love Nolan's keys here. The mid passage vocals and accompanying guitar work make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Wondrous stuff, and gloriously pastoral in parts which remind me very much of what Pendragon and their peers always did so well, that is taking their forebears symphonic sound and adapting it to their own unique feel.
The darker feel of the previous albums hasn't been completely lost, though. Who Really Are We? really is exceptionally menacing in parts, especially the opening sequence, but listening to the lyrics, you realise that we are being encouraged to look inside ourselves for truth, rather than much of the lies we are fed on a daily basis. The track matures into a classic Pendragon rocker with a marvellous group effort, right up there with the finest of the past glories I alluded to earlier. A wonderful wall of sound.
We come down with the closer, Afraid of Everything. Don't be afraid. Don't lead your life in fear. Don't reflect on what has passed. Live life for what it is, live it, breath it, experience it, and look forward to what is to come. I love this track, so thoughtful, and so hopeful, with a guitar solo leading into another classic feel Pendragon wall of sound which makes you simply stop and wonder at the beauty of it all.
I tell you, the band really haven't sounded better than this. This is an album which belies the fact that they are now in a 35 year recording career. It is one of those rare albums which gets better and better with each listen, and I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Love Over Fear to all progressive rock fans.
This is a modern masterpiece, and as a closer, please note that this review is of the single album. I pre-ordered the triple cd release. This includes an acoustic cd, and an instrumental cd, all brought to us in a sumptuous gatefold case, with artwork by a local artist which is stunning.
THREE COLOURS DARK - THE SCIENCE OF GOODBYE
For videos of this album, please see the section on the site marked “Interviews”.
Three Colours Dark is a new project with keyboardist Jonathan Edwards (Panic Room and Luna Rossa) and vocalist Rachel Cohen (formerly of The Reasoning) rekindling their creative partnership from Karnataka, alongside Panic Room producer and collaborator Tim Hamill, who makes for an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist.
The resultant album, The Science of Goodbye, is available from Burning Shed and as a digital download on Bandcamp.
Before discussing the album itself, it is very much worth mentioning some exceptional contributors to the album. Dave Gregory, formerly of XTC and Big Big train lends his unique guitar to a cover version of Richard Thompson's Ghosts In The Wind.
In much the same way as Rachel Hall has added a deep and lush sound with her violin playing to BBT, so has Kate Ronconi of alt-folk outfit Rag Foundation here, and certainly fans of BBT's more introspective moments will find a lot to please them on this album.
Completing the line-up are Welsh singer Steve Balsamo (who has played the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar), Nathan Bray (who has played with a host of jazz outfits plus one Michael Rutherford) on brass, and Chantel McGregor (whose work I have heard being featured on Planet Rock radio) on guitar and ebow.
From the gentle synth passage, and particularly lush violin of Ronconi, leading into the unique voice of Cohen on the opening track, Enter, Soubrette, you know you are in for a treat. A Soubrette is a female stock character in opera, and the lyrics on this provide the introduction to the whole theme of what is, at its heart, a cathartic lyrical and vocal performance by Cohen, whose voice has simply never sounded, in turns, so fragile, pointed, and haunting as on this work. She truly excels and is reason enough to go out and buy this album alone.
And said theme? Narcissistic abuse, that of the emotional and psychological pain inflicted on a person by a narcissist, and, as the definition implies, a lot of this is extremely raw. If you thought that Waters was the byword in tearing open internal emotions and repression, then think again, because this work is deeply personal and heartfelt throughout.
Of course, such a lyrical journey is but nought without some fine music. Edwards has long been, to these ears, a fine musical creator, and he provides his trademark soundscape to this album. Hamill proves no slouch, either, as his guitar riff on Wonderland (How Can This Be Love?) proves.
So, this album is not merely an outpouring; it has at its heart all the musicianship that you know and expect from South Wales' finest collective prog exports.
Jon's exquisite piano looping behind Rachel's vocals, and the dreamy jazzy introspection of Know You Now.
I mentioned before the cover (all other tracks being co-written by Edwards and Cohen) of Thompson's work, this from his superb (not difficult ' all of them are) album, Across a Crowded Room. Cohen's intonations are spot on, without ever being derivative, and Edwards provides the perfect haunt to a ridiculously lovely Gregory performance playing a 1963 Guild Duane Eddy guitar.
Standout track for me is Three Colours Dark. Emotional, raw, beautifully sung with added choir by Cohen, Edwards adding classy electric guitar, Hamill with a pulsing bassline, and Ronconi reintroduced with her ethereal violin. Thoughtful progressive folk-tinged music at its most provocative.
Tasted Like Kryptonite has a jazzy edge to it and features the three main leads only.
Rainbow's End evocatively speaks of wounds so raw, and I cannot think of a better musical accompaniment than the singing violin leading the vocal, synth, and guitar harmonics.
The gift that Edwards, especially, has in creating catchy, 'prog-pop', tunes is highlighted strongly on Blood Moon Rising, with its strong chorus, and this features a great guitar riff from McGregor, who proves she can rock with the best.
The mood on Monster, as the title suggests, is foreboding. This is a dark track, full of menace, led by the soundscape Edwards creates, with the questions asked by Balsamo, and the permanently bleak guitars, bass, and drums of Hamill leading up to a brilliant rock out in the final minute and a half.
The album closes with the title track, an altogether brighter affair. This is a sensible closer, because here the catharsis realises itself. Cohen has rediscovered everything and is made again. In tone, certainly, this does remind me very strongly of Made Again from Brave, the end counterpoint to the testament which preceded it. Apart from Gregory & McGregor, the collective performs with Cohen & Balsamo singing in harmony, and all contributing to a foot tapping finale, with something of a pomp attached to the violin, trumpet, guitars, and rhythm. Very enjoyable and impossible to classify excepting under the tag 'damned good music'.
I thoroughly enjoy this album, which will be on my playlist for years to come, as, of course, are the albums of the bands which make up this collective. What is certain is if you enjoy Karnataka, Panic Room, Luna Rossa and the vocal contribution to The Reasoning by Cohen, you will find much to enjoy here.
Very highly recommended and quite excellent. I, for one, hope that this is but the first in a series of such collaborations.
My grateful thanks to the band for providing a cd for review purposes. This is also an opportunity to give a 'shout out' to illustrator Karl James Mountford who has done a fine job on the visual side of the cd.
MARK KELLY’S MARATHON
The debut side project from the Marillion keyboardist and tech guru.
Well, it has taken some time for the Marillion keyboardist to lead his own project. 39 years, to be precise. Whilst he has made guest appearances over the years, most notably with DeeExpus, Mark Kelly's Marathon sees him presiding over a brand new band, and, make no mistake, this is a collective as opposed to a simple solo work. Whilst listening, for example, to Wakeman and the English Rock Ensemble, you are always conscious of the Caped Crusader being front, centre, and rear. What Kelly has done here, though, is to lead a genuine ensemble, allowing his band mates the space to breath and create. The album is a superior piece of work for it, as well.
Nowhere is this better exemplified by the standout track on the album, When I Fell, a quite gorgeous six minute piece featuring delicious vocals by Ollie Smith (sounding a wee bit more Ray Wilson than Peter Gabriel, but there we go). The track is descriptive of a dream, nightmare, and the themes of love and grief. Kelly's organ playing is a joy, and with some delicate guitar licks, the track is a triumph from start to finish.
The album is bookended by two longer pieces, each split into sensible segments, namely Amelia and Twenty Fifty One (as in 2051).
The opener is a lovely piece which sets to music and lyrics the story of the legendary Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviator who disappeared on an attempt to circumnavigate the world in 1937, and was declared dead in absentia a few years later. Everything about this piece cries out quality. The guitar work, especially, is quite lovely, and the interplay with Kelly's keyboards at the close of the second segment is a joy. The story of Earhart and her navigator as proposed by lyricist Guy Vickers is at once intelligent and questing, and when the final segment segues into a closing chorus you are struck by the wall of sound and instant accessibility. A mention also for the type of synth sound probably not heard in these parts since the days of yore when Mark had a head of hair and looked across at a certain Mr Dick in his warpaint. I just love the ghostly vocal fade at the end as well.
2051 takes us into the future. I love the sleeve notes on the cd by Vickers, who explains the rational behind this discussion of what intelligent life is beyond our planetary shores, and how Kubrick and Clarke created their incredible vision of an unknown intelligent force guiding us. The music does justice to such a sweeping narrative. John Cordy's guitar work, especially, is revelatory. Conal Kelly, Mark's young nephew, forms one half of a mighty rhythm section with Henry Rogers, a superlative drummer who also shines on Pete Trewavas and Eric Blackwood's Edison's Children. The track provides us with the fascinating thought that any intelligence picking up a probe of the puny earth men will listen to Richard Strauss, The Beatles, and, erm, Scooby Doo. Love it! The third movement features a lovely delicate piano by Mark, and this then leads us to a rollicking finale in which the entire ensemble simply transport you to another dimensional beach.
The two remaining tracks are This Time and Puppets. The former is the one track which I will probably skip in the years to come. It is an interesting concept lyrically about modern connectivity, but the music, for once, to these ears fails to match the concept. Short enough as a single release, but it lacks depth. Not bad by any means, but rather throwaway.
The latter track features as a guest guitarist one Steven Rothery. Lyrically, the piece is a complex construct around philosophy, life, the universe, and everything, so perfect for some light relaxing background music during a pandemic lockdown! I jest, of course. This track is another joy, and it is a measure of the quality of the band Mark has assembled that even a fantastic contribution by my favourite modern guitarist does not lessen the sound of a band wholly at ease with itself and the project.
This is an extremely satisfying work, and one hopes that it forms the basis of a long term project. You do not need to be a Marillion fan to enjoy this album. In fact, all you need to take a great deal of pleasure from it is an appreciation of an intelligent, song-based approach to making music.
Very highly recommended.
DAVID MINASIAN - THE SOUND OF DREAMS
Sound of Dreams is David Minasian's follow-up to the lush and wonderful Random Acts of Beauty of 2010. Given that this is a release rate which plonks him firmly in the Gabrielesque category, the obvious question has to be; was it worth the wait?
Overwhelmingly yes is the answer. What stunned me upon listening to that masterpiece 10 years ago was just how gorgeous and complete the soundscapes created were, and Minasian has reproduced that unique ocean of sound again here, a veritable feast of what symphonic progressive rock should sound like.
There is a guest list here which can only be described as prog royalty. The wonderful Justin Hayward once again lends his lovely voice together with Julie Ragins who tours with The Moodies, but we also have Annie Haslam singing on two tracks, Steve Hackett playing guitar on another two, P J Olsson of Alan Parsons Project fame, and Billy Sherwood who seems to be on virtually every new release these days, but justifiably. We should also pay huge tribute to David's son, Justin, and Geof O'Keefe who form the core trio of artists here.
The album is bookended by The Wind of Heaven suite, Hayward singing on the first movement and Haslam on the finale. The opener is unashamedly reminiscent of Hayward's finest band moments without once descending into copycat tribute artist territory. Flute (lovely playing by the to me unknown Francesca Rapetti), guitars, piano, and gently rising keyboards back a melancholy vocal. Listening to the album for this review, I have played these back to back, and this creates an 18+ minute epic, and Annie's vocals on the main chorus Wind of Heaven blows are particularly lovely. The orchestration and wall of sound at the denouement back some fine guitar riffing.
The title track is split into three concurrent movements. Haslam provides a haunting vocal on movement one. Throughout movement two, an instrumental passage, Sherwood shows to me that he has learnt a lot from his periods playing with both Yes and Asia, because his bass lead is stunning and is precisely the sort of turn Squire and Wetton would have been expected to put in had they appeared here. Hackett lends his talents to the third movement, another instrumental piece, which starts with some lovely orchestration before that ghostly guitar washes all over you. The interplay between him and the fine piano and orchestral keys shows that the debut album's delightful soundscapes were no accident.
The Ragins piece is Room With Dark Corners, and her pipes blast out a fine vocal performance. This track is perhaps the least complex, or rather the simplest, in terms of musical arrangements, and the most upbeat. Not a masterpiece by any stretch, but a very good folk rock track, with the participants clearly having a fine time of it. My only real minor gripe is that the overlong instrumental piece at the end seems rather out of place with what preceded it.
Olsson's contribution is the vocals on So Far From Home, and is the vocal highlight of the album to these ears. It is simply sumptuous, dripping with emotion, and pushes a symphonic arrangement which delights. Those who read and enjoy my reviews will know that when I say this deserves to be a worldwide hit single, this is meant as a compliment. Five minutes of intelligent, soaring, and emotional pop/rock music. David, send this track to every major radio station out there, please. Quite wonderful.
This is not all about the guest cast, though. Far from it. Minasian has a voice which can top that of many more well known lights in the prog world, and his arrangement skills are second to none. The soaring guitars and keyboards we loved on the debut are once more in evidence on All In, but are interspersed with some beautifully delicate acoustic guitar and piano prior to exploding into life once more.
Faith, Hope, Love is the shortest track on the album at a mere three and a half minutes, in which Justin's bass lines shine throughout, proving Sherwood has no monopoly in this department here. They underpin a lush guitar lead and orchestration. This is a wonderful instrumental track.
Road to Nothingness is a track I want played at my funeral. There is beauty in melancholy, and Minasian exploits it like no other I know. The guitar solo is a thing of wonder. Stressed? Out of your mind with worry? Watching too much COVID news? Get this on. Six minutes of utter delight.
Hold Back The Rain is a lovely ballad which combines again the lovely flute, aching guitars and keyboard arrangements with David's unique voice.
Twin Flames at Twilight is the longest continuous track on the album, clocking in at just short of fourteen minutes long. It opens with a fine 12-string acoustic guitar solo from David before segueing into a medieval folk sequence that a certain Mr Blackmore would have been more than happy with. The main body of the track kicks in at four minutes, and includes some interesting changes in mood. The guitar riff which follows the initial vocal is not melancholic, it is dark, as dark as anything I have heard in some time. This whole sequence of music is wonderful, proving that Minasian can rock with the best of them, and rather puts me in mind of Edison's Children. By that I don't mean the music itself, but the ability to provide the listener with varying moods at the touch of a drumbeat, because the almighty riff is followed by a beautifully arranged passage of music which really takes you back to that feeling you had when you first heard Wind and Wuthering. Again, I do not mean this in the derivative sense, but in the lovely feeling of being surrounded by lush and deep sounds. This is a marvellous track which captures the listener's attention throughout.
I am deeply grateful to David for sending me an advance digital copy to review. I have ordered the cd for delivery, because, at the end of the day, I am a fan more than anything else, and this music deserves our support.
Is prog dead?. No, it isn't. In 2020, it is alive and kicking, and albums such as this prove it. Exceptional stuff, with a cover to die for as well. Extremely highly recommended. Let us hope it isn't quite so long before we get the next.
ABEL GANZ - THE LIFE OF THE HONEY BEE AND OTHER MOMENTS OF CLARITY
The Life of the Honey Bee and Other Moments of Clarity is only the seventh studio album from Abel Ganz, veterans of the 1980's prog scene, this owing to a long hiatus which ended in 2008 with the excellent Shooting Albatross, although given that this is only the third since then, this is not exactly throwing works out at pace.
This is a shame, because this new work is really very good. The band are well and truly on the pastoral side of progressive rock, and those who enjoy thoughtful and emotional music will find a great deal to enjoy here. The overarching theme is one of memory and loss.
The title track opens proceedings clocking in at over 12 minutes long. It is a gentle affair, and sets the scene for all that is to come. Mick Macfarlane is a soothing presence on vocals, whilst there is plenty of room for solo artistry to shine, with a nice violin solo and an extended Dave Mitchell guitar piece. Altogether mesmerising, it draws you into the work as a whole before you really know that you are there, and therefore succeeds tremendously. With the "symphony of wings" lovingly described, there is a brief saxophone solo of virtuosity to close the track.
What follows is enough to melt the coldest heart. Duetting with Macfarlane on One Small Soul is the gorgeous voice of Emily Smith, and this is pure melancholy set to music. Jack Webb's piano literally cries, and the whole track has a bluesy warmth to it. Quite wonderful, and a highlight of 2020 for me.
Arran Shores, named after the Isle of Arran, home to a particularly fine distillery, is a short and emotional acoustic instrumental by David King. Close your eyes, and you are there, and, again, a piece of music which sets a mood perfectly.
Summerlong is that rare beast, an intelligent piece of music which evokes an emotional response and means whatever the listener wants to take from it. For me, the reality of my love and I spending lazy and hazy days together. The opening, dreamy, sequence morphs into a more "traditional" synth passage set against a symphonic backdrop, before we return to the lovers reminiscing. Really rather lovely and evocative.
The opening passage of the longest track at over 13 minutes long, Sepia and White, really hits you after this, because this is a rocker featuring a thunderous bass line by Stephen Donnelly. Normal service is, however, resumed with a gentle piano and the main passage intersperses this with guitar with feeling, and the colour of sepia keys, before building into a classic prog rock wall of sound. Lyrically, the I, I Remember You closing passage is wonderfully intelligent, marking the passage of time and long lost love to wonderful effect accompanied by some marvellous fret work and those bass pedals working overtime overseen by a guiding organ.
The album closes with The Light Shines Out, the most overtly Celtic influenced track, with vocal duties taken on by drummer Denis Smith, who adds some nice drum machine work here as well. The track reminds me a great deal of some of the better tracks on Gabriel's Ovo, including the vocals, and the wonderful thought of nicotine clouds takes one back to smoky, hazy, bars of yore.
This really is a wonderfully enjoyable record, and a tribute to some wonderful musicians who have stood the test of time. Very highly recommended, and an excellent addition to any collection.
BIG BIG TRAIN - EMPIRE
Live DVD which shows us just how much we will miss David Longdon.
And so to my annual birthday live DVD present, this time the Big Big Train Empire set recorded at London's Hackney Empire in November 2019, a tour I sadly missed, and it is even more of a regret now that violinist and vocalist Rachel Hall, guitarist Dave Gregory, and keyboardist Danny Manners have left the band, and it will be intriguing to see how well the remainder of the band replace those three, because they really have all been essential contributors to the sound and vision since joining. Gregory, especially, plays some delicious riffs and licks throughout.
This live set, which I purchased on Blu Ray and double cd, will, therefore, go down in history as the definitive record of this particular line-up as a live ensemble. Here I should also mention the mighty fine brass musicians who provide so much texture and emotion to the music being played.
The set mainly concentrates on later BBT, as might be expected from a tour promoting Grand Tour, and what it really highlights for me is just how well they fuse the more pastoral, folk music with the full-on symphonic stuff altogether seamlessly, and live this is an especially impressive feat given that until fairly recently they were a studio only outfit.
There are many highlights. Following a delightful intro, two of my favourite shorter Train tracks are performed with gusto. Alive really does make you feel alive, and is a track guaranteed to cheer one up, much needed in these extraordinary times.
Hall's solo vocals at the denouement naming the animals of the Hedgerow are utterly delightful, and this is a fine rendition of one of my favourite modern folk prog tracks.
Winkie, a track dedicated to and about a hen which saved the lives of a WWII bomber crew, was not one of my favourites from Folklore. I found it bitty and forced together in parts, but live it really comes into its own.
David Longdon, a vocalist I have admired ever since I heard him perform on Martin Orford's seminal The Old Road, is fine throughout, and demonstrates his Gabrielesque tendencies by wearing the pagan mask in a barnstorming rendition of Wassail. Talking of vocals, though, you really cannot be anything but impressed by the pipes demonstrated by probably the finest drummer in modern prog, Nick D'Virgilio, when he performs a duet with Longdon on The Florentine, a wonderful piece of thoughtful music about Da Vinci.
As fine as the set is, all else, though, leads up to a magnificent performance of a seminal BBT track, namely East Coast Racer. It fair takes your breath away, especially as the brass section adds to a massive wall of sound in the closing passage. This track is worth the entrance money alone.
All in all, this is a fine live recording from a band who are rightly revered in the world of modern progressive rock. Four stars, and highly recommended.