ELEGANT SIMPLICITY:Purity And Despair CD
Historic note: this guy sent me tapes of his music when I was at MLM, a few years back, and I thought that here was a one-man musical force that deserved greater recognition, just one guy doing a musical cauldron of synths, guitars, perc, etc producing a mix of prog rock and fusion that had depth, emotion and edge.
Years further on, several tape and CD releases later, and he's finally produce his best album. The opening track features tons of moog-style synth leads and solos above a sea of organ, mellotrons and occasional guitars, support provided by a solid rhythm section. The stylistic and compositional mix has elements of '70's prog, melodic jazz-rock, even haunting folky passages, at times making you think of Wakeman, ELP, Colosseum or Greenslade, as the synth wails high above the mix. The musical field varies from full-sounding to quite stark, but always travelling an developing. Track 2 opens with guitar, piano and organ to excellent effect before the rhythm support enters and a distant synth solos away over the backdrop before an electric guitar emerges and solos/duels with the synth as the mid-tempo track rolls on, full of the trademark synth solos and plenty of dynamics along its 14 minute path, again reminiscent in part of the aforementioned groups but with a jazzy sensibility. Track 3 opens with a sea of mellotron and piano before organ and a gently strummed acoustic guitar are added and then a multi-tracked electric guitar solos away on top of this serene back drop, as the drums and bass emerge and the 19 minute track begins to roll, again mid-tempo, melodic with a kind of subdued power that allows lots of room in the composition for the instrumental twists and turns to achieve maximum effect. This long track is rich in variation, never staying in any one setting too long and constantly changing with some fantastic solos and multi-inst passages along the way from electric guitars, synths, kybds, mixing prog and tasteful fusion sensibilities with a very orchestral style making for a wide sonic panorama at several points along the piece. The near 8 min track 4 is the most 'orchestral' sounding on the album, still with the same inst setting but more relaxed and richly textured, almost more synth oriented music like a proggy Dyson or Paul Ward, only with more of an edge. Overall, a particularly fine album and one that should put him in the upper echelons of inst multi-talented prog music players.
ELEGANT SIMPLICITY: Moments Of Clarity CD
Latest offering from the multi-instrumentalist prog musician that I think I was first in the UK to recognise the talent of this guy when he first started releasing tapes all those years back. Anyway, with a few CD's to his credit already, this has to be seen as the best to date. The playing is first rate with some emotional work from electric guitars, synths and keys. The drumming, while a touch on the obvious side, is at least crisply produced and dynamic, as is the whole album. But the vocalist has settled down and that has got to be good news after some patchy performances on the previous vocal albums. When multi-tracked he sounds particularly fine and, unusually for a prog vocalist these days, sounds better, more Gabriel- esque, on the slower tracks, where the keys/mellotron sounds come into their own, particularly the synth- laden track three. As a complete album there is plenty of room for instrumental space and to offer the prog music fan - nothing overly complex with tons of melodies, good songs/insts and excellent production. Anyone into UK prog of the '80's variety should get something out of this.
ELEGANT SIMPLICITY: The Story Of Our Lives CD
A single forty-seven minute instrumental track, divided into twelve sections, makes up this latest album from a long-standing multi-instrumentalist, who has remained in the shadows for too long, and this could be the one to give him the break. With a quality of composition up there with the Oldfield/Parsons league, this is a superbly constructed set of instrumentals that flow as one track with some soaring lead guitar work, amazing synth leads and backdrops, rivers of string synth surrounds, solid bass depths and dynamic drum work, all with the added bonus of mellotron, el piano and acoustic guitar to round the soundscapes off to perfection. A lot of this album will have you thinking of early Oldfield, and even hints of Island-era Jade Warrior in some places, particularly the panoramic synth sections that have a feel of far-off exotic places. The track has a very high-flying, expansive feel to it as you are taken on a journey of great emotional content, one that you will want to undertake many times. But it's not all swepping synths and guitars as you'll hear when you launch into the third section to witness rock solid drums, sparkling lead synth melody lines, undulating bass and a variety of tunes from the synths and guitars, with a stinging guitar solo coming in at just the right point for maximum dynamic effect. Throughout the album, you'll be constantly amazed at just how one guy can do all this and make it sound and feel so good, so polished and so accomplished. This is a gem for instrumental prog fans, for a prog album it is without a shadow of a doubt. Superb.
ELEGANT SIMPLICITY: Palindrome CD
To see a musician starting off talented, full of potential and then to watch his career rise and rise, striving towards that point of perfection somewhere distant on the road that lies ahead, is a remarkably fulfilling thing for a reviewer and I've been charting the guy's progress, highs and lows, for a long time now. The cliché that each album has been better than the last has not always applied, but the one before this was a great album, a very satisfying instrumental work. Often there have been leaps between works, but musical maturity has been slow and steady for a while, still coming up with the ideas but all within a similar framework. So, for his first of 2001, this musician's point of perfection is coming closer a lot quicker than you might think, for this is a totally class work of prog-rock, largely instrumental but this time with vocals that fit the music like a glove, solo and harmonies, while this time around the guitar work has all the sound and quality of early Mike Oldfield with hints of Gilmour/Fripp in there too. The organ/synth work is as towering and layered as ever, with some fantastic passages and solos. The compositions sound more structured than ever, more like real songs, the dynamics of the pieces working to a tee. But it is the sound and overall musical definition of the album that really is the icing on the case, with string synths, guitars, percussives, synths, organ, mellotron and bass laying down many combinations of great moods and melodies. It's one of those albums that has to be enjoyed in its entirety and so pointless singling gout particular moments or passages or tracks. If this had been around in the seventies, it would have now been in the Prog Hall of Fame, but as it is, it's getting there, so if you've not teried this lot out before, now's the time.
