Month: September 2024

Review – Gabriel Keller – Hope Despite Everything – by John Wenlock-Smith

This second album from French musician Gabriel Keller is an album of two distinct parts, on one hand you have a treatise on the horrors of war seen through the eyes of a soldier on the front line, the other part of the album is much more light hearted in nature and traces the journey of a drop of water from glaciers and the northern lights to the sands of the Sahara desert. It concludes a quest for inner peace and an ode to love. So it is, in essence, quite an interesting musical album ranging from gentle acoustic numbers to heavier Porcupine Tree musical styles.

The album begins with a brief introduction, Why?, which introduces the first part of the album with sound effects of war. Guns, rockets and military sounds set the scene very and this leads into The Letter – Part 1, in which the soldier shares his torment of being on the front line and his mother, who longs for her sons safe return. This track verges between Rush-like guitar sounds and a harder edged sound interspersed with the fine vocals of Emi B. It also has symphonic touches too which makes for a somewhat unusual sound. It is a great sound though with some great guitar fills and solo’s. The Guns Are Approaching  emphasises both the futility of the war that is taking place around him and the fact that it is also drawing closer every day. It opens delicately and acoustically before a more punishing riff is introduced, adding a more metallic sound, more like European power metal. This is another strong piece overall and the vocals from Emi B again make a strong impression, as does Gabriel’s soaring guitar solo and playing. The Letter – Part 2 opens with eerie sound effects and a distorted guitar playing harmonics and arpeggios. This is the album’s longest track at just shy of ten minutes duration and has great dynamics among a lot going on. This song also has more than a passing nod to Rush in the guitar playing (shades of La Villa Strangiato). More guitar and power chords are at play here as the track gathers impetus making this the most compelling piece on the album, mixing its styles and sounds in a most satisfying manner.

My Son is a plea for the return of the mother’s son from the frontline. The vocals are superb as they harmonise on this sad plea. No Surrender and Oppression are about standing in opposition to submission in the face of difficulties. The former is a more traditional rock number with definite Rush influences and touches, I’ve noticed this in other albums I reviewed from French outfits like Pryzme. Obviously, Rush made an impact on French musical styles over the years, mainly their post 70’s epic period. The latter song continues this theme of solidarity and resistance, opening with the Cello of Lucie Lacour. This is another harder sounding track with good rhythmic switches in style that really sound great. There is a lot of inventiveness within this track, possibly one of the best for me, after the both parts of The Letter.

We then move into the second part of the album which is more acoustically driven, although the cello is evident in parts. Poussi​è​res Eternelles is sung in French and sounds suitably ethereal in style and tone. Your Way has more excellent guitar playing, mainly acoustic with electric embellishments, which sounds really good, I like this track a lot, it’s very positive and uplifting. Change is the album’s penultimate piece and has a real swing to it with long suspended chords that have a jazzy touch to them The great vocals from Emi B again make a good impact. I love how this song shimmers and sways very elegantly making it very cosmopolitan sounding There is a superb guitar solo as well that really sounds excellent. Mahaut is an ode to love. This is a slightly downbeat, subdued piece with lots of intricate guitar fills and is a fitting conclusion to a most interesting album.

‘Hope Despite Everything’ is a very impressive collection of songs with some strong performances and material, all of which are imaginatively portrayed. This album is most definitely worth a listen If you can!

Released June 23rd, 2024.

Order from bandcamp here:

https://gabrielkeller.bandcamp.com/album/hope-despite-everything

Review – Jordan Rudess – Permission To Fly – by John Wenlock-Smith

Jordan Rudess is best known as the current keyboard player for progressive metal giants Dream Theater, who he joined over  20 years ago. During this time he has contributed significantly to their ever evolving sound, mainly because of his development company that produces new technologies for musicians.

Jordan is certainly an intelligent and articulate musician who is always pushing the boundaries in some way or another but he is also a solo artist in his own right. This new album, ‘Permission To Fly’, sees him joining forces with a hand picked collection of musicians to make a classic prog rock album. His choice of musical compatriots throws up some interesting choices, Steve Dadaian, by trade a highly acclaimed cosmetic dentist who is also a keen shredder (guitarist), along with Devin Townsend’s drummer Darby Todd. For the vocals, Jordan turned to Joe Payne (formerly of The Enid) who also works for the likes of John Holden, amongst others,  while also maintaining his own solo career. Jordan was highly impressed by Joe and reached out to him for this album.

The album opens with The Final Threshold which features a stunning opening keyboard segment full of bombast (very ELP!) which then fades to a gentle piano before Joe begins singing softly but with his very expressive and wide vocal range. The album has just nine tracks (two extra on the initial CD release) and has a mixture of styles from ballads to all out prog rock tracks. Into The Lair is something of an epic track with a very strong vocal from Joe and you can see why Jordan chose him for this project. There is also a great bass solo in this track and a fiery guitar solo by Chilean guitarist Bastian Martinez. This track has it all, storming keyboards, brilliant guitar playing and above it all soars Joe’s sterling vocal performance. Haunted Reverie has discordant and eerie keyboards setting the scene. With its supernatural theme, this is a slightly unsettling track but very well delivered. All the lyrics for this album come from Jordan’s daughter Ariana.

The Alchemist is another longer track initially driven by keyboards. There’s a rather unusual mid-section vocal part which is very different from what you heard before and it’s possibly unhinged or mad, it certainly makes you take notice! The song has a sad ending when the Alchemist realises his life’s work is futile and has accomplished nothing of any worth and he is, after all, just a man. Embers is far more normal sounding and has an excellent piano motif that runs throughout (just like on Bowie’s Life On Mars) and an epic guitar solo that plays out the track superbly. Shadow Of The Moon opens with a very gothic sounding piano and drums. The song is about space exploration and the possibilities that this offers to the world but also of the potential risks we. The track ends with an extended keyboard outworking in conjunction with the superb bass.

Eternal is very much like Dream Theater in places, certainly more familiar territory for Jordan, the opening eventually gets to the vocals at the 2.40 mark! This is another good track, albeit it a tad Andrew Lloyd-Webber in style at times. There is a definite operatic or musical theatre leaning tot he song, albeit with a very prog style musical backing making it most impressive really. For what is a love song, this has some excellent keyboard parts from Jordan. Footsteps In The Snow is a more even tempo track with great lyrics. This track appears to be about the brevity of life and about the memories that remain behind, a rather philosophical track overall. The album concludes with an instrumental entitled Dreamer, full of deep chords and swirls of keyboard voices It is all very ethereal sounding and very stately and a great ending.

‘Permission To Fly’ is a real roller-coaster ride of an album, from bombastic thunder to gentle melodies and all points in between. This is a highly impressive album and one that befits the highly acclaimed Jordan Rudess. Whether this is a one off remains to be seen so, for now, dig in. In places it is totally weird but most enjoyable with it! Highly recommended indeed.

Released 6th September, 2024.

Order from this link:

https://jordanrudess.lnk.to/PermissionToFly

Review – Steve Howe – Guitarscape – by John Wenlock-Smith

Inspiration can come in many forms and as a result of many different factors and influences, such as a new experience or a new relationship or a trip somewhere new that strikes a chord within. These Inspirations can be worked out in a number of different ways.

Such is the case with this new album from iconic Yes guitarist Steve Howe, whose creative juices were extremely stirred by his purchase of a new keyboard. This meant Steve had to become deeply acquainted with his new purchase to the extent that he composed these tracks for this latest solo album. Solo, although utilising the percussive talents of his son Dylan Howe, with whom he recorded the 2020 release ‘Love Is’.

‘Guitarscape’ is totally instrumental in tone and Steve’s recent acquisition of a Novatron Summit keyboard was the inspirational basis behind the album. As always, Steve offers the listener a variety of styles, both electric and acoustic, performed on a variety of Steve’s classic guitars, a breakdown of which guitars are used for each track are noted in the album’s booklet.

So enough preamble let’s detail exactly what this album offers the listener…

The album commences with the driving electric guitar track Hail Storm in which Steve really cuts loose with some fiery guitar runs and fills. Spring Board has a country music feel to it and, again, shows Steve’s mastery of tone and styling. There is some very technical and proficient playing on display here with the keyboard tones adding warmth and depth. It’s a really fine track that works very well. Distillations is an acoustic number that shows fabulous playing and a sympathetic keyboard sound that gives this track depth too. Up Stream opens with keyboard swirls and electric guitar. The track relies heavily on volume swells and sustained notes and Steve seems to be getting in touch with his inner David Gilmour, as it follows a similar sort of sound, to these ears at least. Secret Mission is another fleet-fingered acoustic track where the really delicate finger work makes for a memorable piece.

Passing Thoughts is another brief acoustic piece that follows a similar line to the previous track withSteve showcasing his impressive skills. Touch The Surface sees Steve using a tremolo effect on his guitar tone, rather impressively it has to be said too! The good thing about this album is that it offers listeners a showcase of Steve’s highly impressive, tasteful and varied guitar styles. In addition, nothing is very long so tracks and styles change rapidly, which is a good thing I feel. Spring Rhyme, in line with its title, has a real bounce to its step. It is a very short, but very fine, track. On Equinox we find Steve playing pedal steel guitar very effectively and Seesaw revisits the acoustic guitar tones in another very brief track.

The keyboard voicing sets the tone for acoustic track Gone West. Steve’s delicate fretwork also supporting the track well. It is the albums longest track and I rather like it a lot. Suma is a brief electric interlude that leads into the album’s penultimate piece, Spring Tide. Another shorter electric track where lots of interesting runs and fills play off good rhyming support from the keyboards and Dylan’s excellent drumming. The album closes with Steel Breeze an electric pedal steel guitar piece that Steve does so well. I like the way he has doubled the guitar at various points, it really sounds great.

‘Guitarscape’ is an interesting and different sort of album for Steve and one that offers a snapshot of where he is now at seventy seven years of age. His prowess and skills thankfully show no significant sign of deterioration or decline, for which we should all being thankful. It is proof that Inspiration is never that far away.

This may not be to everyone’s tastes but the more musically inclined will find much to appreciate here.

Released 27th September, 2024.

Order the album here:

https://lnk.to/hkKdov

John Wenlock-Smith Interviews Steve Hackett

John Wenlock-Smith: So ‘The Lamb Lies Down’ gets its own outing, much to the fans delight. How much of it are you doing exactly?

Steve Hackett: We’re doing nine songs from it. I chose tracks that work as songs by themselves, as most folks will be familiar with the story already.

JWS: Will be you be recording the show and, if so, where?

SH: Yes, we’re recording the last UK show at The Royal Albert Hall, I’ll be joined by my brother John that night too.

JWS: Amanda Lehmann, is with you this time as well?

SH: Yes, Amanda asked if she could do the whole tour this time. It will be great having her with us full time, joining the old boys club!

JWS: So we’ll get a full version of Shadow of the Hierophant then?

SH: Yes, rather than the crescendo that we’ve done on previous tours. It really needs a female vocalist, as it was originally done with Sally Oldfield. Amanda does a great version of it, it’s a great track that had a young Phil Collins on drums.

JWS: So what’s next for you Steve?

SH: Well I’ve been working on some live acoustic stuff. I have also been writing stuff for the next album, no idea when that will be though! In addition, I’ve also been working some more with Steve Rothery on an album we’ve been working on and off for the past year or more. I’ve been playing some harmonica for that as Steve likes that and I enjoy doing it too.

JWS: I saw John and his band a few rimes this year, they were excellent. He has a new album coming out this year.

SH: I spoke with him yesterday and he’s coming here tomorrow. We’re having a family visit, for which I need to find cutlery and plates! We’re a busy lot us Hackett’s!

JWS: So it would seem!

SH: Growing up, I guess you could say we were industrious. Dad would be paintng his pictures in the front room, John would be practising his flute and I’d be off in my bedroom playing the guitar! Aah, those were the days!

JWS: Your friend Nick Fletcher has a new album coming out in October, called ‘A Longing For Home”.

SH: What sort of style is it?

JWS: Progressive jazz/rock fusion, he has some highly acclaimed musicians like Anika Niles and a Norwegian keyboard player.

SH: Is that Lalle Larson?

JWS: No it’s a guy called Jan Gunnar Hoff. Again, highly respected by his peers. I’m really looking forward to it, should be great.

SH: In amongst all that going on I’m also doing some shows at Trading Boundaries in East Sussex.

JWS: I’ve never been there.

SH: There are hotels nearby.

JWS: For us, it’s a long way from Cheshire. It’s a place I’d very much like to go to really.

SH: I normally do a couple of acoustic shows around Christmas there. Although I was there last year for the John Wetton tribute show, which was the first time I’d done an electric show there. It was great but very loud!

John was a good friend of mine, we’d often do a version of All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix together and he did a few shows with me over the years, Tokyo and a few revisited ones too. I do miss him, he was a very funny man and a good friend to me.

So, all in all, plenty of things going on at present. As I said, we’ve just moved house and we’re living out of boxes and I’ve got to go and get some cutlery and plates as we can’t easily find the ones we packed! So it’s all a little hectic at present.

Anyway I’d better dash as these shortages won’t rectify themselves. Seeing as we have the family around on Thursday I need to to get the place prepared for their arrival. I’d best go, so keep well and we’ll speak again no doubt.  I’ll see you both in Stoke in a few weeks time where I hope you will enjoy the ‘Lamb Lies Down’ show, as much as I do performing it!

Review – Meer – Wheels Within Wheels

Meer are an eight piece Norwegian prog outfit based around the vocals of Knut and Johanne Nesdal (brother and sister) who meld together progressive rock with distinctly pop leanings. In doing so they offer a rather different soundscape, this, combined with the excellent vocals, makes for some rather unusually satisfying music. This album, ‘Wheels Within Wheels’, is their third following on from 2021’s ‘Playing House’ and their earlier debut album, ‘Meer’, from 2016.

Meer have been getting a lot of attention in prog circles of late and this latest release can only aid them in their own musical journey so let’s delve in and see what this album offers, shall we?

I have to say this is the first encounter I’ve had with Meer and whilst not entirely converted to the cause, I certainly do find lots here to enjoy. Opening track Chain of Changes begins with delicate piano lines and some rather subtle electronics before a more strident melody is introduced. It certainly captures the attention with the excellent vocals of Johanne and Knut, who together sound really good, clear and strong with great dynamics and crafting an expansive sound. The song returns to the earlier melody and it is rather stately in places, this track really impresses greatly. Behave begins with an upfront bass line and a sultry vocal from Knut, along with a bit of whistling and some viola backing. There’s a very strong chorus to this track and great backing vocals from Johanne and this allows Knut free reign for his expressive vocal. The strings really play their part gracefully on this track, the song is excellent and very strong. Take Me To The River is equally as impressive with some more great bass work underpinning the joint vocals of Knut and Johanne. Again, sensitive and delicate support from the other musicians definitely help with this excellent track. A dazzling guitar flourish from Eivind Strømstad helps the track gather momentum as it hurtles towards its conclusion. It is very impressive stuff all told. You know I said I wasn’t converted to their cause? Well I think that I may just be by this opening salvo of these first three tracks, which have shown me afresh what all the fuss is about.

Come To Light opens seductively with another shifting bass line, delicate piano and a very seductive vocal from Joanne. Once again this music is spellbinding and it creeps up and overwhelms you with its brilliance and understatement. This is where Meer score large, with great arrangements that grab your attention with their sheer musicality. It is simply gorgeous stuff that is excellent and most satisfying to experience. Golden Circle follows with some further great guitar work from Eivind, whose chord play makes for a wonderful cauldron of sounds that set the stage for the vocals of Knut and Johanne who sing together so wonderfully. The groove returns to that opening section and, as the song moves into the chorus once again, you are caught up and swept away by the emotion of it all, simply an incredible track. I am getting deeply impressed with this album. To What End opens with more syncopated guitar fills, all set against Joanne’s earnest vocal and, when Knut joins in, the song gathers in its intensity. This track has a harder edge at certain points and has great dynamics to it. Today Tonight Tomorrow features a mostly Knut vocal. This is a slow burner of a song, I like the build of the track, how it has peaks and valleys in the same song, another highly impressive track with an excellent vocal.

World Of Wonder is a very brief track that acts as a bridge to Mother, this has an orchestral motif to open with and the lyrics are a little darker in tone. The song suggests a loss of innocence and the desire for connection and inclusion. This is Meer at their most vulnerable, there is both beauty and depth to this track and it is quite mesmerising really. The penultimate song is Something In The Water, which begins with some heavy guitar alongside an almost ethereal vocal from Johanne, with assistance from Knut at key points. The subject appears to allude to hidden things being brought to the light, although I could be very wrong of course. What I do know is that it is another fine track which leads to the album’s last and longest track, This Is The End. This song adapts a harder tone, almost Porcupine Tree-like at times. The dynamics on this track are most enticing and agreeable and I like how it plays out its mixture of soft and brutal within the same track, it works really well.

I have to say that repeated listens to this album have allowed me to appreciate it more fully and I can certainly appreciate the crafting that has gone into making the album sound as good as it does here. ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ is a most worthy album and one that will hopefully win Meer many new fans.

Released 23rd August, 2024.

Order from bandcamp here:

Wheels Within Wheels | Meer (bandcamp.com)