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Review:
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The inexhaustible guitarist has to be one of the hardest
working musicians anywhere, dishing out studio albums at
a consistent pace, touring the world in concert, paying
his respectful homage to his first band and furthering,
if not elevating its legacy way beyond the capabilities
or desires of his former bandmates. More Fool Me indeed!
He has no need to prove anything anymore, well entrenched
in the Prog Hall of Fame and content do his thing his way.
Master of the acoustic, nylon and electric guitars, using
his legendary sustain and tapping technique, he is unique
in not veering into fluffier jazzy stuff like so many other
veteran electric guitarists. He actually has become a tad
crisper in his sound, noticeable in the last few releases
especially. And true to form, the tracks cover a wide range
of stylistic niches, from acoustic workouts, brooding blues,
some technical sizzle that borders on heavy rock and of
course, some sublime prog compositions that are unafraid
to infuse some world music tendencies. His usual seasoned
road cronies are all on board, Roger King manning the keyboard
duties, the amazing Jonas Reingold on bass, sax man Rob
Townsend and drummers Craig Blundell, Nick D'Virgilio and
Hugo Degenhart.***
Strangely, I was truly mesmerized by the shorter pieces
like the iridescent "These Passing Clouds", the bluesy "Found
and Lost", the torrid sandstorm feel of Scipio's Roman Army
in Africa on "Circo Inferno", the Zeppelin-esque thrashing
on "Breakout", lest we forget that the Brits are an island
nation devoted to the oceans on "All at Sea" and the classical
acoustic finale on "White Dove", a magical farewell.***
For those who are dismayed about him singing on all
the tracks, hey, it's been like that for nearly 50 years,
so suck it up and move on. Its his art, okay! For those
who think he is just rehashing the same tired formula, listen
to the monster rock steamroller exhibit on "Taking You Down",
the totally enchanting Genesisian aroma of "Enter the Ring"
with its fluttering John Hackett flute pirouettes and carnival
atmosphere, the incredible six string method solo on the
poignant "Get it Out", followed by the majestic prog epic
"Ghost Moon and Living Lone", a series of typical Hackett
solos that inserts some slide guitar outbursts, the soaring
female vocal (Amanda Lehmann) intro is drenched in absurd
beauty and rather amazing vocals from the Man with the Golden
Guitar, BTW!***
The furtive "Into the Nightwhale" certainly captures
the gigantic proportion of the cetacean with some colossal
orchestrations as well as the creature's relative meekness
and gentle disposition in the second part, where a serene
calm settles in, twinkling piano and a forgiving vocal glimmering
brightly. Immediate segue into the bolder anthemic "Wherever
You Are", a suave voice, leading to thumping drum patterns,
another patented Hackett fretboard screech, rousing organ
collisions and a fiery climax.***
The lamp's warm glow flickers as Steve plays "White
Dove", restrained notes that express deep felt emotions,
a stellar neo-classical piece that suggest the need for
kindness and peace. Mister consistency strikes again, another
great chapter in a gloriously productive career, proving
once again that being on one's own can be utterly rewarding
artistically.
4.5 Carnival orcas. tszirmay@gmail.com
Tszirmay
Reviews
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