ELEGANT SIMPLICITY

The very first time I played this I must admit I was not a huge fan, but then I soon realised that was down to my own preconceived ideas of what this should sound like, and while it may not be exactly what I would expect from Elegant Simplicity, Steven can do exactly what he likes as it is his band! I don't know if the songs were written with a class singer in mind, or if Steven first came across Tomas and then changed material to accommodate him, but there is no doubt he is a real find. Steven said to me, "I think I struck gold with Tomas on the vocals", and he's right as there is some Damian Wilson in his style, and that can never be a bad thing. Although this is a more songs-based album there are still extensive instrumental sections and the rhythm section have a major place to play in the sound, link together well, while of course Steven combines guitars and keyboards with both taking the lead when the time is right. The overall result is something which is incredibly accessible and enjoyable the first time it is listened to, and once I got past my preoccupation of what I though Elegant Simplicity should sound like I found I got a lot out of this. It is no longer neo prog, but solid crossover, and I am sure some of these could be edited back to radio singles if Steven had the urge. It may be a little too middle of the road for some, but the melodies and tightness of those involved makes this a nice relaxing album with great vocals and songs.

The use of real brass and violin definitely adds to the overall feel of the album, and there is a very strong relationship between Stephen's keyboard playing and bassist Ruano in particular. Stephen has a reputation for delivering lengthy songs, and indeed has released albums which are pretty much just one track, but here it is a collection of shorter pieces, with just one breaking the ten-minute barrier. Again, this is an instrumental release, but there are a few voiceovers, including some snippets of Orson Welles on "Connected", which is surely one of Stephen's shortest ever songs at less than two minutes! When I reviewed his last album I complained as it was only 52 minutes long, and this one is even shorter (would still be more than one side of a TDK-90 tape, which is where all my albums lived in the 70's, and all those classic albums tended to fit easily on one side, how quickly we all forget). I would liked to have heard more, as this is an album which does take a while to get into, more so than many of his works, and consequently if I am listening to it just once then it is always later in the album when I really start to enjoy it. If I play it on repeat then I get far more from the earlier songs than previously, so surely a little longer wouldn't have hurt!

Mind you, I think this is Stephen's 26th full-length release so I shouldn't complain ? if only some other bands had half or even a quarter of that output, I would be incredibly happy. There really is no excuse for not knowing or discovering his music, he consistently has one of the best artist sites around, all his music is available on Bandcamp as well as physically, and Stephen is currently working through and remastering all his earlier albums as well. He has been releasing music for more than 30 years, all of an incredibly high standard indeed, and his latest is yet another welcome addition to the canon.

The next song contained real flute, care of Noam Goldstein, and by now I realised that I was listening to something quite special. Back in the day, Steven would have created all these sounds using keyboards, but here he has brought together a group of skilled musicians that is lifting his music to a whole new level. Although he has used singers in the past, most notably Ken Senior of Evolution, this is an instrumental album and I think Steven is right in what he said. In 2017, after more than twenty full-length releases, he has produced his finest and most complete work to date. I have been playing it a great deal, and the only major fault with this fifty-two-minute long album is that it is just too short (and hence contains just the one epic, the title cut which breaks the twenty-minute barrier).

Steven has been putting out quality albums for a long time now, but now could not be a better time to discover his music, as this is superb from the very first note to the last.

Of course, at the heart of this is still Steven's fluid guitar and deft keyboards, but this time there is more for him to play against and with. He can be belting away with great over the top axework as on "Falling To The Ground", and then Nathan demands to make an entrance and the piece is transformed. There are still heavy Camel influences, particularly with some wonderfully dated keyboard sounds combining with the great guitars. Polished, dynamic, one must wonder what is going to be next for ES. Will the next album continue in the same vein, or will it be back to more of a multi-instrumentalist style? We must wait and see, but until then I will enjoy this polished melodic progressive rock album that is a sheer joy to listen to.

Many of the elements characterizing McBabe's near and future releases are present on this album, however the inspiration and recording quality appear to be at a low point.As with many Elegant Simplicity albums, this is an all instrumental effort, trying to draw some influences from the material of acts like CAMEL, FOCUS, PALLAS and PENDRAGON and come-up with melodic, symphonic-oriented compositions, where the solos, keyboard deliveries and instant melodies are the leading factors.The sharp guitar work of McBabe and the background keyboards are forcing the project into a familiar British Neo Prog style, but the sampled instrumentation, the buried mix and the below average sound are holding this from a decent result.The digital drumming is just unacceptable and plenty of the keyboards parts are just so weak and childish, like coming from an old Casio equipment.The ideas of McBabe are pretty cool, he prooves to be a good composer and many of his solos, orchestrations and textures are pretty nice with underlined symphonic touches and a large instrumental activity with dramatic overtones, there are even some Canterbury-wannabee keyboard moves in the process.But the amateur type of the recording process is the preventing factor here.

A decent document of Elegant Simplicity's premature rehearsals.But not a trully qualitive album as a whole with the sampled instruments surrounding the otherwise nice guitar parts.Recommended only to Neo Prog collectors and fanatics.

As has been the case on many of his albums he has been joined by Christopher Knight on drums and percussion, while Ken Senior (isn't it about time we had another Evolution album?) provides vocals on one track. Everything else is by Mr McCabe, and as ever he shows himself to be a dab hand at both guitar and keyboards as he creates music that is sometimes evocative of Gong and Camel as well as bringing in some neo and even fusion influences as well. The use both of 'live' drums and moving between keyboards and guitar means that this generally sounds like a band as opposed to a multi- instrumentalist project.

Melody as opposed to repeated mindless meandering is the order of the day and this is very much an album of six songs, even though five them don't contain any words. 'Un-Apology' is one of my favourites, very much in your face with clever interplay between the lead instruments and quite a funky Seventies feel throughout with some dated keyboard sounds and a real groove to the whole thing. It fairly belts along and is a joy throughout. But, a very special mention needs to go to the title track, which is one of Steven's most epic numbers to date. At more than eighteen minutes long there is plenty of room for the music to move in many different ways (and it even contains some great sax work!) , and each time I play it I find that it draws me in, taking me to a world that contains complex arrangements and layers yet also has a simple elegance, as one might well expect.

It is possible to stream the album on his website at www.elegantsimplicity.com so why not give it a listen and see what you think? Let's hope that we don't have to wait so long for the next one.

Originally appeared in Feedback #70, Oct 02

What is immediately apparent is the way that the music moves and flows, sometimes returning to a previous theme or moving on in a new direction. The music can be led through 'modern' style keyboards or a mellotron, or acoustic guitar or electric, but it always keeps the interest and could never be considered boring or background. Instrumental albums need to be something a bit special to keep the listener involved, and this is laid back yet at the time passionate and brings together melodies in a way that really works. Camel are again a main influence and I would urge fans of that band to search this out.

Originally appeared in Feedback #70, Oct 02

With three of the five songs over sixteen minutes long, this is an album that is bringing together a multitude of styles that are at the same time different yet belonging. It is an album of complexity, yet also simplicity, bringing Floydian styles in with Camel and mixing them up with a solid dose of new prog that it is very much music that is relevant for today. Again it is mostly instrumental, but Ken very much plays his part.

Originally appeared in Feedback #69, Aug 02