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The Church - Magician Among The Spirits CD (album) cover

MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS

The Church

 

Prog Related

3.68 | 30 ratings

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Heptade
Prog Reviewer
4 stars The Church has taken a little heat for being on this site...I can agree that their early work is not really progressive in any sense, but from the nineties onward, this is no longer true. The members of the group are big prog fans of musicians like Genesis, Floyd and Kevin Ayers, but it wasn't really until the middle of their decade that it began to show up in their work. This album is probably their most stereotypically progressive in the traditional sense, and it is an excellent record.

There aren't key changes and time signature changes, but then there aren't really on Porcupine Tree albums either, and lots of prog-people love that band. This album features a 14-minute jammy epic with surrealistic lyrics and reverb-drenched guitar solos (title track), a gypsy violin spotlight ("Romany Caravan"), a cheeky rip-off of "The Great Gig in the Sky" ("Grandiose") and a dark, experimental mini-epic about the end of the world through the eyes of Hindu cosmology ("Could be Anyone"). At least, that's what I think it's about.

Each track brings something different and unexpected, which to me is very progressive indeed. And, considering the veteran status of the band, it is not surprising that everything is pulled off with panache. The Church has always been renowned for their creative use of guitar effects, and that is really highlighted on this album. I'd recommend anything from '92 onwards, but I really think that many prog- fans, even 70s freaks, would find much to like about this album in particular. And if you love P-Tree, Radiohead or Anekdoten's "Gravity" album, get a hold of some Church right now!

Heptade | 4/5 |

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