THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURER

One of the original British neo-prog bands from the 80s that sat side by side with the bigwigs of Marillion, Pallas, IQ and Pendragon, GALAHAD was formed as far back as 1985 but didn't release its debut album "Nothing Is Written" until 1991. It would take even longer for the band to master the neo-prog sound with a few early clunkers but once the new millennium arrived GALAHAD has been instrumental in releasing a series of excellent neo-prog classics with 2006's "Empires Never Last" remaining a fan favorite.

Always willing to take risks and dive into something new, 2021's "Soul Therapy" under the GALAHAD ELECTRIC COMPANY moniker threatened to ditch the world of neo-prog altogether and adopted a bizarre hybrid of downtempo and synthpop as its medium of choice. Startled prog stalwarts were in utter shock and honestly i didn't care for that album too much as it jettisoned all the characteristics that made this band stand out amongst the competition. Luckily lessons were learned and GALAHAD made an abrupt retreat back into classic hook-laden neo-prog catchiness of yore. Much of the material actually predates the "Seas Of Change" album so it's no wonder why the album has bit of a retro feel preceding the later experiments.

THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURER returns GALAHAD to its classic pop-hook fueled neo-prog that has kept the band relevant for its lengthy career but something about this band seems to just get better as these veteran neo-proggers become seasoned elders. The album sees the return of Twelfth Night bassist Mark Spencer who played with the band between the "Beyond the Realms of Euphoria" and "Quiet Storms" albums but never appeared on any album himself. The lineup retains the classic long term members vocalist Stu Nicholson, keyboardist Dean Baker and drummer Spencer Luckman. Former bassist turned guitarist Lee Abraham is also still around and has become as proficient on the six string as his former instrument.

Like many contemporary neo-prog albums, THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURER features bonus tracks on the CD version making a total of seven whereas the vinyl LP release has five. With the extras the album is just over 55 minutes and showcases some of the band's best work in a while. While resurrecting their classic neo-prog hooks with the accompaniment of feisty guitar work, GALAHAD has also employed an ample use of electronic wizardry on this one with lots of trippy keyboard extras behind the usual piano, synth and atmospheric contributions with even some progressive electronic sophistication seeping into the mix.

The album opens with the super-catchy "Alive" which finds the band in perfect neo-prog form. The track showcases the classic sounds of the 80s with strong catchy verse / chorus almost new wave sounding post-punk tendencies with all the musicians sounding at the top of their game. Clearly the years have been kind to Nicholson's voice as he remains dynamically soulful with each performance and honestly has one of the best vocal styles in the world of neo-prog. The band's sense of pacing is polished like a diamond in the rough with the pop sensibilities dominating but augmented by the more complex layering of prog tendencies. In many ways GALAHAD and similarly minded neo-prog acts have taken the 80s sounds of bands like Asia, GTR and other AOR / arena rock acts and given them true prog credentials.

While the opening track is the most in-yer-face flirtation with mainstream 80s new wave, the album ratchets up the progressive rock aspects with "Blood Skin and Bone" and the 10-minute plus title track taking the musical experience in advanced prog technique territory. The title track is a tribute to Stu's father and covers a lot of ground with the most interesting compositional changes on the album's run. The track ends with an interesting loungy jazz club saxophone cameo.

As far as the CD bonus tracks are concerned they are set on ballad mode with the tempos and dynamics slowed down for an emotive vocal dominance. While a bit sappier than the rest of the album, it almost sounds like these tracks are supposed to be the "singles" so to speak and a mixed bag really. "Normality of Distance" is a bit too sappy for my liking but "Another Life Not Lived" holds up pretty well with a better mix of electronics, guitars and compositional fortitude. While GALAHAD has never been total top tier neo-prog band in my world due to inconsistencies, i have to say that these guys are as good as it gets when they're hitting a high note and THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURER is chock filled with such higher octave moments. After nearly 40 years on the scene it seems that GALAHAD is like fine wine that only becomes better with age so i'm sure we can look forward to more excellent music from these UK neo-proggers.