HOME + NEW YORK SUITE

This new CD by UK band Magenta (with many guest musicians) is a concept story about a woman who emigrates from Liverpool to the USA in the Seventies. The extra CD entitled The New York Suite (five songs) tells her stories in the 'Big Apple'. By the way, The New York Suite will be released seperately in September 2006.

Listening to this new CD I notice that Magenta has succeeded to sound more original and the compositions contain more variety. The Magenta sound is still based upon the pleasant voice by Christina, the strong guitar work by Chris Fry (a great Floydian inspired solo in Towers Of Hope and captivating, Eastern sounding guitar play in A Dream) and flowing, very melodic and harmonic compositions. These are tastefully coloured by the keyboards like mellow piano, organ and harpsichord in Moving On, the distinctive sound of the Fender Rhodes electric piano in My Home Town and wonderful classical orchestrations in Joe and Journey's End. The final two songs feature the Uillean Pipes, especially the contrast with the fiery wah- wah guitar is great.Though Magenta sounds a bit polished and at some moments a bit tame, the band has delivered their best and most captivating album!

The extra CD (Limited edition) contains five alternating songs, remarkable is the blend of the Seventies Yes sound (Howe guitar, Squire bass and vocal harmonies) because on the above reviewed CD Home, Magenta showcases a more original sound. The best tracks are Arrival with classical orchestrations, bombastic eruptions, howling guitar and fluent synthesizer runs and the compelling White Lies with lots of changing climates and pleasant work on guitar, keyboards and flute.

It's not what I expected when I pre-ordered

Based on great advertisement right here at this site I pre-ordered this special edition couple of weeks ago and arrived to me quite fast - faster than my expectation. It's great, because typically it takes three weeks from UK to my hometown. When I opened the package I was bit disappointed with the CD package as it did not meet my expectation. Reading the communication / promotion kit from the label I expected the special edition package would come with something that look luxurious: wonderful artwork and beautiful sleeve notes. I found nothing and it's enough for me to say that the packaging is very disappointing. When I say so, I compare with recent prog music issues like The Flower Kings "Paradox Hotel" which even I ordered the regular edition from amazon but I got a really beautiful package with 2 CDs. All the artwork and CD sleeves are truly excellent and it sets new standard of prog music package. It's also the same thing with The TANGENT "A Place In The Queue" which has a truly wonderful artwork by Ed Unitsky (the Roger Dean of 2000s, I think). Also, I can find another great package of Roine Stolt's "Wallstreet Voodoo" or even Arena "Peppers and Ghosts". All of them are presented wonderfully. But Magenta "Home" Special Edition? It's nothing man! It's very disappointing, I tell you! It's not worth the money at all. Even, there is no single word from the band telling the background of this album etc. (which I easily found with Roine Stolt's "Wallstreet Voodoo" at the first page, telling how he grew up with the late 60's music etc. etc.).

OK OK .. that's the CD package, what about the music? Fortunately you have good music even though the CD package is lousy. For those of you who love beautiful melody which by first spin engages your mind, this is definitely an album for you because almost all tracks are accessible to many ears. Neo prog lovers would definitely love this album as well because the music resembles the old days of neo prog with sometimes mellow music, slow to medium tempo, nice and stunning guitar work and touchy piano work. I don't have the right words in English but for my local language the key characteristic of neo prog is "mendayu-ndayu" (oh .. for those who understand how to translate this term into English, please do let me now). It's basically a composition that flows smoothly and naturally (most of the time you can predict how the chords and notes are about to move from one segment to another) with mellow or slow to medium tempo and relatively simple arrangement. A good example of this characteristic is shown completely and perfectly at track 3 "Moving On" of Disc One.

Good music, accessible, memorable melodies, good harmony - and then what? That's a challenging question I have for the band. Why? Comparing to their other studio albums like "Revolutions" and "Seven" this album is musically much more original. As you might check with my review on "Revolutions", I truly adore this album even though I know that the music is not really original - many influences from Genesis and Marillion - I like the melody and composition. The next album "Seven" gave the band a much maturity in delivering their music even tough there are segments that resemble the music of Yes. For this aspect, I do not see any similarity of any segment in the whole disc One that resembles to other older bands. I salute the band on embarking their music into a much original composition.

The music flows naturally from one track to another, with good melody and nice vocal of Christina. The problem I have with listening to this album in its entirety is the similarity of nuance from one track to another - it seems flat to me and it does not lift my emotion in any segment of the music through out one entire disc. Yes there are memorable segments but there are little variations in terms of compositions that finally make me getting bored with the music. Oh yes, there are great sounds of organ that remind me to Procol Harum but with modern sound and also stunning guitar work, but then what? I still get bored. It's probably there is nothing energetic in the music.

Disc 2 is a bonus disc for special edition package and it comprises 5 tracks. "Arrival" is a great composition with beautiful orchestra combined with neo prog music, characterized with stunning guitar work combined with keyboards. This track is quite energetic and should have been included as part of Disc One for variation. I enjoy the guitar solo work - it's really excellent. The other tracks are also good ones with excellent sound production.

Overall, this is a good album with excellent sonic production (Disc One and Two). The compositions are also good but when the CD is listened to in its entirety, I get bored because little variations from one track to another. The CD package is lousy artwork. The band must learn from The Flower Kings, The Tangent, Pain of Salvation etc. on how to create excellent artwork Look at the front cover artwork - you might associate this with first Peter Gabriel's first album. Peter's one is better than this one. And I think, artwork and CD package in prog music is a crucial element. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

I have made sure that I listened to this double album at least 4 times before considering writing this review in the light of the 2 previous reviews. Let's make one thing perfectly clear - THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ALBUM. Personally I don't really care too much to write lines and lines of review regarding the album cover/sleeve design - I am more interested in the music. I agree that MAGENTA have taken on a wonderful style of their own whilst sticking true to the Prog styles of YES, GENESIS, PINK FLOYD etc. Rob Reed must be one of the most under-rated writers of Prog music around today and with Christina's superb voice (Which is getting better and better with every new release) they make a unique sound that other artists struggle to match. I am waiting with anticipation to hear what the "Night & Day" single with Annie Haslam sounds like when it is released soon. There is not a bad track on the album (Both the "Home" and "New York Suite" CD's) and I am glad that it was delayed because Rob Reed has ensured that the correct songs were put in the correct running order to make you just want to play it from start to finish without jumping tracks. I don't know which is my personal favorite track - I love them all - My wife, who is not into Prog music at all, loves the album, so does her mother !!!. Why don't MAGENTA get more exposure ?, they could be huge if someone would promote them properly. I am not knocking F2 records but this seems to be the only place that you can purchase their music so unless you know abouth them you are likely never to hear them. Go and buy this album which is a great addition to my music collection.

This comes as something of a disappointment.The previous 2 albums released by the Welsh band are interesting symph prog.I particularly like Seven and awarded that 5 stars.However by comparison this seems to lack ideas and focus.The first half hour does have some good songs but is thinly padded out.Could have done with a bit of editing.3 stars.

The second disc has the word 'suite'.OK so its longer tracks but nothing here is close to being as good as the Seven album.At best 3 stars as well.

Magenta are a band desperately in need of new ideas I fear.

Magenta reminds me of one my favorite progressive rock bands, Mostly Autumn. They have a great female lead singer backed by fine musicianship. Christina Booth leads the band with her warm dreamy vocals and every track comes delivered to your ears via the tasteful guitar work of Martin Rosser, Chris Fry, and the many instruments manned by Rob Reed. Reed plays bass, guitar, piano, and mandolin to name a few select pieces of equipment. He is a versatile gent if I do say so myself. On the bottom end, Allan Mason-Jones sits behind the drum kit whilst Dan Fry keeps good time with his battery mate on bass. This is the core group. There are many other key contributors to this project that help to shape the sound as well (see credits).

Magenta's music is appealing yet effective, not always aggressive, but it invites you to jump in and become engrossed in the entire package. Home offers an array of very well thought out and played music that demonstrates each member's adeptness with each instrument. This is prog-rock after all so it's not cut and dried, it never is. This is the special edition with a five-track bonus disc titled New York Suite. The bonus disc turns out to be just as solid as the main disc in the set; it has a strong group of tracks.

It's a bit tough to single out favorites when you enjoy an entire set so completely, so let me just say that there is not a bad cut on this album. I heard nothing worth offering any objective criticism over. All the elements are in place here-good guitar, excellent vocals that tell the story well, keyboards that provide a nice bed of atmosphere for the rest of the instruments and most importantly, know exactly when to come in and build a bridge that leads to another time, place, and tempo in a composition. It all comes together quite nicely and as a listener, I could not ask for more. Magenta has perfected their presentation and sound in a most impressive way.

Prog-Rock can be a very difficult genre to make an impression and get the attention you deserve; it is a worldwide community but very small in comparison to other more popular styles of music. I have to say that these tracks are some of the best I have heard to date on a progressive rock release. I have heard my share as I always do so that is significant from my own perspective. Other than rock, prog is my first choice when I listen to music. So a job well done Magenta, you got my attention and made me a believer. So now, you have a new fan that will look forward to subsequent releases.

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-www.muzikreviews.com

I had to post this review now as it had a certain poignancy in terms of the tale it tells. Recently, a close member of the family emigrated to the USA and as I am currently working in the city of Liverpool, it just seemed appropriate. The reason? Well, it tells the story of a girl who, leaves her home in Liverpool to emigrate to New York.

The album was originally written as a single CD. But, according to their website, on listening to it Rob Reed, the prime mover behind Magenta, decided that it wasn't progressive enough. He therefore wrote some more songs and ended up with a double album. However, listening to the double album version he began to get concerns that no one would listen to it in a single play. Therefore he edited back the album back to a single CD and put most of the music regarding the girl's time in New York on a separate CD. Hence was born the 'New York Suite'.

For this review I will take the original double CD running order switching from Home to New York Suite and back.

This Life is a beautiful opener consisting of piano and voice. Christina voice is simply fabulous and the this works so well as an opening track. It sets the scene of the troubled girl who "no one understands".

Hurt brings in the full band. I particularly liked the guitar on this track and just hints of Pink Floyd around Dark Side of the Moon period. Not the strongest track on the album but still enjoyable.

Moving On is another track which starts with piano and voice. Rob Reed has indicated that he wanted it to have an early Elton John feel. I'm not sure he succeeded in this, but it is very good. More great guitar work. After the initial "Elton" bit it switches to a piece which is very reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Money, made particularly so by the use of tenor sax played soon after words regarding making money. I can see this might be seen as close to plagiarism but it works well and is, to my mind, done well.

My Home Town (Far Away) starts with voice over keyboards and is another pleasant track. Half way through, the track has a superb mandolin/electric guitar section which is so very Mike Oldfield (Hergest Ridge style) - fabulous!

Brave New Land is a short piece that marks the girl leaving for her journey to the USA.

The Journey Musically this song is strongly influenced by Genesis somewhere between 'Foxtrot' and 'Trick of the Tail'. Vocally, though, it is very different with lots of harmonies for the vocals. Then about two thirds of the way through it changes with bass and guitars sounding more Yes-influenced.

Towers of Hope is to me one of the strongest songs on the album. Christina's voice is on top form, the use of string, everything. The lyrics tell of the feelings of hope on arrival in New York. A superbly crafted piece - I just love it.

At this point, to follow the double album you need to stop Home and switch to New York Suite

Arrival Another Genesis inspired start, this time with a clear "The Knife" influenced section about 1:30 in. Lots of harmonised vocals and more Genesis-like keyboards and at about 8:20 through some very Yes/Steve Howe-like guitar work, (and is that a Marillion-like sound for a few moments?) and with a very Steve Howe ending. The first really long track clocking in at almost 11 minutes.

Home From Home Starts with a very Marillion-like guitar and keyboards. It perhaps loses its way a bit during its 8 minutes, with a number of dramatic strings sounding like they are reaching the end of the song. However, the section on how the girl lies about her past in order to fit in onto the end is excellent.

White Lies starts with an intro sounding like Pink Floyd's "Keep Talking". In several parts of the track there is also a guitar sequence running underneath which sounds very Mike Oldfield. The track closes with a great guitar solo. The song tells the start of her fall, with the money running out, the girl descends into drink, drugs - memories of the past return. Probably the best track on the New York Suite CD.

At this point you need to put the Home CD back on for one track

Demons starts with a long and extended intro using twin guitars. It all sounds very early-solo Steve Hackett. Then it switches into a guitar solo which is clearly Dave Gilmour inspired, and excellent it is too. Then in come the slightly processed vocals, extraordinarily effective, followed by another great guitar solo played by Chris Fry. The song tells of the girl's vision of her father in her dreams. Arguably the best track on the whole double album.

and back to New York Suite

Truth Although, pleasant enough, not the strongest of tracks feeling like a few short pieces joined together. There's a bit that sound a bit Genesis, a bit that sounds very Yes-like, a bit that sounds like it fell out of Pink Floyd's Animals (the latter being very good). The lyrics indicate that the girl is in a car accident. As she recovers in hospital she decides she must change and once again set off and leave New York.

This Life (Reprise) was not part of the original double CD, but added to New York Suite to make it complete and it's, err, a reprise of This Life. The lyrics are appropriate to that point in the story though.

Back to the Home CD

Morning Sunlight starts with a acoustic guitar strummed with vocals over. The rest of the band comes in, led by the bass. Short but sweet song.

Joe is the longest track on the album tells of the girl meeting Joe, a native American mystic. I particularly liked the backing vocals at the start. Around 4 minutes in it becomes very Yes-like. The track contains two good guitar solos.

A Dream This is another beautiful short song which showcases Christina's talent well. It immediately segues into..

The Visionary which contains sections that are appropriately similar to Steve Hackett's Voyage of the Acolyte. The electric guitar work towards the end of this track is good and Christina does, an apparently spontaneous, Kate Bush high note.

Journey's End At this point the girl realises that it is time to return to Liverpool. The first three minutes are particularly fine with Christina over electric piano and with an exquisite guitar solo from guest musician Hywel Maggs.

The Traveller's Lament is the only instrumental on the album. Very Celtic in flavour, opening with Uilleann Pipes played by another guest musician, Troy Donockley. Lovely

Home is really a reprise of Towers of Hope with altered lyrics. For me, walking past the Liver Building in Liverpool seeing the "wings in flight" on top of the towers, the return of the girl home is both emotional and uplifting. The pipes play again, another great guitar solo, music full of drama and then a simple piano plays us out. Fabulous.

So there we are, twenty marvellous tracks making a really enjoyable listen. The musicianship is exemplary and Christina makes a fabulous vocalist. It is perhaps too easy to play "spot the influence" and there are a couple of points where the attention can wander, but in the end a worthwhile addition to any prog-lover's collection, so a definite four stars - even if you spend the time listening to the full double CD!

Regards, Rob

Home was a disappointment to many after the triumph of Seven. Maybe people wanted "Seven Vol. 2" or perhaps "Eight." Instead, Rob Reed decided to go with a full on concept album. Whereas Seven had been an album revolving around an idea, with songs that did not connect, Home has one story line. It is about a young woman's Journey from England to the States and the troubles she encounters. The story is secondary to the music of course but gives a foundation to the always beautiful vocals of Christina Booth. And since the songs are mostly shorter from what Seven offered, she is asked to sing quite a bit more. There aren't as many of the longer instrumental passages of Seven and since there is a story to tell, hence more vocals. And since Christina's voice is of a level of another instrument, that is fine by me. (You can't say Geddy Lee's voice is another "instrument" in Rush's music).

Of the 15 tracks, 6 of them are under 3 minutes long. Most of these are sparse numbers, highlighting Christina's voice and moving the story along. If you only like the bombastic side of Magenta, these may turn you off. But I find that Magenta mastermind Rob Reed is able to capture some wonderful melodies among these using piano and acoustic guitar that make you just want to close your eyes and concentrate on the beauty. As to the longer songs, there are many that have that infectious melody that Reed has an absolute gift to create. Again, most of these are not as sweeping as what was on Seven, but they will get stuck in your head and that is not a bad thing. And some of the guitar solos laid down are spine chilling; especially the one on Demons, a haunting masterpiece that I only wish was longer.

This album is a grower and took me at least 6 listens spread over several months to fully grasp how good it is. At first it was a bit of a shock after Seven, but I applaud Reed for taking his music in a new direction while maintaining the thing he does best. And that is creating albums oozing with melody while using a wide variety of instruments and sounds to create musical landscapes.

As for New York Suite, there are four rather long songs and a short coda. The initial idea was to have a double album, but Reed decided to focus the story within one CD and I think that was the right move. The NYS songs are all well done but not quite to the level as the main disk. I always listen to both disks back to back and NYS is a good complement. And I would certainly recommend getting the 2-disk edition if you can.

I would have to categorize this album under the term I used above for Seven, and that is "triumph." Magenta turns off many people who listen to prog because they think of them as too derivative. Rob Reed may be influenced by the masters, but he is still a unique talent in my mind and he need not apologize for the glorious albums he has crafted in Magenta. I have waffled between a 4 or 5 star rating as I gave Seven a 5 and feel Home is barely below it in quality. But I can't sell this one short and will give it a 4.75 and round it up. Within its genre, a masterpiece in my eyes.

I must say that Magenta's Home seemed a disappointment to me among initial listens, most likely because I was expecting another "Seven" or "Revolutions." I think that may be the reason it's received a somewhat flat response here on Prog Archives and elsewhere. You tinker around with a successful formula and your fans drop it the minute they first hear it. That's so unfortunate for this third release by Magenta, again in the form of a wonderfully written concept album. After initial listens didn't click with me, I put it away and came back to it in recent weeks and have been pleasantly impressed with it ever since. It's a "grower," meaning that repeated listens will show its true musical beauty. You all know what I mean, don't you?

Home is again another masterpiece delivered by the talented Rob Reed and the exquisitely beautiful voice of Christina Booth. Like on previous releases, Reed honors his predecessors showing influences from the greats. On Home, Pink Floyd, Genesis, and Marillion seem to be the major influences, though they still take a back seat to the evolving Magenta sound. I even sense a little Alan Parsons Project thrown in, unless my ears are deceiving me. Reed still showcases his Howe-influenced guitar work, but seems to have picked out a few pointers from some time listening to David Gilmour's work.

I still don't think Home is as good as Seven or Revolutions, but that doesn't mean it isn't a masterpiece. If Seven or Revolutions are at an even 5 stars, Home should be considered a 4.85. That's close enough in my book to give it the five star rating. Again, another highly recommended masterpiece in the symphonic/neo prog realm of our favorite genre.

This is the type of exercise I particularly dislike. A second and expanded-special edition of an original album. Why the hell does a band release an album twice ? The second time being a double CD featuring some additional songs ? Why not releasing the best of their recording sessions in ONE and ONLY great album?

The answer does not belong to me. Only my rating.

The original album was not very personal (but none of Magenta's albums were). This "special" two CD version being a good additional piece of work. There is actually no need to get the single studio version (other than a price issue of course).

If you combine these comments with the ones I have made for the genuine album, you can only be comforted with the fact that this album is good, but nothing extraordinary. "Magenta" should only have released this two CD sets version only.

"Home From Home", is a great bonus. Vocals are of course superb and the bombastic feeling is extremely catchy. No doubt that it is a highlight of this second part while the most symphonic number "White Lies" is another one here.

This expanded version is the only one to grab if ever this band is suited to please you. Nothing grandiose on this additional CD. Crafted vocals, long and sophisticated songs some of which are of great value ("Truth").

Anyway, "Magenta" should have released this special edition on the spot. As such, it is only fooling the fan (and his money).

Still, three stars.

Magenta's Home started life as a double concept album, but hoping to reach a broader audience the murky prog morass of the midsection (the New York Suite) was trimmed from the running order and released as a separate EP; later, a special edition would include it as a second CD, and most recently the album has been rereleased with the New York Suite tracks restored to their original intended position in the running order.

Sadly, none of the configurations of Home - with or without the New York Suite in place (I have both so I've been able to experiment) manage to meet the expectations established by the magnificent Seven. Without the New York Suite, the balance of the album is a bit skewed towards contemplated piano-plus-vocals pieces which become samey and tiresome over the course of the album; with the Suite in place, the album feels bloated and fails to sustain my interest.

In short, I think trimming back the material was the right idea, but the band went the wrong way about it - rather than selecting the proggiest part of the piece and excising it, they should have trimmed back the filler over the course of the entire album and produced a single-album concept with each of the different sections (pre-New York, New York itself, and post-New York) condensed down to a point where it's all killer and no filler. That would require substantially more work than just removing some songs - actual existing songs would need to be modified - but I think the results would have been much more satisfying than either the castrated short version or the overstuffed "director's cut" of the album are.