MAGNA FABULIS

I tend to find those "various artists" concept albums put together by the likes of Magna Carta or Musea of a selection of prog artists providing proggy interpretations of a particular concept to, at best, kind of a mixed bag. The compilers often seem to have few criteria for conclusion beyond "as stereotypically proggy as possible, please" and the artists contributing don't necessarily pull their weight - understandably, some may choose to hold back their best material for their own albums and therefore end up contributing substandard tracks which would have otherwise been left on the cutting room floor to those collections.

Nexus, on the other hand, seem to take a little pride in the work they submit to such collections: hence Magna Fabulis, a collection of four tracks which are each gathered from a different Musea/Colossus themed concept album. Mashing up the Odyssey, Treasure Island, and Dante's Purgatorio and Paradiso may at first seem to be an odd mix, but actually I found the album hangs together reasonably well thematically - it helps that there's a "voyager on a journey" quality to all those stories, of course. That said, the actual compositions here aren't much special, being keyboard-dominated affairs in a Rick Wakeman/Keith Emerson vein obviously composed more with an eye to indulging nostalgia than coming up with anything particularly innovative in its own right and lacking in emotion and really compelling passages. Still, Nexus fans who aren't keen on shelling out for the original compilations may find it worth their while.

Getting back to an album released more than ten years ago only makes sense if one seeks to dispel some misconception about it, and also gain new appreciation of the music from a different point of view. That is the case with this review, because I think Magna Fabulis is much more than a simple compilation. It rather deserves the same status as a full blown studio album, since it features music not included in other studio albums by the band (but just in label compilations), and the resultant track sequence is definitely endowed with a strong sense of flow and conceptual purpose. Even coming from several different sources, the tracks maintain the narrative tone all the way through, and they do it so while keeping the listener fully engaged in the adventure.

The two lengthy epics are, of course, the main dishes in the menu, and the other two tracks complement the listen well. I like the whole affair, but I'm going to stay, for patience's sake, just with the second epic, La Aventura en el Mar (Adventure In The Sea). The thing commences with a steady drums riff, which can make you think that it's going to be a rather simple tune, a perception emphasised by the nice maritime synth motif. But the same drums turn to a more propulsive pace and promote the increasing instrumental intricacy of the whole band. And the result is a truly rich composition made of contrasting but perfectly assembled sections, in which shine the vintage synthesizers array and the electric guitars, with a different tone and energy in each brilliant solo. A no lesser detail adding variation and textural richness to the instrumental sound, is that there are plenty of acoustic piano and guitar passages, making also for a wide dynamic range, leading the listener's attention from dense to sparse textures, and from tense to relaxed moods. The vocals have a some more restricted presence in the general build-up of this towering suite, but lending anyway the unique tone that only human voice are capable of, and that is absolutely essential to set the particular emotional vibe required by characters lost in a limitless seascape.

As I already said, this sounds like a proper studio album to me, and having no noticeable flaws, I have to go for a major rating, which, given creativity transcending influences into consistently amazing ideas, has to be five stars.