WHITE RAINBOW

My first review and 5 stars? Absolutely, and no question. A recent convert to MA (puzzled as to how I've missed hearing till now) I've had this disc almost exclusively on my system maybe 2 dozen times since it was sent out to me in NZ, the pleasure increasing with each play. . I very much relate to Bryan's love of the mountains and outdoors, clearly evident in the lyrics ? to say nothing of the "big skies" (astro boy here) that are spoken of. Similarly I warm to the heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics which add a great dimension to the (prog) sonics. And that heart- on-sleeve is the heart of this album, written for clearly a much loved friend and band member of many years, Liam Davison. Beautifully done. To begin, we have an opening "Precession", the first bars with sparkling stereo delay creating expectation of great production and care, enhanced by the emotive whistles and pipes of Troy Donockley. A grand, proud welcome. "Viking funeral" (an idea evidently that Liam himself had) with the opening keys immediately arresting the senses, then a device repeated through the album, moments of force giving way to unexpected, timeless peace. Two guitars soloing against a driving backline, then the first of many frisson (musical chills) moments as Troy adds to the aural charge. Track two just starting and my head is reeling with joy already. Oh boy, this is grand. 'take this hand with your invisible hand' is but one lyric of the high emotion, then another frisson moment at the guitar entry and a solo rich in bent note passion. Captivatingly, Olivia Sparnon's heart piercing vocals enter on "Burn", magically matching the song's story, and rising to a phenomenal peak of intensity, another hair raiser. I've not enjoyed her vocals more, and that's a high bar. Her beautifully engaging vocals continue in "Run for the Sun", and by now your heart and soul are open and know you're in for a great journey. It's s a brilliantly crafted song all in itself. With "Western Skies", just when you're thinking you're settling in, it comes alive and dazzles even before the guitar kicks. . "Into The Skies" keeps that momentum, and carries me away, away from cares where i can throw my arms wide open. Then, like the discs pervading contrasts of force giving way to stillness, we leave the open spaces to feel a torment, 'all out off heartbreak' but here is one who still finds their way "Up". Contrast and drama which continues the consistent and brilliant production. And now something very special indeed arrives with "Undertow"", a masterpiece musically, so well played and performed, for my money,, a great exhortation to live life for the better. And then it's "Gone". The music follows the lyrics, evoking that gone is the struggle of life (previous track,Undertow) but also this is obviously returning to the theme, an undertow itself, of lament. Title track and 18 minutes, and a brooding rich introduction. Straight off let me say I've 'passed the time ... fire ablaze ... drinking' 'Old Peculiar' at The Old Dungeon Ghyll, and it was raining (again). MA, you've nailed it. The tragic storm, the terror of it, the likes of this I have not experienced. You take me in there - 'as all the weather sinks through the floor' - with music of such descriptive power. Not an easy task, you even detail the calm before the fury. It's great music too, tragedy aside, the track is a great piece of strong imagery. Olivia shines strident (you'll need to hear it) with magnificent vocals again, lyrics of despair 'that will cut in your heart'' followed and complemented by perfectly placed growling drop tuning in the guitar. . Then, without any dialogue of the escape, we're safe, we focus on the family unit as they return home, where 'everything changes with you' and those hairs are standing up again , more so as the guitar soars it's outro. Bryan, how on earth did you manage to sing "Young"", and yet you go all out and sing it so tenderly. What a tribute. Olivia with you just adds to the poignancy. 'check us out' - it's a farewell song of words absolutely from the heart, and oh the feeling of the end of a summer holiday, an end of the day album closer. Literal yet I also feel am invitation to relate, even if metaphorically ? 'your guitar was your heart, my guitar is my heart', then it turns to togetherness, and something happens in the peripheral left and right channels, and if you didn't have water in the eyes already .... I'm wrung out, this lesser known band has pulled me emotionally, with great music, from one extreme to another,, with a concept album rich in stories, a beginning, developments and a loving close.. There's not many albums do this, MA, you've created a masterpiece. Five very deserved stars and a top shelf space in my collection.

Joker move! Moslty Autumn has set the bar very high this year for the contenders for the title of best prog album of the year! This album flows from track to track like an endless river, without dead time, without excuse, without fault. Bryan Josh and Olivia Sparnenn deliver unforgettable voices to melodies that twist in the brain. Angela Gordon's flute in "Gone" comes from another world. Overall, the album tends less towards folk and more towards progressive rock. Or more precisely, the folk accents are integrated even more intimately than in the previous syntheses of Mostly Autumn. Even then the long title track is barely folky at all. Most of the tracks end with these Guilmouresque guitar accents that you never get tired of. Great work there ! The bonus CD is not as great as the main one, except for the extended version of "Gone" which is on par with the short version, and "Thanks". But there isn't a track of this B-side that I woudl rate lower than 4 stars, except for the hard "The Gardener".

I'm new to Mostly Autumn, so I can't put White Rainbow into the context of the rest of their work. I can only compare this album to the great works of prog folk and prog more generally. While White Rainbow is a step above modern popular music, it is certainly not great.

Regarding musical style, it's hard to see why this should qualify as prog folk. Yes, there is occasional use of bagpipes and flute, but mostly this consists of electric guitar, synth, and drums that would fit better in pop-rock or hard rock than folk music. Furthermore, the melodies do not generally evoke a folk sound. I can only assume the album is classified this way because of Mostly Autumn's earlier works, but this album would fit better in the heavy prog or symphonic prog genres.

The beautiful and emotional vocals of Olivia Sparnenn are easily the only aspect of this album that stands out in terms of musical quality. They are brought a notch down, however, by the fact that the music never requires her to sing anything intricate. Nothing in the instrumental music (guitars, bass, keyboards, winds) requires any more than mediocre proficiency in order to play. If you are looking for instrumental virtuosity, look far away from here. The chord progressions, rhythms, and melodies are generally trite and almost pop-sounding, and while there are some interesting arrangements and captivating moments, they are paced so slowly that I quickly lose interest.

That said, there is not much that is really bad here. The music is just far more boring than it is good. Feel free to listen, but it wouldn't be hard to find a better way to spend 78 minutes.

Losing a band member is always a terrible shock. After having suffered the deaths of many of their parents, leading to stunning songs like Heroes Never Die, The Gap Is Too Wide and Questioning Eyes, Brian Josh and his bandmates were confronted in 2018 with the untimely and sudden death of Liam Davison, guitarist of the band since their origin. Liam was the quiet guy in the band, always in the background, doing what he had to do but, having witnessed him with the band numerous times, with a great sense of humour. In reaction they recorded this new studio album which easily ranks amongst their best, without doubt. Apparently this tragedy was an inspiration to compose some emotional songs that are all connected to their friend, such as Viking Funeral and the title track. With their former album Sight And Day Mostly Album regained their strength as prog band after the disappointing Dressed In Voices, with this album they formly establish themselves again as one of the better prog bands nowadays. The vocals by Olivia Spannern are simply incredible, as are the vocals by Brian Josh himself by the way (he's not the best vocalist but on this album really sings his heart out), the band plays tight, the songs are emotional but in music and in lyrics. The songs show a wide variety of moods, in built-up and pace without sounding incoherent. And as a very fitting tribute they included a Liam Davison song on the second cd, Eternally Yours that was released on his first and only solo cd, A Treasure Of Well-set Jewels. It can only be hoped that they don't need another trsagedy to record another great album like this.

Only a few musical acts have me listening more to them more because of the vocalist than the band itself. Mostly Autumn is one of them. Lightning also struck twice with Heather Findlay and Olivia Sparnenn both very gifted, talented, and beautiful singers. Heather being more of a Joni Mitchell type Folk/Jazz type singer only at a far higher level. Olivia being extremely versatile to the point where I am convinced she could sing dozens of genres.

White Rainbow was an album that had me hooked and amazed this band could continue on with a different style and show incredible consistency. They are sure different and many of the early Pink Floyd and Joni Mitchell influences are still there just far less relevant. Which is good at this point in their career. They have a much more modern sound and show maturity. Olivia Sparnenn really has become the center of attention as being the perfect singer for this phase of the band. Another great reason why the number of female vocalists has exploded in number over the last couple decades in Prog.

Procession starts off the album sounding like World Music with some Pink Floyd and Genesis similarities and seems to be the introduction for the next song Viking Funeral. Burn goes from a soft Folk sound that has a Gilmour guitar solo and Olivia really adjusts her vocals perfectly with the mood of the song making it emotional in the beginning to something enlightening in the end. Run for the Song shows Olivia without limits with her gorgeous voice with the song progressing from Folk to Blues. Western Skies starts out with a flute and piano solo and goes into some Country influences that make Olivia sound like the Crystal Gale of Prog. Into the Stars goes into Blues Rock where Olivia magically transforms it into something bluesy and her own unique style thrown in unconventional of Blues Rock. Gone is probably the closest you'll get to the Heather Findlay era. White Rainbow is an epic with a roller coaster of sounds. Has a familiar tune in one part of the song that is Fading Colours. This epic really moves all over the place and keeps you interested with all the unpredictable changes that are in number.

Olivia's vocal performances are the band continuing to try something different but with excellence and passion. This was one of the best releases of 2019. I even liked it more then Grand Tour from Big Big Train which was one of the highest achievements from one of the most talented bands in today's music. I enjoy this album from beginning to end. Mostly Autumn has had a great a fulfilling career and this album is about as essential as they come.

Review Nº 664

Mostly Autumn is an English prog folk band that was formed in 1990 in York, England, but that didn't come to fruition until 1998. All begun when two friends, Bryan Josh and Liam Davison, who started their first steps in music at the same time and with the sole ambition of learn and playing the songs of their favorite band Pink Floyd. They created the basis of Mostly Autumn. The biggest influences of the band are Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Genesis and prog rock bands from the 70's. Their music incorporates diverse folk instruments like flute, bodhram, violins and powerful vocal harmonies.

"White Rainbow" is the thirteenth studio album of Mostly Autumn and that was released in 2018. The line up on "White Rainbow" is Bryan Josh (vocals, guitars and keyboards), Olivia Sparnenn-Josh (lead and backing vocals and bass), Chris Johnson (vocals, guitars, keyboards and bass guitar), Iain Jennings (keyboards, Hammond organ, piano and strings), Angela Gordon (backing vocals, flute and recorders), Andy Smith (bass guitar) and Henry Rogers (drums and percussion). "White Rainbow" had also the participation of Anne-Marie Helder (vocals), Troy Donockley (uillean pipes and whistle), Simon Waggott (Hammond organ), Liam Davison (vocals and guitar) and Gavin Griffiths (drums).

"White Rainbow" is a special album in Mostly Autumn's career. It's dedicated to the memory of the historic guitarist and partner of Bryan, Liam, which passed away in 2017. A loss evidently still not metabolized by Bryan and his companions. As Bryan said, Liam was a dear old friend and a fellow musician 18 years with Mostly Autumn. Since the title and the first two tracks till the last one, we can feel all that. So, we can say that "White Rainbow" is a darker work with many beautiful moments. The music comes across as effervescent, mysterious, and nostalgic. You will again hear weighty portions of folk and Celtic music, but progressive rock shines through in several important moments like the title track.

"Procession" is a short and beautiful Celtic introductory piece with guitar and the uilleann pipes of Donockley setting the mood for a dark album. "Viking Funeral" has an atmosphere full of tension from the beginning. Mystical sounds and synths are in harmony with quite heavy guitars that reminds Pink Floyd. It has an electronic overlay to it that gives it both modern and ancient feelings. The combination is really outstanding. This is one of the centre pieces of the album. "Burn" is a slower affair after the previous tracks. It's the first song with Olivia's lead vocals and the first goose bump moments. It's a brightly shining star in the darkness of this album with huge melodies and this overwhelming sense of longing. "Run For The Sun" is a kind of a development of "Burn", another quiet number. Again Olivia takes the vocals. The song builds up more and more over the time, progressing to march rhythms on the drums and culminating in a highly melodic guitar solo. "Western Skies" starts out as a soaring ballad, but it transitions into an orchestral gallop of huge proportions as is usual with the band. So, one cannot speak of a thoroughbred ballad. It's one of the best tracks on the album. "Into The Stars" is very catchy with a relative specific weight on the album. It's a number that can be called the straightest in the context of the entire album. "Up" is a darker piece led by Josh's voice alternated by a large melodic digression. In the refrain, the singing becomes much more melodic, offering plenty of keys, mainly organ, and culminates in a great guitar solo. "The Undertow" takes us on a tender journey supported by acoustic guitar and organ and boasts a lot of groove. It has a much brighter and airier feel than the rest of the album. "Gone" is a short touching acoustic moment with voice, guitar, keyboards and flute. It was lovely to hear Angela's flute make a return to a Mostly Autumn's album. The title track, itself, is a work of pure brilliance and, in some ways, outshines everything else. It's an epic only in the sense that is almost 20 minutes long. It's split into sections. The way it plays is a real collection of dark transitions that pass through melodic highs to riffing lows. It has poignant and brilliant lyrics and Bryan's gruff vocals against Olivia's powerful soprano form a beautiful contrast. In the middle, we can see references to "Fading Colours" from "Heart Full Of Sky". "Young" has a very obvious theme and lyrically feels like it could be from the first two albums. It's an extreme and heartfelt greeting to the deceased companion able to move you to listen. The vocal duet, the piano accompaniment and the punctual stitching work of the keyboards until the dutiful final crescendo is simply wonderful.

Conclusion: As I mentioned above, "White Rainbow" is a very special album, a tribute to an old friend of Bryan and a founder member of the band, a brilliant tribute to a discreet musician. Due to that, "White Rainbow" is a dark nostalgic album that oscillates between the heavy and effervescent parts and the calm and melodic ones. So, somehow, "White Rainbow" is a prog album in a class of its own. It's an album full of fascinating moments, full of emotions and art. It's also notable for combining male and female vocals and doing it so well. Liam would have been proud. "White Rainbow" is a great prog rock album, a truly wonderful testimony of an excellent band that still can touch deep into your heart.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)