III

When Mickey Simmonds was proposed for addition to our archives, his name rang a bell. Where had I heard that name before? Ah, he has played with one of my all-time favourite bands - Camel, in the 90's. Also, he played with Renaissance for a while, as well as with Mike Oldfield and Fish. So, Simmonds should have been on my radar. But I didn't know that he had released three solo albums, or what to expect from his solo career. What I found here on his third album from 2021 was nothing short of a hidden treasure of keyboard heavy, instrumental symphonic progressive Rock with elements of the bands and artists Simmonds had played with before, as well as a strong influence from Keith Emerson to whom this album is dedicated as a tribute. Simmonds piano work is at times very Emerson-like.

I liked this album instantly, and then it grew on me more and more with each further listen, and I have been playing it a lot since I downloaded the music from Simmonds' official website. It is a digital only release and only available in mp3 format. It deserves a proper CD and vinyl release because the music is simply fantastic!

Besides Simmonds excellent keyboard playing, there is terrific drumming credited to Francesco Lucidi, and Garry Barnacle and Micky Moody appear on one track each on flute and guitar respectively. Moody's spot is a piece of heavy, bluesy Rock. Other instruments are probably handled by Simmonds himself as there are no further credits.

Overall, III is a magnificent album that I'm very happy to have discovered, and to recommend to anyone who likes instrumental Prog.