ABEL GANZ

OK, having been a fan of epic length, symphonic recordings in my formative prog years (the 70's), and having fallen in love with such iconic bands as Genesis and Yes, I can appreciate the work it must have taken to create these 4 tracks. Although expansive, they manage to hold the listeners attention with beautiful synthesizer breaks and some nice acoustic guitar and keys. The mammoth centerpiece, So Far, tends to get a little meandering at times, and probably could have been pared down just a bit, but the real gems here more than make up for that. The final two tracks, Sheepish & Ventura, are truly masterpieces of progressive songwriting. They definitely bear that European prog footprint and that's a good thing! When these guys take it down into the softer symphonic passages, the music just washes over you and kinda takes you to those times back in the day when listening to a track let you float off to a more peaceful place. Old school prog that pays tribute to its influences in the most complimentary way.

This is a far, FAR departure from their 80's output and while it retains a lot of melody and hook characteristic of the neo-prog stable, it's way more symphonic now. I'm definitely not saying their early output is bad, in fact I think Gullibles Travels is a fantastic album and well represents the era, this is just far close to what say, Phideaux is doing now rather than a rehash of the classic 80's bombastic sound. These 4 lengthy compositions are just filled with wonderful auditory snacks that beg for repeated munching and for me this is the key to ANY prog rock, otherwise what's the point, just listen to the radio for the forgettable stuff. This is food for the pure prog lovers as it's all here, tasty moog, varied tempos, smooth guitar leads and just overall incredibly competent musicianship from a group of people who have clearly matured musically over the years like a fine wine.

Though the mid-eighties' may not be a particularly notable period in progressive rock's history, the UK-fronted neo prog movement at the time spawned plenty of excellent acts to keep the spirit of the genre alive while many of its veterans descended into mediocrity. Abel Ganz is one of the lesser-known bands from this movement, but their debut album Gratuitous Flash was released right at the height of early neo-progressive rock. Like many neo-prog bands from this time period, their style borrows heavily from the likes of Genesis and Marillion, often sounding like an updated version of Trick of the Tail-era Genesis with dashes of Mark Kelly influenced keyboards and commercial songwriting. Although Gratuitous Flash won't win any points for originality, it has a sort of charm that is inevitably enjoyable for fans of the genre. By and large this is a fairly mediocre eighties' prog rock effort, but it has enough positive aspects to be worth a listen for neo-prog enthusiasts.

Gratuitous Flash is indeed a debut album, but Abel Ganz were fairly impressive musicians and composers at this point in their careers. All of the musicians deliver solid performances throughout the course of the album, and the songwriting is generally interesting and memorable. Although "Kean on the Job" is entirely disposable as far as I'm concerned, the rest of this observation is solid neo-prog from start to finish. The opening and closing tracks are actually the two biggest highlights in my opinion - both of these extended pieces really show what talented composers and players Abel Ganz truly are. Though the band makes little effort to stand out from your average neo-prog act, they deliver the goods enough to make this a fun listen from time to time.

As is typical for a production from this time period, Gratuitous Flash's sound quality is a bit thin and muddy; while I wouldn't call it a crippling deformity, it is a flaw worth pointing out. Abel Ganz doesn't leave a tremendous impact on the listener with their debut effort, but they do deliver a solid observation that should satisfy most fans of eighties' neo-prog. Though I'm left craving more originality and standout material when Gratuitous Flash finishes, this is still a good album to pull out every now and again. 3 stars are warranted for this decent debut from Abel Ganz.

Abel Ganz's The Dangers of Strangers finds the band sounding rather tired and uninspired. The rather dated keyboard sound and unoriginal guitar solos don't help - Steve Rothery and Mark Kelly phoned and said they wanted their sound back, guys - and the uninspired songwriting doesn't really help either. The title track is fun enough once the soloing starts at about five minutes in, but even at its best the album is a lazy retread of the sort of Genesis-lite territory numerous other neo-prog bands explore all the time, and it doesn't offer any compelling reason why listeners should pay attention to it over classic Genesis, or Fish-era Marillion, or Pendragon, or IQ, or any one of the vast number of bands who have explored this territory before and done it better besides.

Whilst the idea that the early neo-prog bands were all Genesis clones is a gross generalisation - most of the bands showed a more varied range of influences than their detractors give them credit for - Abel Ganz' debut album is another matter. The album is from start to finish focused on replicating Genesis' mid-1970s style, though to their credit the band at least manage to imitate their musical heroes in a sufficiently loyal and intelligent way as to provide plenty of interest to Genesis fans.

Malcolm McNiven does a passable Hackett on the guitars, Hew Montgomery's keyboard work updates Tony Banks' 1970s approach to modern equipment very successfully, whilst Alan Reed sets himself apart from many Genesis-clone vocalists in proving equally willing to borrow elements of Phil Collins' delivery as he is to borrow from Peter Gabriel. The whole package isn't going to astonish you with its originality, but it's got this odd sort of charm to it - and that's more than could be said of Genesis themselves in 1983.

As with many Neo Prog bands around the time,Scottish Abel Ganz suffered from line-up changes after the great debut ''Gratuitous Flash''.Malcolm McNiven left the guitar position and Glascow as well and singer Alan Reed moved to Pallas.Thus,Hugh Carter dropped off his instrumental duties to manage the band,hiring bassist Gordon Mackie,while Paul Kelly took off the guitars and vocals.Still the band remained a gigging beast around Scotland and North England and in 1985 they released the cassette ''Gullibles Travels'',re-released in 1991 by Ugum Production in CD format.

The new album finds the band extremely and surprisingly tight with some superb songwriting.The opening ''The Unholy War'' is a Neo Prog milestone with its pounding rhythm section,the flashy synths,the melodic guitars and Kelly's great vocals.The eponymous follower will find Abel Ganz with the gears down,but still producing some atmospheric and melodic Neo Prog with balanced work on keys and guitars.The longer cut of the album,the 8-min. ''The hustle'' is a return to the opening energy with this raw 80's UK Neo Prog power.Nice,theatrical and clean vocals,shifting moods throughout,some fine guitar soloing and a bombastic as well as dramatic middle section will present what good Neo Prog is all about.''The pretender'' is propably the most lyrical song of the album,synth-driven with plenty of vocals until the grand finale with the back-up synths and the sensitive guitar solos,another highlight.''Whose World'' presents the most accesible side of the band,pretty much in the vein of MARILLION'S ''Three boats down from the candy'',a simple groove with a steady rhythm section but also with flashy synth solos and lots of positive energy.''Dream away'' will close the album in a unorthodox way,a pretty New Wave/Neo Prog ballad with a light atmosphere,still quite decent in its own style.

''Gullibles Travels'' sees Abel Ganz easily overcoming the earhquake of the line-up change and producing some of the very best Neo Prog of the 80's.For fans of the style this is a masterpiece,though prog rock followers in general should give the album a chance and think of how a band struggled to survive in the 80's just to keep the progressive spirit alive.Highly recommended.

Abel Ganz are Scottish veterans of the neo-prog scene that burst out of the UK in the 1980's, with the likes of Marillion, Pendragon, Pallas, IQ, and Twelfth Night. Although this is one of my favourite eras, and sub-genres, I have to be very honest when I state that my recollection of this band at that time is thin, to say the least. This is probably not that surprising given that they effectively disappeared for 14 years between the predecessor album and this 2008 release. But, boy, what a comeback!

There are only four tracks on this album, the shortest being a mere 12:55 minutes long. It is an incredible achievement, and the news that a new album is in the pipeline should excite all fans of quality progressive rock.

The opener, Looking For A Platform, sets the scene for much of the album, in that it contains much that nods to the band's neo roots, but also sets them apart and in new directions. The opening passage is distinctly pastoral and folky in its feel, with more than a touch of Mostly Autumn in its pipes and guitars. The track then develops into a gorgeous symphonic suite, with both Trespass and immediate post Gabriel era Genesis in its root influence. Indeed, much of it reminds me of tracks from Big Big Train's The Underfall Yard, one of the highlights of 2010, and it is certain, to these ears, that these bands are intimately familiar with each other's work. The guitar lead at the conclusion is nothing short of excellent, mixed together with keyboards which would not have sounded out of place on Wind & Wuthering.

The longest epic, So Far, clocks in at a mighty 22+ minutes, and is notable for featuring the voice of former vocalist Alan Reed, who left the band for Pallas. Again, the opening segment is gorgeously pastoral, and I really love this Celtic fusion with the more "traditional" symphonic prog that is at the band's heart. Of course, much of it is also very reminiscent of Pallas' work, something that would have been hard to avoid, given Reed's involvement, and this is stated as no bad thing at all. The track, as would be expected from its length, contains many changes, but its real joy, I feel, is the exceptional guitar work, acoustically by Carter, and electrically by MacFarlane, and this is taking absolutely nothing away from the incredible keyboard work. At turns full of Celtic folk, Floydian lushness, heavy prog, and symphonic passages, this is a mighty slice of neo prog up there with the very best in the field. The ending is ghostly and haunting.

By contrast, Sheepish is a "single" length track, but at just short of thirteen minutes still packs in a great deal. It contains some far heavier passages than preceding tracks, but also manages to deliver, in the same piece, some lush pastoral symphonic passages, and the guitar and keyboard solos are brilliantly performed, with the former, at times, sounding eerily akin to some of Steven Rothery's best work, which, from me, is about the finest compliment I can make. Impossible to pin down, and, to me, the highlight of a fine album.

Ventura completes the album, and is a track actually of two parts. The first part is, perhaps, the closest the album comes to "classic", or "traditional", neo prog. Think of Anthony Phillips' solo work, mixed in with a fair dollop of Tony Banks' compositions circa 1976/77, and you are somewhere near the mark. It is marvellously uplifting in the same way as tracks from Genesis of that era are, and, I must say, as well produced. Much of that is owing to the superb vocals of Stuart MacFarlane as much as the music itself. When the track "ends", you take a rather deep breath, before noticing that there are, in fact, some five minutes until the close. The end is, in fact, a mere interlude, before the final four minutes bring us a spacey, almost psychedelic, passage of four minutes of music, with swirling guitars, orchestration, that is completely out of keeping with the rest of the album, but no less effective, excepting, perhaps, a rather too dreamy vocal performance.

This is a fine album, which only just, barely, falls short of a masterpiece. The musicianship is never anything less than inspirational, and the way in which they manage to bring us music that is so clearly heavily inspired by classic symphonic Genesis, but yet deliver something fresh and new, is a lesson to many bands. This comes extremely highly recommended.

4.5 stars, but rounded down to four in the sure and certain knowledge that the next one will blow your wig off.

The debut album from these Glaswegian/Scottish neo-progsters follows the usual prog path from the 1980s. The songs are pretty light melodic and not overly complicated. The sound is surprisingly good. Most of all; they sounds like a melodic version of Marillion.

The musicans and the vocalist is highly skilled. The arrangements is excellent too. A couple of repetetive and slightly annoying songs who runs out of steam long before the end are included too. Typical 1980s songs, in other words.

The overall quality is as good as expected. This being a debut album, I am surprised how settled their sound is. No fumbling around in other words. No chasing down their style and identity. That is already there from the very first tone. And yes, they sounds too much like Marillion at times. But overall, this is a very good album and one that surely put Abel Ganz on the map.

3.25 stars

The Electric Garden Festival 2011 was my first introduction to Abel Ganz, what an amazing revelation it was. I cannot recall a time where I was so impressed by a live band that I had never heard of and when I purchased "Shooting Albatross" it surpassed my expectations. This is an album that feels like a classic prog album and listening to it you may be telling yourself that there are bits that feel like something you have heard before, but you haven't, it is just a flavour of some of the classics. Sure there is a bit of piano that sounds like Wakeman and a keyboard thats a bit Banks, but they don't feel derivative or cloned. In fact some of the flavours are less obvious, the subtle guitar sounds evoke Anthony Phillips and the layering reoccuring melodies sound like Oldfield, in fact I thought I heard the Piltdown man in there! I have to say that my favourite part is the sound of pipes and the crashing of waves on the shore is possibily the finest part of the album, I cannot listen to it without feeling like I am driving my car through the highlands or sitting on a Scottish beach looking out to sea. Yes this album does deserve 5 stars, as prog albums go there have been fewer finer releases than this offering.

The third album from these Glaswegians.

Abel Ganz were always bubbling under the surface without really getting the commercial breakthrough the likes of Marillion, Pendragon, Pallas and Arena got. They were on the Neo Prog's B-list at best.

This album is a good explanation on their situation. One great song, the title track, and some other good songs. The sound is great. Ditto for the musicianship. The band draws a lot from both Genesis, other Neo-Prog bands and the AOR scene. The songs are well crafted..........

...... but the little xtra, the x-factor is missing. Most of all; the truly good songs is missing. Their music is songs based and when there is no great songs, with the exception of the title track, the album is not a great album too.

A creditable effort, but nothing more.

3.25 stars