Prog Britannia - Album Reviews

The album opens impressively with "Morpheus", an 11-minute-long symphonic opus. The sonorous sound of the synth hits you right between the eyes from the first few opening bars. As you'd expect, there's plenty of intricate keyboard noodling and dramatic changes of pace to keep the listener entertained, with a few classical motifs thrown in for good measure. Duncan Mackay could certainly give Rick Wakeman or Keith Emerson a good run for their money with the keyboard skills displayed here. He's a pretty good singer too, which is just as well with him performing vocal duties on all of the songs contained within. The second of the three long suites on the album, "12 Tone Nostalgia" is another dramatic piece and it certainly does have an air of nostalgia about it. It's enough to make you long for the halcyon days of the 1970's when superb prog albums like this were being released on an almost weekly basis. This 9-minute-long epic might be described as overblown, pompous and pretentious by the snooty music press, but who cares!? To true blue aficianados of Symphonic Prog, this is prog heaven! Side Two of the album is fully occupied by the 20-minute-long suite "Song for Witches." A clap of thunder announces the dramatic opening of this epic song. Again, there are alternating fast and slow keyboard passages, combining synths and piano, and it even features a church pipe organ. It's grandiose, it's triumphant, it's magnificent, but above all, it's a marvellously entertaining 20 minutes of classic Symphonic Prog, and you can't ask for anything better than that. As Duncan Mackay announces with some satisfaction right at the end of the album, "I think that might have been it."

A "Chimera" is described as anything composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling, all of which could apply to this complex album. Just as one would expect from such an accomplished keyboard player, this is a very keyboard-oriented album, but it's none the worse for that. It's very much in the style of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Rick Wakeman, with fast arpeggios, complex keyboard runs and constant changes of tempo. You never know quite what to expect on first hearing the album, and it's worth giving the album several listens to truly appreciate what an accomplished work this is. It's classic Symphonic Prog with long extended pieces that YES or any other prog band of the era would be proud of. It's definitely worth a listen, especially for fans of Symphonic Prog generally.

  1977: Duncan Mackay - Score - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mRtcjJxVfd2yupQ3wDD4bbK2a4IlIy-Os

  1980: Duncan Mackay - Visa - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3EQZTCBdO8rzOBhdP_VPijkg5iGM0IHZ

  1988: Duncan Mackay - Heart of the Machine - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_keoufXAEZfbCbOaCcRd5TfZJGNkoD6Xe8

  1988: Duncan Mackay - The New Explorers - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mBB7KkE8DdlBtoKzGTro3mTDTozlMO76Y

  1988: Duncan Mackay - Forward Vision - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m0Be5cm5_Zc36KoV0CcK1ZwqNKsGbpH8U

  1988: Duncan Mackay - Data First - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kECZIQq7etyTYQKOeOBrAEr10iDfW1rYg

  1990: Duncan Mackay - Russell Grant's Zodiac - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGsgeCrPZEEydRoG-I8HyEpRcugPHCIOM

"Guitar" opens the album in grand triumphant style with the London Symphony Orchestra playing in all of their full symphonic glory and splendour. Guitar legend Albert Lee is the soloist given a chance to showcase his talents here. This uplifting piece of celebratory music alternates magnificently between orchestral parts, solo electric guitar and also the two combined together for some magnificent Symphonic Rock. It's a tremendous 9-minute opening piece designed to impress with the power and the glory of the music. It's orchestral, it's magisterial, and it's worthy of being played in a cathedral. Jon Lord is the powerhouse behind Deep Purple, and this marvellous music is the Deep without the Purple. In other words, it has the Deep driving force and resonance of a Deep Purple number, but without the Purple Hard Rock element. Onwards now to "Piano", where Jon Lord plays his heart out as if his life depends on it, in a stunning piece of musical virtousity. Wow! Can a solo piano really sound that LOUD! Jon Lord displays his classically-trained credentials here with some dextrous keyboard runs, playing both solo and combined with the orchestra. Even a full orchestra can't overwhelm the sound of a piano though when Jon Lord is running rampant on the keyboard. This is where the Lord of the Keyboard really stamps his mark on the album and announces his presence in full bombastic fashion. And now we come to "Drums", and no surprise that this features Ian Paice, the bandmate of Jon Lord in Deep Purple. Obviously, Ian Paice isn't going to let this track go by without embarking on an impressively long 3-minute drum solo to demonstrate why he's one of the most respected drummers in the world. Finally, When the orchestra re-emerges after being awestruck by the pace of Ian Paice's drum solo, the music sounds like a triumphal marching theme, along the lines of what might be heard as an army goes marching off to war. To paraphrase Mr Bachman, Mr Turner & Mr Overdrive though, you ain't heard nothing yet, because along comes Track 4: "Vocals", a glorious symphonic epic, combining the vocal talents of Tony Ashton (of Ashton, Gardner & Dyke fame) and Yvonne Elliman (best known for the song "If I Can't Have You"). This is a full-blown symphonic masterpiece, guaranteed to awe-inspire you with the power and the passion of the music. Another one of Jon Lord's Deep Purple bandmates, Roger Glover, is given the chance to display his virtuosity with the bass guitar on Track 5, which comes as no surprise as this track is titled "Bass Guitar". This leads us on to the sixth and final number, the 12-minute-long epic, "Organ". This marvellous piece of music is epic in every way. Jon Lord's colourful musical feathers are in magnificent plumage here as he demonstrates his prowess on the keyboards in truly dramatic fashion with some stunningly powerful blasts from his Hammond organ, which will be oh-so-familiar to fans of Deep Purple. A glorious and spectacular end to a symphonic extravaganza!

A magnificent masterpiece of Symphonic Rock!

The music business has always been as fickle as a Harlequin, where The Dividing Line between success and failure depends on a combination of good luck and hard work. Every new band is sailing through Uncertain Weather where they can easily be dragged down by the Undertow and Shipwrecked by having The Knife stuck into them by their record company or by the music press. That's All it takes to finish a band's career. There's Never a Time when it's been easy to make it in the tough music business, but Like It or Not, that's just the Way of the World. No astrological Watcher of the Skies can predict who's going to make it in today's cynical music industry, where the chances of success are about as hard as climbing a White Mountain of snow before the Fading Lights of Dusk close in.

After the Ordeal of seeing the commercial failure of their first album, GENESIS were In Limbo and left out In the Wilderness during a short period of Stagnation when the band members returned to their studies at Charterhouse. They weren't Down and Out or Taking It All Too Hard though, because making great music was far more than Just a Job to Do for the five talented band members. Contrary to being In Hiding, GENESIS were just Counting Out Time in The Waiting Room of The Cinema Show of life before returning to the recording studio. The band members were confident of The Musical Box of talent they had between them and their Horizons were positively bright with the general feeling that It's Gonna Get Better soon. GENESIS were working to a Time Table and they didn't plan on Living Forever on borrowed time, or waiting around each day until Supper's Ready. They were In Too Deep to consider Throwing It All Away at this late stage. The band were more than ready to Turn It On Again with an Invisible Touch of magic with the release of their next album, "Trespass". It would be several albums later though before GENESIS were basking in the warm Afterglow of a successful album release, followed by the Domino effect of success breeding further success in the proverbial Aisle of Plenty. 

  1969: Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Ls8TsNNijJYxxnS-Kp5ts8t

  1970: Genesis - Trespass - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LuZha0g4IGPuYTYa2ojNJ5a

  1971: Genesis - Nursery Cryme - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LvvRA8-vhtqeavlv9_TYkI9

  1972: Genesis - Foxtrot - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LutOVRL4O2LYbAaPtNQjtzt

  1973: Genesis - Genesis Live - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Lus98yp-GOfBWcQfVmPP6L1

  1973: Genesis - Selling England by the Pound - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Ls8c3SxGZW2wPNWTifikotc

  1974: Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LvZRqTE0R8CKQn3uj02Eete

  1975: Genesis - The Lamb Comes Alive - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LuIqt0pO-maT_M-6HEl4Z74

  1976: Genesis - A Trick of the Tail - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LuNpwmZ8GoikYtQy7QBk7n9

  1976: Genesis - Wind & Wuthering - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LtklfWs1Vn7vBe5S3-akc7A

  1977: Genesis - In Concert - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Lv9vwzg9cHapUHoredylq7a

  1977: Genesis - Seconds Out - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Lvo8voJt2dgX8_fMbtSeK2_

  1978: Genesis - And Then There Were Three - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Lu_v2KJ4Drut19mv5NA5Vbb

  1980: Genesis - Duke - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LuhvokGgqGhqePfy2PSVC0e

  1980: Genesis - Duke's Tour - Live in London - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LsakRPFG5xzS9M1Bt6ZUIsf

  1981: Genesis - Abacab - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LualU3IIHUGJWlepYRMzkfk

  1982: Genesis - Three Sides Live - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Ltg7GbpNLEDWhkCYaKHjuwI

  1983: Genesis - Genesis - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LsV-Ocua4iC4rU9TaLcLMS8

  1984: Genesis - The Mama Tour - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LuYkoE3hmwPDXrzniIygwJL

  1986: Genesis - Invisible Touch - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LueLtgXMm4tJJVvTRrDpy6E

  1987: Genesis - The Invisible Touch Tour - Live at Wembley Stadium - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LtfP3gvjZFp8aRa4u4N4naZ

  1991: Genesis - We Can't Dance - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LsimrBR6o-95oLdeLTMch9_

  1992: Genesis - The Way We Walk, Volume 1: The Shorts - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LtiJfPLwHyqHvA89AJ-6XAJ

  1993: Genesis - The Way We Walk, Volume 2: The Longs - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LvqCgkdpSIQIR_Td5siylSk

  1997: Genesis - Calling All Stations - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LvGUqnvmEO9Kxq-tjOJ-TcX

  1998: Genesis - Live in Katowice, Poland - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Lsay_xIB0GrhENO4VCbYT_x

  2007: Genesis - When in Rome - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Lt2rNoVqigp6jGiy_u9Jw06