VISA

Popcorn anyone?

I am truly horrified by this album, the first ever solo work (I've heard) by Duncan MacKay. If this is Prog, then I don't know what isn't?

Lets make no mistake, Mackay is a familiar name as he had contributed to a number of relatively Prog albums. All of which will be seriously re-evaluated by yours truly as a result of this release, "Visa".

This is not serious music and at best is only "having a fun". More suited to amuse toddlers on children's television than to provide any quality addition to the music scene in general. To release an album like this and accept money for that from hapless people is bordering on criminal.

OK, onto the music - alas there is very little to say about music here. It's more like MacKay is fooling around on top of programmed drum machines. Ah, is it Simon Phillips on drums? I find it hard to believe. If so, then Phillips had become the first walking drum machine - ever. Well, chances are that Phillips may have contributed to a miniscule amount, but much of the beat in general is not performed by human hands.

With this solo work Mackay had seriously discredited himself as a respectable artist and frankly, I won't go anywhere near a release that he is featured on. Capable musician, no doubt, but with this work, I am left scarred for life.

So. On Duncan Mackay's third solo album, he has thrown away his backing band, other than a light drum track by none other than Simon Phillips, completely rid himself of all Keith Emerson imitations from the previous ventures, and has left himself with, well, nothing.

Track after track, Mackay gives us a sound that has the Euro-pop aspirations of Kraftwerk, the synthesizer swirling patches of Tangerine Dream, all bound together with the compositional sensibilities of elevator Muzak.

Mackay, at least, is an adept keyboardist. He does occasionally add some fills that make the ears perk up, but with the material he has given himself it is generally a lost cause.

It's too bad, because I really like his first two releases.

?

After reading a hilariously negative review of this album, I was intrigued. After hearing the album, I was even more intrigued. From the moment I experienced this album I was equally horrified and in love. I do not think I have ever heard anything quite like it. The music is arranged like regular instrumental prog music, but the sound is very synthesised, to a slightly horrific extent. The whole album is very carefree...in fact I can find nothing serious about it at all, and since prog is a fairly serious genre, I think that this will lose more points with other listeners.

I find myself loving this album because it has a light-hearted charm to it. My favourite track is the funky and somewhat atmospheric "Gin-Sing". However, I find the whole experience rather embarrassing can not imagine anybody else enjoying it.

If you are into supermarket jazz, elevator fusion, or ambient waiting room funk, than this is the album for you.

Mackay certainly isn't your average prog rock veteran. Raised in Britain but a native of South Africa since the early seventies, in 1974 Mackay released his Emerson inspired (and very creative and engaging) debut. 77 saw the less prog more pop but still creative Scores. Visa, on the other hand, can be called proto muzak, almost like a soundtrack for the world with only Mackay on all manner of keyed instruments and the venerable Simon Phillips on drums. I happen to like this kind of music and really find this one engaging, in the same way I praise the album Echoes by African Native Wally Badarou

Fistful of keyboards?

Visa is Duncan Mackay's third album, released in 1980. In being an entirely electronic affair based on synthesizers and drum machines, this album is very different from both his earlier and his later albums. There are no vocals and no other instruments involved. I'm often reminded of Jean-Michel Jarre while hearing this music, which is not necessarily a bad thing depending on your taste. While it is a far cry from the excellent Symphonic Prog of Chimera, I find it reasonably enjoyable.

Taken for what it is, not a bad album. But defnitely not the place to begin your investigation of Duncan Mackay

Duncan Mackay, a promising (UK born) piano wunderkind from South Africa, equipped with a collection of cutting edge polyphonic and mono synths, with the Hammond organ being his weapon of choice, set out to the world of the British Isles to unfold the wings of his musical career as a session keyboard player, and presumably escape the unyielding restrictive regime of apartheid. In 1977 Score, a full blown symphonic prog album featuring a philharmonic orchestra plus a phenomenal circle of guest performers (many of whom can now be considered legendary), like John Wetton, Andy McCullogh and Mel Collins, saw the light of day. A triumphant step up into a higher dimension from his previous effort, Chimera (1974, recorded in South Africa), which to be fair, I can safely describe as a second-rate Keith Emerson study piece that suffers from underwhelming lead vocals (provided by Mackay himself) and quite anemic production. Score was in my view a magnificent piece of art which blended Mackay's eclectic array of influences with the real deal progressive rock energy, that by 1977 was starting to eat its own tail in the UK and slowly being retooled into more accessible and radio-friendly formats by the once upper echelon bands like Yes, Genesis, ELP, and even smaller acts like Gentle Giant. I think Score, despite being one of the last great British progressive rock efforts, was definitely one of the best (a swan song of sorts).

With the essence of the dawn of the new decade around the corner, in 1980, Duncan Mackay decided to jump into the rapidly rising electronic music bandwagon, while unfortunately also jumping the shark and released... Visa.

It's a ruthlessly, shockingly "dollar bin keyboard" sounding work, but not in a cool jazzy funky way, like those Rompler/Workstation demo tunes or Demoscene/Keygen music. No, this is much much more uninspired and tasteless. Vangelis and JMJ got it right, but Mackay's album, even if technically at around the same level, lacked the emotional (human) aspect. Imagine the bottom barrel of DOS/Adlib video game music, the kinda stuff that's usually done by amateur "composers" as an afterthought for a shovelware game that has a deadline approaching, but somehow even more yucky. 🤮 But, to be fair, the one thing about Visa that really makes it a pain to sit thru is the repetitive, cookie cutter writing, a true sign of an artistic burnout.

I can't imagine what Duncan Mackay was thinking when he was ready to release this stinker. xD Perhaps he had too much faith in the emerging sound synthesis technology and drum machines, and thought it was good for the already low standards of the musical direction he had chosen or, I dunno, at least passable? Except.... he was dead wrong. What a mess! Visa sounds like a product that hasn't been finished, that also aged poorly.

The only tolerable song on this record, that doesn't make me cringe from embarrassment, is the penultimate track Night Flight, with its only saving grace being the fact it reminds me of Alexander Brandon's soundtrack to the 90's shoot em up Tyrian.