VOICES IN THE NIGHT

For me Twelfth Night is the maverick within the neo-prog movement: their sound is not really rooted into Seventies Genesis and they looked more like Glam-proggers than inspired by Peter Gabriel his stage antics. On the booklet of this 2-CD I read : "For a band known for their instrumental prowess throughout their carreer to have had a number of different vocalists is perhaps rather strange - or possibly the reason for it!" ... Well, very soon on this CD you will be confronted with singers who are a reason to play instrumental!

CD-1 Studio: The first appearance (in 3 tracks, 1980) is by Electra, born in New York and a 3 year art student. Twelfth Night is her first experience in rock music, her voice is pleasant but she lacks power. After one album and one tour she left and then (1981) there was Ian Lloyd Jones, he is present in the track Late Night TV, a very mediocre performance. Next is the acclaimed singer annex vicar Geoff Mann, he immediately gives the music an extra dimension with his distinctive and emotional voice in Human Being, Fact And Fiction and Art And Illusion, quite raw versions, taken from a CBS demo tape. Because of the stress and family circumstances, Geoff left the band (later he formed his own band, I was lucky to witness this in Holland but unfortunately I have never seen Twelfth Night in concert). It is 1983 and the new singer becomes a certain Axe, his vocals in the track Don't Make Me Laugh and the music remind me of the Eighties synthi-pop. In 1984 Axe is replaced by the other known Twelfth Night singer Andy Sears (also to be seen on the Marquee DVD) who can be heard on the songs I Am, South Of The Wind, White Glass and Piccadilly Square with a bit theatrical voice but it fits perfect to the sound of Twelfth Night. Finally Twelfth Night recrutes Martyn Watson in 1987, in the songs Truning, Happening, A Tiny Everything and Zootime he delivers a pleasant vocal performance, meanwhile the music has moved more towards pop rock/New Wave than prog.

CD-2 Live: No Electra and Axe live, this CD starts with 3 tracks featuring Geoff Mann: Art And Illusion, Aspidentropy (captivating guitar and keyboards) and Not On The Map. This is the typical Twelfth Night sound: a bit raw and fiery guitar, a thin synthesizer sound and a progressive blend of rock, New Wave and symphonic but not like Pendragon, Marillion or IQ, the other neo-prog legends. Next Andy Sears with 3 songs, these sound more like rock but the guitar and keyboard work is interesting. Then Martyn Watson in 5 tracks, the recording quality is a bit poor, his vocals are hard to hear. The final track Love Song is very special because it features Andy Sears and Geoff Mann on stage, they sing together and Martyn Watson is on bass. It's great to notice that both singers have their unique style and expression and I also love the wonderful volume pedal drivenguitarplay.

This 2-CD is not the perfect start to discover the unique sound of Twelfth Night but I will be an interesting item for the fans.