TALES FROM THE FOUR SEASONS

Tales from the topographic punchbowl oceans? Well, actually not. Tales From the Four Seasons is more like a lot of Anthony Phillips solo albums as it is guitar dominated, with alternate tunings as well. I also hear some similarities to Shadowfax. Mike Oldfield are claimed as an influences by the artist and I do hear some of that in the music. The artist claims to make a mixture of folk, classical, and progressive rock music and that's a fairly accurate description. Probably lighter on the rock than many would like.

Flood, in the case of this album, turns out to be a completely solo act. Flood calls himself Flood and apparently doesn't have a last name. He plays all the instruments on the album and quite an array: acoustic guitars, piano, organ, synthesizers, flute, clarinet, cellos, acoustic bass, drums, birds. Well the last one is the only annoying aspect of this album. The first track, Spring, has this bird chirping that goes on a little too long. The other three tracks are named after the rest of the seasons, of course. They are all subdivided in five to seven sections.

Normally, I'd think writing a piece of this complexity is a bit of risky business, but Flood did take three years and it turned out very well. Also, he had some river scenery for inspiration. I can hear that in the music, too. If you like well-structured mellow music, check this one out. Great stuff to chill out to.

"Tales from the Four Seasons" is, at least to my knowledge, the début effort by UK-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Flood. An artist living in what was once the heartland of progressive rock, interestingly enough signed by a Canadian record label for this production.

Musically we're dealing with a creation that is a bit on the sideline of progressive rock though, at least if we're thinking about this genre of music from a traditional point of view. For starters there are few aspects of this musical exploration that can easily be defined as rock, instead I suspect that classical symphonic and chamber music may have inspired the composer on this occasion. Elements of these stylistic expressions are at least found throughout here, blended with folk music, some jazz-inspired tendencies in the rhythm department and what might be a nod or two in the direction of older musical heritages as well, of the sort one can argue about for hours if belonging to the folk tradition or the ancient classical heritage.

All four compositions comes across as contemplative in nature, works of art made to inspire the mind to reflection and the soul to flights of fancy. Music that inspires in a subtle and non-invasive manner. Slow, wandering acoustic guitar and piano themes are dominant aspects throughout, strings and reeds cater for most of the symphonic backdrops and soloing, while the organ is sparingly used and lush synths even more so. Bass and drums gets to underscore on occasion as well, but most themes are constructed without a place for this distinct rhythmic foundation.

And while all compositions are fairly straightforward affairs they are also made with a great deal of sophistication. The emphasis on mood and melody and the often subdued atmospheres explored are constructed in a subtle but elaborate manner. Multilayered textures are utilized to good effect even in the mellower parts of this album, and the more sparsely populated segments will often evolve to richer grounds if not contrasting a previous or forthcoming passage of this sort.

As the album name and track name implies, we're taken on a musical journey lasting for one whole year on this occasion. Which is pretty well executed too. And while I didn't find all aspects of the compositions to represent my expectations and experiences of the four different seasons represented musically, this is to be expected. Mainly because I live in a country where the differences between the seasons are much more extreme than what one might experience in the UK, but also because one person's view rarely will correspond with those held by others on this as so many other subjects.

Overall I find "Tales from the Four Seasons" to be a pleasant affair, and well worth examining both by those with a soft spot from the lighter side of symphonic progressive rock but also by those who are unknown to this genre but who do find pleasure in both classical symphonic as well as folk music. And while not a classic case of the awe-inspiring production heralding universal acclaim, this is a CD that will find it's way into the hearts and souls of many people. In addition, this is a good example of an album with a timeless mood and atmosphere. 20 years from now these compositions will sound just as modern - or not - as they do today.

Flood is just a pseudonym of a London-based multi-instrumentalist, who somehow managed to be signed by a Canadian label such as Unicorn Digital.He started composing his four-part suite back in early 2000's in Dorset, each part of which was dedicated to a season and reflected on changes in life.The album was titled ''Tales from the four seasons'' and was released in 2009 after three years of hard work.

With all tracks spanning from 16 to 25 minutes long, here we have a total amount of 80 minutes of gentle, dreamy and pastoral music close to the likes of ANTHONY PHILLIPS, GANDALF and MIKE OLDFIELD, wrapped up in extended, mellow orchestrations with a decent sound and production and lots of references to Symphonic and Folk Rock.The album has a strong New Age feel throughout, which means it's extremely calm and relaxing, based mostly on acoustic guitars, orchestral keyboards and some programmed wind instruments and string arrangements with several sound effects thrown in, each time different and related to the season passed.That's also the biggest disadvantage of the album, which otherwise is sweet and delicate.The music never actually takes off and works better as a background than a proper prog listening.It also lacks the deep inspiration of some of GANDALF's or ANTHONY PHILLIPS' similar efforts with their flawless approach on dreamy Folk and orchestral instrumentals.Some more pronounced electric moments and a richer style could have been a positive factor as well.But ''Tales from the four seasons'' is strongly grounded in the New Age fundamentals, avoiding any breaks into more emphatic instrumentation or arrangements and serving the needs of a listener to experience a very soft listening enviroment.

For fans of easy-listening, orchestral music with New Age and symphonic credentials.Too smooth and calm for my own taste I am afraid, but anyone having followed GANDALF or ANTHONY PHILLIPS throughout their careers should give this a spin.