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ON MY HANDS

Madrigal

Crossover Prog


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Madrigal On My Hands album cover
3.77 | 31 ratings | 5 reviews | 13% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1996

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Shout (5:53)
2. Living on the Edge (5:01)
3. Old World Charms (4:30)
4. Showdown (3:06)
5. Castings (5:38)
6. Survivors (4:01)
7. On My Hands (7:29)
8. The Stumbler (5:18)

Total Time 40:56

Line-up / Musicians

- Kevin Dodson / drums & percussion, vocals
- Stephen Dornbirer / guitar
- Michael Rosenthal / keyboards, vocals
- Steve Springer / bass, vocals
- Chuck Swanson / saxophone, flute, horn, vocals

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
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MADRIGAL On My Hands ratings distribution


3.77
(31 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(13%)
13%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(65%)
65%
Good, but non-essential (16%)
16%
Collectors/fans only (6%)
6%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

MADRIGAL On My Hands reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by tszirmay
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Here is an fine example of the challenges involved in Progland! This US band was totally discouraged upon being ignored in 1990 that they gave up and quit only to return in 96 with a new selection of songs , fusing different influences such as Gentle Giant, Echolyn and the guitar phrasings of a Steve Howe.The melodies are neat and varied , the playing is inspired and punchy, certainly not commercial by any stretch (no selling out here) and loaded with some gorgeous sax and flute passages. The vocals are handled by the drummer with hints of Waters, Gramm and Gabriel. Not an essential addition but it does have its merits. Give it a try and see what it does for you. 3 minstrels
Review by b_olariu
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Madrigal (not to be confused with countless bands with same name) was an obscure progressive rock band from USA with only two albums relased and then gone into oblivion. In my opinion this band is very unnoticed in prog circles. Their music is inspired, complicated with many memorable passages and has some quite intresting arrangements on both albums. The first album Waiting from 1989 is quite hard to find but the second can be found on CD here and there and definetly worth purchasing. With nods towards Yes, Happy the Man, Gentle Giant Madrigal definetly worth to be investigated. The music has everything a prog rock album must have, complex passages, nice guitar moments, polyphony in Gnetle Gian manner and a very fine voice that just goes hand in hand with the music. All 8 pieces stand as great to me so for that reson 4 star easy, underrated album.

Review by siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
4 stars MADRIGAL began all the way back in 1977 as a prog cover band just as punk rock was wiping prog off the map but led by the fiery determine of mainman Kevin Dodson, this Spokane, Washington band relentless toured for a few years before calling it quits. During those years up to 1980, Dodson wrote a lot of original material but never managed to release it as an album at least until 1989 after the band reformed and saw the debut 'Waiting' come out in 1989. By this time the band had a completely different lineup with only Dodson remaining as an original member but the more mature version of MADRIGAL had finally come into fruition and was actually in the forefront of a new kind of symphonic prog that took a lot of what Kansas and Yes were offering in the 70s and steering more into the direction of what bands like Spock's Beard, Echolyn and Flower Kings would sound like.

The band continued after 'Waiting' and after finding a home on MUSEA records even found some success in Europe as the prog revival of the 90s was underway but the band broke up once again for good in 1995 but once again an album was released after the fact this time in the form of the sophomore release ON MY HANDS which continued the symphonic prog style of the debut and made an even stronger album. The best apart about ON MY HANDS is Kevin Dodson had significantly improved and while the album is not as quirky as the debut, it makes up for that with stronger tight-knit compositions that are right out of the neo-prog playbook. With heavy emphasis on strong melodic grooves provided by the bass, the atmospheric keyboards provide sophisticated counterpoints. ON MY HANDS also has a jazzier presence with Chuck Swanson providing saxophone and other horn sounds in addition to flutes.

ON MY HANDS has honed it commercial sound much better than its predecessor. While 'Waiting' relied on quirky off-kilter rhythmic drives along with unpredictable time signature deviations, this one is clearly more focused on expanding the potentials of the melodies. While the symphonic prog of characteristic of Kansas and Yes are clearly in play, this album actually sounds more like an early version of Spock's Beard if you ask me. Gone are the lengthy prog workouts and the tracks are shorter and to the point with only the title track extending over 7 minutes. Tracks like 'Castings' sound much more out of the Genesis playbook with thick atmospheres, slow plodding rhythms and a pastoral acoustic presence before breaking into a heavier rock bravado.

Perhaps not as unique as the debut but nevertheless MADRIGAL delivered a beautiful crossover prog album that sits somewhere between the mellowest sounds of neo-prog and the symphonic prog revival of the 90s from the aforementioned bands. The production is better as well. ON MY HANDS appears together with the debut 'Waiting' on the MUSEA compilation "1988-1996 A Compilation Waiting... On My Hands" which also offers three bonus tracks. Basically the debut will offer more quirky prog outbursts for those who crave those while this second album is more focused on strong melodic performances with less prog workouts. The vocals are much better on this one however it does lose a bit of the unique charm that made MADRIGAL standout from the pack on 'Waiting.' Still though, this is a woefully disregarded band that deserves more recognition.

Latest members reviews

4 stars In her second albun of studio "On my Hands" the band North American MADRIGAL, presents a work, that if it is not of the same level of her previous work "Waiting", nevertheless it presents an original plenty sound that mixes influence of bands as YES, GENESIS (era Gabriel), GENTLE GIANT & QUEE ... (read more)

Report this review (#294469) | Posted by maryes | Saturday, August 14, 2010 | Review Permanlink

4 stars A fine progressive album, Out Of My Hands contains some inventive songwriting and inspired playing. Madriga'sl influences may be undeniably apparrent in their music (Gentle Giant, Yes and Gabriel-era genesis in particular) but there is more than enough individuality in the band's arrangements an ... (read more)

Report this review (#146352) | Posted by barp | Monday, October 22, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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