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"Ex singer of Pallas, Alan Reed offers here a good neo progressive rock album with celtic atmospheres."
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4/5
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In 2010, Alan Reed left Pallas, a Scottish neo-progressive group in which he was the singer. Considered by many fans as the weak link in the band, he was quickly replaced by Paul Mackie. But that's not the point, because this year Alan Reed's first solo album is released. After an EP, "Dancing With Ghosts" with two tracks, "First In A Field Of One" and its epileptic artwork finally arrives.
One could have assumed that after so many years spent with his band (25 years!), our man would have concocted a pale copy of his old compositions for us, but this is not the case. Alan Reed, if he has not completely emancipated himself from his musical past, makes his fans understand that he is always up for it and presents us with a relatively new experience.
If one should not expect a real experimentation with a rather classical neoprog style, many elements foreign to the genre come to be integrated. The first is the influence of Celtic music that begins from the very first notes of "Begin Again", where percussion, drums (Scott Higham from Pendragon did a great job) as well as wind and string instruments bring this very Scottish atmosphere. This addition thus gives a certain cachet and especially rhythm to the whole.
But a very big work on the melodies has also been done like in the chorus of "Kingdom Of Blind", a song in the purest tradition of the neo-prog with very present keyboards and an aerial guitar. A certain folk side appears through very well structured melodies set on very intimate acoustic guitar parts ('Never Too Late' or'The Bottom Of The Bottle') as well as some World Music aspects. The last track,'Usual Suspects', flirts with jazz, but does not fully convince. The only real rock moment is actually on 'Darkness Has Spoken', which is also the longest and most progressive track on the album.
With this first solo album, Alan Reed confirms his talent as a vocalist, his timbre highlighting the compositions in a remarkable way. If you don't know what to do on a rainy day, listening to this album should make you smile again and evoke landscapes that will warm up your day. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Begin Again - 06:28
02. Kingdom Of The Blind - 05:13
03. Never Too Late - 05:33
04. The Bottom Of The Bottle - 03:24
05. Darkness Has Spoken - 07:06
06. The Real Me - 05:54
07. Teardrops In The Rain - 03:02
LINEUP:
Alan Reed: Chant / Guitares / Basse / Claviers / Percussions
Mike Stobbie: Claviers
Scott Higham: Batterie
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READERS
3.2/5 (4 view(s))
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STAFF:
3/5 (4 view(s))
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