I have been involved in developing a few mission statements over the years, and it is not something I really enjoy doing as there is always the risk of overstating/understating the intent, and then the business not living up to it anyway. Not every business does this of course, and even fewer bands, but you can read United Progressive Fraternity’s on their website, “To produce great music, as a collective concept, whilst conveying a message of peace, hope and global awareness”. There is a lot more than that of course, but this is the core. Hence we now have the second part of ‘Secondary Overload’, following on from 2019’s ‘Loss’. The core of the band are the duo of Mark Trueack (vocals) and Steve Unruh (vocals, guitars, sitar guitar, bass, bass pedals, thumb piano, violin, flute, wind chimes, tambourine, percussion, narration, harmony vocals), but then there are a whole host of guests involved including the likes of Charlie Cawood, JPL, Ryo Okomuto and Steve Hackett but if you are that interested you will need to look them up yourselves as there are about 40! Also, if the nealy two hours of music is not enough then if you purchase it from Bandcamp you get an additional album, ‘The Secret Life of Light’, featuring an additional nine songs (68 minutes) by UPF’s “Romantechs” (Christophe Labled, Mark Trueack, Steve Unruh) which takes us up to a running time of three hours!
This is progressive rock, with loads of different elements and influences as one would expect from the involvement of so many musicians. It can be somewhat overpowering at times, with so many threads and layers that they can blend into each other, yet what makes this work is at the heart of this are some really strong melodies and songs and one can never deny the power of the lyrics and words. This is all about communication and something which brings this really home are the tracks which are just speeches from the likes of Sir David Attenborough and Chief Oren Lyons – that they have been brought in without any trickery really makes them stand out and brings the message strongly home that we are damaging our planet, but we can still reverse what we have done so far, hence “Hope”. This is not an album which can be drifted into, there needs to be a deliberate decision to sit and really listen to it, played on headphones when one has the time to concentrate and not be disturbed. Given the amount of work which has gone into this, the amount of people involved, and the small matter of a global pandemic it is no surprise this album too much longer to appear than was expected, and while there are elements quite reminiscent at times of The Flower Kings this is very much an album which stands on its own. There is a lot to take in here, both lyrically and musical volume, but it is definitely worth the effort.
Recorded at the Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA on October 21st 2022, here we find Renaissance performing alongside the Renaissance Chamber Orchestra to celebrate Annie Haslam’s 75th year. I have long been a fan of this band in its multiple iterations, and there is no doubt their 2002 live album ‘In The Land of the Rising Sun’ is one of my favourites, so when I was sent this by keyboard player Geoffrey Langley (who I know from The Twenty Committee) I was definitely looking forward to it. There have been multiple iterations of the band over the years, but most people point to the line-up of Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, John Tout, Jon Camp, and Terry Sullivan as being the classic, but Michael and John are no longer with us while Jon and Terry long ago departed, but Annie is still there keeping the flame alive. These days she is joined by Mark Lambert (bass), who was a member in the Eighties, Rave Tesar (keyboards, piano), who played on the ‘Rising Sun’ album, drummer Frank Pagano (who has been there for more than a decade), Geoffrey Langley (who joined in 2016) and new bassist Leo Traversa, so this is certainly a valid line-up as opposed to Annie and a host of session musicians.
This double CD set covers decades in music, and we get music from Renaissance, Annie Haslam’s Renaissance and her solo albums, and there is no doubt great thought has gone into the arrangements as the use of the additional musicians provides amazing depth. There are two keyboard players, and their repertoire has been greatly expanded with the use of real strings and horns. I am sure anyone who went to see this tour would have had a wonderful time, and those who purchase the album will be the same people and will happily relive the experience, but I wonder how many will purchase this for pure listening pleasure as opposed to collectors? Musically this is wonderful, and one cannot fault anyone involved as their delicacy and accompaniment is superb, but we cannot look past the fact that Annie is now into her eighth decade, and it sounds like it. That she is not using effects to mask this is to be admired, but while the range is still there, her voice is now quavery and can be quite shrill. She hits and holds the notes, but sometimes they are a little sharp, and I soon found I was not enjoying the album nearly as much as I expected or wanted to. One could never give this to someone as an introduction, it is only for those who already know the material and are pleased to be able to experience Annie performing the songs which they did not expect to still hear played in this fashion. That she can still hit the notes in “Symphony of Light” is incredible, and “The Sisters” is a triumph with wonderful performances from all involved, but sadly somewhat let down by the vocals. Back in the Eighties I was one of the biggest Jethro Tull fanatics around, but when I last saw them in 2004, I vowed never to see them play again as Ian’s voice was totally shot in the live environment. The arrangements and performances from the musicians involved are superb, and there are plenty of opportunities for them to weave their magic, but sadly it is often let down by the vocals, which is a real shame as many of us view Renaissance as being built around Annie and her amazing voice. Sadly, time has taken its toll.
It is strange to be reviewing UPF and Unitopia one after the other as they are very much related, not only musically but also in personnel, except this time around it is a band as opposed to a 40+ musicians. This band has always been the brainchild of Mark Trueack (vocals) and Sean Timms (keyboards, backing vocals, various stringed instruments), but they have brought in new members including Mark’s UPF songwriting buddy Steve Unruh (backing vocals, violin, flute, rhythm guitars, mandolin) along with John Greenwood (backing vocals, lead electric guitar, nylon-strung guitar, 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars, mandolin, programmed orchestration). If that were not enough, we also have a massively impressive rhythm section in drummer Chester Thompson (ex-Genesis, Frank Zappa, Weather Report) and bassist Alphonso Johnson (Santana, David Gilmour, Weather Report). Even before putting it on the player one knows this is going to be something impressive, and it is.
Musically it is closely related to UPF, not only through having the same singer but also a very similar approach, but here it is less layered (although there is still plenty of complexity) which allows for more space and for the music to breathe more easily as it is not being constrained by so many threads. However, although there are far less musicians, the main players are multi-instrumentalists which means they can bring in multiple sounds so we can go from acoustic guitar to piano, violin, or something much heavier. The idea of bringing in a ready formed experienced rhythm section was inspired, given these guys have been at the top of their game since the Seventies. Johnson’s touch on different basses is wonderful, his fretless slides often combining with Trueack’s vocals, while Thompson allows himself to sit back at times and blast through at others.
Due to when these albums were released, and their place in the alphabet, I have been listening to Unitopia straight after United Progressive Fraternity and consequently have been comparing them to each other. While there is more depth within the latter, it is the former I have enjoyed most as this is a release which hist all the high notes and the more it is played the more there is to be discovered and enjoyed
Recorded at the Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA on October 21 st 2022, here we find Renaissance performing alongside the Renaissance Chamber Orchestra to celebrate Annie Haslam’s 75 th year. I have long been a fan of this band in its multiple iterations, and there is no doubt their 2002 live album ‘In The Land of the Rising Sun’ is one of my favourites, so when I heard about this I was definitely interested.
There have been multiple iterations of the band over the years, but most people point to the line-up of Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, John Tout, Jon Camp, and Terry Sullivan as being the classic, but Michael and John are no longer with us while Jon and Terry long ago departed, but Annie is still there keeping the flame alive. These days she is joined by Mark Lambert (guitar), who was a member in the Eighties, Rave Tesar (keyboards, piano), who played on the ‘Rising Sun’ album, drummer Frank Pagano (who has been there for more than a decade), Geoffrey Langley (keyboards, who joined in 2016) and new bassist Leo Traversa, so this is certainly a valid line-up asopposed to Annie and a host of session musicians.
This double CD set covers decades in music, and we get music from Renaissance, Annie Haslam’s Renaissance and her solo albums, and there is no doubt great thought has gone into the arrangements as the use of the additional musicians provides amazing depth. There are two keyboard players, and their repertoire has been greatly expanded with the use of real strings and horns. I am sure anyone who went to see this tour would have had a wonderful time, and those who purchase the album will be the same people and will happily relive the experience, but I wonder how many will purchase this for pure listening pleasure as opposed to collectors?
Musically this is wonderful, and one cannot fault anyone involved as their delicacy and accompaniment is superb, but we cannot look past the fact that Annie is now into her eighth decade, and it sounds like it. That she is not using effects to mask this is to be admired, but while the range is still there, her voice is now quavery and can be quite shrill. She hits and holds the notes, but sometimes they are a little sharp, and I soon found I was not enjoying the album nearly as much as I expected or wanted to. One could never give this to someone as an introduction, it is only for those who already know the material and are pleased to be able to experience Annie performing the songs which they did not expect to still hear played in this fashion. That she can still hit the notes in “Symphony of Light” is incredible, and “The Sisters” is a triumph with wonderful performances from all involved, but sadly somewhat let down by the vocals. Back in the Eighties I was one of the biggest Jethro Tull fanatics around, but when I last saw them in 2004, I vowed never to see them play again as Ian’s voice was totally shot in the live environment. The arrangements and performances from the musicians involved are superb, and there are plenty of opportunities for them to weave their magic, but sadly it is often let down by the vocals, which is a real shame as many of us view Renaissance as being built around Annie and her amazing voice. Sadly, time has taken its toll. 6/10 Kev Rowland
Murdock is probably best known for being drummer and leader in progressive rock band Cymballic Encounters, and here he has used some of the musicians involved in that plus other guests in what is presumably a concept album of some type. Singer Tim Pepper is one of these, but while he can hit the notes, his delivery rarely has any real presence, and when that is combined with music which is rarely inspiring it results in a somewhat flat album where everything just washes over the listener who is soon looking to see how much longer there is to go (74 minutes in total). This is a real pity as there are bits and pieces which are real sparks of delight. For example, at the beginning of second track “Time Travelers from the Future” there is an instrumental passage which reminded me immediately of Colosseum II and I was looking forward to something of great speed and intricacy, but although that passage was repeated a few times, the rest of the song was somewhat lethargic.
I have not heard any of Cymballic Encounters’ four albums, but if they are in a similar vein to this then that will not be something I will be looking to address. Played multiple times, and I know that will never happen again. Kev Rowland 6/10
Born and raised in Sweden, multi-instrumentalist Kristoffer now lives in The Netherlands, playing in Kayak. Many people still think of him as being associated with his brother Daniel, and he played on the first six Pain of Salvation studio albums but since leaving in 2006 has built a reputation working with many different artists. ‘Let Me Be A Ghost’ is his fourth solo album, released towards the end of 2021, following on from ‘Rust’ (2012), ‘The Rain’ (2016) and ‘Homebound’ (2020). I reviewed the last, and I was intrigued at just how much at home he sounded with the one cover, Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel #2”
I many ways this is a logical extension of that album, as it is melancholic, and is something which really needs to be played on headphones. The songs are more like soundscapes, with a huge use of space and a slow tempo which really lets the listener into what in many ways feels likes quite a private world. Yes, there are a few additional singers and a drummer, but for the most part this is one person sat quietly, crafting something which is magical and mystical. “Lean On Me” is a case in point, gentle percussion, acoustic guitar, electric solo, and loads and loads of vocals including a wonderful high female from Erna auf der Haar who provides the perfect cut through.
This is not something designed to be played on the radio, nor can I imagine it ever being played in an arena, but is designed for small places, in the dark where the listener can really let their mind wander where it will. This is a marvellous piece of work and I look forward to the next album with great interest indeed. 9/10 Kev Rowland
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