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: : Seven : :
The long awaited new album from Magenta is finally here, and it
was well worth the wait.
This is a fairly simple concept on the face of it – seven tracks based on each of
the seven deadly sins. But in fact there is slightly more to it than that. Rather
than simply being about sin itself, the lyrics of each song actually illustrate a
particular facet of each sin in a more interesting way.
Initially, one of the things that impresses me is the sound quality of the whole
album. The bands debut album Revolutions, excellent though it was, could
occasionally sound a little sparse musically. The addition of the orchestra helps
enormously, and thankfully it dovetails beautifully into the songs rather than
sounding tacked-on. Often Orchestra’s are used in prog just to lay lots of strings
and occasionally brass over the songs, but that is certainly not the case here.
Opener Gluttony already sounds like an old favourite, having been played live a few
times, and also been available to download from the website for a couple of weeks
now. Acapella vocals take us into the songs slightly off-kilter but bouncy rhythm,
with Rob adding some lovely synth runs and flourishes. But the track really kicks
into gear when Christina belts out those first few lines, “No life for the future”,
which have been going round in my head for weeks now. The song goes through many
interesting changes, and includes a slightly creepy Peter Gabriel style spoken
passage, and ends with a searing slide guitar solo from Chris Fry.
Envy has a bit of a Genesis feel to it, but that’s no surprise as the band has
always been very upfront about their influences. A very strong main theme here, with
an Entangled-like slow paced mid section, incorporating acoustic guitar, pipe organ
and slightly ethereal synthesiser, before the song is brought back to life with Rob
Reed’s keyboards and Chris Fry’s guitar dancing around the main melody.
Lust begins with an orchestral opening. Thematically, this is a sort of sequel to
White Witch from Revolutions. A somewhat joyously perverse upbeat song, considering
the subject matter - especially the jaunty, happy “Confess, and save your soul”
lyric. Who’d have thought a song about witchcraft could be so jolly? Great clean
guitar lines, some wonderful catchy vocal hooks and an enjoyable jazzy mid section,
ending with a somewhat funky fade out. I particularly liked the subtle and
imaginative use of the orchestra in the jazzier section.
Greed is the longest track on the album, similar to the epics on Revolutions. Lots
of great melodies that flow effortlessly into one another, without sounding like
they have been pieced together in the way that a lot of prog epics can. It is
somewhat of an indictment on the theme of modern celebrity, with a bit of a Sunset
Boulevard feel to it. For some reason, I cannot help but be reminded of Simon and
Garfunkels America when Christina sings the “Don’t look now, I think it’s a camera”
line.
Anger slows the pace down a little, opening with delicate acoustic guitar, building
slowly, but developing into something very intense and powerful. Christina’s
soulful, plaintive vocals are very impressive here, and the song showcases great
guitar work, especially the lovely, fluid solo at the end.
Pride is another standout song. A quiet opening gives way to a typically anthemic,
grandiose synth/guitar led fanfare. This has an interesting and very catchy vocal
intro from Christina, before the band kick into a strident, driving Hammond organ
led beat, with some nice Squire like bass runs. There is some interesting
multi-tracked vocal work from Rob and Christina here, which may not be that easy to
reproduce live. However, having seen them do it, I know they are more than capable
of reworking the songs successfully for the live versions. Bit of a Yes feel to this
one and it has a superb “Irish (or is that Scottish?) jig” section in the middle
with keyboards, violins and guitar. From here the song just slips into a joyously
infectious groove that makes you want to sway along to it, and continues through to
the climax, with Christina repeating “Every time the sun shines down on me”. No
wonder this is proving to be a great live favourite.
Sloth is a lament for the plight of the American Indian. Another slower paced song,
but I like the contrast and balance of it as opposed to the all out prog numbers. A
heavily orchestrated opening, haunting piano notes, and Christina singing her lungs
out on a very strong chorus. Good to see Martin Shellard from the first album on
guitar here, and very fine he is too contributing a suitably intense and tortured
guitar solo to bring the song to a satisfying conclusion.
The band has really developed the knack of working very strong hooks and melodies
into the songs, with each one constantly evolving, changing. They now have a
definite, recognisable style of their own, though there are the obvious influences.
In fact, on occasions I find that they remind me a little of some of the great
Italian prog bands, especially Le Orme.
Christina is certainly the focal point of the band. She has a superb and distinctive
voice, slightly folksy, occasionally reminding me of Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks.
I think Christina stretches herself more on this album, sounding delicate and
fragile, soulful, jazzy and rocky - and sometimes all in the space of one song.
Mention should also be made of the bands first single, Broken. This is 3 and a half
minutes of the bands trademark style but with a nod to a slightly more modern and
contemporary sound. It has a catchy and memorable chorus, a very good vocal from
Christina (it was actually written by her), and is a bit of a grower. The single
also contains 4 other bonus and previously unreleased tracks which are well worth
listening to. In fact, the single and album can be ordered together at a special low
price from the bands website.
I think overall this is a more accessible album than Revolutions, and I urge you
strongly to check it out.
Actually, I would say the band now have enough material here now for a live album.
How about it, guys?
Rating: 9/10 Stars
John Morley
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: Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Revolutions - 2002
Seven - 2004 |
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