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THE READING ROOM
'The Reading Room' is a compilation concept album conceived and put together by Marc Brasse.
The Various bands involved were asked to write and record a new song especially for the project (the songs will not be appearing on any of the bands' next albums) and together, they form a story ... a musical adventure.
The tracks are introduced and linked together by narration by Brasse - initially I found his accent a little heavy, but one becomes accustomed to it very quickly.
The first part of the narration, together with the opening track, sets the scene. The story is set in 'The Reading Room' which is looked after by the Keeper. He spends his life fetching and carrying for others ... and looking at the pictures on the walls. This title track is performed by Brasse, aided by Maarten Huiskamp (also of Vertigo) on guitars. It's an atmospheric number which moves from quiet, almost eerie passages through to racing bombastic keyboard parts.
Galleon provide the next track, 'The Private Space', which starts off slowly with the sound gradually building, and a great keyboard sequence which hooks you in. The vocals tell more of the Keeper as he is sucked into the first picture on the wall with its beautiful, fantastic scene. The middle instrumental section contains some fabulous strong guitar work, wonderfully delicate Garson-esque piano playing and leads into the last verse. Here the vocals slot between marvellously rich instrumentation which, at the end of the song, slowly winds down and sinks beneath the narration. This is a great number.
'Silentland', by the Night Watch, provides the next part of call for the Keeper.
It is immediately apparent that this is a band heavily influenced by early Genesis - but with a fuller, bassier sound. Lashings of keyboards, interspersed with reversed recordings create a distinctive sound.
The next picture contains a group of young men, at a table, staring at the central figure; the Keeper finds himself at 'The Last Supper'.
Aragon's singer, Les Dougan, takes the first sector slowly - he's got a great spine-tingling quality to his voice - this part reminds me very much of Floyd's 'The Wall'. Rhythm guitar leads on into the next part of the song which has a faster paced, bluesey feel and inevitably, considering the subject matter, draws comparisons to 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. I Love this guy's voice and the instrumentation id great; strong and well played ... another fabulous track.
A complete contrast is found in 'The Empress'.
Like Wendy have a light, highly melodic feel with lots of vocal harmonies in the first half. The second vocal sector is stronger and accompanied by a nice piano piece. After this, the music builds to a final crescendo.
"The next pictures shows a head carved out of stone.
It has two faces; one is smiling, the other looks angry" - 'The Janus' (the god of change). Final Conflict have done a superb job with this song. An understated, but forever changing, backing track supports the clear quiet verses that alternate with the wild maniacal vocal passages that are backed by screaming guitar work. A frenetic keyboard piece leads to another quiet verse; this is, in turn, superseded by acoustic guitar work over which the final two part harmonies are sung. Pure, clean keyboards sound out and, again, become more frenetic ... how do you follow that?
The answer ... with a soft romantic number about a very sad wizard. 'Aiden', by Maryson, is a beautiful prog ballad. Gentle keyboards and a host of string sounds support the sweet vocal melody.
Clear soaring guitar sounds are echoed by the keyboards which then speeds up, the rhythm strengthens, the music flows freely ... and is soon reined in, slowed down and returned to the main theme for a last verse.
Strong guitar chords lead into the next song, Galahad's 'The Pleasure House'.
Here the Keeper steps into Victorian London where he finds himself face to face with Jack the Ripper. Stuart Nicholson's distinctive tones ring out clearly, as spine tinglingly pure as ever (I first heard Stuart's voice "live and unplugged", with just one keyboard as backing - and he sounded fabulous). Instrumentally too, this is a wonderful piece; a strong rhythm section supports some great guitar work, while the keyboards provide a myriad of sounds to this tightly knit ensemble. A wonderfully atmospheric song ... amazing stuff.
Two shorter tracks close the album: firstly, 'Searching' by Jacob's Ladder, written and played by Maarten Huiskamp (who played guitar on the 1st track), with Roger Wilms on vocals and flute, in which the Keeper
decides to go on searching for his desires. This is a pretty song with a catchy chorus. Finally, 'Getting The Picture' is a brief instrumental by Cliffhanger featuring lots of keyboard work.
So, we have here a story that works on many levels - you could take it for a allegory for life; the Keeper, finding out that there is life beyond the library - you can, of course, simply enjoy it as a "musical
adventure". Me? ... I've found a great album with some brilliant songs - and some bands that I will certainly be investigating further ...
Marisa 10th May, 2000
Available from CDistribution (see links page) and from Galahad for £11 inc p&p. More info from galahad@lds.co.uk
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