THE TWENTY SEVEN CLUB

Most records of Magenta have made me think this band was a modern synthesis of Renaissance and Yes, a combination of "Fragile" and "Turn of the cards", with some ingredients of Pink Floyd here and there, close to symphonic rock perfection. "The twenty seven club" confirms this impression more obviously than ever.

From the beginning to the end of the splendid "Ladyland blues", most listeners will think about steve Howe's guitar in "Heart of the sunrise". Well ! Let's acknowledge the pretty "Pearl" sounds more like a meeting between Pink Floyd and Renaissance. But the very Yes oriented and exciting "Stoned" follows immediatly. Sometimes, we may have the feeling Chris Fry has definitely fallen in Steve Howe identity. Then, Christina's pure and strong voice quicky makes a diversion recalling Annie Haslam...

To my mind, there is no plagiarism. We can not blame these musicians to perpetuate the music of their models, transcending it. Because that is the greatest performance : students are at their masters' level. And the fusion of their masters' styles allows the students to explore new musical lanscapes.

In my opinion, this record is close to be the most beautiful progressive works of the last three years.