CIRCLES IN TIME

John HOLDEN is this english multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer who creates distinctive pastoral progressive sounds; he manages to bring in beautiful people for a condensed rock, folk, jazz, hard, flamenco and classical and is accompanied here by Vikram Shankar on keyboards. Stories of murder, madness and one about Egypt to travel to the universe of Chrisma or that of Lewis Caroll. A unique sound that will make you prick up (rabbit's) ears

"Avalanche" attacks hard with a riff on the edge of hard which drops deep; the mysterious voice of Jean Pageau mated to Nick's drums add pep; the harmonious instrumental part reminds me of the most beautiful moments of Asia or the Yes of the 80's "High Line" starts off with a jazzy track, Supertramp atmosphere for the sax; Steely Dan on one side too; it's Pete Jones who sings well here on a cotton cloud; Frank des Iona's violin amplifies this intimate and warm title and plays with the sax "The Secret of Chapel Field" for an Irish slap with violin, rhyme that goes off the beaten track; Sally of the Lords of Dance and Celestial Fire rather than for her father's name duels with Marc Atkinson of the Nine Stones Close and other Riversea to stop time; spleen violin on a sad story of lost love, sublime "Dreams of Cadiz" for a piano instrumental gently bringing the Andalusian guitar, flamenco style "leg to model" on the solo of Innuendo "in the background; a digression where the arpeggio is king, where the legs move on their own; a little synth to fill the space and a musical pearl has just passed "Circles" for a ballad narrating the unhealthy convolutions; Robin of the Cosmograf and Big Big Train accompanies Sally on a progressive air, a latent evolutionary crescendo more complicated than it seems; title that sends you out of time "KV62" for the concept slap on the discovery of Tutankhamun, dark and mystical oriental atmosphere in 7 scenes: Theban song by Jérémy Irons, percussions, choirs, everything is there to signify Death; New Orleans break with That Joe Payne and his divine voice speaking out about the soul reincarnated in a solar barge; discovery of the tomb with a well-paced afro sound bordering on grandiloquent orchestral and flamboyant with an obvious and well-managed progressive latency. It rises in a divine way on the addition of Peter, on instruments that assemble without thinking, we are amazed, we regress to the dantesque pieces of the dinos in their time; A melody across the Atlantic as a final reminder that leaves you doubtful, ecstasy comes at this price. A magnificent album which transcends style, genre, prog movement; there is The Enid, Alan Parsons, Yes, John Holden, of course of great quality; fantastic album which sets the prog record straight just for the track KV62.