PICTURES FROM THE OTHER SIDE

During the 25 or so years that I was not following the prog music scene, I would occasionally peer over the hedges in case something interested me there. Magenta, a Welsh neo-prog group, was one that caught my ear over at bandcamp.com .

I've been newly introduced to another related project by Magenta's keyboardist and composer Robert Reed. He has re-assembled a band called CYAN with vocalist Pete Jones (Camel) along with Luke Machin and Dan Nelson, to record a new album called Pictures from the Other Side (an entirely re-writen, re-worked, re-imagined remake of a 1994 release of the same name).

The first half of the album evokes a modern interpretation of the style of The Alan Parsons Project. Flowing from the neo-prog vein, it's a softer rock - but still quite punchy, with some 80s jazz fusion vibes at times, plus a bit of funkiness. It's well-balanced sounding album- tastefully produced and richly melodic while maintaining a gorgeous and majestic tone overall. The male lead vocals by Pete Jones are flawless performed with occasional slightly-mesmerizing and complimentary female vocals. There are symphonic passages and hints of 1970s Genesis inspiration, but really the scope of the entire album is engagingly varied.

CYAN lean more into 'pleasant' than 'harder edged' with plenty of keyboard/piano work, but some blistering guitar parts as well. There's a bit of fine sax work, as well as harp- it's really quite diverse but without sounding scattered. In fact once you get to the final 2 tracks (at 10 and 18 minutes length)... Yeah! They stitch the album together and bring balance to this universe... in a fun and epic way revealing that the first half album was just a warm-up, finishing on a truly triumphant and fantastic curtain-closing chord.

This is an exceptionally produced album -- overflowing with fine displays of musicianship, some great acoustic piano and synth solos, wind instruments, understated but elegant bass-playing prowess, tasteful guitar soloing, and top tier vocal expositions in both lead and harmonies a-plenty. (Fave tracks: 'Solitary Angel', 'Tomorow's Here Today' and the cinematic Neo-prog epic 'Nosferatu').