THE WAKE

The band was formed in 1981 by two friends who were part of the recently extinct band The Lens, Mike Holmes and Martin Orford. They recruited Mark Ridout and Tim Esau and formed IQ. The band had already created several compositions, and as soon as they got together, they started recording their first demos. Their musical proposal initially consisted of mixing several musical styles into one, always with a progressive theme. In the beginning, the themes were basically instrumentals due to the absence of a vocalist. They ended up finding one, an old acquaintance vocalist, Peter Nicholls, a friend of Martin and Mike that was part of The Lens for a while. Just over a month after Peter joined, Mark left the group, being replaced by Paul Cook. With a stable line up the band played several shows around England and released their first cassette album "Seven Stories Into Eight". With constant gigging throughout UK they released their first real vinyl album "Tales From The Lush Attic" in 1983 and the second "The Wake", but only in 1985.

So, "The Wake" is the second studio album of IQ and that was released in 1985. The line up on the album is Peter Nicholls (vocals and tambourine), Mike Holmes (guitars), Martin Orford (backing vocals, synthesizer, organ, Mellotron and flute), Tim Esau (bass guitar) and Paul Cook (drums and percussion).

"The Wake" is a development compared with "Tales From The Lush Attic". The tracks have become more compact and the sound is more professional and produced. The compositions are long (five out of seven tracks exceed six minutes) and contains all the ingredients of the 70's prog. The recipe is simple but still works just as well for the pleasure of our ears. Slow or even hovering introductions, explosion of synths and guitar supported by a powerful bass drum rhythmic line, the presence of the Mellotron and the Nicholls' voice, may reinforce the feeling of déjà-vu, but keeps as essential.

"The Wake" has seven tracks. All tracks were written by IQ. With the first track "Outer Limits" you can immediately hear the typical signature sound of the band. This is rather a thin track. Here, we can hear the darkness, followed by some lighter parts and then we are back again to the darkness. So, we can say that this piece ends as it begins. The second track is the title track "The Wake". Despite the track, especially due to the sound of the keyboards reminds me of some of the classic songs of Genesis, we even can see that it's IQ that we're hearing due to the usual patterns used by them. Dark followed by light and back to the darkness. This is a very powerful track with some great instrumental work. The third track "The Magic Roundabout" is one of the lighter songs on the album. No darkness here. This is just a song to cool down with a more melancholic spirit. The keyboards and the guitar harmonize the melody perfectly well. Not as epic as the two previous tracks, but it can be also great with its dreamy mood. The fourth track "Corners" is sparsely orchestrated. Slowly, one instrument after the other kicks in. Personally, this is my least favourite song on the album. The main reason for that are the drums. They sound like a backing track from a keyboard. This isn't a bad track that can sound funny, but I really don't like of its electronic structure mixed with reggae. This isn't a great number, indeed. The fifth track "Widow's Peak" is the best piece on the album that rightly became a band's classic. The track starts with a guitar part that is supported by the keyboards which, suddenly, the part changes from minor to major, followed by a very happy part. Even the vocals are kick and great here. In general, this is one of my all time IQ's favourite tracks. The sixth track "The Thousand Days" is a decent poppy song of the 80's. It starts with a nice riff of Holmes and a great bass line of Esau that support very well the nice and consistent works of Orford and Cook. Despite it isn't properly a true prog track, it still is, really, an enjoyable and a guilty pleasure to listen to. The seventh track "Headlong" is the second highlight next to "Widow's Peak". Here you can hear what is so characteristic and fascinating about the voice of Peter Nicholls, an almost tearful, fragile and wistful timbre. The track begins with a sad mood about the shedding of the "old" life to a "new" one. In the end it changes from the initial sadness, hopeless one to a slightly lively, almost defiant one.

Conclusion: "The Wake" is, definitely, a classic prog album. Together with Marillion's first albums, it helped to define what neo-prog would be and generated dozens of sound-alike albums by as many bands in the U.K. and worldwide. If you've seen the list with all the albums that Steven Wilson has in his playlist you'll find this album in it along with their album "Tales From Lush Attic". "The Wake" is a much contrasted album where you can hear the real IQ's sound, a tasty mix of brilliance and darkness, sometimes cheerful, sometimes oppressive and sometimes frightening. However, the band doesn't deny their influences. But, what could be considered pure plagiarism in "Tales From The Lush Attic", is now becoming more of a cultural heritage, a kind of lineage. In a way, IQ is the spiritual son of Marillion and Genesis' grandson. "The Wake" is a great album. Everyone who likes the typical progressive rock sound should have this album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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