THE TRAIL OF TEARS SUITE

Nu Na Da Ul Tsun Yi (the trail where we died)

Vertical Alignment

Mike Florio? vocals, Keyboards Doug Bowers? backing vocals, keyboards, guitar Michael Adams? drums and percussion, fretless bass Phoen1x? backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, Cherokee flute

GUESTS on Trail of Tears Suite:

DAVID WALLIMANN: Guitar

JOE DENINZON: Violin

RANDY GEORGE: Bass and Keyboard

DAVE HOPE: Bass

JAYMI MILLARD: Bass

RANDALL REEDER: Will Rogers Impersonator

ROSS RORIE: Narration

Album released December 1, 2017

The Trail of Tears Suite

What is it that spurs us towards learning about our roots, our heritage?

According to Phoen1x, it was a trip to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, USA, for the memorial service when his mother died.

Here in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, which had been forcibly relocated from their ancestral homes in the southeastern regions of USA, he was confronted with his own story.

The Trail of Tears Suite flowed from his pen, song after song, as he immersed himself in that tragic tale of dominant culture oppressing indigenous peoples?yet indomitable spirits who chose to survive, thrive, and ultimately to forgive.

The Music

To these ears, a clear example of vintage symphonic progressive music- filled with growling Hammond organ, synthesizers, mellotron, orchestration, acoustic and electric guitar work, sophisticated arrangements, multi-layered vocals, changing tempos and keys, keeping a high level of musicianship.

The vocals were outstanding. I wished at times that there might be a change in lead vocals simply for some variety. Steve Walsh, for all his massive musical gifts, sometimes allowed Robby Steinhardt to take the lead, or the two would do powerful duet-vocals.

The KANSAS reference is deliberate as I was reminded at times of their earlier albums, especially those tunes that focused on Native themes.

I've rarely cared for spoken words or narration during albums, and there were several of these sprinkled throughout. Although the Will Rogers portions furthered the lyrical themes being explored- and I happen to love his witticisms, most of that seemed superfluous to me.

The Lyrics

There are several ways to convey a message.

I prefer having things suggested rather than literally spelled out- as they are here. I prefer "Long distance runaround/ Long time waiting to feel the sound?", to literally saying what is happening.

Granted, it's subjective, but for me, I'd rather make my own connections, feel my own feelings, get my own references.

That said, a lot of emotional ground is covered in these lyrics, and the story is unfolded bit by bit- people being forced to leave their ancestral homes, march in severe conditions, suffer great deprivations and loss. By some estimates, nearly half of the more than 16,000 people perished in the Cherokee relocation.

Conclusion

This is a worthy consciousness-raising, thoughtful example of symphonic progressive rock played at a high level.

One night I was in the study, noodling about on the internet when I should have been writing, when I came across the name Vertical Alignment. It immediately struck a chord with my internal database (I can't remember the names of people I meet for the life of me, but if is connected to music then the database runs very well indeed, and no need to write code!), as when the band released 'Signposts' back in 2006 it was initially only available as a download (later released on CD), and VA became the first band ever to send me a digital download to review (first cassette was Big Big Train, first CD was Final Conflict, first UK t-shirt was also Final Conflict, first overseas t-shirt was Galleon).

I knew that Peter Jorgensen had suffered some marital issues, and as far as I was aware the band had run its course after a single album, but here was the band up and running again. I quickly realised that the person behind the band these days was Phoen1x, so sent an email asking to be remembered to Pete as at one time we had been in contact quite a lot. Very quickly I heard back and soon discovered that Pete is now Phoen1x, and there was indeed another full album, and would I like to hear it? Their very informative web site provides details of what happened to the band, and all the personal troubles and changes, but after much effort VA are back with a concept album telling the story of Cherokee Native Americans as they followed the Trail of Tears.

The band of Mike Florio (lead vocals, keyboards), Phoen1x ( guitar, keyboards, Cherokee flute, backing vocals), Doug Bowers (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) and Michael Adams (drums, percussion, fretless bass) are joined by various guests on this recording, including a couple of very well-known bassists in the shape of Randy George and Dave Hope (as an aside, while all musos know that Dave was a founding bassist with Kansas, and also played with Kerry Livgren on many of his albums, how many knew that he is now a retired Anglican priest?). Another name I immediately picked up on was Joe Deninzon, one of the most hard-working violinists working in the prog field at present.

Musically this is very close in many ways to Kansas, but the other album it reminded me of is 'Moccasin Warrior II' by John 'Rabbit' Bundrick. Some of the tale is told in song, others in narration or stories, the one of the wolf and lamb meeting in the field is both simple yet incredibly poignant, makes me think each time I hear it. We can't do anything about our history, by sheer definition it is a time gone past, but we need to never forget what happened, make reparations and ensure it doesn't happen again. In New Zealand we continue to make settlements to Māori and will continue to do so until all claims have been resolved and listening to this album reminds me yet again just how much pain our forefathers caused to native Americans, Aborigines, Māori and so many more.

The use of native flute over the top of Kansas-style keyboards provides one style, a fiddle, jew's harp and banjo yet another. This album is both a delight, and a sad reminder, all at once. Essential.