FANTASY BRIDGE

I'm leaving for the bridge now!

Mark Green's "Fantasy Bridge" is a labor of love from a self-described corporate clone (on his day job.) Green had a bout with cancer a few years back and in response to what must be the ultimate wake-up call, he poured his heart and soul into this project. It shows. Green is a talented composer and performer with good pop and prog-rock instincts who sometimes reminded me of Dennis DeYoung. He has a theatrical flair to his keyboard work, an optimistic tone to the music, and the same willingness to wear his heart on his sleeve that always came through on those old Styx albums. Another reference would Italian artist MacroMarco who plays a similar uplifting, keyboard-rich and accessible prog rock. And there are moments throughout which reminded me of Supertramp and sometimes ELO.

With songs about fantasy, science fiction, lost childhood and love, Fantasy Bridge sounds like a musician opening his vault, and indeed Green says some of these ideas go back decades. A keyboard whiz, Green plays a wide variety of hardware and piano with much expression and produces a larger than life canvas. The musicians backing him are very good and there are many melodic electric guitar parts. "Children of a Forgotten Sun" is a 13 minute classic styled epic with different themes and richness throughout, very beautiful elements, and the highlight for me. There are some short instrumental pieces like the symphonic "Dawn", a warm piano solo "Endless Ocean," a modern mix of synth and sax called "Quiescence," and a rendition of the classical "Ode to Joy." There is a great opening to "Don't Give Up on Love" with choir vocals and an ominous tone, then the track shifts completely to a perhaps-too-sweet chorus-heavy pop song that became the one track I had trouble sitting through repeatedly. "Autumn Rain" is also quite pop oriented but with a honky-tonk piano accompaniment and a flashy synth solo. "A Day by the Sea" is a touching closer, a lovely 10-minute ode to childhood lost with acoustic guitars and lovely harmonies.

Fantasy Bridge is wonderful and I hope Green continues in good health for many years! (Be sure to check out Torodd's interview with Mark for more info).

This is the first solo album by Mark Green, a talented keyboard player and composer from the UK who has been involved in music for a long time, and whose first "child" entitled "Fantasy Bridge" saw the light in this 2011 year. The album comprises ten compositions, which make a total time of an hour of music. Here you will find interesting songs, nice melodies and a sound that blends progressive rock with some alternative and poppier tunes.

It kicks off with "Fantasy Bridge" a short and nice introductory keyboard-based track, with a friendly sound. In the last minute we can appreciate guitars, drums and keyboards completing this cool opener song, which leads to the longest track of the album. It is "Children of a Forgotten Sun", which starts much softer, with a calm atmosphere. After a minute vocals appear for the first time in the album, and then the song itself starts creating its structure. There is a nice intercalation between instrumental passages, and the ones with vocals. The track is very rich in sounds and images, and also challenging, well- structured, and with nice performances on guitars, drums, bass and of course keyboards. In the song you will listen to several inner passages, some little changes in time and mood, giving as a result a very good track.

"Dawn" is a wonderful title, perfectly represented in the music, because one can actually imagine that scene, like being in a beautiful place, waking up and see the dawn. Though it is a short song, it is very rich, relaxing and enjoyable. "Don't Give Up On Love" follows the dawn feeling, but seconds later it changes, the other instruments enter and a new melody with its rhythm begins. Just before the third minute, Green's voice enters and seconds later is joined by other choir vocals. The particular moment where they sing "don't give up on love" is very reminiscent to some 80s pop/rock artists, which is not bad at all, but something worth mentioning. There is a nice instrumental passage at minute five, with percussion, bass, a guitar solo that contrasts with the keyboards. Nice track.

"Endless Ocean" is a soft piano-based track with a pretty similar sound for four minutes. Not a superb addition, but a good song that works as an intermission. "Autumn Rain" starts precisely with some thunders, seconds later, drums, piano and vocals enter in a pretty catchy way. The voice is honestly not the most memorable, but it does not harm the music at all, it works as a nice complement. Though the song's structure may be repetitive and even plain, there is a cool keyboard solo after three minutes which makes it more diverse.

"Quiescence" is the shortest track, but it is wonderful. The sound is different due to its electronic-like sound, and due to a wonderful and delicious saxophone sound. Too bad it ends so quickly, because I honestly adore this song. "Together on the Shores of Time" is, on the other hand, one of my least favorite songs. I found it just as an average track, boring in moments and with anything new to add. I am sorry if I am being mean, but I did not like this particular composition.

"Ode to Joy" is a Mark Green's version of this classic piece, converted into a progressive / AOR tune. Nice one! And finally "A Day by the Sea", another epic (eleven minutes) track, with a friendly, gently and mellow sound. It changes at the third minute, when electric guitars enter, accompanying bass, drums and keyboards, creating a faster and louder sound, but keeping the same friendly tune. As in the second track, this one also has several passages, and that nice intercalation between vocal and instrumental moments. Nice song to finish the album.

Congratulations to Mark Green for his first album. Here we can appreciate the undeniable talent he has, and I am sure he will give us in the near future new musical proposals. I like Fantasy Bridge, I would highlight three tracks, and count the other ones as part of the puzzle, but not outstanding pieces. My final grade will be three (and a half) stars.

Enjoy it!

'Fantasy Bridge' - Mark Green (6/10)

Mark Green's 'Fantasy Bridge' tells a beautiful story, not only through its music, but through the circumstances in which it was made. After winning a battle against cancer, this veteran keyboardist went through an existential awakening. No longer could he let time go to waste; as he states in his Prog Archives interview; it wasn't right to put a dream aside until a certain time, because there was never an assurance that the 'time' would ever be there. As someone myself who has stifled their creative ambitions for too long, this story is one that really moves me, as well as one that sets the stage perfectly for 'Fantasy Bridge'. As a direct antithesis to the feelings he went through during his ordeal with cancer, Green compiles a very cheerful collection of songs here, some formed with ideas that Green has had cooking for decades now. Mark Green and his company have some really great music here on a song-to-song basis, but as an overall album, 'Fantasy Bridge' still feels lacking in some respects.

Recorded with Green's home studio, the music has been produced quite well, although it lacks the polish of a professional recording. Mark Green is a musician who has been accumulating knowledge over the past few decades, and his experience as a composer and project leader are evident. There is a host of musicians here, including people he met through the web. Instrumentally, Green's diverse keyboard work stands out. While the pianos could have used some added atmosphere, he delivers some fantastic synth solos, particularly on the album's highlight; "Children Of A Forgotten Sun". Saxophonist Wim Koopman's solo on the Vangelis-soundalike track 'Quiescence' is also splendid. The vocals on this album come from a number of different singers, and the harmonies here are beautifully done. Green's voice is somewhat plain, but his delivery is warm and full of sincerity.

From song to song, it is clear that Mark Green has plenty of ideas in his head, and he is quite good at getting these concepts out onto a final product as well. 'Song to song' also appears to be the best way to approach 'Fantasy Bridge'. As a whole, the album feels like its missing something great; most notably a sense of flow and togetherness. Each song- including the soothing instrumentals- brings something fresh to the table, but as a whole, I am left with little overall impression as to what 'Fantasy Bridge' was all about, musically. There is sequenced electronica, space rock, symphonic prog, alternative rock and pop, and while Green executes each of these well, 'Fantasy Bridge' would have benefited greatly from a stronger sense of direction.

'Fantasy Bridge' is a personal and warm album from a man who truly cares about his music, and it certainly reflects in the work he does. As an album, it is a little patchy, but from my knowledge, Green is already working on a second album, so I look forward to hearing what he does next with his music.

UK composer Mark Green and his debut Fanatasy bridge from 2011 was a nice discovery for me few years back. Well, what we have here is a typical english style of prog very reminescent of glory days with nice instruemental sections and an ok vocal lines provided by Mark himself who is also responsable for keybords arrangements. He is helped by a number of unknown musicians for me but who done a good job in the end. The pieces all stands as good, no really weak moments here, only the production is unpolished, the album was recorded in Marks home studio. I'm not enter to details about his health, he had some problems with cancer few years back, but he recoverss pretty well and this album is a response to all his feelings and emotions he was put on. Fantasy bridge is a very nice album that from my point of view needs little better rated. 3 solid stars maybe rounded to 3.5 in some parts, for example my fav tune from here is A Day by the Sea , a delightful tune with very nice keybords arrangements, like on all pieces.