GABRIEL

'Voyager' NASA tribute for departure to the moon; dark, synthetic melodic air, compositional latency, hints of Led Zeppelin; rhythmic heavy rock with distinctive percussion which changes with a guitar solo from Dave; heavenly finale. 'A Last Chance' acoustic guitar before a violent break, cinematic drift in voice-over on covid torments then resumption of the melodic tune, spleen, a nod to Tim Bowness; final between the anguish of breathing and the joy of birth. 'Nosferatu' says it all; dark intro before the start on Wavian pop rock; heavy riff reminiscent of Killing Joke with out-of-tune tune; Derek's lugubrious synth amplifies the riff before launching into a thunderous solo, a reminder of the heyday of Dream Theater, singular. 'The Way of Shaman' homage to the Lakotas with the narrated intro, tribal percussion, a consensual melody; the break on a flash with trumpet, hard metallic guitar and percussion accompanying cries in trance for an ending between mystery and darkness.

'Endless Night' intimate atmosphere, crystalline piano à la Joe Jackson, an ambient jazzy-prog rock air dotted with percussion and metronomic bass; text about wandering after a breakup; an airy trumpet drives home the jazzy, melancholy side of this endless night. 'Dark Father' returns to the land of the aboriginal Indians with a Didgeridoo introducing Darth Vader of whom Gabriel himself is a fan; synthetic sound, catchy riff, volleys of notes and an instrumental reminiscent of 'kashmir'; dark, spatial, grandiloquent and folkloric atmosphere with these choirs from elsewhere; symphonic, metallic, frenetic and captivating. 'Area 51' follows with the metallic intro ambient siren of a ship in distress; futuristic sound with sudden riff; the soaring and latent synth. 'Even to the Edge of Doom' ends with Romeo & Juliet in the background and this Love stronger than Death; narration on atmospheric synths, then other aqueous, sparkling ones and a guitar that emerges: Steve from the Marillion; when latency combines with spleen for a prophetic solo about our chance to escape the doldrums; an opportunity to confirm his talent on these beautifully melancholy notes. Gabriel Agudo launches a message, that of enjoying the happiness of Life.

Former Bad Dreams lead singer Gabriel Agudo comes from Argentina. He is also a singer/guitar player who participated in projects with Steve Rothery and In Continuum Band, two years ago he decided to start a solo career, resulting in this first solo album entitled New Life. The music and the lyrics of his album are inspired by the resilience and the capacity to survive the deepest wounds in order to make a real transformation that really could change life. He teamed up with his classically trained friend René Bosc (guitars, bass and percussion) and a wide range of guest musicians, like guitarist Steve Rothery (Marillion), keyboard player Clive Nolan (Pendragon and Arena), drummer Jan Vincent Velazco (Pendragon) and Helene Collerette (first violin of Radio France Symphony Orchestra). According to Gabriel Agudo "this trip has only one destination: to touch people`s hearts and ignite a spark of peace in their souls."

On this first solo effort Gabriel Agudo delivers 7 varied, melodic and tasteful compositions in which his pleasant voice with strong emotional undertones is meandering very flowingly. Only the short track Awakening is instrumental (wonderful play on the Steinway grand piano by Heiner Scob).

Soaring keyboards, melancholy violin work and tender vocals in the warm and mellow piece Free As A bird.

From dreamy twanging - to heavy guitar, and from a pitch bend driven Minimoog solo to sparkling grand piano, topped with emotional vocals in the dynamic Karmatic.

Lots of fluent shifting moods with beautiful work on guitar and keyboards, again topped with emotional vocals in Angel's Call.

From a tight beat with heavy guitar, flashy Minimoog flights and swirling violin play to dreamy with mellow vocals and sensitive guitar in the title track.

Frist dreamy with twanging acoustic guitar and warm vocals, then gradually the sound turns into a slow rhythm with subtle work on keyboards and guitar, and romantic vocals in Shining Spark.

And finally the epic composition Free As A Bird Extended (close to 18 minutes). It starts mellow with sensitive electric guitar, then blended with soaring keyboards and warm vocals. Halfway moving violin runs and delicate grand piano work join, what wonderful and intense music this is. Next sensitive electric guitar runs and emotional vocals in a slow rhythm, featuring swirling violin and moving guitar runs. Finally emotional vocals join, with fading violin runs, again Gabriel Agudo has succeeded in his mission "to touch people`s hearts and ignite a spark of peace in their souls." Simply wonderful!

My rating 3,5 star.

"Free As A Bird" begins the album with a tribute to his mother who died of Alzheimer's disease, which reminds us, among other things, that artists are people like us above all; a title based on an orchestration with violins and acoustic guitar for an air of deep meditation and this warm voice of Gabriel, a bit of sound that Bono himself liked to explore to give an intensity of dramatic spleen; a magnificent and dreamlike title. "Karmatic" starts with a sound a little on the border of what ARENA or PENDRAGON can do; Dave KERZNER adds his touch to the keyboards, while Heiner SCOB does the same for a classic passage on the piano; the guitar solo is worth its weight in gold. "Angel's Call" gives pride of place to Fernando for all the orchestration with a sound of some old GENESIS for the guitars at the start, of the latest MYSTERY just with a voice making me think of that of Jean PAGEAU and especially of the great KING CRIMSON just for using the Mellotron; a song with intense convolutions and well-placed breaks, Indian drums concluding the title.

"New Life" for the eponymous title, a voice which draws on that of the angel GABRIEL, a nervous rhythm, a keyboard from Clive NOLAN which goes to the sounds of the first GENESIS for a jazz-prog space, free-jazz also with a lot of violin, then this break halfway through like GENESIS did so well with this enchanting flute, finally the recognizable guitar of Steve ROTHERY, an intense and controlled melting pot at the same time, a ballad that emerges, a digression, a calm, gentle, soaring, spleen and melancholic musical outgrowth but also gentle and providing relaxation until the finale with acoustic guitar; the flagship song of the album to listen to again despite its fairly predictable composition.

"Awakening" arrives here, a little piano interlude from Heiner, the 2nd refined and clear intro just to launch "Shining Spark" and its ballad which draws more on GENESIS from "Burning Rope" than on a PENDRAGON title; the voice is warm, present, highlighted; the breaks with guitar arpeggios reinforce it even more and Christophe's keyboards give a slightly different sound; cascading title, in streaming notes. The album could be finished here but an extended cover "Free As A Bird Extended" of almost 18 minutes with "Frippian" guitar at the very beginning completes an already positive feeling; it is in fact the magic violin of Hélène COLLERETTE which magnifies this title; the introduction seems to come out of genesis, it's dreamlike, it's relaxing and seems to represent a title in its own right; Gabriel's voice is again highlighted in a moving way, with orchestration reminiscent at times of pieces by LEE SAUNDERS for its post-apocalyptic atmosphere; the arrangements are well in place but a little diffuse, much less refined than those of IN CONTINUUM for its long title at the end of the album. Halfway through, the voice is accompanied by Steve's guitar giving more warmth, more sensitivity while Sarah's angelic voice accentuates the musical break; the end starts with a joust, a confrontation, an osmosis between violin and guitar for a progressive moment of great beauty in decrescendo until the more nervous finale, with imposing orchestration. A fairly complex title in the end, intimate, melancholic and also airy, controversial by the use of string and electric instruments at the same time; a title which raises questions due to the vision it provides inside our heads, a stunning title also to give another image of PROG in general because here we have a cross between classical music and progressive rock in fact .