REVOLUTIONS

With Renaissance having long since ceased to exist, and more recently Karnataka having gone a similar way, Magenta and Mostly Autumn are the bands currently carrying the torch for symphonic prog with female lead vocals. While Mostly Autumn openly admit to being strongly influenced by Pink Floyd, Magenta appear to lean more toward Genesis for their inspiration. Whether or not their music is in general terms overtly derivative, is a matter for debate, but with "Revolutions" I certainly found myself reminded of other bands and albums, virtually throughout. To be fair, Magenta are quite open about their influences and inspirations.

Released in 2001, "Revolutions" is the band's debut album. While appearing as a double CD, the running time is actually only about 96 minutes, the album consisting of what in old LP terms would roughly equate to four side long suites.

The band evolved from Rob Reed's Cyan project, with whom Christina Murphy had sung one song. Reed was so impressed, he decided to make a full album with her, choosing the "next colour along" for the band name.

The first of the four suites is the 19 minute "Children of the sun", which consists of 4 sub-sections roughly equal in length. There is a pleasant Renaissance type feel to the orchestration and keyboards filled washes backing melodic female vocals. Christina's vocals do not have the richness of Annie Haslam but she is competent and gifted nonetheless.

After the brief link piece "Opus 1", we approach the 20 minute "The white witch", this time in five parts. Here we have distinctly Banks like synth work and Hackett like guitars, with Fish (Marillion) like spoken word (even with a Scottish accent!). This is a lovely piece from start to finish, but the overt influences can be something of a distraction.

Disc 2 firstly features "Man the Machine", the longest of the suites at almost 25 minutes. This has all the feel of a "Trick of the tail" medley, the early melodies and rhythms of the piece switching between that album's title track and "Squonk". Thereafter, "Los Endos" blends with the "Apocalypse" section of "Supper's ready" and we really are straddling the boundary between influence and parody. The problem here (if there is one) is that the music is actually superb, but those familiar with the influences may find their thoughts drifting in search of the origins.

After a second brief "Opus", the final suite is the (deliberately) tellingly named "Genetesis". The opening piano melody here recalls "The lamb lies down..", the track later breaking into a "Topographic Oceans" like guitar run. Christina delivers the Jon Anderson like vocal lines with some aplomb. The "A new life" section is a straight take on "Awaken", with repetative plink plinks and swirling church organ sounds. From there we move into "Close to the edge" like organ and rhythms in "The search for faith".

The album closes with "The warning", a 7 minute stand alone track which seems rather out of place in the context of the four suites. The dual male/female lead vocals only work up to a point, Rob Reed's vocal contribution being less persuasive (for want of a better word!) than Christina's. Some nice guitar work though.

In all, a highly enjoyable album with strong melodies and fine performances all round. There is no denying that the undiluted nature of the well known influences can be a distraction, but let that not stop us from basking in all that is good about the music.

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