The irascible Nick Beggs is the paragon of what rogue means and why I chose the word for my handle. I just love people who flourish outside of the proverbial box as well as having a degree in cleverness. A technical wizard on both bass, fretless and Chapman stick, he kicked off his career with the glamourous Kajagoogoo, the not ‘too shy’ Nick then ventured off into a ton of progressive session work (the list is extensive , so look it up, will you now?!) , and having seen him live with both Steves, Wilson and Hackett, I can boldly state that watching him play is quite the visual candy. The nostalgia-laden cover art is tomfoolery at its finest, as “Wal-Mart” is not about the US retail facility but rather about having repurchased a beloved (and my all-time fave) Wal bass guitar and being so thrilled of rekindling a love affair with a legendary instrument, he decided to pay homage! This is a brief and tidy affair, chock full of playful little ditties that scratch his separation itch fully, showcasing his lovely instrument , upfront and center where it deserves to be. There are some overt jazzy tendencies, flirting also with experimental regions that may recall Summers-Fripp territory, but where Nick’s Model Pro2E boldly takes the leadership role, which he assumes with his usual resilient style. Having his usual drum partner Craig Blundell on board is a massive pleasure, as he is among the top percussors on the planet. With added percussion from Paul Clarvis , Beggs handles the remaining instrumental chores with precision including the added piano, kalimba, guitar and vocal parts.
These eight sublime little vignettes are what makes high quality prog so compelling, where talent, focus and expression coalesce into sonic magic. Wholly unpretentious and beyond entertaining, it provides a vehicle (not the old Matchbox-like lorry on the cover) for showing off another side of his numerous talents. Generally, bass players are a rather sedate group character-wise, but Nick bucks the trend by being a complete and total rebel, as his various gifts rely not only on resolute musicianship but also on layers of humour, playfulness, sarcasm, with a heavy dose of unpredictability. Check out the relaxed complexity of “Kalimba Death Squad”, the restorative beauty of “Boudica’s Ire”, the seeping neo-classical intensity of “Rachmaninov’s Hat” , the rock solid Make Your Choice” and the sweeping melancholia of “Despair is Luxury” and the meditative “Open Space”.
On the pretty “Tears in the Rain”, Nick fearlessly warbles on, telling his velvety story with affection. It is a personal message just like his magnificent duet with daughter Lula on the heartwarming “Father Daughter” that closed the door on the first Mute Gods album 2016’s “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me Again”.
He is, by all accounts, the most fun musician in prog, as well as my perennial favourite bass player, having most, if not all his albums (Time for a new The Mute Gods, Nick! Please, I promise to do nothing in the meantime).
4.5 Moving vans