Andy Tilleson is one hell of a talent, consistently pumping out albums on a consistent basis , both in terms of quality and regular pace. I discovered him with Parallel or 90 Degrees back in 1996, intrigued by the combination space rock and homage to Peter Hammill, the band eventually becoming a side project that is still releasing in 2026 after a long hiatus. But its with the Tangent that Andy carved himself into the prog history books, released the ground -breaking ‘The Music that Died Alone’ in 2003, blowing away a completely unexpecting audience with two hard slaps in the face. Firstly , a jazzier Canterbury direction was an immediate ear-opener as well as adding saxman David Jackson (of VDGG fame), the hyper-talented solo artist Guy Manning , as well as three erudite members of the Flower Kings, namely guitarist extraordinaire Roine Stolt and the tectonic rhythm section of Jonas Reingold and Zoltan Csorsz (one of the finest ever, IMHO). What a beginning ! A slew of a dozen albums ensued , all of them highly rated and much loved by the community (I personally still worship the first 4 albums to this day). Two years after the one-man show “To Follow Polaris”, here is another singularly massive leap forward (or above, as you wish) , “Was” is perhaps the culmination opus of his celebrated career and may very well finish as the most impactful release of 2026. It has everything one can possibly hope for, including the presence of guitarist Luke Machin (the current axeman in prog) and the arrival of one of my favourite bass players, the sensational John Jowitt. Good old Theo Travis handles the brass and wind instruments with his usual brio, while keyboardist Rob Groucutt (Rain, Phi Yaan-Zek) and veteran drummer Steve Roberts (Magenta, David Cross Band, Godsticks) fill out the splendid line-up. Long album = lengthy review….
The original cover also drew me in (contrary to many younger folk) as I knew what a rotary dial telephone was. Get it? …WAS ! CD1 kicks of with the homage to the past (a concept many seem to disavow) , the title track a leviathan clocking in 22 minutes and some change. For the first minutes, I thought I was sitting in an opera house, the tuxedoed orchestra settling in with a symphonic intro for the ages, past, present and future. This is how you get the juices flowing! Jowitt then takes over the baton, guiding the rock band gently into an altogether ethereal realm of sound, chock full of effects relating to the Cold War, as opposed to the hot one coming along later on in the broadcast! Andy’s voice is barely a crushed hush, as the progression vaults into a full-blown prog epic, taking its sweet time in blooming into a broader version of the initial dazzling melody, flutes waltzing along in full support, smoky mellotron memoirs sitting atop the burly organ and puzzling shards of thoughts making complete sense. Instant Karma, Jean Genie, Vietnam, napalm guitar, the deepest purple coloring the heep of uriah, sly stones etched on the doors , hey its only rock and roll, after all! A dolly dagger. Nostalgic? Powerful ? ya damn right! No hint of AI on the horizon, just music in its purest form. Luke seals the deal with a high octane electric (oxymoron?) solo that jimmies like there was a tomorrow left in Ladyland.
A mini-5-minute intermezzo “Follow the River” is classic The Tangent, saturated in archetypical British eccentricity, bopping along like a barge on the Thames, the wavy saxophone delighting us with sassy brass, rivulets of flowing e-piano, robust bass construct and a drumbeat based on bashing hard but good (Hey Ringo!). Finger snapping finale, lads! This would be the perfect segue for Talking Heads’ “Take Me to the River”.
“Was Not” keeps the balance with an opposite but similarly sized 21-minute exercise, soaked in whimsical melancholia, at first with voice and orchestrations that blossom into an expansive fantasyland laden with generational memories, historical anecdotes relating to WW2 (bunkers and V1s) and assorted recollections of unreal realities. There is nevertheless a lightness to all the harrowing tales, the guitars stodgily pastoral, buttered with assortment of effects and perhaps even a dollop of marmalade skies. Lucy is still looking for her diamonds. The e-piano carves quite the furrow, happily clasping the Jowitt bass guitar’s neck in the process. Nostalgia for the future indeed, but the music comes across as effortlessly ‘au naturel’, such as the brief appearance of vibraphone, signalling an experimental deviation, that will lead to whistling synthesizer passage, fluttering merrily over a tight rhythmic convulsion. Luke slices through with a blitz solo that scours the darkened horizon where the black crossed Junkers fly, while the ak-ak is supplied by a sputtering Hammond organ surge. 21st century psychedelia at its finest, oozing some well-deserved funk into the strategy for good measure, spitting fire within the hurricane, as the Home Guard looks up at the spiralling circus in the sky, unyielding to the fear of defeat, yearning for a better time ahead, always maintaining a sense of humour , hello? What an epic ride!
Then comes the all-instrumental CD2, another nod to you Francophiles (or fans of French cuisine), a trait that has been inserted a few times into the Tangent history (Down and Out in Paris , and Le Sacre du Travail). Being French educated, this creates a certain sense of belonging that makes it personal, as I do not require translation. Five tracks, four ‘hors-d’oeuvres’ and one ‘entrée’, a progressive gastronomical tasting menu of the highest order, with wine pairing to satisfy the most finnicky of palates. “L’Apéritif” may mean sips of Ricard, Beaume de Venise, Byrrh or even a Kir Royale, getting the digestion of impending delicacies all spruced up, an instrumental ‘tour de force’.
” Le Steak de Chevreuil et le Fermier” (Deer steak and the farmer) is a where the musicians get to cook up a storm with a ridiculous display of technique, the mise en place perfectly dosed out for maximum flavour, the pots boiling, the pans sautéing, and the fresh produce waiting for the battery of honed knives.
What better way to digest than getting up and dancing before the dessert arrives. “Danse” is a thrilling ensemble cast that understands mood, passion and atmosphere (three very French cultural attributes), a reverie of ambient Monet scenes, jazzier concoctions that look back to the Belle Epoque, over 8 minutes of extraordinary rhythmic tremors, elegant piano études, exhilarating interplay as befits a modern prog band, as well as acoustic samplings, so as not to offend any purists.
“La Route Cotière “(Coastal Road) offers three choices: Brittany, Mediterranean and Gironde but history buffs will want to add Normandie as well. So, settle into your Matra GT, and head out on the highway and exalt in the entire maritime Tour de France. It’s only a tad less than a ten-minute ride, and you get to explore the ‘beauté’ of the ‘héxagone’. Jowitt has a turbo charger on his instrument, relentless blasting away at all the upcoming road signs, as if desperate to get to Mont St-Michel, before the tide washes way the passage. Machin seems to be inspired by the guillotine as he slices like a ‘sans-culotte’ on a series of frenzied ‘tirades’. Travis’s flute adding delicacy to the core (or ‘coeur’ en francais).
Within a safe 15 and three quarter minutes, “Multi Partisanisme”, a clever little that rekindles France’s tradition of having as many political parties as inhabitants (De Gaulle’s famous ‘fromages’ (cheese) remark. With a long tradition of fiery barricades, open rebellion, endless upheaval, and of course, good old-fashioned rioting, Andy takes on this historical reality with a massive amount of cheek, abundant in playful musical teasing, remindful that the Gallic tradition has offered the world many wonderful foundations.
Tillison must be considered as a generational talent for his body of work, but this album consecrates one of the most imaginative minds in progressive rock. In a current world of endlessly marketed IS, I prefer my fond reminiscences of WAS.
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