Apparently, Dave Allen (vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, programming) originally wrote and recorded this for his wife, and the project then took on a new life with the input of Colin Powell (vocals, narration, keyboards, guitars, bass, programming, production, mixing, mastering). As one might guess from the title, it is a concept album telling the story of Richard III, possibly one of the most character assassinated kings England ever had and is led by narration along with songs telling the story.
I must confess to having had real issues with this album, as the lyrics have obviously been written by people with an in-depth knowledge of the subject, and they are determined to do justice to that, so people get a better understanding of the topic. That is to be commended, and while I have not undertaken any research to confirm what they are saying it is so packed full of facts I am sure they are correct in everything they say. However, this is often at the detriment of the songs, as they often do not scan as they should. Add to that some fairly clunky and basic programmed drums, and arrangements/melodies which often feel rather meandering, this feels somewhat like an opportunity lost. It is quite frustrating as the way they have dealt with the story of Richard is fascinating, and I enjoyed the story, so wonder if they should have treated this in a different manner and gone for 100% narration with music as a backdrop, as that way they could have brought in even more facts and not be restricted. As it is, it is unlikely I will be coming back to this again, even though it is an interesting topic.
Rating: 6/10