The prolific multi-instrumentalist duo of Colin Powell and Dave Allen strike again, a fourth edition of the Riffstone saga, where progressive rock unites with historical premise, in order to both entertain and educate their audience, lest we become totally addictive to algorithmic disposable pap, the type that will ultimately numb us into abject submission. Their 2 album ‘a year keeps the doctor away” philosophy has already born delightful fruits, from Richard III, Sanctuary Sky and Mythical Creatures, now unleashing Great Journeys, which , at the very least , will maintain the elevated bar high in the sky, perhaps raising it even more. That will be up to us, the audience, to decide.
In 1966, I rode the “The Orient Express” Pullman with my mum, going from Paris to Vienna and then onto Budapest, derailing in a tunnel in Stuttgart (rapidly rescued by the German police and military), no hint of Agatha Christie anywhere in sight. I still have vivid memories of that extraordinary journey, deeply imprinted in my mind. When the track actually opens with chugs of steam and a vibrant horn, I am transported back to those heady days where courteous manners and impeccable livery mattered, a journey of elegant travel and discovery. Peaks and valleys, bold rivers, and overbearing lakes, pastoral farmland and grandiose cities, each radiating a different vibe, where culinary delights and musical diversity abounds. A few words from our Colin the conductor” En route, Einsteigen bitte, All aboard!”
“The Silk Road” crossing from Europe into the faraway regions of Central Asia provides the dynamic duo to widen even further the sensation of expansive plains that seem to go on forever, an expedition into another culture, slight Oriental detail emerging from the Riffstone arsenal. The subject matter reminds us that it was a two-way journey, Asian influence (spices, ink, textiles and of course silk) where traded for European merchandise and expertise.
An all-instrumental piece comes as a most welcome highlight, as Sir Edmund Hillary, the yeti, Katmandu, sherpas and monasteries, the “Himalayas” evoke so many youthful recollections as well, the epitome of intrepid exploration, back in the day. There is an overall gentleness and purity in the offered musicality, where symphonic beauty in its most cinematic form is layered with sweeping synthesizer ornamentations. The incredible feeling of standing at the very top of the world comes across with passionate liberation.
I was familiar of this famous pilgrimage from France into Spain across the massive Pyrenees mountain range, “Camino de Santiago”, a spiritual marathon that covers over a thousand-kilometer walk, a showcase for devotion to faith that is still revered today, for the pious believers. It’s not the easiest of terrains and may take over a month to complete. Riffstone have condensed the trek to fit in just over 7 minutes with a majestic church organ finale that accompanies a devout electric guitar solo.
The heroic, nearly 13 minute “South Pole” is an all-Colin piece that manages to express the same sense of immensity of the Tibetan/Nepali mountain range but here the tectonic elevation is replaced with horizontal solitude and isolation that can only bewilder, as time stands still. ‘A beating heart and a frozen soul’. Illustrious names come to mind, like Amundsen, Scott, Byrd and the ill-fated Shackleton, among many others. A thrilling track.
Charles Darwin is up next on the podium, recalling “The Voyage of the Beagle” to the Galapagos, Patagonia and the South Pacific islands, where evolutionary thinking led to a few theories that still stand the test of endless debate on science as well as faith. The auditory premise relies on virtuoso piano, Dave hitting some imposing vocal notes, and a harmonious symphonic disposition, the lyrical content adding to the explanations on natural selection, as well as analyzing flora and fauna, trying to better understand the blue planet we all live on. The struggle remains in place today.
Earlier on the travelogue, we were all taken to the ecstatic altitudes of Everest and K2. The opposite would be the abysmal depths of the trench known as “Mariana” in the South Pacific, a vast distance so deep that modern 21st technology still struggles to find the bottom. Where living creatures still remain undiscovered in the bleak blackness of nadir. The arrangement develops with a wide variety of instrumental jewelry, mysterious mellotron sweeps, crushing bass and strong rhythmic trepidation.
The longest and select piece is “Red Horizon”, clicking a sober 13 minutes and 41 seconds on the digital screen. Yes, its time to leave this Earth, as if prompted by the Hawkwind/Gong interstellar space rock credo. We have been to the moon and back, so why not focus on Mars ? Cosmic adventure still remains a fascinating concept that we have still not really fully developed yet, as we continually struggle with human idiocy. But eventually, the step into the beyond will become necessary if not vital. The usual galactic suspects abound massive bass throttle, raging booster organ, screeching electric guitar vectors, echoed vocals that remind us of some warriors on the edge of time, swarming mellotron that paint the universe with all its colours. The melody is instantly addictive and memorable, as if true freedom comes with dreams becoming reality, leaving footprints in the sand.
A brooding finale is what a finale should be, especially after so many exhilarating adventures that may have left us breathless and maybe even tires. “The Maps are Fading to White” offers the luxury to look back at all the memories, where images and sounds can remain impacted for evermore, where melancholia and reminiscence combine like two lovers holding hands, the cello and the piano embracing impressions that will never dare to fade to grey and crumple way like dust in the wind. Colin really kills it here, emotionally engaged and insistent ‘on finally going home’
Prog’s version of the dynamic duo, Batman and Robin have found new clothes ! 75 minutes of eye-closing displacement, a series of stories and soundtracks, chords and words that takes one somewhere faraway from the maddening routine of our ultra-busy lives. We should all be thankful to have such musical entertainment in our midst.
4.5 splendid excursions