Protos – The Noble Pauper’s Grave Protos were a college rock band formed in the late 1970s by keyboard player Rory Ridley-Duff and guitarist Stephen Ascombe. By the early 1980s, Iain Carnegie and Nigel Rippon had joined the band. Their first album, One Day A New Horizon, became international recognition much later, and The Noble Pauper's Grave is, in fact, a come-back after 25 years of silence. |
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The Noble Pauper's Grave is a conceptual instrumental album , constructed in a good old prog rock tradition – the instrumental pieces interchange with narratives. This conception has reminded me at once of the “Journey To The Centre Of The Earth” (Rick Wakeman). The album tells the story of a man born to privilege who rejects his upbringing. Drawn to the plight of the poor, he helps to organise and rally support for their cause whilst finding love amongst them.
The album opens with “Born a Bit Blue”, an
upbeat blues number depicting the energy of youth. This is followed by “Travels”,
a lilting melodic number in 5/4 time that portrays the noble sailing away to
a new life. Next comes “The Rally”, one of two tracks that exceed 10-minutes
in length. This powerful rock track intersperses a march with reflective and
melancholic passages. “The Final Dawn” is a quiet tuneful reprise from
danger, communicated through a subtle arrangement for guitar, saxophone,
flute, acoustic bass, piano and strings. The fifth track, “Outcry”, has a
dark and moody opening before breaking out into another powerful rock track.
The central section depicts a dance that leads to an erotically charged love
scene. A finale closes the track, capturing the noble's emotional turmoil as
his lover departs. “Aftermath”, another upbeat rock number, captures the
mood of the noble as he faces the retribution of his followers. “Departures”
closes the album with a beautiful portrayal of the noble's funeral and
eventual ascent into folk lore. I would be very interested to see the visual or choreographic version of the album - it would very well suit a ballett, for example. The only lack of this work (if it could be only regarded as a lack), on my opinion, are the programmed drums. They are excellently programmed and sound pretty authentic, no question about that, but the presence of a real studio musician (with a touch of a human imperfectness) could make a masterpiece of this production. The general sound of the production is very good up to excellent, as far as I can judge - it sounds the same great on each of three audio systems I have. The recording is full of sound, and still works transparent. Where to find: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=140830875 Andrew Roussak, Januar 2008 |
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