YOUNG, MICHELLE 
662758
CD
MARKED FOR MADNESS (ARENA/TULL/TOTO/YES/PENDRAGON)

MELODIC (PROG)

To figure that this is theoretically going to be something special is not hard to do when you find it’s been produced by one of the world’s leading Prog producer/musicians Clive Nolan. Then when you see that it’s the culmination of three years work and features the playing talents of Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Clive Nolan (Arena/Pendragon), Karl Groom (Threshold), Peter Banks (Yes), Stan Whittaker (Happy The Man) and Bobby Kimball (Toto) to name but a few, you know you must be on to a good thing. So, while the calibre of musicianship is unquestionable, the album will only work if the writing, arranging, composing and delivery is spot-on, and here Michelle Young has scored a real bulls-eye, for this is one phenomenal song album that is way more than mere categorisation can ever describe. It’s a quality album from start to finish (15 tracks in all) with an idea-per-minute quotient greater than most.

Magical doesn’t begin to sum it up, so let’s start at track 1, the title track, where the first thing you spot is a deep, resonant piano intro that reminded me instantly of the intro to ELP’s ‘Take A Pebble’, and suddenly this gorgeous, soaring vocal comes in and flies above the piano melody, with the voice sounding quite similar to that of classy Kate Bush, but where she could be a bit shrill, this lady has the voice of an angel. But when it comes to the balance of strength, beauty, dynamics, power and feeling, this music takes your breath away. There’s a brief mid-section that’s almost like an eerie prog version of Grace Slick vocally, as swiftly the beautiful piano/vocal refrain returns and the song just cruises slowly and effortlessly to a point where the band come in and – BLAT!!! – You’re taken to proggy heaven and back, as a steaming lead guitar solo enters and flies over a landscape of drums, bass and keyboards, taking the instrumental coda to a fade at just over six minutes. The 2nd track ‘A Lively Toast’ features the band’s instrumental talents right from the start, as a jaunty song begins with a vocal section that covers, dynamics, range, feeling, and strength in the space of less than two minutes. Overlaid vocal harmonies and choruses add to the magic of the sprightly song, that instrumentally and vocally, twists and turns and flows, again very much in the Kate Bush mould, only more prog oriented and smoother, and at just over three minutes, it’s the sort of commercially acceptable snack you can take again and again and again without any ill effects. Track 3 is ‘Spider’s Thread’ a slower paced number, opening with haunting keyboard strings, full of depth and emotion, as this time a soothing yet powerful vocal glides above, on a song that is tender and strong at the same time. The sheer emotive feel of this song leaves hardly a dry eye in the house – but then suddenly the mood changes to an altogether more anguished state, as the feel darkens while the strings plus multi-tracked vocals intensify, remaining beautiful and haunting at the same time. As you can see, this is a devil of an album to review, because so much of its quality hangs on the sound, arrangements and sheer feel of the vocals and instrumental eloquence. It is one that you only have to hear a small portion of its magic, to realise that here you have something that is way more than the sum of its parts, and that’s impressive to say the least. Track 4 is ‘Hope: Realization’ and it’s altogether more symphonic and still string-laden, as drums, reeds and keyboards combine in a huge layer of melody as synth strings build on the theme’s foundations and then it all erupts into a sweeping orchestral march. This leads directly into the 5th number: ‘First Light’ as stabbing synth/sequencer lead the way to a male vocal from out the back. Then synths swirl upfront, then a bell rings out, thunder is heard, and THAT voice, sultry and passionate, enters for ‘Dancing On The Head Of A Pin’, seemingly anguished, hurt, despairing, as the mood darkens and the track gradually builds. Eventually it turns into a slice of prog-meets-Bush song writing, with a delivery that wipes the floor with anything the latter has ever turned out. This is one of THE most incredible songs on the entire album, complete with soaring synth solo, Fleetwood-like drums and a stunning mix of writing and arranging, with the Young voice and harmonies carrying it all and driving it on so effortlessly, and as the song drives on to perfection, you are left open-mouthed in disbelief at the overall majesty of it all. I would love to go on to do a track-by-track summary of the entire album, but sadly we don’t have the space – suffice to say that this albums’ 15 tracks are all absolutely oozing class. The quality of delivery, brilliant arranging, writing and vocalising are at an all-time high, and, even though Michelle will probably hate me for saying it, is the album that Kate Bush should have made had she mellowed and progged-out a little. This album is utterly superb, with potential for world dominance if it gets a chance to be heard – It doesn’t come much better than this!

Weight: 150.00 g