ABEL GANZ
620456
CD
BACK FROM THE ZONE
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CLASSIC (PROG)Let’s go back through the mists of time to 1983, where a prog-rock revival was taking place, led by bands like Marillion and Pallas. In their wake came another wave of talented bands like Pendragon, Twelfth Night and IQ. Running alongside them were a number of equally talented bands that failed to get record deals and really never got past the first hurdle – Bands such as Mach 1 & Tamarisk, and one of the best of them was – Abel Ganz. It’s a poignant title that’s been given to this amazing 80’s Scottish band’s first official CD, because here they are re-emerging from the distant past with a ‘retrospective’ album that mixes a lot of the old with some of the new. ‘Zone’ is essential listening for all prog and neo-prog fans alike, especially those into bands like IQ or Pallas (with whom they share a vocalist). The disc spans a generous sixty-five minutes and features two tracks from the first cassette album: ‘Gratuitous Flash’, one from their second release, ‘Gullible’s Travels’ and two from the third cassette, ‘Danger Of Strangers’. There are two surprise 2001 tracks - One a reworking of an older piece and the other a brand new track. So, yes!! – Abel Ganz is alive and well and releasing a CD to prove it! Musically it’s classic prog in the strongest sense of the word, mixing class playing with great song-writing and coming up with 8 brilliant tracks that will be well appreciated by progressive fans everywhere. To reach deeper into the album, click the extra info link below.
The track selections having been made superbly and although there is not a less than riveting track on the album, Andy G advises listening to the CD in chronological order to achieve maximum effect. That means you programme your player as follows: – tracks 3, 5, 2, 1, 4, 6, 7 – then track 8 because it appears to be a coda to no.7, although there’s no reference to it on the insert. So, starting with track 3: ‘Little By Little’, the first thing you hear is one steaming intro, as synths, guitars, bass and drums deliver one of the most fantastic and classic prog-rock intros to a song that you’re lucky enough to witness, very much in classic ‘Foxtrot’-era Genesis-meets-early IQ vein, and it’s just an immaculate three minutes of sheer “proggy“ heaven. Then Alan Reed’s vocals emerge and your heart warms immediately to a vocal that is up there with the Peter Gabriels and Peter Nicholls of this world, and now you know things are going to be good, as a heartfelt slice of classic prog-rock writing, singing and playing unfolds before you. This is easily as good as anything off the first two IQ albums, with a matching atmosphere to boot. Nearly eight-minutes of this and all you want to do is play it again – but we carry on to the immense sixteen-minutes of ‘The Dead Zone’, the second of two tracks from the ‘Gratuitous Flash’ album, and you’re in for an even bigger treat here, starting with an atmospheric piano/synth/percussion intro that slowly adds acoustic guitar layers and builds in melodic fashion. Then Alan’s gentle echoed vocal comes in to relate a story-telling lyric that is so emotive and superbly delivered, with solo voice and harmony vocals rising up as the piece progresses. The arrangement becomes more solid as the band skilfully delivers subtlety, finesse and dynamics. The title refrain almost forms a chorus style of hook, as piano ripples, the Gabriel-like vocal soars, and then some flute appears and you’re on complete ‘Foxtrot’-era nostalgia trip. As the synths spread evenly across the horizon, another moves ahead with a higher register solo, then a guitar rings out and the rhythm section starts to gather pace – just incredible stuff, and still we’re only just over six minutes into the track. Suffice to say, this is one of the forgotten prog-epics of the last twenty years - A track you just have to hear, where the guitar and synth work eventually explode out in classic prog-rock fashion, and then slip up a few gears for a passage of interplay you’re not liable to forget in a hurry – This is a track that can do no wrong - classic prog and a half, and no mistake! The next move is to track 2, the one original track from the second album, ‘Gullible’s Travels’, and it’s another steaming three minute intro, before leading to – Paul Kelly, a new vocalist. But fear not, for this guy is just as magnificent – not as Gabriel-sounding as Reed, but firmly in that vein, as the chorus just climbs, the musicians shine and blaze, and another prog-rock gem unfurls, sadly fading at just short of six minutes, but simply stunning. Then the first of the two from their 3rd album: ‘Danger Of Strangers’, and here we come into a more obviously 80’s rather than 70’s sounding prog, yet the songs are two of the finest off that album. It’s the seven-minute title track that opens this passage of play, with a slowly menacing lead synth over, bass and drums, seeing in string synths and guitar harmonies, as a crystal clear vocal and stunning production take things onwards. Here you really do realise what an excellent song-writing band this was, as the myriad intricacies and melodic accessibilities mingle to wondrous effect, as a corking slice of prog opens up and blossoms into a superb, long-ish synths/guitars-over-rhythm section break, and this ends the track on a high note. The near eight-minute ‘Dreamtime’ is the slowest track on the album, and it finds Alan Reed back on vocals, with more of a Camel-meets-Floyd feel to its component parts than anything else on this CD, and the guitar work is simply breathtaking. The first of the ‘new’ tracks is a reworking of ‘The Pretender’ a track originally from ‘Gullible’s Travels’ and this shows that the band have lost none of their old magic. An impassioned vocal brings a kind of mix of prog and folk to the track - A sort of Mostly Autumn meets Wolfstone style song with fiddle, Uillean pipes and whistles adding a new angle to the soloing side of things, giving the spirit of the original a whole new lease of life. ’Ventura’ is the other new track and it’s a heartfelt ballad that ends the album on a quite beautiful note. The band put 100% heart and soul into what has rekindled the flame that many thought had died years ago, with guitar and keyboards sounding as flowing as ever on the four minute coda to the initial electro-acoustic qualities of the song. So, overall, you can but say “fantastic” to the whole thing, a history of a fine band presented at its best on one CD, and about time too.
Weight: 150.00 g
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