Multi-instrumentalist Dave Bainbridge has just released his 5th solo album, On The Edge (of what could be), and it could well be his most accomplished, ambitious and diverse release ever. A co-founder of the much-loved Christian, Celtic progressive rock band, Iona, he is currently the guitarist with Lifesigns, and has been involved with Strawbs, Downes-Braide Association and Circuline, amongst other projects, both live and in the studio, in recent years.
His last solo album was the wonderful To The Far Away which I reviewed at the end of 2021. Following on from Veil of Gossamer (2004), Celestial Fire (2014) and his keyboard-based The Remembering (2016), it was a magical album full of progressive rock majesty and Celtic folk influences with power, delicacy and warmth throughout. The fact that it was produced during the pandemic lockdown, made it even more of a triumph.
Yet the latest album has managed to raise the bar even higher, in my view, with both the playing and compositional skills reaching a level of maturity that at times is simply stunning. It combines all the ingredients you’d expect from a Dave Bainbridge release – progressive rock, Celtic folk, modern classical music, jazz and ambient elements – with guitar and keyboard virtuosity of the highest order. Yet he has incorporated atmospheric Scottish and Irish Gaelic vocals as well as English, and also included accessible rock/pop in several compositions. The result is his most diverse release to date.
Dave’s Christianity has always informed the ethereal beauty and spirituality of his music, but musically it is accessible to all who love Celtic-tinged progressive rock, regardless of their own spiritual beliefs. The new album explores themes such as the thin veil between this earthly life and the heavenly one. It looks at the mysteries of the early Celtic saints and the wonder and glory of the natural world. Dave interweaves these with present day concerns such as conflict, climate change and societal divisions, and highlights the need for the artistic community to bring us together, and to show, through great art, just how beautiful and precious the world is, and how much better it would be served by love, unity and respect. As the album title suggests, the potential for us all to move to a better place, is tantalisingly close at hand.
Whilst To The Far Away was informed by a sense of separation in our lives from the people and places we loved, during the extended pandemic, On The Edge (of what could be) has less of a common theme, although many of the songs have a loose thread of spirituality inking them together, drawing together the past and the present.
Dave has, once again, assembled a stellar array of guest musicians on the album. The renowned Simon Phillips adds his wonderful, innovative drumming skills, with Jon Poole (of Cardiacs and Lifesigns fame) a trusted support on bass. Uilleann pipes and whistle maestro, Troy Donockley, (Iona and Nightwish) adds his Celtic soundscapes, and Sally Minnear (Celestial Fire and Pendragon), supplies her beautiful vocals, as she does so well on their live shows together. Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree alumnus, Randy McStine, adds powerful vocals, as does Iain Horner (Jeff Lynne’s ELO and 10CC). Iona co-founder David Fitzgerald plays flute, whistles and saxophones, with Frank van Essen (Iona and many others) on violin, Jonas Pap on cello and Nigel Cameron on whistles. Ebony Buckle (of Solstice), Susie Minnear and Nick Burns provide vocals, along with renowned Scottish Gaelic singer, Rachel Walker. It is truly an ensemble-based musical masterpiece.
The album begins with the short prelude, For Evermore – an atmospheric, ethereal chat in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, with the vocals of Rachel Walker, Sally & Susie Minnear and Ebony Buckle, over Dave’s synthesizers and assorted percussion (including Whitby Shell Chimes) and Simon Phillips’s portent bass drum. A hypnotic, serene and spiritual contemplation of the eternal, with the translated lyrics: “For ever more …. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.”
On The Slopes of Slaiabh Mis, starts the album in earnest and in a more typical style, with Dave’s stabs of synths and Simon’s vibrant drums, before Troy Donockley’s exuberant Uilleann pipes rise up, to give the music a Celtic rock character. Named after the hill in County Antrim, reputably the first Irish home of St Patrick, it has a jaunty pace, with Jon Poole’s bass, Dave’s rippling piano and jaunty guitar lines add texture, but the song takes off fully with a lovely soaring guitar solo from Dave prior to dreamy female vocals in Irish Gaelic and a tapestry of ensemble instrumentation, which includes David Fitzgerald’s soprano saxophone and Nigel Cameron’s low whistles and vocals. There is an elated sense of beautiful, with the closing vocals of Sally, Susie and Ebony emphasising the contemplative nature of the piece.
Colours of Time, is a refreshing shift away from Dave’s usual signature style, with an accessible and contemporary, almost Neal Morse-like rock song. Lyrically, it considers the euphoric symphony of colour harmonies in both our usual and spiritual lives. Randy McStine’s clear vocals soar over the buoyant Jon and Simon’s bass and drums and Dave’s church-like keyboards chords and upbeat guitar patterns. There is a more reflective midpoint interlude with whispered vocals and Frank van Essen’s yearning violin, before another lovely burst of guitar soloing and a return to the original theme.
Shaping the colour of time.
Enveloping waves cast off the grey,
Revealing the colour of time.”
The song has an upbeat, ebullient conclusion and is one of the most radio-friendly, cross-over songs on the album. The track is dedicated to David’s sister, Maureen, who died of a brain haemorrhage back in 1999, and her near-death visions of the colourful experiences to come, which give the song its context, are very moving.
By contrast, That They May Be One, is a solo piece by Dave on keyboards and guitar and is a call for spiritual unity at a time when the world needs it the most. The beautiful, extended guitar solo over the background wash of synths, is so reminiscent of his work in Iona and his earlier solo work, and is simply sumptuous in tone and depth, despite its relative brevity.
The album’s title track, On The Edge (of what could be) is very much at the heart of Dave’s view that spirituality, love, unity and respect could ease the current divisions and issues of the world and provide hope and peace – if we were just able to take that tantalising next step. Dave’s acoustic guitar and Troy’s pipes provide a pastoral calm, over which Iain Hornal’s vocals provide a delightful serenity, supported by Sally’s exquisite backing vocals.
When wonder makes us fall down to our knee.”
The tempo and intensity ebbs and flows with intertwining harmonies, and guitar, with Troy’s closing reel bringing it all to a pleasing finale.
The Whispering of The Landscape is a poignant acoustic guitar piece that provides a reflective coda to the last song. It washes over you serenely, as the best Steve Hackett acoustic pieces can, and once again shows Dave’s compositional and playing skills to the fore.
Hill of The Angels concludes the first CD, and although it has a meditative opening, with evocative, medieval rumble bells, and a reprise of the vocal harmonies of the opening track, it soon shifts into a wonderfully intricate and diverse, multi-faceted epic which progressive rock followers should love. Dave’s twisting keyboards and guitar ride on Jon and Simon’s undulating bass and drum patterns in a maelstrom of instrumentation, before a more serene, acoustic guitar-led interlude with Sally’s heavenly vocals. There is some nicely bubbling bass and then a lyrical guitar break before more pipes and saxophones and this moves into a bucolic ambience rich in Scottish Gaelic voices – prior to Iain’s stirring vocals, and a gloriously proggy flourish to end with.
On winds of morning
On the Hill of Angels
Truth is stirring.”
The song refers to the knoll on Iona that St Columba would pray on at sunrise and sunset, and the messengers of light that a young monk saw all around Columba from afar. The music seems to conjure up the angels of light ascending and descending around him.
CD2 starts with another exhilarating instrumental, with Farther Up and Farther In. Simon’s drumming dazzles as it accompanies Dave’s bustling keyboards and guitar, and Sally’s vocal harmonies, with Troy’s Uilleann pipes giving that Iona-style, Celtic progressive rock sound that so defines much of Dave’s solo work. It is the musical equivalent of leaving the shadows and moving into the light. Inspired by C.S. Lewis’s description of the true heaven in Narnia – “A place where, as the children run faster and faster and further up and the further in, they go, the bigger and more beautiful everything becomes.”
Reilig Odhrain is another Gaelic-infused epic, full of Celtic rock and spiritual imagery. Named after the traditional burial place on Iona of the Dalraidan/Scottish kings of old, and a Christian graveyard since the 8th century, it considers the passing of the years for those buried there, and their future rising up in light from the dark mourning of the past. It is another diverse piece, starting with haunting whistles, voices and percussion, before steadily building over more pipes. Iain, Rachel and Ebony provide lead vocals between them, over the dreamy, atmospheric and forlorn soundscapes. Dave’s guitar has a Mike Oldfield echo at times, as Simon’s drumming gains pace, along with Jon’s expressive bass playing. The mood becomes more hopeful and majestic in nature, and even the closing Gaelic vocals have a more sanguine feel, as Ebony speaks the words:
From Reilig Odhrain
To the land
Of the Forever Young.”
Dave’s rousing, closing, electric guitar solo takes us through to the end, and completes our journey from the dark to the light.
Beyond The Plains Of Earth and Time, is a gorgeous, classically inspired, instrumental with Dave’s electric guitar intertwining with the violin, viola and cello sounds of Frank and Jonas Pap. We get a musical vision of the divine, and Dave’s heavenly guitar solo rises compelling to the stratosphere in a truly uplifting way. Beautiful modern, classical music, with echoes of Vaughan Williams.
The multi-part, 16+ minute epic, Fall Away, is my personal favourite from the album, and is simply stunning in its vision and execution. It starts with a stirring cacophony of progressive instrumentation, over which Sally sings lines from Emily Brontë’s poignant poem, Fall, Leaves Fall, about embracing the beauty of autumn and the inevitability of change. Guitar piano and pipes usher in Sally’s lead vocals, touching on the futility of war and conflict, the precious nature of every life and the healing power of love, are simply gorgeous.
Leave all behind
Sail across pure waters
To know and find
Love”
The melancholic ambience is enhanced by the pipes and whistles of Troy, David and Nigel, with Simon’s eloquent drums and percussion and Jon’s melodic bass anchoring everything. Iain’s lead vocals take over as the music gains power, but Sally’s chanted “Fall Away” introduces a more thoughtful section, with Uilleann pipes, before a rise in intensity and dynamism and a powerful, extended finish, with a marvellous crescendo of electric guitar soloing leading to a reflective tone. Another fine example of the ensemble playing on the album, with David’s saxophones and Frank’s violin adding those subtle musical touches that add so much beauty to this composition. I saw Dave and Sally perform part of this track in his hometown return to Darlington, a few weeks ago, and it impressed even then.
When All Will Be Bright is the perfect, cathartic end to the album, with Rachel’s Scottish Gaelic lead vocals floating beautifully over Dave’s keyboards, with Frank and Jonas’s understated strings, with the backing vocals of Sally, Ebony and Nick adding a real Clannad feel.
With On The Edge (of what could be), Dave Bainbridge has sculptured, with the help of his fellow musicians, a truly beautiful, spiritually rich, ethereal and instrumentally stunning artistic triumph. Progressive rock, Celtic folk, classical, jazz and rock influences intertwine, with light and shade, virtuosic complexity and accessible simplicity, shaped into a deeply poignant and thoughtful musical statement about our place in the world, and the hidden cords between the past and the present, as well as the seen and the unseen. Easily one of my albums of the year, and it is so lovely to see the spirit of Iona living on in his solo work, but with refreshingly different ingredients as well. Highly recommended!
TRACK LISTING
CD1
01. For Evermore (2:07)
02. On The Slopes Of Sliabh Mis (7:06)
03. Colour Of Time (5:34)
04. That They May Be One (3:00)
05. On The Edge (of what could be) (6:39)
06. The Whispering Of The Landscape (3:07)
07. Hill Of The Angels (12:33)
CD2
08. Farther Up And Farther In (4:04)
09. Reilig Odhrain (12:25)
10. Beyond The Plains Of Earth And Time (6:29)
11. Fall Away (16:40)
12. When All Will Be Bright (3:17)
Total Time – 83:01
MUSICIANS
Dave Bainbridge – Electric, 6 & 12-String Acoustic Guitars, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Piano, Various Percussion
Jon Poole – Fretted & Fretless Basses
Simon Phillips – Drums, Percussion
Troy Donockley – Uilleann Pipes, Whistles, Wood Flutes, Cumbrian Voices, Steelworks Guitar
David Fitzgerald – Soprano & Tenor Saxophones, Flute, Tin Whistle
Nigel Cameron – Whistles, Backing Vocals
Frank van Essen – Violin, Viola
Jonas Pap – Cello
Randy McStine – Lead Vocals (3), Backing Vocals
Sally Minnear – Lead Vocals (7,8 & 11), Backing Vocals
Iain Horner – Lead Vocals (5,7,9 & 11), Backing Vocals
Rachel Walker – Lead Vocals (3,9 & 12), Backing Vocals
Ebony Buckle – Vocals, Spoken Word (9)
Nick Burns – Vocals
Susie Minnear – Vocals
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Open Sky Records
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 18th July 2025
LINKS
Dave Bainbridge – Website | Facebook | YouTube | Patreon | X
