Tony Colvill (RIP)

A Sunday In September

The Bedford, Balham, London Sunday, 19th September 2021 Why are we here? My reason is that Genesis in Belfast was rescheduled, so I am going to get the most out a weekend, and where better than The Bedford Hotel, Balham.…

Fractal Mirror – Beyond Borders

Fractal Mirror have released their fifth album, blending styles and influences into an original whole, with keyboards that have a Tony Banks wall of sound that wraps up the composition and keeps them warm. They do this without dominating, drums…

Trifecta – Fragments

Fragments is a banquet of music that really doesn’t sit in any genre. There really is such variety, and after a few listens I love it all. There are Fragments of many things, with possibly an overarch of jazz. That…

Steve Hackett – Surrender Of Silence

Surrender of Silence. Even the title sounds a little angry. All Steve Hackett albums offer something, some take a time to settle in, this one is no different. The Obliterati is definitely angry, and whilst my personal leaning is toward…

Grice – One Thousand Birds Symphony

Following on from his One Thousand Birds, the creative mind that is Grice Peters has created the One Thousand Birds Symphony. Grice spent the Lockdown Year creating soundscapes and relating them to birdsong. It is an interesting companion piece and…

Howard Boder – Atlantis

Lockdown has taken people to many places. Howard Boder rose from those depths with Atlantis, an exceptional album that I believe will grow on listeners with repeated listens. A potted history of Howard: He played keyboards with a short-lived band…

Gandalf’s Fist – The (Re)Master & The Monkey

I do love this band. They are fun, musically talented, current occupants of planet Earth, but more likely from Zog. They still, in my opinion, wear their hearts on their sleeves, stealing styles and intonations from wherever they like, and…

Kate Arnold – Rota Fortunae II

Kate Arnold is a multi-instrumentalist with her main instruments being the hammered dulcimer, violin, drum and vocal, often live-looped and put through real-time effects. The first three tracks here are Kate’s compositions with the fourth being an arrangement of Picforth’s…

Al Stewart – The Year of the Cat [45^th Anniversary Edition]

1976 – the Drought Year. I was 15, spending my hard-earned paper round money on some of the many interesting albums released that year. A prime one for me was the Gabriel-free Genesis and A Trick of the Tail, but…

The Emerald Dawn – To Touch The Sky

The Emerald Dawn are a four-piece symphonic progressive rock ensemble taking their influences from classical, progressive, jazz, and folk genres. 2019 brought us their critically acclaimed – and deservedly so – third album, Nocturne, however 2020’s plans were shipwrecked by…

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Author: Tony Colvill (RIP)