Reviews roundup – Marty Walsh vs. Chris Braide vs. Saga vs. Neopera

Reviews roundup – Marty Walsh vs. Chris Braide vs. Saga vs. Neopera

MARTY WALSH
The Total Plan
independent release

Now you probably don’t know who Marty Walsh is, but he spent several years touring with Supertramp, and has worked with the likes of Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton and Freddie Jackson, and has spent the last few years teaching at Berklee, so I reckon that means he knows his way round the guitar.

You won’t be surprised to learn that his instrumental chops see him settling into that jazz rock fusion place so beloved of people who know a para from a diddle.  But he is very good. It seems to be partly improvised, with some well known mmm-nice folk dropping in for a jam including the likes of Billy Sherwood.

Granted, not every tune is a winner, but ‘Groove Mechanics’, ‘Inside the Rain’ and ‘The Duke’ had him hitting the repeat button almost instantly.  If guitar fusion is your thing, then this is a must, and even those of with short attention spans and no skills to speak of, will find a lot to enjoy.

BUY AT AMAZON

CHRIS BRAIDE
Fifty Dollar Planets And Twenty Cent Stars
Braide Productions

Well this is an interesting one.  Chris Braide was the one no-one had heard of in The Producers (the band) with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes.  Probably because he’s been a songwriter for Kylie, Beyonce and Britney, and wasn’t deemed “rock”.  He put out an album with Geoff Downes a couple of years back that sank without trace.  But now he’s having another go under his own name.  And it really is worth a listen.

It’s his third solo album and although he cites Squeeze and Prefab Sprout as influences, it’s a lot better than that.  See, you don’t get to write for top pop people, if you don’t know your way around a melody, and this record is dripping with them.

Pop / rock tunes like ‘Let Me Love You’ and ‘What’s Going On In Your Head’ are straight out of the top drawer, and if this was the early eighties he would have some American radio hits on his hands.  Yes, it’s that good.  If you’ve been like me, and never heard of him, do yourself a favour.

BUY AT AMAZON

SAGA
Sagacity
earMusic

Saga release their latest album (and 21st studio album) and the second since vocalist Michael Sadler returned to the band a few years back.

And it’s pretty much what you would expect from the band, which is to say complex yet melodic prog rock.  Which means it’s a bit of a cracker.  Jim & Ian Crichton are still around from the beginning, Scotchman Jim Gilmour has been around since 1979, although things are a bit Spinal Tap on the drum front since Steve Negus retired, with Mike Thorne grasping the poisoned chalice, following on from Chris Sutherland who followed Brian Doerner (heart attack) and Christian Simpson (neurological condition).

It’s as good as anything they’ve done in the last 20 years, and is almost on a par with some of their early work, especially on ‘Go With The Flow’ and the almost heavy rock of ‘Wake Up’.  The entire band are at the top of their game, as befits folk who’ve been doing this for a long time.  Sadler is in fine voice and says “For me this album marks a return to many of the signature elements that put Saga on the map at the onset of the band’s career, while maintaining a firm grip on the here and now.”  Which is fair enough.

Fans should snap it up immediately, and if you’re undecided, try the special edition which includes a bonus CD – “Saga Hits” – with live recordings from a performance at the SWR1 Rockarena festival in 2013. Excellent stuff.

BUY AT AMAZON

NEOPERA
Destined Ways
earMusic

Aiiiiieee!!! Symphonic metal time.  And, surprise, surprise, it’s from Germany.  It’s the brainchild of Dark Age guitarist Jörn Schubert, who has brought in Dirk Schlächter (ex Gamma Ray) and Dark Age colleague André Schumann.  But there’s a twist.  There’s not two vocalists as is the norm with this sort of thing.  Oh, no, they’ve went one better, and even if it’s not quite up to 11, three vocalists is quite something.

And the music is good.  It sounds a bit like early Kamelot crossed with Epica to me, which is fine, and there a lot of keyboards as befits a symphonic metal release.  When the guitars kick in, though, they cross the line into power metal, which makes for some interesting sounds and arrangements.  The best of them is ‘Remote’, and if you’re looking for the legally obligatory power ballad, then ‘Falling Water’ is the best of them.

The mixture of shouter, soprano and baritone voices (from Mirko, Nina and Thorsten) certainly gives it an edge over a lot of the competition out there, and if symphonic metal gets you as moist as me, then you do have to give this a listen.  Highly recommended.

BUY AT AMAZON