Release Date: 26th
August 2014
Label: Voyager Records
Simon
McKechnie is a composer, arranger and musician based in London, and again is a
new name to this reviewer. Simon has been active since around the start of the
millennium and has composed music for the BBC, founded the fusion band, Azul,
has been the guitarist in the backing band for the Portugese artist, Nuno Silva
and also debuted as a solo artist in 2011. His debut release was London Reborn, which was his “take” on
old London folk songs and the follow-up release was Clocks and Dark Clouds in 2013. This 2013 release eased him towards
the more progressive side of music and his new album, Newton’s Alchemy, is a prog rock album based around Isaac Newton’s
quest to “uncover the deepest mysteries of existence.”
Newton’s
Alchemy features Simon (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards,
dulcimer, psaltery and percussion), Adam Riley (drums), Clare Salaman
(nyckelharpa) and Jan Hendrickse (bass flute). To help out with a couple of the
instruments, the psaltery is a stringed instrument of the zither family and the
nyckelharpa, is a traditional keyed harp.
The album, Newton’s
Alchemy, contains 9 tracks with a combined playing time of around 55
minutes. The shortest track included is the penultimate track, “A Great Secret”
at 3:14 minutes and “Animated Mercury” is the longest track on offer at 9:11
minutes. An interesting fact about the lyrics on the album is that they are a
mixture of quotes from Isaac Newton and original material from Simon. I’m not
sure that attempting to fuse these two sources works perfectly and at times
feel the lyrics seem “clumsy” and don’t gel particularly with the music.
“The First Matter” (7:51), the album opener starts with
some gentle sounds merging into some wonderful electric and acoustic guitar
parts before Simon’s voice puts in an appearance. The fusion of the music and
the lyrics I find at times strangely distracting, despite listening to the
album many times. The music is original and switches tempo suddenly,
maintaining interest and at times, the vocals seem to work very well, but
appear “at odds” with the music at other times. Some of the vocal styling
brings to mind that of Freddie Mercury, but there are swathes of spoken/chanted
sections throughout the album.
There are 3 tracks that seem to be linked, through the
Emerald Tablet, an “enigmatic document believed by alchemists to have ancient
origins and hold the key to understand first matter and transmutation.” “Miracles
Of Only One Thing” (3:48), “The Father Of All Perception” (3:24) and “Force
Above All Other Force” (3:25) all carry the sub-titles “Emerald Tablet Parts 1,
2 and 3.” The lyrics of this trilogy are the translations of the Tablet by
Isaac Newton. The music on these three tracks is very atmospheric, with some
themes being linked and the skill of the musicians involved shines through. The
violin, acoustic guitar and flute all provide superb passages within the
tracks.
“The Work Begins” (8:51), “Star Regulus” (7:23),
“Animated Mercury” (9:11) and “Turning Of The Wheel” (8:24) have a continuation
of the stunning musicianship that is so prevalent throughout this album, but I
will readily admit that I am still unsure as to whether I like the album or
not. At times I get immersed in the soundscapes that are being woven and yet at
other points this just does not happen.
At the moment of
writing this review I am really enjoying he final track, “Turning Of The
Wheel”, which I had failed to “get into” previously, such are the underlying
complexities presented by this album.
Newton’s
Alchemy is definitely an album that you require to hear several
times and then you may be able to decide whether you fall on one side of the
fence of the other.
While I have been excited by some of the new music I have
come across in the last year or so, there have been some examples that have underwhelmed
me and my grading has indicated this.
Newton’s Alchemy has presented me with the biggest problem to date as I am
not sure if it is a tremendous album or not and has made the grading a complex
task.
4/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: The Work Begins, Animated Mercury, Turning Of The Wheel
Tracks:The First Matter
Miracles Of Only One Thing ( Emerald Tablet 1)
The Work begins
The Father Of All Perception ( Emerald Tablet 2)
Star Regulus
Force Above All Force ( Emerald Tablet 3)
Animated Mercury
A Great Secret
Turning Of The Wheel
Tracks:The First Matter
Miracles Of Only One Thing ( Emerald Tablet 1)
The Work begins
The Father Of All Perception ( Emerald Tablet 2)
Star Regulus
Force Above All Force ( Emerald Tablet 3)
Animated Mercury
A Great Secret
Turning Of The Wheel
September 15, 2014
Review
Provided By Prog Rock Music Talk
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