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As one of the prime figures
of the Magna Carta
roster over the last few years and his association with Keith Emerson and
Carl Palmer as front
man with 3 and his many collaborations with artists such as Magellan's
‘Hundred Year Flood’,
Altura’s ‘Mercy’,
The December People's ‘Sounds Like Christmas',
to name but a few. One
release that's gaining particular acclaim was A Soundtrack for 'The
Wheel of Time', which was written, produced, and recorded by Berry
himself.
But it's
tribute albums that this release concentrates on and
really
captures
the full Berry experience at its magnificent best.
As
Berry
pays homage to some of the
biggest names in progressive rock
while featuring some
sterling performances by the likes of Vinnie Moore, Steve Howe, Stu Hamm,
Michael Mullen and Lief Sorbe,
to once again
name
but
a few.
The album opens up with
Berry putting his own spin of Yes’s ‘Roundabout’.
A track taken from
the ‘Tales Of Yesterday’ (A Tribute To Yes) album
and a track
that
instantly gets the array of
progressive masterpieces underway,
with Berry finishing off the track with an acoustic ending accompanied by
Steve Howe.
The album now ventures into
the realms of the mighty Jethro Tull with ‘Minstrel In The Gallery’,
unlike the opener,
this is a tribute to Anderson and Co, as the track
truly
captures the essence of Tull
complete with Mandolin.
The same essence sound bites
can be heard throughout the tribute sections of the album from the
spellbinding twists of ‘Brain Damage’,
Berry’s tribute to Pink Floyd,
complete with Berry emulating Dave Gilmour’s vocal style to almost
perfection, and
the haunting tones of ‘Watcher Of The Skies’,
the Genesis tribute that
is
so
masterfully done.
But it’s the two tracks
taken from the Soundtrack 'For
The Wheel Of Time'
album,
the folk rockish ‘Winespring Reel’ and
'A
Theme For The Wheel Of Time’ that really show the diversity of Berry.
These are two tracks
that the mighty
Fairport Convention would
have gladly given their right arm to write I’m sure
and two tracks that saw our dear editor venture from her office to
investigate further.
The album also includes the
previously unreleased ‘Life Beyond LA’.
A track that is
described in the sleeve notes as “A cynical commentary
of life in The Valley” and “is an effective exploration
of the
Los Angeles ethic of
hopefulness-meets gloom”,
which just about sums
it up for me.
Another classic on the album
to be given the Berry treatment is the ELP’s ‘Karn Evil 9 1st
Impression’. This
rousing version once again showcases
Berry’s excellent musicianship as he just rips away his shackles and
really lets fly on the guitar on this one.
One of the highlight for me
has to be ‘Different Strings’ which Berry plays tribute to one of
progressive rocks greatest bands the might Rush.
Although Berry
doesn’t have the same vocal range as Geddy Lee,
the whole feel of the track is pure Rush and is a track that will have me
checking out ‘Subdivisions’ the Rush tribute for sure after hearing this
track.
The album closes almost as
it started with the Yes inspired ‘Carol Of The Bells’ taken from The
December Peoples ‘Sounds Like Christmas’ album and rounds off
a quite superb release. If
like me you
are unfamiliar with Berry’s
other work then I'm sure this
release will have you scurrying to check out the
rest of his work on
Magna Carta’s back
catalogue.
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