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Thread: FEATURED CD - Cosmograf : When Age Has Done Its Duty

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    Moderator Duncan Glenday's Avatar
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    FEATURED CD - Cosmograf : When Age Has Done Its Duty



    Per "Imperial" on the old PE site:
    I bumped into this by accident really - via a link on the Big Big Train blog taking me to the Cosmograf blog. Cosmograf, it seems, is a project set up as the vehicle for multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, Robin Armstrong. When Age Has Done Its Duty looks to be his third release and although I've not heard the others yet, something tells me (by reading his blog and by virtue of the finished album) that he made a conscious decision to "aim as high as possible" with this collection of songs. He succeeded!

    With the help of It Bites drummer, Bob Dalton (on six of the eight tracks) and a bevy of guest performers, including Lee Abraham and the much underrated Steve Thorne, Armstrong has put together an album based around the concept of ageing and memory which not only stands up to the "prog police" scrutiny of what is required from that dreaded word "concept" but also delivers some startlingly bright ideas and fabulous musical moments.

    Armstrong is obviously a connoisseur of fine progressive rock music and I don't think he'd argue that there is a pervading bouquet of Pink Floyd wafting around much of this album, as well as some blending of Yes and Genesis here and there. What makes the use of these influences unique, however, is to weave them into the songs as memory benchmarks; triggers that take us back to our youth, alongside Armstrong, as he tells his tales of the passage of time.

    Into This World gives birth to the album and introduces us to a new life and what lies ahead. Rather like Floyd, Armstrong makes use of sound effects to help illustrate his songs - clocks, quite relevantly in this case but it's not long before he unfurls his battery of crunching guitar upon us - and very powerful it is, too. Vocally, Armstrong has an emotive and distinctive voice (with a slight and very endearing West Country accent), which sets off the music well. There's an instrumental section in the second half of the tune that almost out-Rushes Rush! A great start to the album.

    The sounds of hammer on anvil introduce Blacksmith's Hammer, which surprises slightly by presenting a folk flavoured story of the life of a Farrier, delivered in way that reminds me a little of the vocal style of Roy Harper. This is a real contrast to the opener and a lovely tune.

    On Which We Stand opens with Wakemanesque organ (imagine Awaken) before drifting into a 12-string Genesis inflected link into the vocal and main body of the song. A lyric that brings memories of the author's youth to life is both well observed and emotional. I view this as one of the centrepiece tracks of the album as the grand scale of the music helps to breath life into the well constructed dialogue. Simon Rogers, of Also Eden, gets a co-writer credit on this track and provides the impressive 12-string and electric guitar.

    Memory and nostalgia provide the backdrop for the next track, too, as Bakelite Switch lights up the 70s and fond memories of a lost time. As a person "of a certain age" I can certainly identify with just about everything Armstrong sings of in this song. He invokes memories of a time when we perhaps had a greater sense of what was important and special, "we were happy in the 70s, family all around, hear the vinyl sound", yes, indeed. Musically, the main body of Bakelite Switch is a kind of updated translation of the Wurm section from Yes's Starship Trooper, or that's how it seems to me! But this is no copy, as is evident when Luke Machin (The Tangent/Concrete Lake), the new young guitar hero with fire in his fingers, provides a stellar update of the Steve Howe solo before Armstrong adds some energetic organ playing. More 60s and 70s nostalgia follows as the end of the track adopts a Space Oddity countdown that includes references to - "the lunatic is on the grass" and "ten thousand holes (inflation, you know!) in Blackburn Lancashire".

    Memory Lost deals with the ageing of our Blacksmith's wife - a sad tale of how the hardships of life can leave a person both tired and lost as all those memories fade and all that's left is just a day-to-day struggle to exist. The vocal on this song is provided by Huw Lloyd-Jones (Unto Us, ex-Also Eden and, of course, one of the organisers of Summers End) and what an inspired choice! Lloyd-Jones captures the emotion of the lyric perfectly and delivers perhaps the best vocal performance on the album - and the rest are good, believe me! Armstrong's guitar is, again, outstanding on this track as he proves what a multi-talented musician he surely is.

    A reading of the Matthew Arnold poem, Growing Old sets the scene for the title track of the album, When Age Has Done Its Duty, mingling the story of the death of the Farrier's wife and with it the effect it has on the memories of, presumably, the song writer. The realisation that memory only exists in the past and that the passage of time distorts and destroys those memories seems to be the message here. This is music in the grand scale, not for the first time on this album, with a great vocal by Steve Thorne and a brilliant guitar solo from Armstrong.

    White Light Awaits provides the opportunity for a cameo performance from Lee Abraham, as his guitar and bass punch their way through a heavier tune than the rest of the album. Dynamic and dramatic, this is a stirring workout to bring the album (almost) to a close.

    Dog On the Clee is Armstrong's coda to the life and death story he has woven and presents us with one last lingering vision of "the boy from down south" as he lives out his memories of happy days. Quiet and subdued this is a fitting end to the drama of the rest of the album.

    This album has surprised me with its stunning playing, composition and arrangements coming, as it does, from a musician I'd never even heard of before, let alone heard! Robin Armstrong is obviously a very fine musician and writer but what he has done with this album is find and use exactly the right group of collaborators and guest musicians to deliver the best product he could possibly imagine. There are many influences on display here but nothing that detracts from the originality of Armstrong's writing and vision. He should be very pleased; this is a hugely impressive album - it needs to be heard.



    Regards,

    Duncan

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    I'll listen to the clip later when I have a few minutes to spare.

    One thing that might have put potential audiences off is the title. It suggests an album of singing-around-the-piano pieces for an old folks' home.

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    I really like this album , as well as the other two albums by Cosmograf , a band that I never heard of before seeing When Age Has Done Its Duty mentioned here at PE a couple of years ago .

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    Got this when it came out and each time I listen I love it more. While the next two releases do not live up to the impossibly high standard of WAHDID, I would have no problem recommending those either. THis is a fine album, particularly if you are into dieection, both musically and lyrically. Top shelf!

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