I have been wanting to say something about the upcoming Magenta album for some time now but I was sworn to secrecy by Steve. The album is "Masters of Illusion" and is about all the great horror film actors.
The first track--"Bela"--is absolutely killer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6USrkjBCCM
The CD is up for pre-order on the band's site. I also suggest Steve's book too, especially if you like the story behind the lyrics.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
That was a great preview. I am really looking forward to getting the CD.Originally Posted by Progatron
Steve mentioned to me that he and his brother were big fans of the genre when they were kids. And if I recall correctly, Steve even worked for Hammer Films for a while.
Ordered. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
You are welcome!
I found Magenta relatively late in life (LOL) so I still am catching up with some of the older work. I always end up wondering why various progressive bands aren't more popular; does anyone have a sense of how most folks here see Magenta? Are they fairly well liked? Or do some folks think that they show too many of their influences (Yes, Genesis, ELP,)?
Whenever the Reeds or Magenta come up, I always like to suggest the Kompendium project CD and Rob's Sanctuary CDs (Oldfield-style stuff).
Last edited by Gizmotron; 06-25-2020 at 01:23 PM.
Count me as interested.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
An interesting question. I think that in general, they are viewed at as "too safe", "too by the numbers," "not far enough outside the box" for many PE regulars.
For me, I think their vocals are sublime, and I think Chris's guitar work is incredibly tasteful. He plays to the tune, not wanking to show off regardless. A lot of high quality music on offer, which I purchase and own, but not among my favorites.
^^^ I completely agree about Chris Fry's guitar playing. It's one of the strongest elements IMO.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I own several Magenta discs, but not all of them. Great music. As Moe writes above, they can be somewhat "by the numbers", but I happen to really enjoy those numbers on offer by Magenta!
The only one that I have that sounds somewhat "by the numbers " is Metamorphosis, which gets a little old as the longer cuts go on. Still, a good performance, though. Early ratings look quite good for "Masters Of Illusion".
Hey thanks for this! And to the other folks commenting as well.
I can see the criticism to a degree but the music and the lyrics are so good that I cannot help but get sucked in.
I think the project that really divides people is Robert's Sanctuary project CDs. The homage to Oldfield is just too much for some but I see them as the Oldfield albums that Mike never produced. I love them. But I am biased...I like to do that one-man band thing too.
Great comments on Chris' guitar work. He really does play for the song. His playing in "Bela" is a great example of that.
My fav.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
Some of the albums with really long tracks I can take quite a while to really sink my teeth into. Recently I had a good listen to “We Are Legend,” and really enjoyed it. The album artwork, which is really nice, contains an obvious reference to Floyd’s “Animals,” and the album is three long tracks (no intro/outro like Pigs on the Wing). Don’t recall any musical references aside from the three long tracks, but I’m not sure.
I really like the way most of the Magenta stuff is packaged, as well as other good stuff on their label (Tiger Moth Tales, Les Penning) and I’ve got quite the collection of many of those releases.
I have been a fan of theirs for a long time and have seen them live so many times. I’m not sure why they do not make a bigger splash, they are lovely people and superb musicians, but perhaps lack a little in the self promotion stakes. I have seen how Big Big Train have come long in recent years and really whipped up a strong and fervent support, with a growing active Facebook group, but conversely Magenta just retain the core fans. I enjoy BBT too, but for some reason they have caught the prog fans imagination.
I am a little late to this latest release, so I’ll post my views in due course. We Are Legend was the first release that I have struggled to return to. I’ll always support Rob Reed’s music though, he is a prolific but always interesting artist. The latest Chimpan A is still very much at the top of my lockdown playlist.
Nice post.
I think you are right about needing more promotion to non-fans. I think that is why it took a while for me to figure out that they were wonderful.
I envy you for having seen them multiple times.
They are some of my best gig memories. They caught my eldest daughters ear too at a young age, and she grew up loving the albums and badgering me to never miss a gig! We would have Magenta weekends when they played London and then Bilston, with a long road trip there and back in between, happy days! We have been to Summers Ends, Winters Ends, acoustic, etc, they never disappoint. Always a pleasure to meet up with these guys and lovely gal.
Very cool!
It sounds lovely all-around. And how wonderful that you can share music with your daughter.
My copy showed up yesterday. It is the usual high-standard packaging from Magenta.
I listened to "Bela" on the way to work. Having heard the track about 10 times so far on-line, I was really knocked out by how much better it sounded on CD (duh). My point is that the track is even better when one can hear all the layers and feel the impact from a proper recording. (How DO people listen to MP3s and other low-res stuff???)
And there is another very positive review:
https://www.sonicperspectives.com/al...s-of-illusion/
Big fan. So glad to have seen them at FMPM in Montreal.
My preorder arrived today from the UK.
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