Member:
maribor
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by maribor)
Date:
2/2/2007
Format:
CD (Album)
Rory Ridley-Duff - keyboards
Steve Anscombe – guitars
Neil Goldsmith – drums
All songs by Ridley-Duff and Anscombe
Protos is a band that started out in the late 70s when the heyday of progressive music was long gone. But despite any real commercial backing they persevered and were able to put out an album in 1982 titled One Day A New Horizon. This must be one of the first neo albums since Marillion, IQ and Pallas and some other big bands all released their albums at a later date. I'm quite surprised that this band isn't mentioned more often since it was one of the first bands to venture into neo waters, although at that time they probably didn't even know they were neo. I suppose a lot of fans of the genre would be very interested in this proto neo group for their collection and now that it has finally been released on CD, they have the chance. As an LP, One Day A New Horizon was a much sought after collector's item and it cost a pretty penny, so now it's a relief to all those fans who were never able to afford the LP, that the CD is available at standard prices.
The first track already shows how this album will sound like - lots of excellent melodic keyboard patches, accompanied by drums and guitar. The synthesizer and keyboards are the predominant instruments but the guitarist does deliver a couple of nice solos already on the first track. The nice thing about this song is that it has a good deal of piano on it, while the other tracks are perhaps a bit too synth oriented. “Thing of Beauty” lives up to its title. It starts with a nice and simple guitar melody (one that I can actually play along with on my guitar), gradually the other instruments join in and create a thing of beauty. “The Maiden” is a more energetic number. This time the guitar takes the front seat at the start of it. There are several beautiful mellower passages within the song. It almost seems as if I had heard this song before, it's like a long lost friend that you have a hard time remembering but you know that the memories are pleasant. The next track again starts slowly but eventually builds up to its climax. There is some very nice acoustic guitar work that accompanies that typical 80s synth sound. “Hunting” is a more simplistic song with only a couple of melodies in it. But it's exactly this simplicity that is part of its charm. It gives nice balance to the album. The final track is also very good. The song is comprised of two parts but it goes through several more passages. Again, there is some nice piano playing and some excellent emotional electric guitar, which reminds of Steve Hackett. Some of the synths that are used in the background sound quite soothing, almost like a mellotron (maybe it is one, but it sounds too electronic to me). The bonus tracks are a nice addition as well. “The Flea” is a funny song, where the music displays the movements of a flea quite effectively. The second bonus track is taken from Rory Ridley-Duff's solo album Passing Decades and it again proves the talent that he has.
I'm not really a big fan of neo but I can still appreciate this album. I think this is one of the most important albums of this particular sub-genre and in my opinion is one of the best as well (it is at least equal to the first efforts of Marillion, IQ and Pallas and probably better than the first Pendragon album). There's also a big difference in comparison with other neo bands in that Protos plays music that is entirely instrumental, while most other neo bands seem to focus a lot of their attention on lyrics and vocals. I think this is Protos' strength since most neo vocalists are simply dreadful (save Fish and some others). It's hard to choose the best track from this album because it's so consistent. Every song has a unique charm about it and you can find something you like in any number. The musicians are all extremely competent but I think Ridley-Duff's abilities are in the foreground here. He seems to be the focal point of the band and rightly so. He has the technique and the composing skills to be in such a position.
Overall a thoroughly satisfying album.
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