by Mott the Dog
***** 5 Stars Rating
Ah... the concept album, although not actually invented
by Progressive Rock, it must go down as the responsibility of people like
The Pretty Things with ‘S.F. Sorrow’, or The Who with ‘Tommy’ when
they were called Rock Operas. Concept albums suit the genre of Progressive
Rock so well, they were made for each other.
The story of the ‘Jabberwocky’ has been set to
music by two of Britain’s finest rock musicians. Clive Nolan, the leader
of both Arena and Pendragon, who, although well respected in the realms of
rock, has never quite reached the international acclaim he should have,
and Oliver Wakeman, who has obviously inherited all father Rick’s
skills, and then some.
To bring this project to reality, they have surrounded
themselves with some of the finest musicians of their ilk including Bob
Catley, ex of Magnum, who plays the part of the Jabberwocky’s adversary,
‘The Boy’. Tracy Hitchings of Langmarq, whose distinctively clear
vocal style suits the role of story telling, plays the love interest that
the lovers fight over. James Plumridge relishes the part of the ‘Jabberwock’,
putting real venom and malice into his voice. Paul Allison plays the part
of the ‘Magic Tree’ with Gandalf style wisdom, and Rick Wakeman has
been pulled into to the Richard Burton role of narrator, which he pulls
off with great aplomb. The four singers work together best in the more
frantic sections of the saga, when they are all wrestling vocally to get
their part of the story over. Now, where could you find four more talented
vocalists to play these whimsical parts?
However, no matter how good the vocals are, it is the
musicians that shine through, telling their own story. Having both Nolan
and Wakeman as leaders of the project obviously leads the music to be very
keyboard orientated, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t
leave room for the other musicians to sparkle - far from it.
Tony Fernandez’ drum and percussion work is superb,
especially on ‘The Forrest’, where the relentless tribal drumbeats are
used to positive effect over a repetitive choral chant that quite chills
the blood (it would make the perfect backdrop to any horror movie).
Pete Gee, Nolan’s band mate in Pendragon, handles all
the bass parts in the story, often playing as a lead instrument along with
the keyboards or underpinning the vocal sections and allowing them to tell
the story while keeping the music flowing.
But perhaps the real stroke of genius was to bring in
the original progressive rock guitarist Peter Banks, the man who set the
benchmark for all others to be judged. Ex ‘Yes’, ‘Flash’,
‘Blodwyn Pig’, ‘Empire’, and a startling solo career, he laid down
a couple of his distinctive electric guitar solos on the two longest
tracks on the album, ‘Dangerous World’ and the climax of ‘Call to
Arms’, which add great variation to the proceedings, not to mention
spine-tingling excitement.
The music starts out perfectly with a spoken
introduction before we are acquainted with all the recurring themes of the
concept during the ‘Overture’, before the storytelling starts in
earnest. Each song opens up like the next chapter in a book, leading you
through all the ups and downs of our heroes and villains, and a bit like a
violent re-counting of Beauty and the Beast, before taking us to its
dramatic conclusion and finale.
Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman are to be applauded for
this marvelous work, especially for their own astounding keyboards, which
throughout this hour’s worth of music twists from the pomp and glory of
the Hammond organ to the wailing of the Moog synthesizer, the subtlety of
the harpsichord and piano, not to mention the words and music they penned.
The sixteen-page booklet you get with this collection
is worth the price alone. It includes complete lyrics, pictures of all the
participants, and wondrous artwork by Rodney Matthews. If you want to know
what a Jabberwock sounds like, you will just have to buy the album.
I will leave you with the final verse of Jabberwocky:
“Twas brillig and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All minsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths out grabe”.
Now perhaps you can see why I am so impressed. They
managed to make head or tail of this, let alone put together a whole
concept album.
I wonder if Jabberwocks like Dogs!
Musicians
Bob Catley - The Boy
Tracy Hitchings - The Girl
James Plumridge - The Jabberwock
Paul Allison - The Tree
Pete Gee - Fretless Bass
Clive Nolan - Keyboards
Oliver Wakeman - Keyboards
Ian Slamon - Guitar & Bass
Peter Banks - Guitars
Jon Jeary - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Fernandez - Drums
Rick Wakeman - The Narrator
Track Listing
1. Overture
2. Coming To Town
3. Dangerous World
4. The Forest
5. A Glimmer Of Light
6. Shadows
7. Enlightenment
8. Dancing Water
9. The Burgundy Rose
10. The Mission
11. Call To Arms
12. Finale
To contact Mott the Dog email: [email protected]
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