Henning has long been a favourite musician and composer of mine, and he has released some wonderful albums under his own name, plus various bands/projects such as Frameshift, Chain, Shadow’s Mignon and Roswell Six. But, for some reason I had never listened to his 2006 “opera” until now. For this album Henning provided all the music himself, apart from piano by Marcus Gemeinder on three songs, plus a guitar solo by Ian Crichton (Saga) on one and a piano and keyboard solo by Jim Gilmour (Saga) on another. He used four different singers this time, Jody Ashworth (Trans Siberian Orchestra), James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Michael Sadler (Saga) and Matt Cash (Chain). He has previously worked extensively with James, Michael and Matt in various bands, but I believe that this is the first time he has worked with Jody, who plays the lead role.
Henning has always referred to this as an opera, and that is probably a good way of looking at it, as this is a story of four characters. Based in a rehabilitation centre, it tells of Nick (Jody), a professional athlete, who is withdrawn and has lost faith in life and people in general. Another patient, Matt (Matt), tries to befriend Nick get him to change his outlook, but to no avail. Nick was having issues with his doctor (James), and meetings weren’t going well, but he kept going back to the café and talking with Matt, who introduces him to his own doctor (Michael). After this, things go well between Nick and his own doctor, and he and Matt celebrate with a cup of coffee. Musically this has elements in common with TSO and Savatage, yet that is sometimes cut through with the incredible guitar attack that Henning is known for, and at others with a simplistic piano and bass.
This was the seventh album in three years for Henning, and he was providing all the instrumentation himself, and I wonder if this was just a step too far. The album was based on a true story, and is obviously incredibly personal for Henning, and I am sure that is the reason that it doesn’t gel as well as it should. There are sections, such as the guitar solo on “A Place In Time”, where everything comes together and is sheer brilliance, but there are plenty of others where the words and music don’t quite fit as they should. Metallic, progressive, over the top: it is all these things, but I can’t help feel that if Clive Nolan had been brought in to advise then it would have been a different beast altogether, and much the better for it. I may be wrong, but I don’t think that Henning has released a solo album since this one, and hasn’t released many albums at all in any form and is now concentrating on running a studio, which given his work rate prior to this album is quite something.
I still love Henning’s work, but for all the great moments and performances on this album, it is the one to which I will be returning least out of all his canon. The record label website hasn’t been updated for several years, and Henning’s own site is sadly in the same condition, www.henningpauly.com.
