It must be nearly 25 years since I first came across singer Alan Reed, probably with Clive Nolan’s project ‘Strangers On A Train’, although it could have been Abel Ganz. This far along it’s difficult to be sure. Alan of course made his name with Pallas, with whom he was frontman for more than 25 years, but he has always kept working with Clive as well, and earlier this year took one of the lead roles on ‘King’s Ransom’. The album starts with a strong keyboard pattern, and my immediate thought was, “Surely that’s not Mike Stobbie?”, but yes, it is, and a quick check of the musicians saw some other very well-known names such as Jeff Green (guitars), Steve Hackett (harmonica), Scott Higham (drums) and a few guest singers such as Christina Booth from Magenta.
There will be many who will be bundling this album into the neo prog scene, but his place in that sub-genre is probably more due to history than it is to the reality of what is featured on this album which sits best within crossover, moving between genres but always providing plenty of melody. One of the real joys of this album is that it doesn’t seem like a solo album, but like a band effort, with Jeff in particular being given plenty of room to show his style. But, it’s not all bombast, as Alan has a deft touch on guitar himself, and when the fancy takes him, shows a far more pastoral side. This is an album of great depth and breadth, and at the very heart are the pure clear vocals of Alan, capturing the listener and taking them on a journey. I enjoyed his solo debut, but this follow-up contains far more powerful and strength within it. Superb.
