Twenty years ago I went to see Galahad support Aerie Fairie Nonsense, which of course was The Enid under an assumed name, and Robert John Godfrey introduced himself to me by putting his arms around me and asking if I knew he was a poof? Now, that can make quite an impression on a lad, although it has to be said that it didn’t have as much impact as seeing him play piano later on that night which was just astounding. RJG is one of those very few musicians who has always brought classical and progressive music together from the early days when he was working with Barclay James Harvest to when he formed The Enid in 1974. Since then the path has been complex and often tortuous, yet still he prevails. The current line-up features original drummer Dave Storey (although he, like Simon Nicol in Fairport, had some time off for good behaviour), guitarist Max Read (who has been there since ’97), guitarist Jason Ducker (07), bassist Nick Willes (09), and new singer Joe Payne. It is interesting to see that the band now features a twin guitar attack as not many people would view them as a guitar based band – as this is all about providing modern classical music.
There are a lot more vocals on this album than I am used to with The Enid, but at the same time it is also full of the styles and arrangements that one expects from RJG and the more I played it the more I was gradually drawn back into his world. In fact there were times when I felt that I was being taken all the way back to “Raindown” from the classic ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ and this new album stands up very well indeed to what is widely regarded as one of their best works. This is a band that is probably only ever going to be appreciated by a relatively small audience as their music is seen as ‘high brow’ or ‘eclectic’ even within the prog scene, but if you have never come across The Enid then this album is a great introduction.
www.theenid.co.uk
