Progressive Rock Reviews

The tracks are :
1. Moments Of Clarity (3.36)
2. A Life Alone (8.15)
3. A Cradle Of Stars (4.48)
4. Afraid To Wake (5.52)
5. Out Of Reach (10.46)
6. Love, Loss & Desire (13.06)
7. Nature And Man (6.23)

Elegant Simplicity is the work of Steven McCabe, a multi-instrumentalist producing his own brand of very individual Progressive/Melodic Rock.

Sometimes epic, but always exciting and memorable, the seven cassette albums released between 1992 and 1995 have sold steadily in the UK and in places as far afield as Latvia, Italy, Brazil and Australia.

Warmly received by the progressive fanzine network, each release became more successful than the last.

With the formation of Proximity in 1996, the decision release an album on compact disc finally became a reality.

THE NATURE OF CHANGE was released in march of that year and featured the vocal talents of Ken Senior, on loan from the highly regarded progressive rock outfit Evolution. The album is 75 minutes long and contains the hugely popular 43-minute title track.

The follow-up album REVERSAL OF TIME was again 75 minutes long and featured 9 brand new compositions and an expanded lineup. With Ken Senior again on vocals, Elegant Simplicity had crafted an album that put then firmly at the forefront of contemporary rock.

Utilising classic vintage instruments, Hammond Organ, Mellotron, Moog, etc., and the best of the modern world, the album was an instant hit with the bands ever growing fanbase.

The following year, the band released the all instrumental PURITY AND DESPAIR. Not since Natural Instinct 1995, had the band released an entirely instrumental album, but this 1998 CD showed that Steven McCabe had lost none of his compositional skills.

Featuring 5 lengthy tracks that covered all imaginable territory, this album rewards the listener with new melodies and textures each subsequent listen.

1999 brings with it another release in the shape of MOMENTS OF CLARITY and this is Elegant Simplicity 11th release to date. Once again this album features the vocal talents of Ken Senior.

The opening track 'Moments of Clarity' is a nice short instrumental track. An instrumental that starts off with some atmospheric sounds before going into more of a uptempo rock beat, some of the guitar work can only be described as beautiful and there's also a nice combination between multi-guitar parts and keyboards.

In and around the middle there's an orchestral bit that kind of reminded me of Strawberry Fields (The Beatles) and then its back to more rock guitar. The track ends with a superb organ solo, right out of Peter Bardens book (Camel).

The next track 'A Life Alone', starts off with some wonderful & soaring guitar work. This is a beautiful track, a sad song that is so full of emotion both musically and lyrically.

Ken's vocals are soft and gentle and for me on this album sound better than ever. There are also some wonderful instrumental moments from both guitar and keyboards.

The third track is 'A Cradle of Stars', this is another fairly emotional song with a beautiful melody. It's a mellow track with lots of acoustic guitar, piano and keyboards.

Once again, Ken's vocals are just superb, full of emotion. But despite all this emotion, this is a catchy tune with a catchy chorus and you'll be soon wanting for more.

The next track is 'Afraid To Wake', this track in complete contrast to the previous track and starts with some blues style guitar. The rhythm is quite slow and the lyrics are quite dark as they are all about Death.

The instrumentation is quite superb as the counter melodies weave around Ken's vocals. The irresistible guitar work is as close as you can get to the style of Andy Latimer ((Camel) - Anyone would think that ES are influenced by Camel?)

'Out of Reach', is a 10 minute + instrumental that starts with some superb guitar work and keyboards. This is quite reminiscent of early Camel.

Then there's a change in direction, the tempo slows down to some lush keyboard and piano, there are also some spacey/atmospheric keys with jazz and classical influences.

There is also a wonderful guitar solo around the middle of the track. Towards the end the keyboards take over for a solo and then as the track closes, drums, acoustic and more lead guitar are added.

The final track is 'Love Loss and Desire', this is also the longest track on the album at just over 13 minutes and starts off with some wonderful instrumentation.

Lush keyboards, stunning guitar work and once again superb vocals from Ken. This is another beautiful track that is so full of emotion. The middle section takes on a slightly heavier stance with some powerful guitar and keyboards and the tempo at this point is faster too. Great Stuff!

The final track is 'Nature and Man', a track that starts with some lovely keyboards and nice guitar. The vocals are once again superb from Ken and the keyboards on this track are just simply superb.

'Moments Of Clarity' is a progressive rock album that is full of feeling and emotion. The lyrics deal with such topics as euthanasia, unrequited love, ambition, loneliness and desire, but even though these topics are what you would call downbeat, the music is dramatic, beautiful, and has inspirational melodies that are a pure joy to listen to.

Elegant Simplicity are influenced by bands such as Camel, Jethro Tull, Barclay James Harvest, The Beatles and Mike Oldfield and if you like any of these such bands, then I suggest that you give 'Moments Of Clarity' a listen.
Highly Recommended!!!

For more information write to :
Proximity, 54 Leeds Road, Lofthouse, Wakefield.WF3 3EX. U.K

Elegant Simplicity website at : http://www.elegantsimplicity.com

Elegant Simplicity is:
Steven McCabe - Multi-Instrumentalist

Special Guest:

Ken Senior - Lead and Backing Vocals

The Tracks;

1. Palindrome (4:46)
2. The Twinning Of Souls (6:26)
3. The Way Back Home (10:08)
4. Between Two Points (9:08)
5. Let It Be Me (9:48)
6. The Physical World (8:39)
7. Still Fluttering (3:54)
8. Still Hearing Your Voice (7:49)

The first track and title track 'Palindrome', starts with some atmospheric sounds before the distinctive style of Elegant Simplicity, in reality one Steven McCabe - multi instrumentalist comes in. 'Palindrome' is an instrumental track that has some great guitar and keyboards. There is a lot of emotion that is carried through the music of Elegant Simplicity and this track in particular seems to carry o lot of it.

Flowing into 'The Twinning Of Souls', you could say the theme is carried on, another instrumental, with quite a lot more keyboards on it, although having said that about 2/3rds of the way through, Steven comes up with a superb guitar solo.

The third track 'The Way Back Home' is quite a lengthy track at just over 10 mins and features Ken Senior on vocals, Ken's vocals seem to me to get better and better with every Elegant Simplicity release. Once again excellent guitar and keyboards from Steven. He really is a talented guy, my only criticism is that I wish he would use a real drummer, instead of drum machines, I know these are pretty good nowadays, but they are not the same as the real thing.

'Between Two Points', is a lengthy instrumental track that starts with some nice mellow keyboards, its nearly two minutes before the drums and guitar come in. There are many changes in direction, mood and tempo within this track and once again the keyboards and guitar work is superb.

'Let It Be me', has a much slower pace to it, just guitar and drums to start, then there are some wonderful keyboards coming in, after a while everything quietens a bit and then Ken's vocals come in, and even though the drums are done by machine the track still has a very good beat to it. It's not long before the keyboards and guitar return. This track has quite a catchy chorus and half way through there's a very nice guitar solo, in the style of Andy Latimer (Camel). Then we are back to the guitar and drums we had at the start, followed by keyboards, basically the same as the start. Then shortly after it all quietens down to just electric piano, bass come in, then the vocals return. The track then builds up to the main theme, we have had throughout the track, followed some another guitar solo. I must say some of the keyboards on this track remind me of Rick Wakeman.

The sixth track 'The Physical World', is an instrumental and starts with the sound of rain and thunder, after a short while, incomes some nice keyboards and acoustic guitar, then the track starts to build, wonderful keyboards and guitar, and again to me, this part is reminiscent of Camel, then we have a change in direction, but this doesn't last long before we are back to the main theme for the track. There are many changes in direction, mood and tempo throughout this track and the keyboards and guitar are just superb.

'Still Fluttering', is the shortest track on the album at just under 4 mins, a nice acoustic track with some nice keyboards too, a very catchy melody, I think if we were back in the '70's this could easily have been released as a single and would have done well.

The final track is 'Still Hearing Your Voice', carrying on from the last track with the acoustic guitar, in comes a Pink Floyd style keyboard sound, then a change in direction, the keyboards become more atmospheric. This track is a kind of mixture of Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, Camel and Elegant Simplicity. There's some wonderful keyboards and stunning guitar work.

Well, would you believe Elegant Simplicity have now released something like 13 albums, and for me, this is the best one yet, Stephen always manages to create some wonderful melodies, at times symphonic. I think on this album Stephen compositions have suited Ken's vocals better, and for me the vocals have much more clarity and depth.
Highly Recommended!!!

Elegant Simplicity website at : http://www.elegantsimplicity.com