GALAHAD: Sleepers

Cover	Release	Style
	2006	Neo Progressive Rock
	Label
	Avalanche Records
	Website
	www.galahadonline.com
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	66:30	DW-CD006
	Review by	Rating
	Christoph	9/10
nederlands	Review
Following the footsteps of Marillion, in the beginning of the eighties a real progressive revival mounted and became known as Neo Progressive. Bands such as IQ and Pendragon are now absolute toppers, while Marillion knew on recent albums how to reinvent the genre. Galahad, another Neo Prog veteran, has always tried out a fresh, modern approach, which culminated in 1995’s “Sleepers”, their best work. Unfortunately, the album was lost for many years. I remember finally discovering a copy for a few bucks in a second-hands store in West London. And for whom the record has always been troubling, there’s splendid news: the band have reissued “Sleepers” after ten years! And it sounds as fresh and powerful as then. Based on “Sleepers”, Galahad really deserves a much larger audience. The record takes off impressively with the title track, an epic scaled drama focussing on the human side of great historic revolutions. The contrast couldn’t have been bigger with the second track, “Julie Anne”, a melancholically romantic ballad (Stuart’s angelic vocals!) and one of the best in its genre ever written by a progressive band. The antithesis with “Sleepers” works quite nicely. “Live and Learn” tells about the fall of the yuppie culture. It’s a poignant observation of materialism and individualism. A fine sociological study on the eighties, in just nine minutes! Irony drips of Stuart Nicholson’s pen: “We had it good in the eighties / Everything coming up roses / We were drowning in success”. Then there’s this nice transition to the “Dentist Song”, with its airiness that tastes of sponge cake. The second part of the album leans more towards the sound of early Marillion, as is proved in “Exercising Demons”. On “Amaranth” – a real beauty-, it’s Steve Hogarth’s voice that would fit the glove. Does this make Galahad a Marillion clone? Certainly not, this is a band that stands on its own and reveals a professionalism that lots of other bands envy them. The new issue contains a bonus track by the way, but funnily enough it is nowhere mentioned. And more promising news: Galahad announces a concert DVD recorded in the Polish town of Katowice. The new studio album is nearly finished, and by November the lads are coming to the Low Countries for a few concerts.
Musicians
Stuart Nicholson : vocals Roy Keyworth : guitars Spencer Luckman : drums Karl Garrett : keyboards Mark Andrews : keyboards Neil Pepper : bass guitar Tim Ashton : bass guitar
Tracklist
1. Sleepers (12:19) 2. Julie Anne (4:43) 3. Live And Learn (9:54) 4. Dentist Song (4:19) 5. Pictures Of Bliss (2:06) 6. Before, After And Beyond (6:08) 7. Exorcising Demons (9:15) 8. Middleground (6:03) 9. Amaranth (11:43) 10. Bonus track
Discography
Nothing is Written (1991) In a Moment of Complete Madness (1993) Not All There (1994) Voiceprint Radio Sessions (1994) Sleepers (1995) Classic Rock – Live (1996) Other Crimes and Misdemeanours II (1997) Decade (1997) Following Ghosts (1999) De-constructing Ghosts (1999) Other Crimes and Misdemeanours III (2001) Year Zero (2002)


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