That time again has come when I get my hands on a copy of a brand new Galahad album, they are always things of beauty as so much care and attention has gone into all areas of their production. I’m also in a very fortunate position to have a great relationship with frontman Stu and the CD comes with a personal note on Avalon Records’ note paper. The band’s eleventh studio album The Last Great Adventurer, has been several years in the making and many of the songs on the album actually pre-date the previous Seas Of Change album from 2018! Plus; due to the constraints of the recent Covid pandemic, the album was recorded at several locations over the last couple of years by the various band members and finally edited, mixed and mastered, as usual by engineer/producer extraordinaire Karl Groom.
As well as the long-established nucleus of Stu Nicholson (vocals), Dean Baker (keyboards) and Spencer Luckman (drums) ‘The Last Great Adventurer’ is also the first Galahad studio album to feature Mark Spencer (Twelfth Night/Alan Reed) on bass guitar throughout as well as making some great contributions on backing vocals and triangle! Lee Abraham, now very much established as the band’s guitarist; also adds his own inimitable stamp to the album with some great guitar playing and a few blinding trademark guitar solos.
The main album consists of five tracks plus two bonus tracks on the CD including at long last, a new version of “Another Life Not Lived”; originally written by the late and much-missed Neil Pepper and Stuart back in 2009. Musically the album has a crisp contemporary sound but also still includes plenty of nods to the band’s long progressive heritage, particularly on “Omega Lights” and on the closing title track which is a very personal tribute to Stuart’s father Bob.
Stuart Explains “My Dad was a mountaineer in the 1950s and the image on the cover is of him just above an ice flow; climbing Gross Glockner which is the highest mountain in Austria which if you look carefully, you can see on the map used in the CD artwork. He also climbed the Wildspitz which I believe is the second highest peak in Austria and has a large cross at the peak and of which there is also a picture in the CD booklet. I’ve looked at some modern day colour pictures of both mountains on the web, many of which are stunning. I only found the photos whilst going through Mum’s bits and pieces as she sadly died a couple of years ago during the Covid emergency, of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after a long battle and felt that I just had to use them; better than shut away in a wallet in a drawer”.
The album opens with the very uplifting “Alive”; which is a thank you from the band and humbly pays homage to fans, friends and family who have unfailingly supported Galahad over the years, motivating them to keep creating music. The track at just over 8 minutes long features layers of soaring, atmospheric synths; combined with effect-fed electric guitar before slowing down at around four minutes. At this point Stuart croons over a Spanish-sounding acoustic guitar and light piano before the song takes a Middle-Eastern turn as Dean creates wondrous sounding patterns before the electric guitar takes over again moving us to the track’s eventual conclusion.
Over the years the band’s home in Dorset has been included several times in their song’s subject matter and track two ‘Omega Lights’ is dedicated to the majesty of a beautiful part of Poole harbour, Sandbanks and Shell Bay. If you are unfamiliar with the place as Stuart sings in the lyrics it’s a “wondrous escape”, it is part of the second largest natural harbour in the world. It’s a really unique place and the song captures the idyllic splendour and the atmosphere of the place. Once again the band use their combined creativity and chemistry to create a track that takes you on a descriptive musical journey through sound with a plethora of textures for you to enjoy.
“Blood, Skin and Bone” combines with some Arabic-sounding chanting (similar to Ofra Haza in the Sisters of Mercy – “Temple Of Love” – remix) before industrial-sounding syths pulsate and Stuart’s cultured vocals deliver a simple and justified message about racism and how people are often judged unfairly purely by colour, background, look, size etc; which is obviously ridiculous as we are actually all made up of the same ingredients inside. The song features some fantastically well-thought-out lyrics and imaginative accompanying musical content. It is set in two parts with ‘Part One’ being the Alpha instrumental and ‘Part Two’ being Omega. The final lyric leaves us all with something deep to ponder on “humanity without humility is such a sad and dangerous thing.
‘Enclosure 1764’ is based on an 18th century anti-enclosure nursery rhyme “The Goose And The Common” whose sentiment, sadly still rings true today i.e. the same sections of society in general, still seem to have the influence and power over us “proles”. The song at just over four minutes is the shortest on the album and possibly the most interesting. It’s clear that a great deal of research and discovery are put in when the band hit on a subject and creates a song about it. It has a real darkness and melancholy about it with the music creating a feeling of pensive sadness about how there is one rule for one and one rule for another. It may have been written over 250 years ago but the lyrics are still true from some of the modern corridors of power.U
‘The Last Great Adventurer’ is about Stuart’s late Father and mentions many of the things that he did in his very diverse and interesting life. Ultimately he was a design engineer by trade who also worked on the mechanism that made Concorde’s nose go up and down, again hence why it’s a picture can be found in the CD’s booklet”. The tune itself is also very adventurous with Galahad visiting some previously untrodden paths and exploring some interesting new styles, with Dean once again showing off his exceptional experimental abilities and a fine jazz-style ending with some saxophone meandering its way to the tracks conclusion.
‘Normality of Distance’, Stuart explains “is based on a true story of one woman’s battle to free herself from her incredibly controlling partner who both from a distance, appeared to have the perfect life but all was not as it seems as is often the way”. The track is given the respect that the subject deserves and Stuart’s notable vocal carries us through the sympathetic lyrical content showing support and encouragement to the victim. While there are no truly Galahad-sounding songs as each creation is quite unique, I would say this tune is a typical example of the output you would expect from them with every area of musical composition sounding beautifully put together with every component complimenting each other.
The final track of this album “Another Life Not Lived” is a track that was written together with the much loved Galahad bassist Neil Pepper around 12 years ago. At this time he was ill with Esophageal Cancer and sadly passed in September 2011. The song is another true story about a family who I know coming to terms with the loss of their 16 year old son to leukemia which must have been so difficult to deal with and still is to this day. It’s taken this long to finally record the track and the Galahad crew completely do it justice and it’s the last of the songs that were wrote together with Neil to finally see the light of day on a Galahad album. Once again the music and Stuart’s blissful vocal tugs at the heartstrings, providing a fitting tribute for both Neil and the Young lad whose life was taken away so tragically.
After listening to the album’s 7 tracks over the last couple of weeks, I still feel there is more to discover the more I become acquainted with it. With this piece of work, the music and their thought-provoking stories are told with wonderful melodies and the songs just linger in your head. Progressive is such an interesting genre and the music can take you off in virtually any direction. Galahad once again deserve huge congratulations for the delivery of a fantastic follow-up to their last offering ‘Seas of Change’.
Track listing
Alive
Omega Lights
Part One: Λ (Instrumental)
Part Two: Ω
Blood Skin and Bone
Enclosure 1764
The Last Great Adventurer
CD Bonus Tracks
Normality of Distance
Another Life Not Lived
Galahad are
Stu Nicholson – Vocals
Dean Baker – Keyboards
Spencer Luckman – Drums
Mark Spencer – Bass
Lee Abraham – Guitar
Links
https://www.galahadonline.com
https://www.facebook.com/room801
https://galahad1.bandcamp.com
Words by David Chinery (Chinners).
