Released on his own imprint,
'Mysterium Magnum' announces the return of legendary Arcangel man Jeff
Cannata after a four year absence.
It's a powerful, thoughtful album, pulsing with slow motion hooks, peppered with majestic
AOR moments and enjoying a frequent switch of emphasis to the acceptable face of progressive rock.
For anyone who doesn't know
Cannata's music, the recurrent use of Egyptian motifs and symbols on the album artwork and throughout his website is a strong indicator of his penchant for mystical, spiritual lyrical themes and a liking for ethnic musical flavours and rhythms.
At one end of the rainbow we get the conceptual sweep of the exotic, nine minute
'Somewhere Beyond The Sun', full of seventies' progrock complexity and dissonant instrumental voices, topped off with a towering chorus and a vertiginous hook. Wedged between the major colours, we get
'Kali Allah', parts one & two, brimful of synth and flute melody lines, occasionally recalling Keith Emerson in his more reflective keyboard moments.
At the other end we get the unadulterated pomprock of
'King Of The Mountain' and
'Book Of Ages', both leaving most of today's pretenders trailing in their wake.
These are all interspersed with a smattering of
AOR hybrids and symphonic metal. Respectively, '
Promise You Heaven' has that driving sense of urgency that energises all great
AOR songs;
'Book Of Ages' has a swaying hypnotic groove, and a relatively uncomplicated arrangement sketched around a dominant piano. Yet while still sparse, the sound is capable of soaring and swooping, like
Kansas in its more inspired, immediate moments.
The meaning in
Cannata's lyrics is often irritatingly elusive. The Yes-esque
'Reason To Live' could equally be about relationships or fame, and be just as illuminating either way.
However, the ambitious, though understated
'Tears Of America' takes a more direct route. Here
Cannata addresses himself to weightier questions, and does a bit of soul searching on behalf of a nation, creating an emotional undertow that carries you along regardless.
All in all,
'Mysterium Magnum' is a stylish accumulation of melodic detail, imagination and occasional unorthodox thinking, and there are certainly enough gorgeously upbeat compositions and entrancing melodies to dispel any doubts that
Cannata has lost his appetite or ability to thrill and entertain.
Written by
Brian Monday, May 8, 2006
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