I am fortunate enough to have John Holden living in close proxoimity (he lives less than ten miles from us) this has allowed me the opportunity to review each of his albums (This is his seventh) for whichever site I was writing for , that means my revies have appeared on DPRP, Progradar and my own Progressive Voyages site, Here then are my thoughts on this latestvalbum Horizons..
The first thing that strikes you is the burst of coloured emblazoned on the front cover Bold and bright as if it is confident of its own merits, It certainly has that right as once again John has delivered a seven song setbofvstrong material and masterful performances in tandem withbthe voice talents of Peter Jones (Tiger MothbTales) Sertari ( Karnakata) Sally Minnear ( Celestial Fire)and That Joe Payne each of who add the subtle yett powerful voices to these tracks.
There are seven tracks in all, with lengths that vary between just over 5 minutes to two lenghthier tracks of 13 minutes and the other of Ten minutes duration, giving a total running time of 55 mimutes.
Last years The Great Divide was a fabulous album but somehow John has dug deep and produced another stunning album including what I feel is his finest track to date, the album opener Seven Ages. Which is absougtely gorgeous in its sound and Is elevated significantly by the stirring vocal from Peter Jones who delivers a masterclass in emotion and hIs voice rectial of Shakespeare's All The World's A Stage is from Shakespeare’ As You Like It really adds to the drama of the track which itself us about 7 Thresholds in a life time, This is a staggeringly well conceived and written track.The accompanying music is equally fine with lots of symphonic elements on offer, On this albumnJohn plays all the instruments himself.
Shape remains, Reverts toa familiar there for John, Resilience in the facevof adversity and change, John's wife Elizabeth has a long term health condition that she faces daily with courage grace and dignity, this song is aboutbhow even through all that she remains the Elizabeth he knows and loves,this smong is a testament to her strength and also her faith that sustains her in the darker days.
Mohawk river is next this one is in 3 sections, Spirits Of The Plains (an instrumental piece) the leadsi nto the main part Between The Worlds this is voiced by That Joe Payne who wide octave vocal is perfectly suited for the song which is about the workers from the Hauden saunee tribe in Canada who built the skyline of New York,Their skill and calm working i0n an unfamiliar environment with a very different pace of life, Yet still kept their family roots and values alive in a world of change.The final part of the track hass a further instrumental section the bring the story back to the modern day with a descendant making his life in the city his forefathers helped shape, here is finding his own way to balance his family life and his heritage with honour and respect.again a edy symphon8ctrack with great music and vocals.
The next track is Zero Minus which has t Alterch of James Bind to it as it is about the dichotomy between nostalgia and reality and how in the past the lines between Goodc and Badcwere Clear whereas nowadays, those lines have become blurred in a age of altered truth where nothing is as it seems and where it possibly never was how we perceived it anyway. The introduction has James bond type voicing and sound effects, John would make a fine B9nd theme i fee as he likes that type of action movie and villans.
Next track is a duet between Sally Minnear and Peter Jones which is about all the conflict both in the world and the media, Also found in our own lives as we seek to reconcile how the world treats us and tries to change us. A key line in thecsong is
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The striking Horizons cover ‘Bold and bright, Confident of its merits.