Abel Ganz – The Life of the Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity
Back in 2014 Scottish progsters Abel Ganz thought their eponymously titled album of that year would be their last (an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink 72 minutes, 14 song signing off statement); six years on however we should all be thankful that’s turned out not to be the case.
And that’s not just because 2020 has proved there’s life in the old prog dogs yet; it’s also the fact that the current line-up of Mick Macfarlane (lead vocals, guitars, bouzouki), Stephen Donnelly (bass), Denis Smith (drums, vocals), Alan Hearton (keys) and David King (guitars, additional keys) along with departing members Davie Mitchell (guitars), Jack Webb (keys) and a number of notable guest players, have produced something very special indeed.
The Life of the Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity is also the band’s first concept album or, more accurately, an interlinked and themed work that, through emotive vocals & personal lyricism from Mick Macfarlane, deals with our relationship with memory and loss.
Nor does it hurt that the album also boasts an excellent production from Denis Smith and beautifully balanced mix from Simon Vinestock (Tears For Fears, Blur, Robert Plant, Simple Minds to name but four).
The gorgeous rise and fall of the twelve and a half minute title track opens proceedings in quite striking fashion; progressively arranged parts comfortably interweave with Toots Thielemans styled chromatic harmonica (Alex Paclin), fiddles, recorders (Fiona Cuthill) and a saxophone solo (Snake Davis) on the outro.
While the inclusion of a Fender Rhodes make for a song redolent of Supertramp the title track mixes west coast soul-jazz, Steely Dan-esque moments and classic-era It Bites to produce a wonderfully blended beginning.
Second number 'One Small Soul' finds the band in Celtic folk meets Deacon Blue ballad territory and Mick Macfarlane sharing vocal duties with the beautiful voice of Emily Smith (the song also features a perfectly complementary guitar solo from David King, whose generally understated work throughout is worthy of special mention).
And that’s not just because 2020 has proved there’s life in the old prog dogs yet; it’s also the fact that the current line-up of Mick Macfarlane (lead vocals, guitars, bouzouki), Stephen Donnelly (bass), Denis Smith (drums, vocals), Alan Hearton (keys) and David King (guitars, additional keys) along with departing members Davie Mitchell (guitars), Jack Webb (keys) and a number of notable guest players, have produced something very special indeed.
The Life of the Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity is also the band’s first concept album or, more accurately, an interlinked and themed work that, through emotive vocals & personal lyricism from Mick Macfarlane, deals with our relationship with memory and loss.
Nor does it hurt that the album also boasts an excellent production from Denis Smith and beautifully balanced mix from Simon Vinestock (Tears For Fears, Blur, Robert Plant, Simple Minds to name but four).
The gorgeous rise and fall of the twelve and a half minute title track opens proceedings in quite striking fashion; progressively arranged parts comfortably interweave with Toots Thielemans styled chromatic harmonica (Alex Paclin), fiddles, recorders (Fiona Cuthill) and a saxophone solo (Snake Davis) on the outro.
While the inclusion of a Fender Rhodes make for a song redolent of Supertramp the title track mixes west coast soul-jazz, Steely Dan-esque moments and classic-era It Bites to produce a wonderfully blended beginning.
Second number 'One Small Soul' finds the band in Celtic folk meets Deacon Blue ballad territory and Mick Macfarlane sharing vocal duties with the beautiful voice of Emily Smith (the song also features a perfectly complementary guitar solo from David King, whose generally understated work throughout is worthy of special mention).
The Sottish/ Celtic folk vibe continues with David King’s emotive acoustic guitar instrumental 'Arran Shores' before the similarly Celtic flavoured 'Summerlong' beckons with a short piano introduction from Jack Webb that instantly invites reflection.
The grand piano is soon joined by melancholic strings (arranged and performed by Frank van Essen) and a simply phrased but perfectly weighted lead vocal from Mick Macfarlane (the band’s prog credentials are also to the fore in the short instrumental mid-section).
The thirteen and a half minute 'Sepia and White' starts with a woozy 'Café del Mar' type intro before transforming to an altogether rockier affair with a purposeful funk vibe (think Kansas meets fusion).
What the song does more than anything, however, is showcase a band who are tight as the proverbial as they play and integrate different styles/ genres.
On the weightier and pacier passages of 'Sepia and White' Stephen Donnelly and Denis Smith drive the song along in accomplished Lee/Peart fashion, while the keyboard orchestrations from Jack Webb and Alan Hearton (a heady mix of piano, Hammond, vibraphone, synths and a light and airy moog solo from Hearton) will tick all the boxes of fans of Marillion/ Genesis/ Porcupine Tree.
But these are merely reference points; this isn’t progressive music, this is Abel Ganz music, and a song that deserves to be hailed as a modern-prog classic.
Final number of the conceptually themed sextet is the slower, electro rhythmic 'The Light Shines Out,' featuring Denis Smith on lead vocal and guest contributions from ex-Ganzer Stevie Lawrence (low whistles), Signy Jakobsdottir (congas & percussion) and Marc Papaghin (French horns).
Smith’s Peter Gabriel-esque vocality, coupled with the song's sparser arrangement, makes for an atmospheric piece that wouldn't be out of place on a solo album by the aforementioned Mr Gabriel (there’s also a surprise, funk work-out fade).
The CD version of the album closes with a Radio Edit of 'One Small Soul,' thus providing a 50 minute, 7 song work that is unequivocally the finest album of Abel Ganz’s career.
Six years in the making, the musically thoughtful and lyrically emotional The Life of the Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity could have been sub-titled A Labour Of Love, for it is no less, as Denis Smith confirms:
"We have all pushed ourselves so incredibly hard on this record in an attempt to make this the best possible ‘complete work’ we could make. Everything on the record is interconnected and is there for a reason – right down to the guests we chose to play specific parts, the spaces we chose to record in, to the artwork."
Abel Ganz should be mightily proud of this album; it’s probably destined to never hit the commercial highs or sales numbers of the Marillion’s or Steven Wilson’s of the modern prog world (that’s just the way the progressive cookie has crumbed for Abel Ganz (and so many other extremely talented bands) over the years and decades) but their small piece of the progressive pie is one of the tastiest.
More importantly, they have delivered one of the best albums you will hear all year, progressively themed or otherwise.
Ross Muir & Nelson McFarlane
The Life of The Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity can be purchased from the Abel Ganz Bandcamp page in CD, digital download or Deluxe Transparent Coloured Vinyl:
https://abelganz.bandcamp.com/album/the-life-of-the-honey-bee-and-other-moments-of-clarity
The grand piano is soon joined by melancholic strings (arranged and performed by Frank van Essen) and a simply phrased but perfectly weighted lead vocal from Mick Macfarlane (the band’s prog credentials are also to the fore in the short instrumental mid-section).
The thirteen and a half minute 'Sepia and White' starts with a woozy 'Café del Mar' type intro before transforming to an altogether rockier affair with a purposeful funk vibe (think Kansas meets fusion).
What the song does more than anything, however, is showcase a band who are tight as the proverbial as they play and integrate different styles/ genres.
On the weightier and pacier passages of 'Sepia and White' Stephen Donnelly and Denis Smith drive the song along in accomplished Lee/Peart fashion, while the keyboard orchestrations from Jack Webb and Alan Hearton (a heady mix of piano, Hammond, vibraphone, synths and a light and airy moog solo from Hearton) will tick all the boxes of fans of Marillion/ Genesis/ Porcupine Tree.
But these are merely reference points; this isn’t progressive music, this is Abel Ganz music, and a song that deserves to be hailed as a modern-prog classic.
Final number of the conceptually themed sextet is the slower, electro rhythmic 'The Light Shines Out,' featuring Denis Smith on lead vocal and guest contributions from ex-Ganzer Stevie Lawrence (low whistles), Signy Jakobsdottir (congas & percussion) and Marc Papaghin (French horns).
Smith’s Peter Gabriel-esque vocality, coupled with the song's sparser arrangement, makes for an atmospheric piece that wouldn't be out of place on a solo album by the aforementioned Mr Gabriel (there’s also a surprise, funk work-out fade).
The CD version of the album closes with a Radio Edit of 'One Small Soul,' thus providing a 50 minute, 7 song work that is unequivocally the finest album of Abel Ganz’s career.
Six years in the making, the musically thoughtful and lyrically emotional The Life of the Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity could have been sub-titled A Labour Of Love, for it is no less, as Denis Smith confirms:
"We have all pushed ourselves so incredibly hard on this record in an attempt to make this the best possible ‘complete work’ we could make. Everything on the record is interconnected and is there for a reason – right down to the guests we chose to play specific parts, the spaces we chose to record in, to the artwork."
Abel Ganz should be mightily proud of this album; it’s probably destined to never hit the commercial highs or sales numbers of the Marillion’s or Steven Wilson’s of the modern prog world (that’s just the way the progressive cookie has crumbed for Abel Ganz (and so many other extremely talented bands) over the years and decades) but their small piece of the progressive pie is one of the tastiest.
More importantly, they have delivered one of the best albums you will hear all year, progressively themed or otherwise.
Ross Muir & Nelson McFarlane
The Life of The Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity can be purchased from the Abel Ganz Bandcamp page in CD, digital download or Deluxe Transparent Coloured Vinyl:
https://abelganz.bandcamp.com/album/the-life-of-the-honey-bee-and-other-moments-of-clarity