REID, GORDON - ALIENS (CAMEL MEETS STEVE HACKETT & VANGELIS)

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Long forgotten year 2000 instrumental & very ‘musical’ Symphonic Prog that’s as a crossover of Vangelis, The ENID, Steve Hackett, CAMEL and Nick Magnus!

This really is a sensational album if you are into melodic instrumental Prog from a core line-up of electric guitars and keyboards, but who is Gordon Reid you might ask – a new name on the scene perhaps? Well, not quite!

This instrumentalist had one of the best tracks featured on that famous CD compilation: ‘Rime Of Ancient…The Mellotron Album’ we were selling like hot cakes way back in the early - mid-90’s, you know the one… it featured Patrick Moraz (of MAINHORSE / REFUGEE / YES / MOODY BLUES), Mike Pinder (of MOODY BLUES), Robert Fripp (of KING CRIMSON) and a whole host of other famous and not so well-known artists.
Another artist in that line-up was none other that CD Services’ favourite keyboardist: Nick Magnus (ex Steve Hackett Band) and he produced the ‘Aliens’ album for Gordon and helped create the magnificent percussion sounds that features on it. Oh, and it’s got loads of that Mellotron thingy on it as well!!

‘Aliens’ comes heartily recommend to all fans of the type of melodic instrumental keyboard music that reaches inside and touches that magical chord within us all - our emotions. Albums that do this can be few and far between, but when one does come along - like ‘Aliens’ - you will feel those hairs on the back of your neck stand up and goose-bumps burst out all over the place.

If you need any more convincing, here are some more gushing remarks that were sent your way back in 2000…

The CAMEL similarity is at it’s strongest on the excellent 4th track: ‘Forests Of The Deep’, which features a breathtaking weeping electric guitar solo courtesy of Reid’s part-time partner on the album Clive Osborn.
The guitarist also joins in for two other pieces, namely: ‘In The Dreamtime’ and the closing seven-minute grandiose epic: ‘Nautilus’.

The Vangelis influence is at its strongest on the opening tracks and during some of the more reflective, thematic and atmospheric passages. Just check-out the majestic, six-minute: ‘Sea Dragons’ - a descriptive piece full of glorious colourful themes and melodies, evoking thoughts of the great Greek maestro at his grandest, with a main theme being carried by piano played over a veritable orchestra of Mellotrons and synthesizers.

If you think of some of the best film music Vangelis has done, or perhaps the multi-layered keyboard/synth style intros from epic Prog tracks like PINK FLOYD’s ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, or the singing guitar/synth epic: ‘Ice’ from CAMEL’s: ‘I Can See Your House From Here’ album you are on the right track for ‘Alien’.

Further influential Prog sounds would be perhaps the instrumental bits out of classic MOODY BLUES LP’s, or passages like Rick Wakeman’s Mellotron sequence in the YES epic ‘And You And I’, or maybe even the best instrumental parts from The ENID’s’ huge keyboard extravaganzas will also give a fairly accurate idea of what to expect from the music on this superb instrumental ‘Aliens’ CD.

You will hear (what sounds like) a huge range of keyboards in action throughout the entire album: Mellotrons, piano, string-synths, poly-synths, midi-synths etc, all shining in all their glory alongside some really beautiful electric guitar work and powerful, majestic percussion courtesy of Mr. Magnus.
The album is a real music fest for those who love the melodic, more keyboard driven stuff that ranges from reflective moments of real beauty to huge grandiose thematic arrangements that soar into the heavens.
And of course for those of you heavily into Mellotrons – we know you are out there - there’s some really great bits of that on ‘Aliens’ too.

Overall, this album creates the kind of sounds that seem to heighten our receptors to the point where we seem to experience music on an altogether higher plane!

‘Aliens’ was released on 21st December 2000.

GORDON REID: ALIENS Track List:

01. The Final Frontier (2:31)
02. Aliens Of The Sea (6:22)
03. Powel’s Dream (6:13)
04. Forests Of The Deep (5:42)
05. Sea Dragons (6:23)
06. The Stars, Like Sand (7:58)
07. Grace Under Pressure (7:02)
08. In The Dreamtime (4:03)
09. Nautilus (7:00)

TPT – 52:48