Colin Tench Project "minor Masterpiece"

Welcome to February fellow progheads!  Despite winter's refusal to relinquish the bitter cold, this week The Closet Concert Arena turns the search for all things prog into an upbeat quest.  I, like so many others, was deeply saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Colin Tench this past December.  Having been anxiously awaiting the release of his newest album--work he seemed quite proud of--I held a private vigil hoping Colin's (now) swansong would still grace the airwaves.

This week I am happy to learn the Colin Tench Project's minor Masterpiece has in fact been released and is now at the top of my playlist for the foreseeable future.  The Concert Closet lauds this much anticipated album as the search for all things prog takes a tangent road to celebrate Colin and the "minor Masterpiece" he was so anxious to share with the prog faithful.

The album opens with "See How She Runs," a melodic tune with top notes of latter day Genesis wading through, and perhaps a touch of Big Big Train.  The guitar work hits in quick blasts, riding a wave of keyboards and percussion to a quiet landing on a piano.  CTP is bold with a hint of mystique--just as you'd expect...

Moving further along the buffet line, "Squeaky Door Time" quickly fills the headphones.  This is Colin channeling his inner Carlos Santana, and it sounds like he is having a grand time.  The canvas has been splayed with a battery of color that would impress Peter Max.

In my experience, very few prog albums were recorded with the dance floor in mind.  However; Colin lays a groove here that would make Frank Zappa smile and strut majestically around the stage.  The mood transforms like a kaleidoscope; from funky, to ska,  to rockin'...and then changes into a jazzy velvet dinner jacket...smooth as Highland Park 18 year-old single malt...

Liner Notes...The Colin Tench Project suddenly and unexpectedly lost its leader in December and as they say, the hard part is the world just keeps turnin'.  I spoke with Colin via Facebook a few times about this album and the aura he gave off was pure excitement; I could feel it...you know that sense you get when you just know.

Colin plays guitar, piano, synthesizers, sings backing vocals and more.  Of course minor Masterpiece would not be complete without the other stellar performers on the album; Peter Jones and Joey Lugassy on vocals, Petri Lemmy Lindstrom on bass, Joe Vitale on drums and percussion, and Gordo Bennett on all orchestral instrumentation.  Christo Pellani and Eddie Young make guest appearances playing drums and cello respectively.  Yes, Colin surrounded himself with one helluva band;
he did like to do things in grand style...


My final selection this week is a darker piece with semi-ominous overtones, "Waiting for Gordo."  The tension mounts immediately as the piece opens.  I am taken back to my youth and Saturday morning cartoons when my mind was bathed in classical music...I close my eyes and the child conductor on the album cover comes to life and just commands that baton.  There is so much here; top notes of IQ and an earlier incarnation of King Crimson perhaps.  This song leaps at you much like a moth emerging from a cocoon; slow and deliberate...and suddenly the majestic thrust of the wings allows it to break free.  Gordo Bennett is stunning as he bounds about the orchestra pit hitting every note and breathing life into a vinyl disc...I can see Colin's smile from headphone earpiece to headphone earpiece as he sits at the piano and caresses such beautiful sounds from those keys...

You will find minor Masterpiece at CTP Corvusstone and CTP bandcamp.  Colin also has multiple Facebook pages; this one is a good start CTP Facebook.  Here you will discover some insight to the man and his music.  I know I tend to overplay my hand, but this is an album you will want to own as the Colin Tench Project collection is now finite...

I chose the cut below, "Now Get on Your Way," to wrap up our time this week.  The opening is just majestic; Colin blends prog with classical in a way that enables the music to enter your pores and flow through your entire being...you don't just listen to this album--you engage with it.  I get a John Wetton in his Asia days vibe from this piece as the lyrics crash all around you like an unexpected thunderstorm.  Gordo outdoes himself with the orchestrations, and Colin plays the guitar and synthesizer so fluidly it seems like he has four arms. This is an album to savor slowly...drink it in and let it the magic begin...


               

Well fellow progheads, another week has passed us by.  Fortunately we were able to spend it wrapped in a minor Masterpiece.  Colin put all he had into this album and the result is striking.  The music transcends the prog garden and takes you on that proverbial journey Timothy Leary was so fond of.  Music tends to paint pictures for me and the canvas laid out for minor Masterpiece is bursting with colors and images that come alive.

The search for all things prog is a journey I have been on for several years, and music like this is why I walk the prog garden each week.  There are top notes of  everyone from Al DiMeola to David Byrne flowing through the vinyl and it takes a passion few possess to bring all that together in a cohesive manner such as we have here.  Relish this one...

And once again The Closet Concert Arena sets off to continue the journey...until next time...