Chaptersend is the fourth studio album by Mogador, an
interesting prog band from Como, Lombardy. It was released in 2017
with a renewed line up featuring Richard George Allen (drums, vocals,
percussion), Luca Briccola (guitars, keyboards, bass, flute, backing
vocals), Salvatore Battello (bass, guitars, backing vocals), Samuele
Dotti (keyboards, backing vocals) and Marco Terzaghi (vocals) plus
some guests such as Jon Davison (vocals), Ida Di Vita (violin) and
Elisa Salvaterra (flute). According to the liner notes in the
booklet, this work represents a sort of end and beginning at the
same time. The band evolved from a simple studio project to a
real band playing live on stage and took the chance to refresh their
early repertoire reshaping in an effective way same old pieces...
The lively opener “Summer Sun” is a celebration of the sun and of
its sparkling force in a summer day. The music every now and again
could recall PFM while the lyrics are taken from a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson of the same title included in the 1885 collection “A
Children’s Garden of Verses”.
Next comes the powerful “The Escapologist”, a beautiful piece
inspired by the life and death of Harry Houdini (1874 – 1926), a
world-wide famous Hungarian-born American escape artist, illusionist
and stunt performer. For a trick of the fate, the death-defying man
of mystery who performed at least three variations on a buried alive
stunt during his career eventually ends up in a box from where
there’s no way to come out... His coffin!
“Deep Blue Steps” is beautiful track that tells of a suggestive
descent into the subconscious and of desires you can’t control.
It’s linked to the following “Still Alone”, a new
interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Alone”, where the
poet describes the tragedy of not being part of the crowd. This new
version is very different from the one from their previous album
Absinthe Tales Of Romantic Visions, more complex and
refined...
“Josephine’s Regrets” features the backing vocals of the guest
Jon Davison and is a lovely emotional portrait in music and words of
Napoleon’s wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, a patron of arts whose
Château_de_Malmaison was best known for its rose garden, which she
supervised closely...
Mogador 2019
“Breaking Day” is a colourful musical tableau where the music and
words depict a hill landscape before the storm. It leads to the
dramatic “Gentleman John”, a piece dedicated to the memory of
Anthony John Morgan (1959 – 2000), an English writer and expert on
etiquette best remembered for his column in London based daily
newspaper The Times...
The new version of “Tell Me Smiling Child”, a folksy ballad with
lyrics taken from a poem by Emily Brontë, introduces the long,
complex “Fundamental Elements Suite”, divided into five parts:
The Tide’s Undertow, The Salamander, Floating In The Void, Mammon’s
Greed: Eternity’s Gift and Mammon’s Greed: Infinity’s Price.
The band here deconstructed and rebuilt some pieces from their 2009
debut eponymous album giving them a more coherent, convincing form.
The music and lyrics deal with environmental issues, passions, fears,
greediness, freedom, respect for Mother Nature... A great finale!
On the whole, an accomplished and mature work from a band that
deserve credit!
Mogador's
third album, “Absinthe Tales Of Romantic Visions”, was
self-released in 2012 with a renewed line up featuring Richard George
Allen (drums, percussion, vocals), Luca Briccola (guitars, keyboards,
bass, flute, backing vocals) and Marco Terzaghi (vocals) plus some
guests. It's a kind of concept album dedicated to some Romantic
artists, painters and poets, who in some way drew their inspiration
from absinthe, an anise-flavoured spirit with a natural green colour.
In my opinion, the result is pretty good! The band confirm here all
the good promises of their first two albums and if you like bands
such as Genesis, Gentle Giant or Yes I'm sure you'll find this work
very interesting.
Mogador 2013
The
opener “Whispers To The Moon” is a beautiful instrumental piece
that was inspired by Two Men Contemplating The Moon, a 1819
painting by German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. It begins
softly, with a delicate piano pattern and the atmosphere is dreamy.
It fades into “Dreamland”, a piece in the same mood where the
band interpret a poem by Christina Rossetti... “Where sunless
rivers weep their waves into the deep / She sleeps a charmed sleep:
awake her not / Led by a single star, she came from very far / To
seek where shadows are her pleasant lot...”.
C.S. Friedrich, Two Men Contemplating The Moon, 1819
The
following “She Sat And Sang” is taken from another poem by
Christina Rossetti and features two special guests: singer-songwriter
Agnes Milewski (female vocals) and Filippo Pedretti (violin). It's a
beautiful acoustic ballad that could recall bands such the Pentangle
or Renaissance... “I wept for memory / She sang for hope that is so
fair / My tears were swallowed by the sea / Her songs died in the
wind...”.
“We
Never Said Farewell” is a short, “gentle” track featuring
lyrics taken from a poem by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge... “Two
islands that the roaring sea divide / Are not more far apart...”.
The following piece “Where Were Ye All?” recalls Yes and features
lyrics taken from a poem by Emily Bronte drenched in dark
nostalgia... “O come with me thus ran the song / The moon is bright
in Autumn's sky / And thou hast toiled and laboured long / With
aching head and weary eye...”.
C.J. Vernet: The Shipwreck, 1772
“Hardships”
is my favourite track on this album. It was inspired by a 1772
painting by Claude Joseph Vernet called The Shipwreck. In my
opinion here the band managed to capture the spirit of the evocative,
powerful images in music and words in an excellent way – by the
way, this track features original lyrics written by Richard Allen –
and I'm sure that lovers of Yes and Gentle Giant will appreciate
it... “Pray for the men who dared to dream / Shed no tears, the sea
washed them clean / Say to those men, that you shared their dream /
They paid so dear, right or wrong as it seems...”.
“Incantation
Of The Muse” is short instrumental track for that leads to “The
Sick Rose”, another nice short track featuring lyrics taken from a
poem by William Blake and interpreted by the guest vocalist Jon
Davison... “O Rose thou art sick / The invisible worm / That flies
in the night / In the howling storm / Has found out thy bed / Of
crimson joy / And his dark secret love / Does thy life destroy...”.
The
introspective “Alone” is taken from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe and
features the guest Gabriele Bernasconi on vocals. Another Italian
prog band, Goad, took inspiration from the same poem and it could be
interesting compare the two different versions. Well, Mogador's
version is in some way more solemn and brighter but I like both
versions and, of course, the poetry that inspired them.
The
dark, tense “Song Of Saul Before His Last Battle” is taken from a
poem by Lord Byron. It's a beautiful piece full of obscure energy...
“Farewell to others, but never we part / Heir to my royalty, son of
my heart! / Bright is the diadem, boundless the sway / Or kingly the
death, which awaits us to-day!”. Then comes the short, melancholic
“Le Poison”, taken from a poem by Charles Baudelaire featuring recitative French vocals provided by the
guest Curzio Galante.
The
long, complex “Prometheus” is another excellent piece featuring
lyrics taken from an epic poem by Lord Byron. The poem is about
Prometheus, a famous mythological character of the Ancient Greek, the
titan who brought fire to men and was condemned by Zeus to be
eternally chained to a rock having his liver eaten daily by an eagle.
For Romantic artists, such as Byron, Prometheus represented the rebel
who resisted all forms of institutional tyranny and here the band
give life to the myth in a convincing way with an amazing suite rich
in ideas and full of fiery energy... “Titan! To thee the strife was
given / Between the suffering and the will / Which torture where they
cannot kill...”. A short bonus track, “Absinthe Rag”, a joyful
instrumental piece for piano solo, concludes an album that in my opinion is really
worth listening to.
Mogador began life in 2007 on the Lake Como on the initiative of Richard George Allen (drums, vocals). The first line up was completed by Luca Briccola (piano, keyboards, guitar, flute), Stefano Lago (guitars) and Paolo Pigni (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals). The musicians started to rehearse in a tie factory and named their band Mogador, as the ancient name of the Moroccan port of Essaouira that gave its name to a tie cloth that is a mix of silk and cotton. According to their website the same idea of mixing is reflected in the influences on Mogador’s style since the individual members of the band enjoy all kinds of music from progressive rock to folk, from fusion to classical.
In 2009 they released a first interesting self produced eponymous album, a kind of conceptual work inspired by the four elements that was recorded in a non professional home-studio. The lyrics are in English and the overall sound of the album recalls the early Genesis... Well, despite the poor recording means the result is not bad at all.
There is a short opener that sets the atmosphere and introduces the subject matter with narrative vocals, “Ab imis fundamenti”. It leads to “The Salamander”, a track inspired by fire, the fire of passion... “There’s a fire that I burn / When I desire, when I yearn...”. The second track, “The Tide’s Undertow” was inspired by water and deals with some environmental issues, exalting water for the dangerous strength of its rage and its priceless value for life... “We all can feel water’s primal force / And one day she’ll call us all back out sea / We all exist in the dread and the fear / That one day we’ll live the tide’s undertow...”. Then comes “Tell Me Smiling Child”, one of the two tracks with no relation with the elements of the concept. It’s a short piece for piano and voice featuring lyrics taken from a poem by Emily Brontë...
“Mammon’s Greed” was inspired by earth and takes us back to the concept and its pastoral mood... “Take courage dear friends and we’ll find the way / Hope never ends to see that perfect day / When Earth and Man live as one...”. Next comes the other track non related to the elements, the short acoustic guitar driven “Solitary Bench – An Alchemy”, my favourite on this work... “There is a place that nobody knows / Where I sit alone on a solitary bench... Like a grain of sand changes into a pearl / I change too... Like an alchemist I turn my lead into gold...”. “Floating In The Void”, the piece inspired by air, and the instrumental symphonic outro “Omnia mutantur, nihil interit” conclude the album. By the way, the beautiful art cover reproduces a painting by Johan Christian Dahl titled “Vesuvius Erupting” where you can see all the elements. In my opinion this tableau depicts in some way the content of the music as well...
Soon after the release of Mogador’s first album, Stefano Lago left the band while the other members started to work on another conceptual work. According to the band, Richard read the story of a man who got trapped in a lift in a newspaper and it struck him as a viable vehicle for a narrative album, the other two agreed and set about writing the music. The result is another self produced work, “All I Am Is Of My Own MaKing”, featuring an improved recording quality and an overall sound that could recall bands such as The Flower Kings and Spock’s Beard.
The opener “Unexpectedly, Friday” sets the atmosphere. It is just like any other Friday evening, the weekend beckons and the protagonist of the story is ready to enjoy its delights. But he forgets his keys in the office and has to go back... “I should have taken the stairs but I saw that open door / As I rose the lift shut down, a sudden halt / Unexpected dark and silence / Unwelcome dark and suspense / Took me by surprise...”. The man shouts, asks for help...
“Deep In Trouble Deep” is darker and more aggressive. While Richard George Allen interprets the protagonist of the story Paolo Pigni interprets the narrator and in this piece he takes the lead... “He was the last one out of the door / Trapped in a lift, it was trouble for sure... Hitting wildly in all his rage / To try to break free from this steel cage... So you thought life was so good? / And you said I want everything now / But look now, my young friend, where are you? / Deep in trouble deep...”.
“Panic!” is a beautiful instrumental track featuring many changes in rhythm and mood that describes the feelings of the protagonist when he realises there’s no one to help him...
The next track, “So Cold”, is calmer and begins with an acoustic guitar pattern. The voice of the protagonist comes back... “Panic gave way to reason / As I slid on the floor / At times like these I thought intelligence would pay / But thinking very calmly made it all seem worse... It’s cold, I’m cold / Help me someone...”.
“One Day” begins with a piano solo pattern and marks the lowest ebb of the story for the protagonist. On the first part we can listen to the voice of the narrator. The protagonist finds a gentle peace while his hope slips away and fear gives way to peace. The second part of the track features a church-like atmosphere and great harmony vocals... “We know that one day / We will all fall to sleep... If we have lived in full virtuous and true / Who knows, death may be a blessed relief...”.
Mogador 2010
“Sweet Liberty” is lighter and begins with a delicate acoustic guitar arpeggio, then the rhythm section and the keyboards come in. The protagonist is saved by a rescue team, at first he thinks that the voices of his saviours are nothing but a dream then he can see the light again... “In a moment I was free... In a moment I could see... Finally unbound, all the world was there for me / Thanking endlessly / Oh sweet, sweet liberty...”. Tubular bells announce the end of the dark.
“Homely Smells Again” tells what happens later the same day... “They provided a car to take him home... He turned the key of the door... / He headed for the bed, to rest his head / Finally homely smells again...”. But this is not the end of the story and this is a complex track. The protagonist is woken by the sound of the telephone. A lawyer calls him and insists that he needs assistance... “We met later that week / There were damages to seek / A six or seven figure sum for a life undone...”. The protagonist returns to work two weeks later but when he places the damage claim on his boss’s desk he’s fired... “I was called in by the boss again / And told to return at home / This time I took the stairs...”.
“A New Beginning” is a reflective track that marks the end of the story and the definitive change in the attitude of the protagonist. The protagonist suits his former employer in court under the media’s attention but he loses the case and can’t find another job... “Now I’m living in a different place / Right and wrong are in their place / I take each day as a new beginning / The rising sun brightens the way / Ends the darkness, leads the way...”.
“All I Am Is Of My Own MaKing” begins with a marry piano pattern and draws the moral of the story: never surrender! The music could recall the Beatles and the sax played by the guest Marco “Plumber” Bonetti enriches the sound of this piece... “There are times when you feel sad and very lonely / And the world looks grey and grim / Don’t surrender, face the fight...”. Voices and sounds coming from the country conclude this work as a ghost track.
Well, all in all I think this is an interesting story and a very good work. You can listen to the coplete album HERE
Read the interview with the band on Progarchives. Click HERE
Mogador: All I Am Is Of My Own MaKing (2010). Other opinions:
Brian Block: Mogador, first off, is a fantastic band that is capable of playing many styles within both the prog and rock spectrum... Another good thing about this album is the variety of instruments played here. Not only are there guitars and a bass, but there's also very nice orchestration and the addition of a flute on some songs... Overall I really enjoyed this album, and I'm sure many other prog fans will too. Featuring great musicianship from everyone involved this album was great to listen too and had many memorable riffs and choruses... (read the complete review on seaoftranquillity.org. Click HERE).
Gert Hulshof: Right from the start I was amazed by the sheer beauty of the album... There is no doubt in my mind that Mogador is a great band, with great musicians. I will keep my eye on them. Refreshing... (read the complete review HERE)
