Izvođač: Yak
Izdavač: Samozaložba
Izlazak: 2008
Ocjena: 3.8/5
Yak je jedan od onih sastava koji su postojali već u osamdesetima, ali im iz nekih meni nepoznatih razloga tada nije uspjelo izdati album. Dvadeset godina kasnije voditelj sastava, Martin Morgan, odlučio je oživjeti pjesme iz tog vremena i odsvirati ih na albumu Dark Side of the Duck, uz pomoć svojih klavijatura i programiranih bubnjeva. Rezultat nije bio osobito uspješan, ali pokazalo se da Morganova glazba ima puno potencijala, samo da se odlučio svirati s pravim bendom. Upravo to se dogodilo na Journey of the Yak.
Journey of the Yak pun je prog stereotipa – aluzija na progresivne pjesme iz sedamdesetih, aluzija na Tolkiena,… ali to uopće nije tako važno ako se usredotočiš samo na glazbu. Martinu Morganu je napokon uspjelo. Stvorio je album koji pokazuje njegov prirodan osjećaj za dobre melodije i za dobre klavijaturističke linije. Čovjek odlično svira, ali u prvi plan uvijek stavlja pjevnost.
Oni koji znate povijest sastava, znate da je nastao u osamdesetima, kad je počeo neo progresivni pokret. Bili biste u pravu kad biste pretpostavili da Yak dosta ideja posuđuju od Genesis, čak je i jedan naslov (“Entangled in Dreams”) očito posuđen od Genesis. Osjećaju se i utjecaji Camel te Emerson, Lake and Palmer, no Morgan nikad ne pokušava sakriti svoju ljubav prema klasičnom progu. Ipak, mislim da je najvažnije to što Morgan uvijek svira s velikom dozom melodičnosti. Naravno, prog utjecaja ima napretek, ali su dobro predstavljeni, s dobrim zvukovima klavijatura, dobrim melodijama i kvalitetnim sviranjem.
Mislim da je Morgan donio pravu odluku kad je za pomoć zamolio samo ritam sekciju. Toliko je dobar klavijaturist da bi previše ostalih instrumenata značilo distrakciju od njegovih ekstravagantnih klavijaturističkih sposobnosti. Morgan je izvrstan kroz cijelu ploču, a čak koristi i neke efekte kako bi na klavijaturama dočarao zvuk gitare. Zasigurno je on zvijezda ovog izdanja, ali i preostala dvojica odradila su važan posao.
S Journey of the Yak Martin Morgan konačno je ostvario svoj potencijal, koji je pokazivao već na prethodnim izdanjima. Napokon mu je uspjelo posložiti sve zajedno – dobre kompozicije, koje ovaj put izvode pravi instrumenti. Journey of the Yak, doduše, dosta posuđuje od drugih sastava, ali su skladbe toliko solidne da se manjak originalnosti zapravo uopće ne osjeti. Nadam se da ovo nije Morganov posljednji juriš i da ćemo u budućnosti od njega čuti još ovakvih stvari.
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Yak was one of those bands that was around in the 80s but never managed to release an album, for whatever reasons. Twenty years later, the band leader Martin Morgan resurrected some of the old songs and played them on the album Dark Side of the Duck with the aid of his array of keyboards and his programmed drums. The end result was anything but spectacular, but it did show Morgan’s music had a great deal of potential if he would only play it with a real band. This is exactly what happened on Journey of the Yak.
Journey of the Yak is full of prog stereotypes – allusions to 70s progressive rock songs, allusions to Tolkien,… but this becomes less of an issue if you focus only on the music. Martin Morgan has finally done it. He has created an album that shows off his natural feel for good melody and tasteful lead keyboards. He knows how to play, but good melodies are always paramount.
For those of you familiar with Yak’s history, you know that they were formed in the 80s when the neo movement was gaining in popularity. Therefore, you are right to assume that Journey of the Yak is full of Genesis influences. There’s even a title (“Entangled in Dreams”) that obviously borrows from Genesis. There are also some influences from Camel and ELP that I notice, but Morgan never tries to hide his love for classic prog. However, I think the most important element here is that Morgan always plays with a great deal of melody in mind. Sure, there are lots of prog influences, but they are presented in a very good way, with good keyboard sounds, good melodies and fine playing.
I think it was the right choice for Morgan to enlist the help of only a rhythm section for this effort. He is such a strong keyboard player that the addition of too many other instruments would distract the listener from his extravagant keyboard skills. Morgan shines throughout the record, even using some effects to simulate a guitar on the keys. He’s the star here, there’s no doubt, but both other guys perform admirably.
With Journey of the Yak, Martin Morgan has finally realized the potential shown on his previous recordings. He has finally managed to put it all together – the good compositions played by a real band this time. Journey of the Yak is unashamedly derivative, but the compositions are solid and make up for the lack of originality. Hopefully, this isn’t the last hurrah from Morgan and whatever group of musicians he chooses to work with and I hope to hear more from him in the future.
Postava
Martin Morgan – klavijature
Dave Speight – bubnjevi
Gary Bennett – bas
Produkcija
Yak
Popis skladbi
1. Gates of Moria (3:12)
2. Entangled in Dreams (10:04)
3. Jadis of Charn (11:28)
4. March of the Huorns (12:04)
5. Dearly Departed (3:06)
6. Journey of the Yak (8:30)
