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Shadowland - Ring Of Roses

Artist:	Shadowland
Title:	Ring Of Roses
Label:	Verglas Music VGCD006
Length(s):	67 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1992/1997
Month of review:	06/1997

Line up

Clive Nolan - keyboards
Ian Salmon - bass
Karl Groom - guitars
Nick Harradence - drums

Tracks

1)	The Whistleblower	6.32
2)	Jigsaw	11.05
3)	Scared Of The Dark	6.09
4)	Painting By Numbers	6.34
5)	Hall Of Mirrors	14.23
6)	The Kruhulick Syndrome	6.07
7)	Ring Of Roses	6.31
8)	Dorain Gray	2.49
9)	I, Judas	6.04

Summary

This is in fact the only Shadowland album I own (I mean in this case, that I owned it before I got it). This is the rerelease of the first album of Shadowland that was released in 1992 on SI Music. It also contains two bonus tracks that could be heard earlier on the two SI Compilation discs. The artwork is new as one might expect and is of the hand of no less than Peter Nicholls. I imagine the other album will also be rereleased and we can hope they will add the single Dreams of Ferrymen to it, making all of Shadowland's music available. I once read a remark of Nolan, being that progressive rock lacked two things: sex and humour. I do think he was thinking more of the neo-progressive that was quite popular at the time here in the Netherlands and I do think he was right. On the other hand, Clive never did do anything to compensate this.

The music

After an a-capella intro the uplifting sound of Shadowland can be fully heard with a loud sharp guitarsound and accompanying keyboards. The bass can also be heard quite well. The vocals of Nolan are not always to my liking, being a little too dramatic at times, but his voice is okay. The first track Whistleblower is quite a bright track, up-tempo and could serve as opener for a concert. Rather anthemic song, where people would be invited to sing a long. In the middle there is a more introspective darker part with a crying guitar. Of course the track ends in euphoria. Catchy track, maybe a little too for some.

The singing style in Jigsaw is typically Clive, being a little melodramatic and pathetic (in the original meaning "with pathos"). The guitar of Karl Groom is ever present, once being percolative and the other time being dark and soaring and yet another time victorious.

Scared of the Dark is a percussive track that reminds me at times of of Fish's Shadowplay that was released in the same year. A good track with subtle bass work and nice drums.

Painting by Numbers on the other hand is bombastic with a mid-tempo verse and he might have left out they hey-i-yeheheheah. Not one of the stronger tracks.

Hall of Mirrors is the epic of the album. After a slow start the song turns bombastic on us. After a dark, off-beat intermezzo the bombast returns only to be replaced by an acoustic part wherein the vocals have been doubled. Of course the song ends on a high energy note.

The pianic intro of this track shows the classical training of Nolan and in fact the entire track has that classic sauce poured all over it. Good melodies and well worked out.

The closer of the album Ring of Roses is a sing-a-long track in the line of Whistleblower. The first part of the track is quiet and reminds me a little of the softer side of Pendragon. I'm not too fond of the track.

Dorian Gray is the bonus track originally from the first SI Compilation Disc. It is mostly piano and carries a lot of emotion in the vocals. One of the better Shadowland tracks.

I, Judas is from the SI Compilation Disc Too. It is a mid-tempo track with a long keyobardsolo in the middle. Not a very strong track.

Conclusion

Parallels can be drawn with Nolans ?th band Arena, although he is more in the spotlights here. The compositions are recognizably his though (but I get that impression with Arena also). Typical neo-progressive, well-crafted, with nice melodies, but also rather unadventurous and unsurprising. Catchy stuff and some consider this a drawback.