The project 'Looking-Glass Lantern' was created in 2013 by the Englishman 'Graham Dunnington' who has a classical musical background (he has a doctorate in Victorian popular music) and who is also fond of progressive rock and who therefore combined these two passions to release several studio recordings since his new album 'A World of Great Invention' is already the fourth after 'A Tapestry Of Tales' in 2013, 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles' in 2014 and 'Candlelight And Empire' that I had reviewed in 2018. The theme of the new opus is focused on the discoveries of the Victorian period period with each song which that tells us about an invention with, in bulk, the revolution of the daily of ordinary people, the postage stamp, the bicycle, the department stores, portrait photography, the disappearance of the sailing ships that carried tea due to the advent of steamboats, the industrialization of agriculture and interior domestic lighting.
And from the start, with 'The World Came Into The Home', we are immersed in the musical universe of the Englishman with a preponderant use of keyboards which highlights a symphonic style that borrows from the classical side and quiet of formations of the 70s like 'Genesis', 'Barclay James Harvest', 'Yes' or even 'Renaissance', then 'The Letter', in an atmosphere more classical, adds a little more tones of vintage keyboards and 'A New Freedom' accelerates the tempo in a luminous composition perfectly imaging bike rides. Follows 'Inside A World Of Wonder', whose joyful and radiant atmosphere takes us on a long development in which the singing can recall the high pitched voice of 'Jon Anderson' while 'A moment Captured' welcomes us to the sound of a harpsichord with a classical melody which can recall the symphonic atmosphere of some titles of 'Al Stewart'. It is with 'The Great Tea Race Of 1866' that we hold the major title of the album of more than 16 minutes which juxtaposes different sections with very accessible melodic lines and a symphonic side pushed to its extreme illustrating travel in boats to bring the tea back to England. The end of the album remains in this same symphonic atmosphere with first of all 'The Old Ways And The New Ways' which is in the same style as the previous title then 'The Meaning Of The Light' offers us a last ballad with classical sounds and with a heady melody that never leaves us.
In summary, 'Graham Dunnington' continues to bring us albums mixing classic ambiances with a peaceful and refined progressive which deploys melodic lines taking us back to the early 70s which makes 'A World of Great Invention' a album that should appeal to all those who like a calm and relaxing symphonic progressive... | |
