We find again 'Rick Miller' with a new album which is, if I count correctly, the 16th since 1984 and, these last 4 years have been busy since he released 'Delusional' in 2018 and two consecutive albums in 2020, 'Belief in the Machine' and 'Unstuck in Time' which makes 4 albums in less than 5 years if we count this last jewel 'Old Souls'. And when I talk about jewelry, we can say that 'Rick Miller' is a goldsmith in the matter because he shapes a musical universe in a progressive rock made of calm and relaxing tempos with beautiful melodies on which he puts his sweet voice. 'Old Souls' is another good example of this and, I know that each time one of his albums is released, I listen to it religiously, headphones on, in the evening after work and that's every time a total delight that allows you to completely relax while listening to its magnificent melodies.
'Time's Way' begins the album with a long 'Floydian' development which rocks us quietly to the rhythms of Rick's almost whispered vocals and 'Gilmourian' guitar accompaniments on which we completely surrender, then, 'Guinevere' adds strings in a rather dark atmosphere and this acoustic shows an endearing melancholy thanks to very beautiful melodic lines. We raise the emotional slider a few degrees with the magnificent 'Haunt Me' which unrolls a touching melody accompanied by a tearful guitar and, without transition, 'Virgin Rebirth', after an introduction with overwhelming strings, accelerates the tempo for a catchy composition with electronic sounds, then, 'The Red Sky' is a very beautiful ballad with a long instrumental introduction magnified by a piano/cello/flute trio and whose sung part is magnificent thanks in particular to the captivating voice of 'Rick Miller' and aerial accompaniments. Follows 'Ixtlan Awaits' which reminds me of the atmosphere of the first 'Barclay James Harvest' thanks to a catchy melody which never leaves you and which has a psychedelic section in the middle of the title which takes us into a waking dream, then, we continue our journey with two magnificent instrumentals, first of all, 'A Stitch in Time' in an exotic and bewitching oriental atmosphere, then, 'Lost Karma' is another invitation to travel, this time to the sound of a bewitching flute. Arrives the long development 'Don Quixote' which alone is worth the purchase of the album and which immerses us in an atmosphere reminiscent of the best titles of 'Pink Floyd' and we let ourselves be lulled by the slow tempo progressing gently with interventions guitar magic and the sweet voice of 'Rick Miller' which makes us go up on a small cloud, all this being interspersed by a Hispanic section of great beauty and another psychedelic section made of a series of disturbing sounds to return to a final with some acoustic guitar notes. And as everything must have an end, 'Time's Way Reprise' closes this very good album with the starting theme bringing us back to the best of 'Floyds'.
In summary, it is still a very beautiful album that 'Rick Miller' offers us which continues to fill us with a quiet and delicate atmospheric progressive. If you are a fan of the soaring facet of 'Pink Floyd', you should quickly adopt 'Old Souls' which, for me, will certainly be one of the best albums of 2022 in melodic and atmospheric progressive... | |
