After the magnificent album 'Requiem for a Dream' from 'Karnataka', we stay in the progressive with another project imagined by 'Edward Reekers' (who was known at the end of the 70s as singer of 'Kayak'), 'The Liberty Project' which, given the pedigree of the man, brings together an impressive number of artists from the international scene and from all walks of life. The press kit asks the question: "Is this a rock opera, a musical or a concept album?" because, it is not common but this gargantuan project can be related to all three. First of all, the concept is based on a parallel universe created by a second big bang and 'Edward Reekers' imagines what would have happened to our planet and its inhabitants. Then, opera because the whole uses numerous singers and choristers, mixing different styles ranging from pop to metal, including rock, blues and classical music. And finally, musical comedy because the atmospheres deployed are close to American musical comedies with a theatrical side highlighted by expressive interpretations on very accessible melodic lines that we want to sing in chorus.
On the menu of 'The Liberty Project', no long developments but compositions numbering 17 which can be listened to independently not exceeding 6 minutes for a duration of 80 minutes in total. Consequently, given the density of the whole, I will not launch into title by title and I will focus my review on two points: the variety of styles and the fantastic distribution of this album. First of all, 'Edward Reekers' offers us different styles which bring a remarkable diversity of listening, the omnipresent atmosphere of musical comedy linking the whole: beautiful ballads ('Two Lifetimes', 'Liberty' and 'As Good As Any Goal'), varied instrumentals mixing epic, atmospheric and contemporary ambiances with remarkable orchestral arrangements (the prologue, the epilogue, 'Remember the Fallen, Celebrate Life'), catchy rock and hard rock compositions ('The Present Day ', 'The Desease', 'Money'), AOR atmospheres with addictive melodies ('Good Citizens', 'Onwards And Forwards'), cabaret atmosphere ('Patients, Have Patience'), sensual blues ('The Break Up') , pop atmospheres ('Turn To Us, Learn From Us'), beautiful refrain ('Never Again') or even a classic atmosphere with magnificent choirs ('The Clash of Belief'). I will add a special mention to the magnificent title 'We Live To Die' which gives you goosebumps with the magnificent final children's choir. The second point that I would like to emphasize is the fact that 'Edward Reekers' has used his address book well by calling on numerous artists from the progressive scene: imagine an album that brings together 'Steve Hackett', 'Arjen Lucassen', 'Mark Bogert', 'Joost van den Broek', 'Damien Wilson', 'John 'Jaycee' Cuijpers', 'Marcela Bovio', to which you can adding many artists playing classical instruments, is something unique that is offered to us and which allows us to achieve this level of quality. If you want an overview of this album, videos are available on YouTube with the following titles: 'The Present Day', 'Good Citizens' and 'The Disease'
In summary, like 'Arjen Lucassen' with his great progressive metal productions, 'Edward Reekers' offers us an even broader musical work in terms of the styles proposed that we master at the first listening and which benefits from a panel of prestigious guests bringing a quality of masterful interpretation but, on the other side of the coin, will we be able to benefit from live shows because setting up this kind of project risks being quite complicated given the obligations of each. Let's all hope that 'Edward Reekers' will be able to stage this musical masterpiece and that, for all those who will not be able to participate, will also be able to record it for posterity on DVD/Blu-ray because 'The Liberty Project' is the kind of project that deserves, like any rock opera or musical comedy, to be presented as a show... | |
