There are those multi-instrumentalists in the progressive rock scene who don't actually receive the full attention they ultimately deserve. Musicians who draw their musical influences and inspiration from the rich prog past of the seventies. This is partly because they primarily choose to release their albums on digital platforms like Bandcamp. But lately, they have also been choosing to release their work on CD. One of them is the German musician Chris Engels and his musical project Cen-ProjekT. Another musician who has also remained under the radar in the progressive rock scene for many years is the British musician Ian Neal. I have been following him for years. Unfortunately, he never received the attention and appreciation he truly deserved. He had never released an album on the silver disc we call a compact disc. Until this year, when I discovered that he has now released something on this medium as well. His fifth studio album This Gemlike Flame, following his digital releases All In The Golden Afternoon...(2005/ 2025), Out Of The Woods (2011), Astro (2013) and Barkston Ash (2021). I count myself lucky that Neal had a review copy sent to me. Before I go deeper into this excellent new album let me introduce this great musician. Ian Neal is an English progressive rock multi-instrumentalist who creates analogue-infused, symphonic, and pastoral prog rock. His music is heavily inspired by classical compositions and 1970s progressive rock golden age icons like Genesis. Most of all the albums A Trick Of The Tail (1976), Wind & Wuthering (1976), ...And Then There Were Three... (1978) and Duke (1980) had a big influence on him music wise. He hails from Derbyshire, England. Neal began formal training on the keyboards and the Hammond organ at age 12. His early home schooling consisted of carefully transcribing and copying complex keyboard solos by progressive rock masters like Tony Banks of Genesis. This deep dive naturally progressed into a rigorous study of classical harmony, orchestral arrangements, and British classical traditions. Distinctly shaping his musical concepts is Neal's background outside of performing. He holds a PhD in Visual Culture and Theory. His listeners, his academic understanding of art history and the 19th-century Aesthetic Movement directly informs the lyrical and structural concepts of his music. He currently records and operates his independent career out of his dedicated studio space in Kalamata, Greece. Right from the start when you begin listening to This Gemlike Flame you can hear that this is a symphonic progressive rock album on which the music is heavily inspired by the 1975-1980 golden era of progressive rock. Most of all the Genesis Influences are very notable. The production directly replicates the lush, analogue-heavy soundscapes of mid-1970s Genesis and keyboardist Tony Banks. The tracks feature rich arrangements layered with Mellotron textures, soaring synthesizers, and Hammond organ. Not to forget the very melodic guitar parts. The pastoral concept is drawing on his background. Neal fuses a Romantic vision of British pastoral landscapes with high-fidelity analogue recording techniques. He himself also views this album as an ode to seventies bands like Genesis. That is why it is naturally not surprising that you hear it reflected on this fine album. To give you an even better impression of what to expect musically on this excellent album, I will go through the tracks with you one by one, tracks on which he does almost everything by himself: How Dreams Do Creep (For Souls Asleep) - The opening track starts with musical parts which could have been taken from the Genesis albums Duke and Abacab (1981) before it moves towards parts which sound as they were taken from A Trick Of The Tail and Wind & Wuthering. Beautiful guitar and keyboard parts alternate nicely. Not to forget the impressive bass pedals. This outstanding musical piece immediately sets the musical standard that continues on the subsequent tracks. It is an instant delight and takes you back to the seventies, when we were actually first introduced to the new musical term progressive rock. However, contemporary musical influences also make themselves felt without explicitly naming names. Perhaps it is the distinctive sound of Ian Neal. Worth mentioning is that Evgenia Papamikrouli is doing some backing vocals on this composition. Late States, Eden's Gates - Here you can hear fantastic parts performed on the Mellotron, timpani, guitars, keyboards and bass pedals. This short tune reminded me of Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers... /...In That Quiet Earth , the celebrated instrumental tracks by Genesis, released on their eighth studio album, Wind & Wuthering. A kind of beautiful mini version of this impressive musical spectacle by Genesis. A great tribute to those compositions if I may say so! Worth mentioning is that Kyle P. Nish is playing on the drums and once again Evgenia Papamikrouli is doing some backing vocals on this excellent piece of music. Enitharmon's Dream - A short beautiful instrumental which is musical homage to Tony Banks and his excellent solo album A Curious Feeling. The guitar and keyboard sounds are beautifully imitated and come close to the sound as heard on the original album released in 1979, which can be considered Bank's solo highlight. Cretan Angel - This is the longest track on the album and it is a tune which reminded me of Entangled by Genesis. It features great parts performed on the acoustic guitar, Mellotron, organ and synthesizers. It is rather mellow overall and more up tempo towards the end with a great bombastic final with great guitar parts. Fresco - Great bombastic instrumental with excellent keyboard and bass pedal parts and most of all great David Gilmour kind of guitar work. Of Aether, Rose And Spangling Dew - A beautiful mellow Steve Hackett kind of musical piece because of the flute and guitar parts. Worth mentioning is that Evgenia Papamikrouli is doing some backing vocals on this composition once again. Leonardo - The grand finale dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci. Released earlier as a stand out single before we could enjoy this version to end this excellent album. A great musical piece which goes from mellow towards more up tempo parts and includes excellent instrumental parts performed on the guitar and synthesizers. A great way to end this excellent album. Worth mentioning is that Evgenia Papamikrouli is doing some backing vocals on this composition for the last time. A beautiful album needs a beautiful cover and this is the case with this album and was done by Olga Lewska. Hopefully, this is not the first and also the last album released on CD by Neal. For fans of seventies prog, and especially those who appreciate Genesis from that era, this is highly recommended. As mentioned earlier, I can only be positive about This Gemlike Flame. Certainly one of the musical highlights of 2026 so far. Every true progressive rock enthusiast must make sure to hear this album, as Ian Neal deserves the attention he earns! ****+ Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
