Artiste: Steve Rothery
Nationality: British
Album: The Ghosts of Pripyat
Year: 2014
Label: Inside Out
Genre: Progressive Rock
Tracks:
Morpheus
Kendris
Old man of the sea
White pass
Yesterday's hero
Summer's end
The ghosts of Pripyat
Chronological position: Debut solo album
Rank: As far as Rothery is concerned, Noob, but I've followed all his work with Marillion since day one.
Comments: I love Steve Rothery but this could be a tough ask, as I have a feeling it will be all guitar instrumental. First track certainly is. Apparently he's helped out on this by Steve Hackett, and no doubt any guitarist would hear this, but I don't. Decent tune, naturally very Marillion but not too much so. There's an extra Steve on “Old man of the sea” as Steven Wilson joins him, and it's good to hear some keyboards now too. For an almost twelve-minute instrumental this is pretty fine, and doesn't stretch or drag at all. Sort of church organ in “White pass”, which is nice. “Yesterday's hero” though borrows way too heavily from the closing sections of “Shine on you crazy diamond part VI-IX” then “Summer's end” is a beautifully laidback little piece, very evocative of those lazy days lying under the sun and looking up at the sky with nothing particular to do. Gets quite rocky later on with some killing organ. A really impressive debut, though of course it's not a debut: Rothery has been making music with Marillion and amassing fans for over thirty years now, but as a solo effort, without the security of his longterm bandmates behind him, this is utterly enthralling and shows that Steve can very easily stand on his own, even if occasionally supported by other giants of the prog world. He's not standing on their shoulders, nor they on his: they're standing back to back and presenting a truly remarkable body of work.
Intention: n/a
