Review by Paul Sabin for MPM
Sometimes out of the blue a gem comes in for review and the debut album by Aquilla sits firmly in the Diamond category of gems!
This release has a great back story to it as well…
Take five guys all having enjoyed their sixtieth birthdays, who have music in their veins and have in their earlier years enjoyed various degrees of fame and success.
Those guys join up to perform at Dave Trant’s (vocals) milestone birthday party and blow the cobwebs off some classic rock tracks. That successful night leads them into regular live spots around their home county of Devon including supporting The Blockheads and Wishbone Ash no less!
Fast forward to today and those same guys have written and recorded twelve original songs which are a joy to behold.
As lovers of 70s and 80s Rock, the album evolved into somewhat of a concept album which sees the good ship Aquilla (a spaceship) returning home after many years away in the cosmos. What we get here, apart from some great music, is a wonderfully illustrated booklet that is a masterpiece in itself, replete with a letter penned by the captain of the ship as part of the CD package.
On to the music, track one ‘Perspectives’, kicks off with the ship announcing its arrival and docking ahead of swirling synth pads and choral passages which sound simply huge! The title track launches in, and a classic rock riff courtesy of Matthew Finnish and Graham Keeling rings out. Harmonised vocals and a tight rhythm engine from Jim Chapman (drums) and Barney Callister (bass) keep things locked down but take no prisoners.
The clock ticks to introduce ‘Turn The Page’ before twin guitars ring out on what could be a distant cousin of Mott The Hoople’s ‘Roll Away The Stone’. The guitar solos here put many a guitar hero to shame! ‘Dissimulato’ thunders out like a freight train rolling down the tracks and brings in a superb hook line. Trant’s gritty vocals blended with great harmonies make this a killer track.
‘My Father’ ushers in sweet, clean, jangly Spanish guitar in this softer but intricate piece. The vocal tone here reminds me of David Essex! ‘Your Masters Name’ is a slower, almost psychedelic sixties style track, but it still packs a punch with some sweet guitar soloing. Somewhat of a Neil Young feel going on here.
‘Friends Of Mine’ is no holds barred rocker that has elements of Status Quo, The Eagles and Steve miller leaping out. ‘The Golden Road’ from the start has flavours of Queen and Bowie in this rocky ballad.
The Wind blows hard as ‘Calm Before The Storm’ starts off scapula and a horse code signal paves way for the mighty chords of ‘Welcome The Tide’ A more punky edge peeps through between the twin guitars and harried vocals here.
‘Altair’ with its haunting guitar and Hammond organ intro is an anthemic track with crashing guitars and a great chugging rhythm is 80s Stadium rock territory. We finish with a massive track with a pounding, balls to the wall beat, glorious synth pads, scraping guitar sounds and screaming solos which rekindle memories of Steve Hackett’s innovative material.
These tracks are so well written and performed. They could so easily have been done by any of the rock greats, but what is most astounding is that the band that created this are not youngsters and do not perform on the world’s stages. That being said, after this maybe they should!
If you are a fan of 70s and 80s Rock and enjoy Queen, ELO, The Sweet, The Stranglers and Wishbone Ash then this album will blow you away.
Get it or regret it!
Pre-order now at: aquilla.sumupstore.com
