Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Rothery, Steve
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2014
Running time: 62:24
Rating: 4/5
Marillion’s founding, irreplaceable guitarist Steve Rothery is one of the most refined (prog) rock guitarists of all time, yet he had to wait quite a while before some listeners who aren’t into the experimental offshoots of rock music started to appreciate him too. Part of the reason Steve’s status as a guitar master is less widely recognized is his rather quiet and modest character, along with the fact that he was always the ‘team player’ guitarist who never pushed himself into the spotlight and put off a solo career for a long time.
The first people to try to talk him into it were the EMI label execs back in the mid-eighties, when Marillion were at the peak of their commercial success and they wanted to squeeze out a bit of extra cash that way, but Steve wasn’t in the mood for any kind of solo venture back then. Instead, in the mid-nineties he founded the folk-rock-leaning side project The Wishing Tree, working with American singer Hannah Stobart on the two albums so far.
This time he decided the moment had come to start his solo career, which he announced with the upcoming studio album »The Ghost of Pripyat«, reportedly featuring some prestigious guests, Steve Hackett among them. Before that, though, he decided to road-test how the songs from his solo debut sound live. During his show in Rome, Rothery played six new instrumental pieces backed by his band. The result was the double live album »Live In Rome«, which features the new solo tracks plus some Marillion evergreens played in the encore. It was only the second gig for Steve’s band, after the festival show in Bulgaria in October 2013, when the decision to launch a solo career was made.
Steve’s guitar style carries plenty of influences from guitar legends like David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis) and Andy Latimer (Camel), and all these virtuosos left their mark on how he composed his solo material too. All six instrumentals on the first disc are strongly ambient in color, and even though only one of them is shorter than ten minutes, they fly by in a blink, because the incredibly subtle atmosphere, amid the unbelievable flow of each arrangement, doesn’t let up for a second. The opening instrumental »Morpheus« is the very incarnation of Steve’s guitar refinement and versatility, with his trademark improvisations played in an utterly emotional and passionate way. Backing Mr. Rothery in Rome are rhythm guitarist Dave Foster (Mr. So & So), bassist Yatim Halimi (Panic Room) and drummer Leon Parr (ex-Mosque).
»Kendris«, thanks to Rothery’s mellifluous guitar passages and shamanic atmosphere at the expense of rhythmic nuance, at times sounds like some forgotten Pink Floyd instrumental from the »Obscured By Clouds« era (1972). Between songs, Steve also explains why he decided to make his studio debut instrumental and why he took a similar approach to composing as if he were writing music for a film. »The Old Man Of The Sea« makes refined use of soundscapes, while a melancholic guitar melody slowly builds a mysterious, slightly nostalgic atmosphere, and it’s not hard to picture Hemingway’s famous literary hero battling the ocean.
»White Pass« is dedicated to the memory of the gold diggers who died in droves on the icy plains of Alaska and Canada at the end of the 19th century, chasing a handful of gold. Fittingly, it’s ruled by an extremely cold, harrowing ambient feel, thanks to the flowing soundscapes and Steve’s later melancholic guitar variations. Mr. Rothery dedicates the next instrumental, »Yesterday’s Hero«, to his recently deceased stepfather, a war veteran, and in his speech to the audience he muses philosophically on how a person can become ‘tomorrow’s hero’. The mood here is a bit brighter and more serene, thanks to minimalist guitar and percussion subtleties. Before announcing the last piece, »Summers’ End«, which is full of nostalgic ambient nuances that bring back memories of every missed opportunity at the end of summer, Steve delights the crowd by announcing an encore in which he’ll play some beloved Marillion standards.
The encore is where those come in, and Steve surprises with guest singer Manuela Milanese, who does a surprisingly good job on the classics »Waiting To Happen« and »Sugar Mice«. On the remaining Marillion evergreens, the melodramatic masterpiece »Cinderella Search«, the ambient gem »Afraid Of Sunlight« and the pastoral power ballad »Easter«, guest singer Alessandro Carmassi takes his turn, and he handles his vocal duties decently too. Of course, Steve is well aware that these are just solid approximations that fire up the crowd a bit more, since there are only two singers who can deliver these masterpieces ‘the way they should be’: Fish and Steve Hogarth.
»Live In Rome« is a fun live warm-up ahead of the release of Rothery’s studio debut »The Ghost of Pripyat«, due out on September 22, 2014, and it also gives a good few answers about how the individual tracks will sound. By the sound of it, a real treat is on the way for all fans of guitar-driven instrumental prog rock with a strong ambient stamp. It rarely happens that an artist releases a live album before their studio debut, but given that Rothery is a world-famous name thanks to his exploits with Marillion, he could afford to do it as he pleased.
Line-up
Steve Rothery – lead guitar
Dave Foster – rhythm guitar
Yatim Halimi – bass guitar
Leon Parr – drums
GUEST SINGERS:
Manuela Milanese – vocals
Alessandro Carmassi – vocals
Production
Steve Rothery
Track list
1. Morpheus
2. Kendris
3. The Old Man Of The Sea
4. White Pass
5. Yesterday’s Hero
6. Summer’s End
CD 2:
1. Waiting To Happen
2. Afraid Of Sunlight
3. Easter
4. Sugar Mice
5. Cinderella Search
6. Materna Luna
7. Monolith pt.2
