Artist: Saracen
Label: Escape Music
Release: 2011
Length: 58:05
Rating: 4.5/5
Anyone who heard the previous two albums from these, you could say legendary, horsemen of British melodic rock, the comeback “Red Sky” (2003) and the follow-up “Vox In Excelsio” from 2006, surely didn’t walk away from the excellence of either one stone cold and indifferent. We had to wait a good while for the new album. Five solid years. It’s called “Marilyn”. And there’s a concept behind it. So there were two options, both horribly overused. Either a new tale of the legend of King Arthur, or a new story about the late Hollywood star, the American sex symbol. The chosen option: Marilyn Monroe.
The band, which has always had its own distinctive musical approach, stepping delicately along the thin line between N.W.O.B.H.M. and AOR, really went big this time. Turning the life story of Marilyn Manson into a concept brought a pretty noticeable shift in style along with it. And yet. In the end, Saracen delivered an album that’s theirs and theirs alone, and once again came through the rough winds of a new challenge with flying colors.
The result is the most demanding album of Saracen’s career, one that grows slower than you’d expect and takes a lot of attention before it settles, sinks in and sticks with the listener. The Broadway lights come on, and with them the saxophone of the new Saracen album (the opening instrumental “The Girl: Norma Jean”). Saracen have used sax here and there on past records, but no Saracen album has ever given it this much room. You could call it by far the most “experimental” Saracen album, and at the same time the one with by far the most pomp and bombast.
Saracen keep their recognizable sonic and stylistic signature, and in that they remain total originals. Since the concept is demanding, adapting the style was a must, and it takes some transformation and a bit more mental effort in the search for the right musical solutions. “The Oprhan: Wither The Wind Blows” is responsive in that way too. It grabs you with an outstanding mood that brims with bottled-up pomp and a steadily building drama. This track actually reveals the point of the new Saracen approach right at the start of the album. Rob Bendelow, the band’s boss, wisely picked several lead vocalists for this album and split the roles among them. He handed “The Orphan: Whiter The Wind Blows” and “The Patient: Break The Spell” to Steve Bettney. Naturally, both tracks make the fullest use of the artistic profile of past Saracen works, and they’re also the most wound-up and direct (melodic) rockers here, with the most punch packed in, flaunting the typical atmosphere these Englishmen have always gotten under your skin with so masterfully. Loaded with dramatic twists, highly vibrant, with full melodic payoff and keeping the song in sharp “moulin rouge” focus. These are the moments Saracen fans were waiting for most. “The Witness: Unfinished Life” is much the same, with bassist Richard Bendelow contributing the lead vocal.
This time, though, the album demands a different approach to listening. In principle, “Vox In Excelsio” already did (Saracen have always been oddballs in melodic rock). And as such, it will reward you richly if you give it a real chance. Since we’re talking “Broadway”, the album has to feel American. That’s why Bendelow invited Robin Beck onto the record. And she’s the key figure who pulls the album forward. Her vocals are surely the best that this singer, known to every fan of evergreen eighties hits as the Coca-Cola lover, could possibly offer. Her vocal approach shines in sophisticated sensuality, especially in the quieter parts, while the touch of huskiness in her falsetto adds that teasing note of eroticism a concept like this flat-out demands! Robin Beck is the main figure of the album this time. Some arrangements are deliberately drawn close to the blues in their melodies, and yet Saracen don’t lose their typical stylistic and sonic signature for a second. In these spots, Robin Beck’s vocals, with her innate talent for dressing melodic lines in “soul acrobatics” work perfectly and bring the concept’s story to life with phenomenal success. The album is crowned by Robin Beck’s vocal approach on the hugely dramatic closer “The Woman: Marilyn”, with its venomously bombastic, infectious chorus that carries the album to its absolute peak.
A good 50 minutes of music fly by in the blink of an eye. With this release, Saracen masterfully measured out a new step forward in their development. They’ve delivered an exceptionally varied album, both in style and in mood, proving this is a band that has always successfully cleared the hurdles of one new challenge after another as it chased its goals, all while keeping its clear and uniquely recognizable musical character. Once again, Saracen have masterfully played themselves a fresh poker hand of aces. So “Marilyn” asks for a bit more attention, but once it gets under your skin, you won’t tire of it quickly. It’s also the Saracen album with the most pomp, and at the same time one that, given the concept, doesn’t go after rock “destructiveness” at all costs or the predictable arrangement templates of melodic rock. That’s why the sophisticated parts of the record hit even sweeter, often taking the lead on the album, and the key ingredient is the cumulative effect of all the vocalists, Robin Beck in particular, which gives this Saracen album its own special place on the overall rock map. I can say right away that, given the specifics of the chosen concept and the arrangement tweaks that came with it, Saracen will never make an album like this again. At the same time, it’s a sign that another highly interesting successor to “Marilyn” awaits us down the road, and that this legendary band, which put out its studio debut in 1981, keeps moving forward.
Line-up
Steve Bettney – vocals
Rob Bendelow – guitar
Paul Bradder – keyboards
Snake Davis – saxophone
Richard Bendelow – bass
Paul Gibson – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Issa – vocals on track no. 3
Robin Beck – vocals on tracks no. 4, 5, 8, 9, 11
Steve Overland (FM) – vocals on track no. 5
Production
Saracen
Track list
1. Norma Jeane
2. Whither the Wind Blows
3. Hold On (Issa)
4. Make This Body Work (Robin Beck)
5. Who Am I (Beck & Overland)
6. Love Like A Razorblade
7. Break the Spell
8. Not For Sure (Robin Beck)
9. Like Going Home (Robin Beck)
10. Unfinished Life
11. Marilyn (Robin Beck)
