Published on Sep 10, 1999
Protos formed in 1979, from humble beginnings, and ended in much
the same way in, I believe, about 1982. A three piece unit,
comprising Rory Duff, a self-taught keyboardist of no mean skill,
Steve Anscombe, a competent guitarist in the style of his namesake,
Steve Hackett and finally, Neil Goldsmith on drums. There are no
vocals. Not appearing on the album, but present in later
incarnations was Nigel Rippon, playing bass, and Iain Carnegie, who
replaced Goldsmith on percussion. The band’s influences are not
tricky to guess, being Genesis (Gabriel-era), Camel, Yes, ELP and
Supertramp. In short, a progressive band, but, it must be said, a
group that formed ten years too late to achieve any form of
commercial success. As a result, only one album was released, and
not in very great numbers, either.
I think I last listened to this album about ten years ago – in
turning to it now for review purposes, I rather expected a painful
experience and an opportunity for me to express disdain and
derision in a variety of interesting ways, but, lo, I was in for a
surprise. This album is actually very enjoyable – rough,
naïve, lacking in polish and in production values, but a treat
all the same.
“The Fugitive” is the longest track on the album, with epic
aspirations much in evidence. A somewhat cheesy synth-sound,
possibly Rick Wakeman-inspired, spells out some rather attractive
melodies, with an able accompaniment by Anscombe’s smooth
guitar-play. I am a sucker for all things Steve Hackett, and any
like-minded individuals will probably appreciate this track in the
same way. Duff employs a Korg synth, if I recall correctly, with a
horn sound with a somewhat irritating decay effect, however,
there’s a welcome piano break in there which is greatly
appreciated. Drums, especially cymbals, are too high in the mix,
and detract from the overall quality of the song. All in all, the
sound is a little thin, as Duff’s bass pedals are no replacement
for a decent bass guitarist (a complaint that I could repeat for
each track, although I won’t). On the plus side, the melodies are
great, and when the song is good, it’s very good.
“Thing Of Beauty” is a pretty tune, if a little twee. The
acoustic 12-string guitar is rather pleasant, and Duff’s strings
synthesiser effective (and a welcome change from the Korg, which
makes another jarring appearance here). A rather shorter track, but
would have benefited from being shorter still. The band’s need for
a bassist is especially highlighted here (oops, I said I wouldn’t
keep saying that).
The highlight of the album must be “The Maiden”. It kicks off as
a smooth, rocking sort of piece, energetically played. The band, up
until now perhaps a little tentative and unsure of itself, plays
with great assurance and confidence. Indeed, I can attest to the
power of this song when heard in live performance, where it was
always a crowd-pleaser. Thoughtful, introspective interludes are
punctuated by the rousing main tune, a motif repeated several times
using different pairs of lead instruments. The textures thereby
achieved are very satisfying. I am particularly fond of the
treble-boosted electric guitar used by Anscombe on this track.
Overcoming an earlier hesitancy, there are welcome guitar
flourishes that really complement the piece. There’s a simple piano
break part-way through, a splendidly pompous, quite jazzy riff that
is very fun.
I had to remember how to flip an LP over at this stage – too
used to the comforts of CD I guess, but this album only exists in
vinyl form, so …
I nearly regretted the effort – “Panamor” starts off as an
awful, grim piece of twaddle. A sickly, trite acoustic guitar
intro, followed by an irritating piping synth sound, the effect was
jarring. Don’t despair, though. The intro is a red herring, as the
song undergoes a complete metamorphosis. An expansive, growling
synth sound seems to mean business, followed by string synth and
12-string acoustic describing a simple, yet appealing melody. I
suddenly became aware again of the drummer during this track, when
he started banging a bass drum in a way reminiscent of The Strawbs’
“You Won’t Get Me, I’m Part Of The Union”. The treble-boosted
electric guitar is once again used to great effect, but overall,
this is the weakest track on the album.
A song that seems to have improved substantially over the years
is the tongue-in-cheek, “Hunting Extremely Large Animals”. An
opportunity for the keyboardist and guitarist to showcase their
skills, this is a deliberately plodding piece, meant to simulate
the slow, heavy movements of the eponymous beasts. Years ago, I
hated this song, but it has grown on me. An enduring memory of mine
is Duff on the stage during performances of this song, yelling at
the other band members, “SLOWLY! PLAY SLOWLY!”.
There’s a short, yet fascinating piece next called “New
Horizons”, only forty or so seconds in length, barely an
introduction really. I really like it, and wish it had been
developed further, but I suspect that is, in part, the nature of
its appeal – it leaves you wanting more. The piece it introduces is
named simply, “Protos”. This is quite a catchy number, very
Camelesque. The guitar work is Andy Latimer-ish, and a little
plaintive, but effective all the same. The tempo ebbs and flows,
and I recall that the band would struggle to keeps things even
during the fast parts during live shows (things often got right out
of hand), but their restraint in the studio is admirable.
I haven’t used a lot of adjectives here that I might have done
in respect of
One Day A New Horizon. Uneven, jangling, derivative, cheesy
(actually, I
did use that one), amateurish. The album was produced by a
rather small label that since went out of business, and was mixed
by the band itself. In fact, the band went onto become a rather
tighter, more polished outfit when a different drummer and bass
player joined the group, but the album shows the gaps and the
shortcomings. Execution and polish demands a D, but the songwriting
and ideas, and sheer listenability, are all worth a B, so I offer a
compromise grading below. Finally, I would love to hear from anyone
who has this album or who has heard it – there are not that many of
us around!