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Intelligent, uncompromisingly beautiful and wonderfully performed music.
Over three years in gestation, this magnificent multiple-genre meisterwerk from Magenta’s Rob Reed - and incorporating lyrical input from his brother Steve - produces a gamut of emotional response from the attentive listener across its 67 minutes. If you seek intelligent, uncompromisingly beautiful, wonderfully performed music that delivers a very special aural experience and packaged to enhance the musical experience inside, for now you need look no further than ‘Beneath The Waves’ an album that should find broad appeal amongst readers of this magazine* and website.
Reed has assembled a remarkable coterie of talent to deliver his vision. Key vocalists Steve Balsamo (as Connor) and Angharad Brinn (as Lilly) are supported by the sumptuous English Chamber Choir (conducted by Guy Protheroe), vocal group Synergy, operatic stars Sian Cothi and Rhys Meirion and for a brief starring moment, folk singer Barry Kerr who appears in the complex, sensational, 11 minute track ‘The Storm’ that lies at the heart of the album. Instrumentally too, there is a galaxy of star contributors amongst whom are Troy Donockley, Steve Hackett, John Mitchell, Nick Barrett, Nick Beggs and Mel Collins and all is wrapped in a luscious veneer provided the London Session Orchestra (arrangements by Dave Stewart).
The epic tale recounted in this conceptual work largely invokes Celtic imagery and much (although certainly not all) of the music consequently has a distinctive Celtic resonance, and in this respect the contribution of Donockly’s Uilleann pipes and low whistles has been pivotal along with key orchestral instrumentation. However, at times the music rocks impressively, while at the other end of the scale, there are some true operatic moments, not least of which is ‘Il Tempo E Giunto’ voiced by Welsh tenor Meirion, and works very well in context. 
Brief narration commences and concludes the album in what is, I think, supposed to be an Irish accent – but it’s a very strange one from my extensive travels around the Emerald Isles! ‘Exordium’ is, nevertheless, as the second longest track a tremendously effective opener, with interweaving themes. The initial appearance by Cothi is something of a shock but then we are introduced to the two main protagonists. I have not previously heard Brinn, but her sweet stylings suit the role she fulfils. Balsamo (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Storys, ChimpanA) is a vocalist of whom I am a huge fan, and when I first heard of his involvement in this new project knew that his distinctive vocal stylings, range and passionate delivery would doubtless be a completely magical component. I was not wrong! For a further eleven tracks, the story ebbs and flows, and is one of those albums where you really should listen in one go, and as the focus of what you are doing.