Magic Theatre (Jewel Case)

GANDALF: Magic Theatre CDA year on from the ‘Horizon’ album and things were changing. The album was still essentially a concept album, the music wholly instrumental but now things were getting stronger, the whole way of arranging a lot tighter, the melodies more upfront, the tunes more memorable and the music even more muscular. The album, yet again, features a strong opener in the form of ‘Entrance/ The Corridor Of Seven Doors’ which is one of those things that stays in your head but still makes you want to play it again and again, the sign of a seriously addictive slice of music, as the combinations of synths, keys, electric guitars, bass, drums and mellotron combine to create one of the most uplifting intro tracks that just can’t fail to make you feel good and smile at the way the structure and sounds wind their place into your head and heart, a way of playing and composing that separated Gandalf from many by his ability to touch your soul with music. The 4 minute ‘1st Door’ is, by comparison, more subdued, starting with acoustic guitars and bass over a distant synth backdrop as flutes enter and the feel is more “new age” mixed with slowly moving synth as a synth lead soon emerges to become the main tune component, a tad twee but nothing you can’t live with. The 13 minute ‘2nd Door’ reveals, in its introduction, the more symphonic grandeur that would become a later trademark of his sound and style as this expansive, multi-layered slice of horizon-stretching, heart-warming symphonic prog-synth music just flies upwards on a wave of synths, keys, mellotrons, drums, bass and guitars to reveal a positively breathtaking piece of music that touches every part of you, from its dominating lone piano chords that hang in the air so beautifully, to the mesmerizing mix of acoustic guitars, bass synth rivers, piano and mellotron that go to make up the almost Oldfield-like section towards the end, until the symphonic themes return and the piece just sails into a glorious sunset – totally superb. The 3 minute ‘3rd Door’ maintains the theme but here, the lead is taken by a soaring saxophone that simply takes over the piece as the backing is left to fill the sound. The near 4 minute ‘4th Door’ hearkens back to the Gandalf of before with synth melodies and backdrops, rolling rhythms and soaring guitar leads. Although this time a more mini-moog style solo lead is the main voice of the piece, still magical and a great track. To show that you still get the best of all worlds on a Gandalf album, the 7 minute ‘5th Door’ is the most atmospheric track on the album, mainly revolving around synths and flutes, with guitars and percussion providing extra melodic layers but all fairly tranquil despite the presence of tune-like structures in the early part of the track. Three tracks averaging 4 minutes each, close the album with passages that echo a lot of what has happened previously with the final track reprising the themes from the intro track and bringing things to an acoustic guitar/electric guitar-led finale of inspirational proportions, majestic yet full of feeling.