Another Life Not Lived (Galahad, 2022)

2022 Galahad's album "The Last Great Adventurer" was a very, very good one. And of course there were some upbeat and intricate tracks I enjoyed and still enjoy today. But even in prog rock there are momens, lyrics and songs going beyond music itself and giving you a kick inside. Take this one. A suspended, beautiful ballad the band dedicated to their late bassist Neil Pepper (who died in 2011) and dealing with pain, injustice and memory. 

I loved everything in this album, including its perfect cover art.

What makes a tribute song a great track is its capacity to get the core of a tragic loss turning a private sorrow into a universal experience. In order to do such a thing you need many things as a good theme, a suited arrangement, a delicate approach and, of course, a heartfelt vocal performance. Now Galahad put into "Another Life Not Lived" all the above and much more and they went directly into my deepest soul. This really is a great sdventure for all listeners, believe me.

Sleepers (Galahad, 1995)

No doubt, this is an excellent example of British neo-progressive rock and one of the best songs by Galahad. It has all the features a fan of this band and this genre would like to find: syncopated rythms, tempo changes, melodic (even classical) interludes, lively progressions... just name it yourself. The sung sections are pleasant too, and all the musicians here know how to play, avoiding any show off temptations. The sound is surprisingly modern and still reminiscent of the long tradition of prog.

"Sleepers" was the third official CD by Galahad.

Many bands divide their production into two different streams: a series of tricky, long and intricated tracks - that's for the progfans, of course - and some easier, poppish songs for the rest of humanity. Well, also Galahad can do so, but this is a "one size fits all" song, rather easy to catch and still featuring an elaborate stucture. That's exactly what neo-prog should be: not for the masses, nor for the intellectual elite. Galahad know how to keep the musical middle road...

Empires Never Last (Galahad, 2007)

This is the title track of a rather average album by Galahad, but the song itself is among the best things the band recorded ever, IMHO. The muscular intro mixing symphonic rock and heavy prog is a remarkable start, so that when abruptly the mood changes and the song goes melodic the listener gets a pleasant surprise. The following "arena rock" chorus is catchy and welcome. Sure, some distorted guitars come in here and there, but the main feature in this central section is (once again) Stuart Nicholson's strong and sensitive vocal performance.

"Empires Never Last" was the eighth studio work by Galahad.

Thanks to him and to the ever changing arrangements, "Empires Never Last" is a strong and never pomp song. The final part brings in an excellent guitar solo that adds some further quality to the track. Yes, Galahad will keep their place in my playlists until they will be able to build up songs like this one.

Ghost of Durtal (Galahad, 1985)

There are two different versions of this Galahad's beautiful epic. The first one comes from the very early years of the band and was included in their first self produced tape, titled "Studio 95 Demo" and released in 1985, while the second one was re-recorded for the first Galahad's proper album "In A Moment of Madness" re-issue of 1993 and re-titled "In A Moment of Complete Madness". This more recent version is surely far better in sound quality than the original one. Anyway, if you want to listen to the historical recording, you can dowload it via the band's official website.

This is the cover art of the 1993 re-issue of the first Galahad's album.

Here they included three bonus tracks, including a new version of our song.

This song is about an impossible love story involving the British singer and a French ghost and despite the unavoidable debuting naiveties, really is a lovely, mysterious and nocturnal song I still listen to with great pleasure. It begins with a lunar melody, very well sung by Stuart Nicholson, and goes on mid-tempo until the halfway scary instrumental section, including a French / English bilingual message to the female ghost and a pipe organ. The ending section is also very good, with a dreaming electric guitar and a rising tempo underlined by a martial drumming. I can't say I like all Galahad's discography, but this track is one of my favourite essays of the '80s neo-prog era.