Roine Stolt together with another cornerstone from Swedish progressive rock, Par Lindh can be heard on 'Fool's Journey' by THE NEW GROVE PROJECT. The pivot on which everything hinges is Ingemar Hjertqvist, a Swede who now lives in Switzerland. A couple of years ago he released his demo's on CD. By now the limited run of 300 copies is probably scattered all over the world giving it the status of 'collectable in the making'.
Five of the seven tracks on the demo have now been re-arranged in order to find their way onto 'Fool's Journey'. The remarkable things on this album is the collaboration of drummer Jode Leigh, the man who used to be behind the drumkit with legendary band England (yes, the one that released the ever splendid 'Garden Shed'). His typical way of drumming (he uses no snare) gives the NEW GROVE PROJECT a unique sound that has to be situated in between Flower Kings and a more rhythmic Par Lindh.
In 'Preulde' the sound of the organ is rather dominant whereas in 'My uncle' it is the brilliant drumming of Jode getting all the top marks ! The instrumental title track 'Fool's Journey' kicks off as refreshing as Vivaldi's 'Spring' from his 'Four Seasons' opus with mainly Roine Stolt demonstrating his many skills whilst often getting close to the sound of Steve Howe.
By using Par Lindh the band could record in his Crimsonic studio which also gave them the possibility to use an authentic Mellotron MK-V and Hammond B3. In the new song Decision' elements from the 'old' Genesis melt together with Happy the Man and England in order to deliver something new and unique. An interesting project that will surely evolve in the future.
Meanwhile we can also say that Ingemar Hjertqvist's label will soon release the England album 'Garden Shed' on CD. They have already promissed us that they will make a better job of it than the poor Japanese import which was nothing more than a transfer from a (scratched) vinyl album onto CD.
If you have difficulty in obtaining the album get in touch with:
New Grove Music, Beundenweg 51, CH-2504 Biel, SWITZERLAND.
Don't forget to include an international reply coupon with your letter !
