Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Whist many insist melancholy is the abuse of suffering by the individual, for some it is the arguable truth that it acts as more of a progression to motivation than that captured by the belief of utopia. Utopia may be the ultimate dream, but to get there you must understand that the beauty in your possession is a symbol of the everyday release of expression that comes from allowing the soul to search for the serenity gifted by the melancholic memory.

Music is the beholder and guardian of that sacred beauty, nothing perhaps digs deep into our soul like the sound of a saxophone being played by the mournfully blessed, nothing stirs the complex heart than a guitar being plucked with sorrowful fingers, and a piano is nothing without its player gently pressing down the black and white keys as if in sombre reflection.

It is to that sense of occurring grief and mindful attraction that the legendary Roger Powell and his album Blue Note Ridge finds itself being heralded long after its release as a reminder of the creative storm that brought into the world, and the drama the music details in full.

The grounding of the album is such that the man who worked with luminaries such as Meat Loaf and David Bowie, and who pushed the brilliance of Utopia to its respected height, made clear and decisive opinion on tracks such as Still Point, Valley Fog, the excellent Ghost Ripples, Snowfall, Take To The Sky, and the album title track of Blue Note Ridge, a delight for the senses and whilst accustomed to melancholic delivery, soars the heavens in search of grace, and finding it with passion.

This stream of consciousness writing, and performance leads the listener to its own utopia, to a place that Roger Powell knew as much as his own heart, and the innocent teller of tales rides high as humanity can.

Ian D. Hall