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Mat Dickson: The Keeper's Log
Mat Dickson - The Keeper's Log - [Beachcomber Music]

2005-11-19

Ethereal, Beautiful, soothing, these are but a few of the superlatives that fit Mat Dickson's The Keeper's Log.
Revolving around the theme of sea, sea shores, and Lighthouses, the CD is an instrumental piece with its roots firmly planted in guitar centered prog-rock, but with plenty of touches from Celtic and folk music as well.

Mat Dickson is a veteran multi instrumentalist, who's been playing in the prog-rock scene for some time, in this album, he gives center stage to his love for the aquatic, in between his mostly guitar driven instrumental pieces he injects the sounds of the ocean, a gentle combination that manages to sooth as well as taking the listener to another sphere, seemingly transferring you into a quite British shore side.

The Fisherman's Tune is one of the more basic tunes here, a combination of clean guitar sounds with keyboards, with some percussion added as the track progress, it serves as an atmosphere setter.

Guarding The Western Approaches is more clearly prog-rock influenced, starting off with a crisp acoustic guitar, the track builds momentum and complexity, Dickson's talent as a guitarist is unquestionable, he brings to mind such artists as Mike Oldfield with some Robert Fripp thrown in as well, a very clear and well produced lead guitar sound accentuates his subtle melody lines.

The folk theme is mainly evident in the keyboard use, some Scottish and Irish flourishes that serve more as background than a focal point for the music.

Dickson's prog rock is much more evident in Before The Storm, the track builds up and then uses a prog bass line, it has a Pink Floyd vibe to it, and as the track's namesake, its has a much more turbulent atmosphere than most of the album.

An album like this combines some of prog rock's finer moments with the soothing ambiance of quiet folk music, and Dickson certainly knows how to create memorable and melodic pieces, this is a very enjoyable album indeed.

Alon Miasnikov



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