The Open Sky 2025
Acute observations of existential possibilities from British master of aural enchantment.
On The Edge (Of What Could Be)
Artificial drawing out of compositions has long since become prog rock’s bane, artists’ doubling down on performances just for the sake of it and often aiming for double albums to pretend such a scope is required to develop ideas in a pseudo-intellectual effort, rather than bringing forth the beauty of a tune. Dave Bainbridge’s been modestly following a different course from the off, though: his past with IONA and stints with LIFESIGNS and STRAWBS clearly showed the English musician’s preference for chiseling finest details out of the ether, which demand to be brought to light and adored. That’s why the dozen pieces of “On The Edge (Of What Could Be)” – whose title track will provide key to the whole record via the “wonder makes us fall down to our knee” line – seem most ambitious in their breathtaking vistas. With lyrics in Gaelic, Irish and Scottish, adding nuances to the two platters’ sonic palette, and stellar guests fleshing out the host’s panoramic views, this opus’s sentimental and temporal spans feel perfect.
The listener won’t have to wait for the second disc’s vibrant epic “Fall Away” nor even for the vigorously symphonic “Hill Of The Angels” which closes the first one, because Bainbridge’s entire intent is laid out in short opener “For Evermore” where his ivories and four female voices, bolstered by Simon Phillips’ tender thunder, lay out an airy oratorio. So when “On The Slopes Of Sliabh Mis” enshrouds the album’s initial scenery in folk-fusion drama, as polyphonic vocals support Dave’s breezy guitars and delicate piano and Troy Donockley’s uilleann pipes contrast the overall electric sway, the audience has to stand back and admire the sheer grandeur of it all. But while “Colour Of Time” – dedicated to the composer’s late sister, and featuring another old colleague, Frank van Essen, on violin, and Randy McStine at the microphone – opts for pop-tinctured magnificence and gets high on harmonies, “That They May Be One” and “The Whispering Of The Landscape” find the main man on his own, wordlessly weaving strands of sorrow and hope into a touching prelude and exquisite postscript to the platter’s titular track.
Acoustically driven, unlike the heavily throbbing “Farther Up And Farther In” which requires no lyrics to paint a riveting perspective, this Iain Hornal-sung ballad that Jon Poole’s bass passages propel towards catharsis, turns Biblical themes into universal truths the ruminatively orchestral “Beyond The Plains Of Earth And Time” elevates to celestial heights. With similar spirituality infusing the expansive “Reilig Òdhrain” that leads Bainbridge’s flock to the Isle of Iona with majestic light, the aurora borealis of the record’s artwork given operatic separation of choir and instruments, and lets it fill the aural space, the finale “When All Will Be Bright” couldn’t sound more heavenly and uplifting.
Sometimes journeys have to be long to deliver ultimate enjoyment, and “On The Edge” is a voyage well worth embarking on.
*****
