Robert Mason: Angelic Mythology

• 2005
• Rating: 6/10

Englishman Robert Mason,a US resident for many years, has been playing music and singing sincechildhood.

Having studied music theory also playing trumpet, drums and guitar, he wasinvolved in Jazz, Rock and ensemble projects. His move to Florida and hissubsequent musical outings have developed along the classic rock and New Agethemes, resulting in his first CD Angelic Mythology.

Pooling together all his musical credibility, Mason displays a deft touchon guitar, with some retro-’70s stylings, which is his forte, as his vocalquality lacks certain areas of discipline. Nevertheless, he comes across asa confident guitarist and songwriter.

Here we find qualified psychologist and English / History graduate Masonexploring the wild fantasies of the mind all layered beautifully intosoft-rock templates which fall into the AOR (Adult Orientated Rock) niche.

A brief Bluesy guitar solo opens soft Prog Rocker Golden Ring an amblingballad, which rubber stamps his intent, with the song gently breezing by withhaunting vocals adding to the ambience. Wandering into Greek mythology,Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, who was usually depicted as themaiden goddess of the hunt, becoming one of the most widely venerated ofthe gods.

Sufi Poetry is steeped deeply in Middle Eastern mysticism, principallyPersia, though it’s found in a large body of Kurdish, Punjabi, Arabic,Sindhi, et al. This song, a ballad, drifts along nicely with regular Sufireferences, like “The Sufi dancer dances on” Mark Knopfler-likeguitar work accompanies the delightful mid-paced ballad Rosemary’s Time,again adopting a retro feel.

Lifting the pace, a beaty The Axis is a rocky as things get: againMason’s guitar solos are restrained and effective, with Be With Mereverting to previous template. Despite its title, Thunder Bay is a bit ofa damp squib and Mason’s vocals lack discipline, possibly the weakest songhere, though it has its moments.

An eastern quality ensues on instrumental G2 Obligatory, proving to be thebest of the bunch, with yet again some highly impressive guitar work.Midnight Hawk is a bit of mess, an almost pointless track that comesacross as untidy and not well constructed.

Where Will You Be? is back to predictable and familiar territory,rounding-off a solid enough an album, which will certainly not sit ineveryone’s collection, but well worth getting.

Quality CD for serious music fans – a real grower.