The Madrigal Project - 2024 - 11th Hour

(74:00; Dodsongs Records)

I was on FB one day and noticed a post talking about the new album by The Madrigal Project. Now, while I cannot remember anything really important, for some weird reason anything connected with music tends to stick in my brain and I remembered reviewing an album by a band called Madrigal more than 30 years ago, could the two be connected? The short answer is “yes”, as Kevin Dodson (drums, percussion, guitars, keyboards, bass, vocals) has brought the band back from the dead. Charles Swanson (saxophones, flute, electronic wind instruments) who played on the last album, 1996’s ‘On My Hands’ is back, while the line-up has been completed by John Van Houdt (bass, guitars, vocals) and Harry Fix (keyboards, vocals) along with guests Adam Holzman (Steven Wilson, Miles Davis) and Oliver Wakeman (Yes, The Strawbs) on keyboards, Billy Sherwood (Yes, Asia, Circa) on bass, Michael Lewis (Jon Anderson, Jean-Luc Ponty) and Jane Getter (Jane Getter Premonition) on guitar.  

The band was formed by Dodson and original keyboard player David Cebert in 1977, going through numerous personnel changes until ‘Waiting…’ was released in 1988 followed by ‘On My Hands’ a short eight years later, and then, nothing. I have no idea what has been happening in the years since then, but the reason this is called ‘The 11th Hour’ is due to the way that Kevin feels about the album, which he describes as, “a  realization of a dream that took a lifetime to achieve, brought to life by a community of amazing musicians and artists, here at the 11th Hour…”

Unsurprisingly, this not only does not sound like a debut album, it also doesn’t sound as if it is something which has been released in the 21st Century as most of the influences have come from the Golden Age of Prog, with Dodson saying for him this album reflects his love of Gentle Giant, Peter Hammill, Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, and Peter Gabriel. Note, all of these are classic British acts, which again ties in with the debut album as I felt very much that it was also British as opposed to American. However, there is now an American tinge to proceedings, which does give it some modern nuances, which works very well indeed and makes it sound both classic and refreshing. I have no idea how I got hold of the debut (even though it was six years after release), as that was in the dark days of prog when it was even more universally hated by the media than it is now, and the only way to get an album was by having a physical copy so I must have been sent it by someone in the States. Luckily, these days it is much easier to get hold of as not only is it on Bandcamp but is being distributed by MRR. 

For anyone wanting a delightful prog album full of classic influences which result in great melodies and complexity, solid vocals, wonderful musicianship throughout and a breadth of arrangements with room for keyboards, sax and guitars all taking the lead then this is a wonderful rebirth from a band who have done a full Lazarus on us. Let’s hope we do not have to wait 28 years for the next one!  

Kev Rowland, September 2025

Links:
https://themadrigalproject.com/