Madrigal - 1996 - On My Hands...

(40:55; InEarVisions)

Back in 1994 I was fortunate enough to get hold of a copy of Madrigal’s debut album, ‘Waiting…’, which had been released some years earlier. This was in the days of snail mail, no internet or email, and I cannot recall how an American independent release ended up in my hands in the UK. I gave it a very positive review but thought nothing more about them (apart from including the review in my books) until earlier this year when I heard about The Madrigal Project, who released ‘11th Hour’ in 2024. Some digging led me to discover this was a new version of the band, still being led by drummer and lead singer Kevin Dodson, and we were soon in contact.

After I reviewed the new album, I asked Kevin if he would be interested in having a review of their previous release from 1996 which I had never heard, which is why I am now listening to ‘On My Hands…’, and what a delight it is too. The debut album was basically recorded by Kevin along with Michael Dornbirer on guitar and backing vocals plus guests, and given those circumstances and that there was eight years between the two releases it is not surprising that these two are the only ones who appear on both, with the rest of the band at this point being Michael Rosenthal (keyboards, vocals), Steve Springer (bass, vocals) and Chuck Swanson (saxophone, flute, horn, vocals) – Chuck was the only person apart from Kevin to return for ‘11th Hour’.

There is very little in the way of American influences on this release, perhaps a little Kansas, but it is dominated by the British Wave with the likes of Gentle Giant, Gryphon, Jethro Tull and Peter Gabriel very much in evidence, but all from 20 years prior to the original release, so coming to it for the first time in 2025 it really does sound as if it could be 50 years old. But I don’t mean that in a bad way as this is full of life and vitality, and contains everything a proghead like me wants from a crossover prog album, so much so that I have been playing this on repeat as it is an absolute joy, yet somehow both the band and the albums have passed most people by. It was incredibly difficult back in the Nineties to get proper support for releases as mass media hated prog (most still do), and there were only fanzines to spread the word, many of which only lasted a few issues before folding and had limited distribution. I was running Feedback in the UK but even though I only had a few hundred readers, bands and label were desperate for any publicity they could get, which is why I was sent so much material.

I was very lucky indeed to hear Madrigal more than 30 years ago, and I so wish I had come across this follow-up at the time, but at least I am playing it now, and here we have  those amazing influences being put together into the melting pot which includes wonderful melodies and songs, making this an absolute delight from beginning to end. If you want to uncover a real gem of a “lost” album, then you need to seek this out as it is a real joy. 

Kev Rowland, January 2026