In 2011, Telergy shocked and surprised people with their album The Exodus as it hailed by magazines, prog fans and critics worldwide for its storytelling and musicianship. Now Telergy are back with another historically-inspired album The Legend of Goody Cole.
With this album being at least fifteen tracks with a few spoken-word narratives along the way, Meeting House Green Part 1 opens up the album well with an acoustic guitar line and soft vocals. Scene 1 and the other scenes throughout this album really stroke my inner prog fiend as this really helps to make the album a story, with the first scene featuring two women talking about — I guess — Goody’s wife, and her accusations of witchcraft.
Rumors is the first real epic of this album stretching to an impressive ten minutes and nine seconds, as it slowly builds and builds at first with just the piano then adding the drums with — still — the samples of bells in the background. After that comes a really heavy section with full instrumentation, featuring a lot of chunky guitar riffs and tight drumming — this is only a bit of the way through. Halfway through, at just about the five-minute mark, everything breaks off just to let the keys shine through.
After Scene 2, where we have a crowd gathered where people talk more about witchcraft (reminds of Monty Python a little bit) and a court hearing, comes Acussations which is another epic. It starts of well but then breaks off into piano and flute sections, followed by a guitar solo with full backing behind it. Especially in this track there are guitar solos dotted all throughout it, and even a saxophone solo at the end. Genius songwriting and musicianship!
I am a bit surprised that most of the loner songs do not have vocals, but I guess there is enough narrative in the album to not warrant the addition of vocals. Or at least there are not vocals so far.
Meeting House Green Parts 2,3,4 and 5 is slightly longer than its predecessor, stretching to a lengthy five-minutes and twenty-three seconds. Again with an acoustic guitar line and soft vocals, now enters the light rhythm of production. Halfway through the song the acoustic guitar fades out to let the flute in for some wonderful playing.
The rest of the album pretty much flows like I have explained, however the tracks with full instrumentation are less shorter as the album carries on until its conclusion with the odd intersection of the scenes. Ghost is the last real epic of the album, stretching on for ten-minutes and twenty-six seconds, which is then again intersected afterwards by the final scene.
I’ve listened to this album a couple of times now to really let the album sink its teeth into me, and what I find is that this is an album which is absolutely amazing. Given its historical backbone this is really an album you need to check out.
RATING: 5 / 5
