The Mighty Ra – Now in a Minute

After their debut album All Secrets known (2023), Welsh band The Mighty Ra released a second album, titled Now in a Minute. They make prog with a clear nod to classic rock and their music regularly consists pieces of hard rock. That term still exists, doesn't it? They are not afraid of longer tracks but also provide more compact, more song-oriented tracks and that combination, which we already know from the debut album, is present again on Now in a Minute. A very clear element of the music of these men is the ever-present guitar playing of Andy Edwards who delivers almost countless solos and also takes on part of the vocals. Bassist Dave Rowe and keyboardist Jeremy Robberechts also take on part of the vocals and that provides both variety but also some fluctuation in quality. The band is completed by drummer Rob Griffiths.

The eight songs together form an hour of pleasant music and this means that we can expect a decent average track length. Right from opener Gods of Reality, The Mighty Ra succeeds in taking the listener into their socially critical view of current developments in the world. Edwards has a playing style that clearly refers to classic rock and is regularly reminiscent of Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, especially in terms of riffs. Despite his clear stamp on the music, keyboardist Robberechts (Dutch roots?) can be heard very regularly with some very fine solos. The often ripping guitar solos play a big part in every song, so for fans it is a pleasure to listen to. Mr.Disingenuous (there are many of them) starts a bit jazzy but quickly turns into a prog track with a great chorus and the already mentioned solos. New Wheel is a somewhat more compact track but does contain many of the elements already mentioned.

Sakura starts with a spoken lyric about a Japanese flower called …, well you guessed it, spoken in English, and then starts furiously as a hard rock track in the style of Deep Purple or Rainbow but without screaming vocals. Still, every now and then they step off the gas and that provides variety and the chorus invites you to sing along. A text spoken by a lady in Japanese (haiko) introduces a nice keyboard solo after which we return to the atmosphere of the beginning. For minutes, Edwards solos to the end. Solid riffs also open Fashoda in which we get a lesson in history about an old conflict between England and France staged in Sudan.

What I really appreciate is the consistency of the quality of all tracks, I can't really name a weak one but I do notice that I regularly struggle with the significant predictability. In Last Night on Earth, Edwards plays a solo that is reminiscent of David Gilmour, immediately followed by a quite quirky piece of saxophone. Revolution also starts as a fairly recognizable rock song but also contains "proggy" elements. The chorus invites you to sing along again and here too, the solos are not lacking.

The last track Stories of Old was rightly chosen to close the album. The acoustic guitar flows over a lingering sound of the keys and I am reminded of Camel, partly because of the vocals. The melody is simple yet beautiful and it radiates a wonderful feeling of nostalgia. A careful marching rhythm on the drums supports the first verses and after a nice piece of piano we head towards the delicious finale with of course the wailing guitar playing of Edwards and the bombastic keys of Robberechts.

Now that I have to close the review, I notice that I find it difficult to explain why this album really appeals to me, but does not completely convince me. In fact, it contains everything that many of us will appreciate, although it should be noted that you have to like a fair portion of good old hard rock.

Wrapped in a nice piece of artwork, Now in a Minute is a good album by a very inspired band.

Music 78

Cover 85