Magellan is a group named for the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. With a name like that, one expects their albums to take you on a journey, and this one does not disappoint. The group is composed of
Trent Gardner,
Wayne Gardner, and
Joe Franco. Together with some notable guests, they have produced a CD that both captures elements of classic progressive rock and carves out its own niche in the musical landscape. The disc contains only three songs, one of them the album opener, a 35-minute opus (divided into 13 CD tracks) entitled "The Great Goodnight." The album deals with the personal loss of the
Gardner brothers, that of their brother, Jack Elroy, in the Vietnam war. The piece is an appropriately emotional one that covers a lot of musical ground. Indeed, the composition pulls you in and gets you so wrapped up that it really does not seem like 35 minutes have passed. The second number on the album is an instrumental entitled "Family Jewels." If you think that one sounds like
Jethro Tull, a lot of it probably has to do with the presence of
Tull's
Ian Anderson playing flute on the number. Other guests on the album include
Tony Levin (
Peter Gabriel,
King Crimson) and
Robert Berry. The final cut, "Brother's Keeper," does not refer back to the opening magnum opus, but instead speaks to the brotherhood of man and questions whether humankind lives up to their responsibilities in that relationship. The disc is a very strong one of which the band should be quite proud. This one should appeal both to current fans of the group and to those hard-edged prog fans who have yet to check them out.
Magellan, as their namesake, have shown a new and previously undiscovered world.