Robert Reed - Sanctuary III
"Things that try to look like things often do look more like things than things"
- Terry Pratchett
Speaking of gimmicks: Rob Reed's first Sanctuary album was a clever excersise in deliberate plagiarism and musical archaeology. With utmost precision, Reed reverse-engineered a full-blown early Mike Oldfield album into existence, and a good one, too. It was a neat party trick, but when the sequel was announced, I was skeptical. Do we really need another one? Isn't he stretching the point a bit? But, it turned out, the second one was even better than the first and ended up at my #2 spot of that year. I was ready for a third one.
Sanctuary III, of course, does not disappoint. There's some vocals with actual lyrics this time, but it's far less of a change than one would expect. All of the aspects that makes the Sanctuary series good are present and accounted for. Legendary Oldfield collaborators Simon Phillips and Les Penning are back on drums and whistles respectively, Reed's pal Troy Donockley gives us the beautiful sound of the uilleann pipes and the Synergy vocalists, singing in a fantasy language, add a magical atmosphere that goes above and beyond what Oldfield himself can manage these days. Reed seems to be outgrowing Oldfield anyway; his compositions are becoming less derivative and more his own. He has a fine sense for melody and this album is once again absolutely beautiful.
I admit, part of me kind of wants to rip into this album because it's a sequel to a sequel to a copy, but sue me. I love this. I have a sneaking suspicion that Rob Reed could make Sanctuary albums until the sun explodes. Surely, this trick will wear thin at some point. Maybe three is enough. But it definitely isn't too many. Reed is the world's least original genius.
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