Review: Lonely Robot – The Big Dream
Release on Inside Out – 28th April 2017
I daresay it’s inevitable that those of you who bought the first album “Please Come Home” have probably already bought or ordered this latest release from the man himself, John Mitchell. A man of many guises, (Frost*, Arena, The Urbane, Kino, It Bites, Blind Ego – the list goes on !!) on this disc he goes the extra mile and plays all the instruments himself, except drums, which is handled by the equally versatile Craig Blundell (David Cross Band, Steven Wilson, Frost*) and backing vocals on every track from Bonita McKinney, plus Kim Seviour (ex-Touchstone), who helps out on bonus track “Why Do We Stay” (only available on the CD)
The core theme of the album follows on from the first album with the spaceman (Mitchell) waking from a long sleep and emerging from a pod (akin to the start of “Alien” where the crew rise from hypersleep) but not in space, in a wood surrounded by weird creatures – it all sounds a bit surreal and David Lynch to me !!! Having spoke to John about this release he is keen to stress this NOT a concept album, although there is a running theme throughout the tracks which revolves around life, sleep and death, helped by the occasional sound bite courtesy of the British philosopher Alan Watts who passed away in 1973 (“…go to sleep, never wake up and then we die” – indeed !!)
So, what of the music ??
Those of you familiar with John’s work will probably associate him as a guitarist and vocalist par excellence and the guitar work on EVERY track is exemplary with some awe-inspiring solos, but here he also shows off his skills on the keyboard throughout. Nice to hear Mellotron on certain tracks, it certainly adds atmosphere to the proceedings, but not over used !! In amongst the more upbeat and rockier tracks (Sigma, Awakenings, Symbolic, Everglow) there are some quite beautiful orchestral sections that at times sound like music from a lost sci-fi soundtrack – The instrumental title track at 8 minutes is VERY much a case in point, I’m sure there’s even a sample from the film “Contact” in there !! Maybe Mr Rabin has some competition ???
I think it’s safe to say, if you like Kino, Frost* and It Bites, you’re gonna love this album as there are similarities at times which I suppose, are inevitable. Being somewhat of a closet megalomaniac, John felt he could control the ultimate outcome of this album by handling all the instruments, although admits he was more than happy to hand over the drum work to Craig Blundell.
One thing I strive to do in my radio shows is integrate an element of contrast and it comes across throughout “The Big Dream”. I strongly suggest you listen to the album as a whole rather than pick ‘n mix, it flows very well and demonstrates the versatility of this musician in so many ways, it is never boring or predictable. As a lover of vocal harmony (back in the day I was (and still am) a major fan of The Beach Boys), I have to give credit here to Bonita McKinney who supplements Mr Mitchell’s voice throughout…emotive stuff people.
The final track (“Epilogue (Sea Beams)”) is yet another instrumental that brings things to a very satisfying climax with the sounds of the sea fading away, you KNOW this is the end and maybe just the beginning to yet another chapter.
Overall, this a very worthy successor to the first Lonely Robot album. It ticks a great number of boxes, and is a release Mr Mitchell should be extremely proud of. We look forward to the ongoing exploits and adventures of the spaceman….
9 out of 10
