Nick D'Virgilio (NDV) - Invisible (Album Review)
In these days of short attention spans and instant gratification, there’s something very refreshing about sitting down with your favourite beverage, placing an album on/in the stereo and letting an artist take you on a musical journey. Nick D’Virgilio has been on a personal musical journey that began a few years before the release of his debut solo album back in 2001. Nick is probably best known for his time in Spock’s Beard where he started as the drummer and branched out into frontman duties. But this association barely scratches the surface of a varied and interesting CV; there’s an ongoing relationship with Big Big Train – and fifteen years working with Tears For Fears - while still finding time to record and/or perform with many of the best in the business including the late Kevin Gilbert, Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) and a five-year stint as drummer/singer/assistant bandleader with the Cirque Du Soleil organisation touring their Totem show. For ‘Invisible’ Nick D’Virgilio (NDV) pulls together elements from all of his various musical endeavours and throws in a left turn or two on an obvious labour of love that finds the singer/drummer/multi-instrumentalist at the top of his game.
The first thing I should say about ‘Invisible’ is it’s a very accessible album, when people hear the term progressive rock and concept album their eyes tend to glaze over with thoughts of 70s excess and grandeur. To many progressive rock fans, this is a big attraction, while to other classic rock fans or the casual listener it can be a potential negative. NDV does a fine job of mixing up the epic ‘Turn Your Life Around’ with the more accessible, a clever take on Barrett Strong’s ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, resulting in an album that walks that particular tightrope with the assurance and skill of Philippe Petit traversing between two towers.
The ‘Invisible’ concept revolves around the people that don’t have jobs and just exist on the peripheries of the world as we know it or have jobs that we take for granted and don’t notice. I’m sure NDV had no idea just how this particular concept would strike a chord in 2020 when the previously invisible, the likes of cleaners, porters and shop workers would become heroes of the pandemic. As a small aside, these folks were hardly invisible to everyone - I’ve spent the majority of my career in retail and leisure management situations - but it’s truly amazing how people are taken for granted, especially those doing more menial work. The pandemic should remind us that we all have a purpose; you don’t have to be a captain of Industry to make an important contribution to the world around you.
‘Invisible’ was recorded at Abbey Road in London and at NDV’s home base, the state-of-the-art Sweetwater complex in Fort Wayne, Indiana and needless to say it doesn’t sound like any expense was spared. NDV also seems to have an enviable contact list that features some of the very best musicians in the business that he can call on. Opening with a sweeping classical piece ‘Prelude’ which features a full-blown orchestra, NDV sets his stall out early before gently easing into the title track, a lush orchestral ballad that’s built around Carl Verheyen’s (Supertramp) predominantly acoustic guitar lines but it’s The Flower Kings’ Jonas Reingold whose lovely, languid fretless bass work that ties everything together. At seven minutes plus ‘Turn Your Life Around’ is epic for all the right reasons. Lyrically and vocally there’s more than a hint of menace and anguish in NDV’s delivery as our protagonist deals with his mundane existence. The nine to five is grinding him down. The song ebbs and flows building to a crescendo as NDV takes his place behind the kit for the first time on the album. His huge pounding forceful drum sound laying the foundations for Jem Godfrey (Frost) to employ every trick at his command, merging old-school synth sounds with the new to great effect, from pulsating sci-fi bursts and bleeps to sweeping orchestral soundscapes. Randy McStine’s insistent guitar work is also to the fore accentuating the gritty and unsettling tone of the piece. The production here is very well-conceived with NDV and co-producer Mark Hornsby utilizing the soundstage to its full width as odd bits of synth and backing vocal pop up and swirl left and right. Things take a marked left turn as we go all funky for ‘I’m Gone’ for which NDV claims inspiration from the Bee Gees classic ‘Stayin’ Alive’ but all I can hear, to be honest, is that this owes a massive debt to George Michael. The resulting track, whatever the influences, is a terrific slab of funky pop with a strong vocal, a perfectly judged contribution from Nashville session guitarist Tom Hemby and you just have to love those backing vocals.
If ‘I’m Gone’ was a left turn then ‘Money (That’s What I Want) is a further step again. The Barrett Strong classic has been covered by everyone from The Beatles to The Flying Lizards so it’s an odd choice, but at the same time fits beautifully into the concept of ‘Invisible’. NDV tackles ‘Money’ in a brooding way with some nice jazzy bass playing from Jonas Reingold. Mix some wonderfully soulful backing vocals with unexpected cinematic, orchestral flourishes that bring to mind John Barry, resulting in a terrific take on a very well-known song which is always fraught with danger. ‘Waiting For No One’ is an orchestral piano ballad that features a nice jazzy solo from Carl Verheyen but is, unfortunately, a little too Andrew Lloyd Webber for my taste but things are soon back on track with the hard-Rockin’ ‘Snake Oil Salesman’ which sounds like the sort of tune perfect for Dennis De Young on an old Styx album - which is just fine with me.
By now we’re at the midpoint of ‘Invisible’ and next up is ‘Where’s The Passion’ which might be familiar as it was the first piece of music released to promote the album. Jordan Rudess’ (Dream Theater) piano ushers in the song, joined by Reingold’s bass and NDV’s drums. It’s worth noting that Nick employs an additional drum loop here - not for the first time on the album - and it works well in addition to a traditional kit (as a side note the CD includes a terrific additional booklet for all you drum geeks). ‘Where’s The Passion’ utilises the full power of the Abbey Road orchestra with full strings and brass and features a melody line that will be familiar as it appears throughout the album. Randy McStine again adds his guitar chops to proceedings and pulls off an extended solo to conclude another epic six-minute plus track. An atmospheric ambient intro leads into ‘Mercy’ probably the hardest rockin’ track on the album with NDV joined in the engine room by the legendary Tony Levin. The duo lock-in and hit hard, displaying plenty of power, while still allowing room for Levin to demonstrate his renowned abilities. Jem Godfrey’s synths are again vital to the overall feel of the track and McStine pulls off his most impressive playing yet with an extended solo.
Mr Big and Racer X guitarist Paul Gilbert appears, seemingly out of nowhere, to introduce us to ‘Overcome’ as the strings swell in the background Gilbert unleashes a flurry of notes that don’t seem to belong in the song, but Paul Gilbert is always good value. ‘Overcome’ is notable for Jacob Dupre’s keys contribution and the Queen-like quality of the backing vocal arrangement. Dupre’s swirling organ brings us to ‘In My Bones’ with multiple saxophones added to the mix and a typically ramshackle guitar solo from Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen. ‘In The Bones’ stylistically has a rockin’ but swinging jazz band sound that doesn’t quite connect with this listener, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. ‘Wrong Time, Wrong Place’ is notable for musically being all NDV with the addition of another McStine solo. Nick pulls this off with some style especially in the way he layers his vocals to enhance the feelings of confusion and bewilderment. Orchestral brass is a feature of ‘Not My Time To Say Goodbye’ which again features the melodic phrasing that had appeared often during the album. The idea of a repeated melodic line is often used in film scores attached to characters or situations and it works equally well here. The album concludes with the upbeat pop-rock of ‘I Know The Way’ which is perfect in capturing the feeling of positivity we’ve been working toward for the last sixty-five minutes “Life is flowing through my veins and I know the way”.
Nick D’Virgilio has put an awful lot of work into ‘Invisible’ and the result is there for all to hear. The album is a beautifully produced record with a thoughtfully laid out and precise mix allowing the instruments room to breathe coupled with great players and well-written songs. The overall concept hangs together well and has a positivity that can be taken at first glance or looked into a little more deeply. Fans of NDV and the acts he has associated with throughout his career will be impressed, while there’s also plenty for the more casual listener to discover.
Invisible is released on June 26th, 2020 via English Electric.
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