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Beneath The Waves

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KOMPENDIUM (Artist) Format: Audio CD
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 44 ratings
$159.00
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Audio CD, Import, January 1, 2013
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Editorial Reviews

Digipack single CD edition of this epic symph/prog work.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.55 x 4.97 x 0.54 inches; 2.83 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ JFK
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ December 17, 2013
  • Label ‏ : ‎ JFK
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00H471IOE
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 44 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
44 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

espz
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2013
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Do you like Trans Siberian Orchestra? Do you like prog rock and/or prog metal? This supergroup of prog rock icons have made all the parts into something much greater then the sum. This amazing album will take you on a Celtic journey. I could fill this review with verbs like lush, layered, fantastic, etc....but no need. One listen will hook you.

The brainchild of Magenta keyboard player Rob Reed, the album's contributers include Steve Balsamo - vocals, Steve Hackett - nylon guitar, Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) - drums, Nick Beggs (Steve Hackett Band) - stick bass, Troy Donockley (Nightwish) - Uilleann Pipes, whistles, Nick Barrett (Pendragon) - guitar, Neil Taylor (Tears For Fears) - guitar, Jakko Jackzyk (20th Century Skitzoid Band) - guitar, Francis Dunnery - guitar, John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena etc.) - guitar, Mel Collins (King Crimson, Camel) - saxophone, BJ Cole (Elton John, David Gilmour) - pedal steel guitar, Chris Fry (Magenta) - guitar and Christina Booth (Magenta) - backing vocals. (I want to attribute the information in this paragraph to Northern England Art Rock Society (thenears) blogspot)

This is an amazing album. You need to give it a listen if you like ANY concept album, from Pink Floyd "Wall" and Genesis "Lamb Lies Down" to Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" to Savatage's "Dead Winter Dead" (which spawned TSO) to a new modern classic like Beyond the Bridge's "The Old Man and the Spirit". Give this one a shot!
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Richard Moloney
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, amazing, haunting, very emotional opus
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2013
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This is a very beautiful album; what is especially nice about is the rich production and the eclecticism of it all. I hope word gets around about it; and I hope it will prove to be very successful for Rob Reid. Some of the songs were very personal to me, in fact the whole story resonated deeply in me because it was so allegorical. I am biased anyway because I love the music of Magenta and the way this fine band readily admits to being inspired by the progressive rock bands of the 1970s. My only regret here is that there is not a score higher than five stars. Sure, it's not everyone's cup of tea but it is certainly mine. I love the entire opus but I simply adore the song, "Lilly". I give thanks to the New Musical Discoveries website, and especially to Russ Elliot for recommending it.
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Guitarfan
5.0 out of 5 stars So Good!!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2015
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Seriously great prog rock. This is a very sad story but musically it is not depressing. One of the pest prog rock albums i've heard in the past decade. Kudos!!
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Scott Tisdel
4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Great
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2013
This is not going to be an easy review to write. I've been a fan of Rob Reed, songwriter/producer of Kompendium's "Beneath the Waves", since I first heard "Metamorphosis", by Reed's Prog band Magenta. This is a truly great album, and I have since managed to track down nearly all of Magenta's albums, live and studio (not an easy task in the USA, where I live). I discovered a remarkably high-quality and consistent body of work, ranging all the way from Yes-Topographic-style epics ("Revolutions"), to outrageously catchy pop songs ("The Singles"), to angst-ridden, Evanescence-style metal ("Chameleon").

There seems to be no limits to Reed's songwriting prowess, so naturally I was quite excited by "Beneath the Waves", a sprawling, hugely ambitious epic with two choirs, a 30 piece string orchestra, and more prog royalty than you could shake a stick at. (It's a tribute to Reed's standing in the Prog community that so many great musicians consented to be a part of it.) Yet, as occasionally happens with such projects, the whole is less, not more than the sum of its parts.

To be sure, there are many beautiful moments, and it is impeccably produced, as I have come to expect from Rob Reed. But the basic story from lyricist Steve Reed, about a grief-stricken man full of guilt after his wife's suicide, inspired a large amount of slow and mid-tempo ballads, without a whole lot of variation. Those expecting a rock record are going to be disappointed - The tone is quite lyrical, subdued, and melancholy, with a lot of Scottish/Irish folk influence (Uilleann Piper Troy Donockley from Mostly Autumn supplying most of the folksy-ness). And, very unusually for R. Reed, there are a couple of weak songs on "Beneath the Waves". For the life of me, I cannot figure out why "Il Tempo É Giunto", sung in Italian with an operatic tenor, is on this album. It sounds like a bad Puccini knockoff, and since no translation is provided, most listeners will likewise be scratching their heads.

The other main problem, as I see it, is lead vocalist Steve Balsamo. He certainly has a great "full" voice, and an even better falsetto (carrying him with ease all the way up to "G", at the top of the treble clef), but like so many pop/rock singers, has trouble negotiating between the two. One can hear this graphically on the otherwise excellent title track, which lies right on the "break" between these two registers. He also has a hyper-intense, emotional delivery that I find tiring as the album progresses. In my opinion, his voice is more suited to a metal band like Dream Theater (indeed, they already have such a singer) than the more restrained, lyrical muse of Rob Reed. I keep imagining how much better these songs would sound with Christina Booth (Magenta's superb lead singer), and it is no surprise that two of my favorite songs, ("Lilly and "Reunion"), feature excellent female vocalist Angharad Brinn.

Still, even with my misgivings, this is an album well worth having. Prog fans will be happy with longer tracks like "Exordium", 'Lost", "Beneath the Waves", "Reunion", and most especially "The Storm", a prog tour de force seamlessly combining full orchestra, chorus, celtic folk instruments, and a rock band into a satisfying whole. These longer tracks make the best use of superb drummer Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), who supplies whatever rock thrust there is on the album. Excellent contributions are made also by Saxophonist Mel Collins (King Crimson), Guitarist Steve Hackett (Genesis), and bassist extraordinaire Nick Beggs (Steven Wilson, and seemingly, everyone else). One also has to single out Neil Taylor also for his excellent guitar solo on "Beneath the Waves".

Nor has Reed skimped on the packaging, which features an oversized sleeve and the beautiful, evocative paintings of Geoff Taylor. All lyrics are included (large enough to actually read!) as well as bios of the many fine musicians involved. The Bonus DVD is a big disappointment - Companion DVDs to Magenta's albums (like "Metamorphosis", "Seven" and "Chameleon") have featured extended interviews with Rob Reed and lyricist Steve Reed that really enhanced the listening experience, plus Rob Reed at the mixing board, "deconstructing" the album and highlighting many details that would otherwise go unnoticed. One finds nothing of the sort on the "Beneath the Waves" DVD, just the various 5.1 surround mixes, three rather ordinary music videos, and raw footage of the recording sessions.

One would assume that the majority of those reading this review are Magenta fans wondering about Reed's new project - To them I would advise buying "Beneath the Waves", even with its flaws. Reed is still a great musician, and the album contains a lot of beautiful music. For those not familiar with Magenta, I would start there first. There is their masterpiece, "Metamorphosis", but on a slightly less monumental scale is "Seven", one of the most likable and instantly memorable prog albums since Yes' "Fragile". As a matter of fact, you pretty much can't go wrong with any Magenta album - They deserve to be much better known, especially in the USA. Apparently there is a new Magenta album from the ever-prolific Reed due in 2013, and I for one can't wait.

Scott Tisdel
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Jaime Renterma Alvarado
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2014
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Excellent, thank you for the fastest and the attention. I like the way it was packed my cd. I will buy another cd with you
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Jennifer Falagrady
5.0 out of 5 stars Precise and beautiful
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2013
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This album is a must have, extraordinary and haunting. The production is excellent. Worth every penny. Modern Prog Rock at its best.
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KDG
5.0 out of 5 stars Celtic meets Prog
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2014
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Celtic meets Prog. Steve Balsamo vocals are impressive.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Gabriela Vázquez
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente álbum
Reviewed in Mexico on July 7, 2023
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De los mejores albums
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Andrew 70
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastico "New Prog"
Reviewed in Italy on December 11, 2017
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Uno dei migliori dischi Rock Progressive degli ultimi anni.
Fantastico sotto ogni punto di vista. Menzione speciale per "Lilly" con la chitarra magica di Steve Hackett!
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Outastace
5.0 out of 5 stars A glorious widescreen success
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2017
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I have to admit I wasn't sure what to think when I listened to this album for the first time. I had expected a conventional prog album - and all that entails - with plenty of mellotron and widdly guitar solos repeated ad nauseum. What attracted me to Beneath The Waves was a reference I remembered reading a while ago about Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds. The writer on whichever website I had read the review of Beneath The Waves reckoned that it was comprable with WotW in its scope and attention to detail - both boasted star-name contributions, both packages had elaborate inserts etc. Both tackled a big subject. But WotW wasn't a prog album, it was more of a rock musical, albeit an extremely enjoyable one. Beneath The Waves isn't a prog album either, at least in my eyes. Over the course of the CD its creator Robert Reed weaves rock, folk, power ballads, Celtic jiggery-pokery and classical with guitar solos (certainly not metal ones, btw), choirs and widescreen orchestration. Described like that, rather clumsily I admit, Beneath The Waves shouldn't work. It should sound like a mongrel hotpotch of ideas that don't do justice to any discipline but, actually, it is a success. Indeed, it is glorious, magnificent, rousing, inspirational and touching. For the main part that is because it flows beautifully, is gorgeously produced and played and features a vocalist in Steve Balsamo who brings an emotional depth to the songs. I wasn't sure about Steve at first but his extraordinary voice grew on me. Since buying this album I have played it endlessly. Beneath The Waves is compelling, addictive and worth every penny.
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Antonio J. Pizarro Mendez
5.0 out of 5 stars Un disco maravilloso y muy recomendable.
Reviewed in Spain on December 19, 2014
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Rock progresivo muy suave, con numerosos arreglos orquestales y aires de folk británico a cargo de interpretes de lujo agrupados bajo el nombre de Kompendium (en realidad el proyecto de Rob Reed, el fundador de la gran banda Magenta). Un auténtico placer para los oídos. La compra como siempre en Amazon, rápida y sencilla.
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clive, kent
5.0 out of 5 stars real quality music
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2013
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this is one of the finest albums i have heard in years. rob reed of magenta has assembled some of the most talented singers and musicians for this project. this is a concept album with a wonderful array of sounds, from rock to folk, with a little classical as well.
there are some of the best guitarists you will ever hear on this album and other great musicians such as troy donockley & rob reed as well. on top of all this some really amazing vocals by many singers including the unbelievable steve balsamo.
if you like folk / celtic rock music you really must buy this, i assure you that you really wont believe your ears when you first listen to this absolute masterpiece.
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