Alan Simon

Alan Simon has released a major collection of his work entitled Songwriter.  Though primarily known for his rock operas, these songs stand on their own as individual pieces.  The collection is broken into sections: My British Side, My French and Breton Side and My World and Symphonic Side.   And the musicians…all I can say is Wow!  Midnight Oil, Roger Hodgson, Jon Anderson, Billy Preston, Fairport Convention, Maddy Prior, Mick Fleetwood, Tri Yann, Alan Parsons, Moya Brennan and many more.  The majority of the songs are steeped in Breton/Celtic themes and instrumentation as well as heavy doses of symphonic passages.

Performances by Jon Anderson, Justin Hayward, Fairport Convention…

The awesome, bluesy vocals of Heather Small adorn “Peace on Earth”, while Jon Anderson lends his ethereal voice to “Circle of Life”.  Along with “On The Road” with Justin Hayward, these tunes highlight the British side of Simon.  The real treasures are the French selections, most notably the beautiful “Au coeur de l’homme” and  “Le pommier d’or” with its gorgeous acoustic guitar playing.  Also the old Malicorne showstopper “Le prince d’orange” is given a full workout with reeds, strings and accordion.  And you definitely don’t want to miss the brilliant fiddling of Ric Sanders on “Castle Rock”, along with his other Fairport bandmates.  Vibrant, tightly played and quite the foot-stomper!  All in all, this is a very satisfying collection, bridging a lot of genres and styles.  If you like English/Breton folk-rock with symphonic flourishes you’re going to enjoy this fine collection.

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Alan Simon is a French folk-rock musician and composer best known for his rock operas.  Many of the operas are performed with collaboration from other noted rock musicians.  In 1999, the release of ‘Excalibur, The Celtic Legend’ presented him as a songwriter.  In addition, Breton Celticism plays a major part in his compositions.  Consequently his most ambitious works are typically on themes linked to Celtic myth and history.  He is the creator of the legendary Excalibur: The Celtic Rock Opera, Anne of Brittany, Excalibur II, Excalibur III and Gaia.

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