Nad Sylvan’s career in music extends back more than four decades. Still, it’s only been since the early 2010s that he’s come to public attention through being the front man for Steve Hackett with his extremely successful ‘Genesis Revisited’ project, being the voice for the performances of several of Genesis’s more iconic albums up to 1975.
But Nad, however, also has his parallel solo career and his latest album, Monumentata, is his eighth such album. It’s a strong and rewarding piece of work in every sense, being a deeply personal album where Nad, having shed the Vampirate persona, bares his soul and wears his heart firmly on his sleeve for all to see. As he says, probably 75% of the lyrics on the album were directly about his own life and experiences, not all of which have been pleasant.
This can be seen in the title track ‘Monumentata,’ which begins with a slow piano intro before unfolding into one of Nad’s most gorgeous songs. It’s beautifully sung, infused with achingly warm sentiments about a loved one who, as he says, he “never really knew”, in this case, his father. When Nad says .. “We never had the chance, or circumstance, of getting closer, now I’m supposed to grieve, but I don’t”. It’s deeply laden with rich emotion and, as he says, it’s “a song which speaks to my heart”. The sentiment continues with the 60’s R&B flavoured ‘Monte Carlo Priceless,’ a song about his parents, his father having been a top tennis player in the 1950s, and his mother accompanying him to Monte Carlo, where the imagery derives from. It’s another gorgeous piece with the subtle feel of later Genesis.
At the other extreme, ‘That’s Not Me,’ by Nads standards, a fairly fiery, almost aggressive song, with a melody bringing Gentle Giant to mind, about being a foreigner and finding conformity challenging. ‘Make Somebody Proud,’ though prog-infused, could have been recorded in the 1980s as it’s redolent of Collins-era Genesis. With other glowing tracks like the jazzy pop ‘Flowerland,’ ‘I’m Stepping Out’ and bonus track ‘Unkillable,’ Nad’s come up with an album which embodies his diversity of style, and while his roots are firmly planted in ‘70’s prog, these are songs with pop and rock sensitivities plus a few hints of jazz, and all bound up with immaculate musicianship, much of which Nad contributes himself, playing guitar and keys, with contributions from several of the usual suspects like Jonas Reingold, Nick Beggs and Marco Minnamann.
For fans of Gabriel’s Genesis, Nad’s voice may sound uncannily like Gabriel’s, but he isn’t just a clone, he merits a much higher profile because he’s very much his own man .. you can tell him by the way he walks .. sorry !!
