Critical response to Neil Campbell, Michael Beiert and Anne Taft’s ‘Ghost Stories’ CD:

“This aptly titled collection from master British guitarist-composer Neil Campbell is a heady, haunting mix of traditional classical guitar pieces enlivened by the powerful wordless vocals of Anne Taft and the wispy synth work of Michael Beiert… Introspective pieces such as the elegiac “Ghost Tango” and brief “Sketch” echo Steve Hackett’s best solo acoustic work (with and post-Genesis). At the other end of the spectrum, the epic “Ghost Story Suite” is a multi-layered musical journey that draws from influences as diverse as Annie Haslem-era Rennaissance, 20th century chamber music, and jazz guitarist Pat Metheny – 15/16″ – Nick Tate, Progression (Quarterly Journal of Progressive Music)

“… Narrated by classical guitar ambiences, along with Anne Taft’s soaring operatic vocal registers, produces a powerful combination, occasionally of theatrical proportions. From subtle and delicate to electrifying in her purity of tone Taft’s select placement within arrangements consolidate the album’s concept. . . ” Russell Welton, Acoustic Magazine

“… a shimmering, atmospheric cluster of works with a ghostly theme … Anne’s soaring voice floats over the shards of arpeggios and layered electronics, on occasion warm and appealing, yet sometimes more ominous and foreboding in keeping with the spirit of the album. Eerie shapes and shadows are evoked until the presence of a spirit seems nigh. Superbly constructed.” Musician, The Journal of the musician’s Union

“There’s no two ways about it: the music on this album is SUPERB. Each of the 13 pieces in the opus evoke tremendous intense emotions. Neil’s classical guitar work, as of that of his co-musicians, demonstrates melodic refinement in its most purest sense. Anne Taft’s ethereal vocals transport you into another dimension where calmess and serenity reign. This is neither soporific new age music nor any old relaxation music… Sumptuous.” Philippe Gnana, Harmonie Magazine (translated from the French by Paul Vaughan)

“It’s a soundtrack for a film waiting to happen each night as you sleep.” Anna Maria Stjärnell, lunakafe.com

” Having released the excellent Particle Theory earlier this year with his band, Neil Campbell is back with something entirely different. Whereas that disc had been upbeat space fusion, Ghost Stories has much more subdued approach concentrating mainly on classical guitar…… Also appearing on Particle Theory, Anne Taft lends her beautiful soprano voice to this project as well. The wordless vocals add a powerful expression to the music. Folk out there that are familiar with Karda Estra might also want to look into this album. The approach is very similar in many ways….. This is a very beautiful set of songs …. For those of you out there who like stuff like the lighter side of Steve Hackett, Anthony Phillips and the previously mentioned Karda Estra, this music is definitely worth investigating.” – www.progressiveears.com

“yet again another fine release from Neil Campbell, who as yet has not failed to impress with his releases… Superb stuff once again… 7.5/10″ - Bob Mulvey, Dutch Progressive Rock Pages

“If [Ghost Stories] had been released during the heyday of Progressive or even in the ‘80s, I would have rated it as a merely good output. Nowadays, however, such honest, well-labored, efforts as this one are like preciously rare black lambs in a gigantic flock of cloned white Dollies (please take this as a metaphor) and are more than welcome. Imagine the main storyline of ['Shadow of the Heirophant'] from “Voyage of the Acolyte” and mix it up with everything-on-“Momentum” by the same Mr. Hackett, and if you like what you get as a result of these, your mental operations, I earnestly recommend you to have this disc among others in your collection. 5/6 stars”- Vitaly Menshikov, Progressor.net

“Neil Campbell’s intelligent fusion disc Particle Theory was reviewed earlier in FAME, but this is a complete departure from it, straying quite broadly into classical territory while slipping in a bit of neoclassicism via light touches of electro-acoustics…. (t)he effect is that of dreary beauty, somnolent and age-ridden, harking back to antiquity and heightened Edwardian morés, silent and proper… if you’re fond of new classical works setting heavily on the moody horizon, this is music to read Poe by…or Wuthering Heights…or The Scarlet Letter…” – Mark Tucker, FAME Acoustic Music Reviews

“As I listen to this, I imagine grey clouds whirring by in stop-motion frenzy, or a vampire crying as the October sun rises. This is simply so romantic and resonant. A perfect album for quiet nights alone with the soul. “Ghost Stories” manages to be ambient, instrumental, and goth all rolled in one. Highly recommended.” – Gary Flanagan, Nightwaves

“Only a few months after the release of the Collective’s second album Neil Campbell is back on stage this time accompanied by two different musicians : Michael Beiert (a German electro-acoustic composer) and Anne Taft (soprano). Ghost Stories, born out of the coming together of this trio, is an album which is just as deeply sensitive as it is intensly delicate. Based around the classical guitar the 4 compositions (30, 4, 3 and 2 minutes in length)arouse visions of impressionistic paintings as well as a dreamy atmosphere created by Anne Taft’s hazy vocals. Ghost Stories itself (which at times has a hint of the acoustic works of Steve Hackett or Anthony Phillips as well as groups such as Karda Estra) is a first class néo-classical work: a delicious nocturnal ballad in search of harmless yet enchanting ghosts.” – www.cosmosmusic.fr (translated from the French by Paul Vaughan)

“Listening to Ghost Stories is like attending a séance with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, it makes one feel a bit uneasy with its rapprochement to the spiritual hereafter, but also relaxed, by allowing one to focus on the approaching infinite eternity……With flamingoesque guitar solos by Neil Campbell, and (dare I say) ghostly vocals by Anne Taft, it’s especially the eerie synthesizer soundscapes by Michael Beiert produce the appropriate effect. Ghost Stories is an impressive, transcendent, work of art. It brings us, the living, in closer contact with the realm of the dead.” - Gary Levinson, www.indiemusicreview.net

“Over the streaming sibilance of the wind comes a delicate guitar melody – clear fingering, virtuoso classical style, moody of nature. Wordless vocalisations from singer Anne Taft add to the crepuscular atmosphere – effortless soarings and ethereal meanderings that hang in the air … Neil’s deft instrumentation has Spanish elements in the delivery, elegantly plucked melodies atop secondary patterns that ring with a comfortable clarity that belies the dexterity needed for such beautiful form.” – Morpheus Music Reviews at www.electronicmusicmall.com

“For a timeless thirty-eight minutes and forty-eight seconds this atmospheric arrangement of unfolding melody suspended me. In a place of repetitive melancholy and ecstatic peace of mind you can venture in perpetual balance. The chord trickling beauty of this harmonious sound will slip discreetly into your alpha, beta and theta states and whence there, hold you transcendentally…This music is part of a journey and those who choose to indulge will indefinitely be pleasured on many planes. Listen and lose the self in delicate repetition and then return to a point of remembrance and acknowledgment.” – Alicia Rose, Nerve (www.catalystmedia.org.uk) – See full review directly at: Nerve’s website

“Neil Campbell impressed a Classic Rock Society audience recently with his acoustic guitar prowess and here is further evidence of a massive talent, especially in the more classical field ….. an impressive album for the more thoughtful musical mind” – McCullough Crane, Classic Rock Society

“Neil is an accomplished classical guitarist who has a tender touch on the instrument and successfully evokes the various moods of evening and night-time reflections and experiences through dreamy sequences and tasteful melodies. Anne Taft’s voice is soothing and emotive and comfortably enhances the lyrical guitar as the 30 minute suite opens up from Beiert’s gentle atmosphere to a floating sensation created by voice and guitar. . . ” – Richard Barnes, Sea of Tranquility

Critical response to The Neil Campbell Collective’s ‘Particle Theory’ CD:

“…The Liverpool band prove that three-minute pop ditties is not all that comes out of the 2008 European Capital of Culture. Cleverly layered sounds and atmospheres collide to keep the listeners attention as the Camelesque meets Canterbury scene head on. This album leaves the musicians to put themselves in a unique rock shop window and you just know the guys do this for the love because it is just too damn clever for the mainstream”, Martin Hudson, Classic Rock Society

“… more fine and melodically pronounced material, … a crossover between true progressive rock and intelligent pop music with a certain acoustic as well as some chamber quality to it which, this time around is often joined by elements of classical Minimalist music …. this is accessible, yet elegant, warm, deeply beautiful and tasty music, 5/6 stars…” , Vitaly Menshikov, Progressor.net

“This is definitely progressive rock, but it’s very fresh and very uncontrived and unconventional sounding. The classical-style guitar and cello are especially prominent and define the over-all sound. Some really great, moody melodies are explored. I was VERY impressed. You will be too.’, Steve Feigenbaum, Wayside Music/Cuneiform Records

“[Particle Theory] dissolves the conceptions of time and space with its instrumental richness and sumptuous compositions, and it is a delight of sounds and intense moods that will consume one’s musical imagination for many listens”, Alex Jasperse, Muse’s Muse

“If you’re looking for a “progressive” album, in the finest sense of the word, go straight to Particle Theory….Neil Campbell and colleagues give life to a carefully thought out and deep progressive style which impresses straight away and continues to impress the more you listen to it.”, (translated by Paul Vaughan from the French) – http://www.cosmosmusic.fr/nouveautes.html

“This music is like a film, sounds flow into your head like pictures, captivating, and then reveal an abyss in all, mostly instrumental songs, in which to lose yourself. ..An exiting album, full of surprises and intelligently set arrangements. Not Prog, but Progressive Rock” (translated from the German by Michael Beiert) – http://www.ragazzi-music.de/neilcampbellcollective08.html

“Musically, this stuff is all over the map and right from the start, I was impressed here. ….This is some very interesting and inventive music that is derivative of practically nothing at all. Excellent production effects and a unique approach to the overall delivery of the music make this a truly progressive release… “, www.progressiveears.com

“…a dense and complex suite of music that constantly challenges your perception of how music should be. With imaginative arrangements and some imaginative use of instrumentation (aided by Nicole Collarbone, Mark Brocklesby on drums and percussion, Dan Owens and Liam Carey on bass, Stan Ambrose on Celtic Harp and Alex Welford on horns), Mr Campbell has certainly created a constantly challenging musical experience.’, Stuart Hamilton, space-rock.co.uk

“…a very high level of creativity in the music. Add to that excellent performances, very good production and you get an album you will want to listen to quite often. When Particle Theory’s last track ended, my reaction was “What… already over?”. It did not take me long to put it back on again because Particle Theory merits numerous listenings. This very much unexpected gem gets my highest recommendation indeed.”, www.prognosis.com

“”Particle Theory” recalls both the symphonic folk music of Mike Oldfield and the large ensemble work of Ian Carr but also has obvious ties to the ‘prog’ scene with hints at Camel and King Crimson in a few places. Having done the necessary name-dropping I must say that this disc does a remarkably good job of not sounding like anyone in particular…The music is fresh, original and highly enjoyable! “Particle Theory” gets my highest recommendation!!”, ZNR Records (www.znrcds.com)

“The Liverpool Collective has produced a real masterwork. After the 42 minutes is over one sits in front of the speakers and wonders in silence – “What? Over already?” – but then there is always the repeat button which this reviewer used a hell of a lot when reviewing this CD. Aside from being a talented multi-instrumentalist Neil Campbell is an accomplished songwriter and arranger who understands how to translate his personal mental cinema into sublime listening experiences. Without a warming up phase the Neil Campbell Collective plays straight to the heart of the listener and this reviewer is putting himself into the queue for their next album awarding 8/10 for ‘Particle Theory’.”, www.rocktimes.de (translated from the German by Andy Fernihough)

“‘Particle Theory’ is a very beautiful guitar and cello coloured album. But also there are synth elements. The pieces present a mix of Progressive Rock, Symphonic/Melodic Rock, Electronica, Folk and Acoustic music. Above all the combination of whooshing bubbly synths (like the Berlin School or Ozric Tentacles) with these instruments has a special quality which I like very much. [It is] is a very varied album with lots of acoustic guitar, synths and cello that in itself works very naturally. You can listen relaxed because the melodies and sounds sink into the ears very smoothly. I like this album a lot.”, www.musikzirkus-magazin.de (translated from the German by Andy Fernihough)

“Bands such as the NCC with an original style are not as easy to describe as bands who sound like so-and-so. The first thing that is apparent is that these are musicians with classical training. At times the NCC sound like a chamber orchestra playing rock, more rock-oriented than Karda Estra, more melodic and warm than Univers Zero. While they don’t strongly resemble any of the 1970’s progressive bands, the NCC share the same true progressive ethos and the same desire to incorporate several centuries of western musical development into rock.”, www.kinesiscd.com

“…eight songs that perfectly blend together all the best elements of progressive rock., folk and even classical music, with traces of experimental electronics, to offer what is arguably one of the most diverse musical productions of the year. If you’ve never heard of Neil Campbell or his collective of musicians then Particle Theory is a perfect place to start. 4+1/2 stars”, Ryan Sparks, Sea of Tranquility www.seaoftranquility.org)

“….This is a very unique sounding album which holds your attention from start to finish. It does have some references and suggestions of other musical influences here and there if you want to spend time looking for them, but they just serve to allow you into the musical delights contained within this thoroughly enjoyable album.”, Kevin Wallbank at psychedeliccentral.com

“I found this to be one of the most enjoyable new releases of 2008. With each listen it becomes a classic in my opinion due to the innovative sounds Neil and company create. I found each song on this album to be fantastic and I never grow tired of any of them especially the two part title track. If you‘re not convinced, I would suggest checking out the tracks on their MySpace page. Particle Theory is highly recommended and should be on many (hopefully) people’s top releases of 2008!”, Ron Fuchs, ProgNaut