Lifesigns – “Altitude” | Progressive Rock Central.com

I reviewed some of Lifesigns albums in the past, and they recently reached out to me to review their latest album, Altitude, which was released March 2021.

According to their press release, “Lifesigns was the brainchild of John Young (keys/vocals), Frosty Beedle (drums), Steve Rispin (sound) and Nick Beggs (bass/vocals). Their first album, Lifesigns, was released in February 2013 and sold well, briefly reaching the UK top 100 album chart. Guests included Steve Hackett (Genesis), Robin Boult (Fish) and Thijs van Leer (Focus).

The lineup for Altitude, included John Young, keyboards and vocals; Dave Bainbridge, guitars, keyboards, and backing vocals; Zoltán Csörsz, drums; Steve Rispin, sound engineering and additional keyboards; and John Poole, bass and backing vocals. They finally played live together in late 2021 and early 2022, culminating in a triumphant performance on Cruise To The Edge in May 2022. The summer 2022 tour resulted in a double live album, released in July 2023, with a Blu-ray to follow”.

This is a wonderful, uplifting album, full of Chris Squire/Trevor Horn – like vocals and beautiful ethereal piano and keyboard music. A wonderful album to listen to any time of day; or year.

My favorite tracks include: The over 15-minute opener and title track, “Altitude”. Fans of Yes will love this track. So many memories pass by as you listen to those keys and soft electric guitar with bass. The choirs only help make it more epic. The instrumentals, that take over around 3 and a half minutes into the song, are simply superb and stellar. You can also hear a little Genesis and other seminal band’s sound within this epic track. The electric violin sounds, near the end, to top this song off, like a dab of whip cream. They sound so much like Eddie Jobson’s solo work.

“Gregarious”, has some great lyrics and wonderful keyboards. “Ivory Tower”, is full of more great lyrics and imaginative guitar playing. “Shoreline”, is a stunning keyboard and electric guitar song, that you can play while driving down by the beach. The short, under a minute track, “Arkhangelsk”, is fascinating, with its synths and keyboards; while it lasts. The piano work and Steve Howe-like guitar is remarkable on “Last One Home”.

Overall, this is a magnificent album full of inspiring music, with lyrics that will also lift your spirits. The Yes-sound is a astounding reminder of what that band used to be. This music would have been some of my favorite, had I heard it back in 2021. However, I am still happy, that I was offered the opportunity to hear and review the album. Please pick this album up and give it a listen, whenever you feel the need to hear uplifting, relaxing music that will inspire.

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