Scott's Song by Song #78: Ian Neal - This Gemlike Flame
Welcome to issue #79 of Scott’s Song By Song (#scottssongbysong).For more information about this series, click here:
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Ian Neal is a British Prog-rock artist who is currently based in Greece. Perhaps we should call hom Dr. Neal as he holds a PhD in the History of Art specializing in “Victorian Reverie”. He began seriously getting into music at the age of 12 on the Hammond Organ, but is now a multi-instrumentalist. He is a self-proclaimed '‘’Doctor of Reverie’ living in Greece, making music that sounds like 1977 Genesis.” This is listed as his sixth studio album since 2005, although one is a re-issued 20th anniversary edition of his first album, 2005’s “All in the Golden Afternoon”. His new release just came out on June 23, 2026 and is titled “This Gemlike Flame”. The album was graciously provided by the artist himself for review. As always, I receive no additional compensation, and always “call it like I hear it”. I am somewhat familiar with his earlier work, having enjoyed some tracks, but am in no means an expert. As usual, this is a cold listen.
He pretty much did everything himself on this album as noted below:
Line-up / Musicians
- Ian Neal / everything
With:
- Kyle P. Nish / drums (2)
- Evgenia Papamikrouli / backing vocals (1,2,6,7)
Without further ado, let's listen!
Track 1 - 1. How Dreams Do Creep (for Souls Asleep) (9:11)
i) The Fruit to Grow Up
ii) Into the Blushing Pear or Plum
iii) To Cakes of Ice, or Flakes of Snow
The track begins with a cymbal roll, leading to a grand overture. At around 45 seconds, 12-string guitar strums, not unlike in Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine”, lead-in a quieter section. Just before the 2 minute mark, the music gets HUGE. This is beautifully produced. The first vocals enter at around 3:30 and Neal’s voice is soft and smooth, yet engaging; he makes you WANT to listen. Another quieter segment follows. A slow-build crescendo takes us to a louder dynamic level. A guitar solo takes over at around 6:45. The dynamic changes in this track are amazing. A synth solo happens next. The bass tone is monstrous! The track ends on a quieter note with panning electric piano tones. Amazing opening track!!
Track 2 -Late States, Eden’s Gates (4:25)
A tympani roll commences things here. Symphonic instruments bring us to a rhythmic section with ever-changing meters and rhythms that is simply prog-tastic! This is very cool! It reminds me of late 70s quartet era Genesis. A relatively short (by prog standards) instrumental piece that is absolutely wonderful!
Track 3 - Enitharmon's Dream (2:51)
This is the shortest track on the album. A mellow yet dissonant keyboard part starts us off here, to be joined by other melodic instruments. At around 1:10 the music gets much louder, but only briefly. This is another instrumental piece. Mellow, but nice.
Track 4 - Cretan Angel (12:51)
i) Parousia
ii) Diaphania
iii) Quiescence
iv) The Marian Veil
And now for the longest track. A fingerstyle acoustic part enters first, soon joined by a complementary part. Bass and synths soon join and Ian begins singing just before one minute. The soundscape is dreamy and swirling across the stereo field. The sounds are warm and engaging. This reminds me a little of “The Remembering” on Yes’ “Tales From Topographic Oceans”. At around 4:40 choir-like vocals join, briefly. The melodies are nicely phrased. Nice Glockenspiel at around 6:30. I love when the bass comes in strong at around 7:40. Just when you think the music can’t reach a higher dynamic lever, it does! Love the mellotrons and guitar solo after 9 minutes! I can’t believe that one guy is making all of this music! The underlying meter is 6-8. Just before the 11 minute mark the high pitched synth lines add another layer that pans across my headphones. This is massive sounding. The Hammond organ is wailing. So many layers that fit together brilliantly! Amazing headphone track!
Track 5 - Fresco (5:01)
A synth chord enters with a rhythm on the drums starting soon after. It's a moderately slow 4-4. Neal has a nice way of layering tracks in, bit-by-bit. I like the triplet accents at around 3 minutes. When the high guitar note hit at around 3:30 it gave me chills. Beautiful arranging. We reach the final resolving chord way too quickly. Great cut!
Track 6 - Of Aether, Rose and Spangling Dew (5:06)
Flute and acoustic guitar open this pastoral sounding track. Ian adds some “ahhs” ahead of mellotron and bass. The clean electric guitar chords are spacious and warm. This track is more about creating a peaceful feeling so far. A soothing organ takes over at around the 2 minute part, then the first lyrics enter. This is a very free-time piece; not a lot of rhythmic pulse. A beautiful track that ends with windy sound effects.
Track 7 - Leonardo (11:14)
i) Uomo Barbuto
ii) Il Diluvio
iii) The Prism Flares
iv) Misterioso in 11/8
v) To Burn Always, with this Hard Gemlike Flame
The windy sounds bring us to the ominous opening chords of the closing epic. Whatever that sound effect that pans across just before the one-minute mark is very unique. The way the sounds pan from one side to the other gives the listener a sense of being in the middle of what is happening here. The crescendo at around 3:15 is enormous and takes us to a melodic guitar solo. Ian likes his sounds to get BIG! (And I applaud him for it, since he knows how to have quiet parts to balance the loud ones.) His hushed voice lets us know that we are in the 3rd movement by around the 5-minute part. I love the sinister harpsichord-led section, very cool. This is so symphonic! Things begin to calm back down around 6:45. They begin to build up a minute later. We’be hit the 4th movement in 11-8. I get a little King Crimson influence here. I love the FAT analog synth tone at around 9:20! It's getting HUGE again! Ian is great at building a crescendo to a climax (a musical climax, you dirty birds!). It really builds all the way to the final chord! What a brilliant way to close out this highly dynamic album!
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
I believe that if Ian Neal wanted to write for a symphony orchestra, he could do so easily. He is masterful in his arrangements and use of dynamics. If you listen to this album, I urge you to use headphones (or a good stereo) for the best effect. I highly recommend this album to anyone who loves and appreciates beautifully arranged, symphonic prog. My only slight issue is that I would have liked to hear a dedicated drummer for more of the album. Ian’s drum parts aren’t bad, but an accomplished drummer could have made them a little better. But, talk about a multi-instrumentalist!! I couldn’t begin to guess how many tracks , are used on the stronger dynamic sections, but he plays them all brilliantly. I give this a 4.75 out of 5 (95%). 2026 has been a fantastic year in prog, and we are only just past the halfway mark!
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Prog On!
Scott
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LINK FOR LISTENING/Buying:
Here is the bandcamp page:
You can check out the tracks and buy a digital or CD version there.
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