When Age Has Done It's Duty
| Date | Label | Catalog # | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Festival Music | 201107 | CD |
| 26 Jan 2018 | CD-Digipak (re-mixed and re-master) |
This is a concept album written and produced by Rob Armstrong based on the trials of the ageing process, drawing on memories of family past.
Guests include: Bob Dalton (It Bites), Steve Dunn (Also Eden), Simon Rogers (Also Eden), Luke Machin (The Tangent), Huw Lloyd Jones (Unto Us), Steve Thorn (Also Eden), Lee Abraham and Dave Ware.
Regarding the 2018 Reissue, Robin Armstrong says: “It’s considered by many to be a seminal work in the Cosmograf catalogue, so rather than just re- issuing it I thought it would be better to completely remix and master it and address some of the issues that were less than perfect on the original recording. Many of the original guitar, bass and vocal parts have been re-recorded, new string arrangements added, and a more dynamic low volume level master produced.”
Robin Armstrong
vocals, electric guitar, classical guitar (3), acoustic guitar (8), keyboards, bass (1,3-6), producer
With:
Huw Lloyd Jones: vocals (5)
Steve Thorne: lead & backing vocals (6)
Tom O' Bedlam: narration (6)
Simon Rogers: 12-string & electric guitars (3)
Luke Machin: guitar (4)
Lee Abraham: guitar & bass & mixing (7)
Steve Dunn: bass (2)
Bob Dalton: drums (1-6)
Dave Ware: drums (7)
Cosmograf is the project of multi-instrumentalist/composer Robin Armstrong, even though he is joined on When Age Has Done It's Duty by a "brochette" of well known and very talented collaborators.
The tracks are very well written and performed and the production of When Age Has Done It's Duty is as good as it gets.
When Age Has Done It's Duty is a concept album, a concept that as produced mostly music with a dark mood. Surprisingly, this album changes style quite a bit from track to track. It goes from very heavy Prog-Rock (think recent Porcupine Tree), to early Genesis inspired melodic Prog, to a guitar solo that makes me think of David Gilmour... So the common thread of this album is more in the lyrics than it is in the musical genres of every tracks. I must also add that for someone my age (50+)listening to the lyrics can be a bit depressing...
In conclusion I consider When Age Has Done It's Duty to be a very good album that should be liked by a fan of darker progressive rock. In my humble opinion I think that if Robin Armstrong would stick a little bit more to a perticular genre in a futur album, he could produce an album that would surpass When Age Has Done It's Duty , even though this CD is certainly very good as it is.
