Tom Timely has written, produced, and released a single under the title, “The Elf King.” Unfortunately, at the moment, it seems only to be available as a Facebook video. Here’s hoping Timely will move it to Youtube.
Somewhat astoundingly, Timely begins his video with “Introducing A Prog-Rock Masterpiece,” all in Tolkienian, Elven script.
Indeed, he writes on his Facebook post:
My new song! Remind yourself of an earlier time over and over…until it becomes your reality. Think of the things you could do if you had the key to unlock the past….You could change things! Some call it nostalgia, I call it the key. Check out my song and see if it takes you back.
So, kudos to Mr. Timely for possessing so much confidence. His pronouncement of “introducing” a “classic” reminds me of the founding father Benjamin Franklin when he wrote, rather proudly, that he possessed the virtue of humility.
Some things, simply put, cannot be bestowed on one’s self. Anyway, I’ll just take this as Mr. Timely’s enthusiasm.
The single, “The Elf King,” is quite excellent, introducing us to some very Yes-ish bass, combined with Kansas and Genesis-like keyboards throughout much of the song, though harpsicord is the first instrument the listener hears. I can’t quite place the voice, but Timely (I’m assuming it’s Timely on vocals) has a Styx-like feel to me. While the entire middle and sections sound very reminiscent of Tony Banks’s work on Gabriel-era Genesis, the song itself seems to have been a long, forgotten part of Leftoverature.
Since I’ve referenced Yes, Genesis, Kansas, and Styx, you might very well get the opinion that this is pure nostalgia prog. Heck, even Timely himself admits the element of nostalgia. Yet, this song is definitely more than a sum of its parts, and no one of the bands mentioned above could’ve written this song as is. Thus, there’s a real genius in the way Timely pulls all of this older pieces together into a new whole.
I have a feeling Timely might very well have introduced a masterpiece. What say you???
Progarchy 