Rainbow Theatre
Fantasy of Horses

After 1972, the Progressive scene slowly and inevitably withers; but, as genre lovers will know, this movement was embraced with open arms not only by the main European countries: Australia and Canada have been far from cradles of excellent bands, which, alas, have remained on the sidelines despite the magnificence of their respective works… Well, one of these, allow me, "unknown" bands is Rainbow Theatre. Inexplicably they remained unknown to most until a few years ago when the then rare LPs were illegally reissued by a Japanese label, which contributed to making their name known among a certain number of enthusiasts. From this information, you can understand that obtaining the original LP is a task worthy of the most fortunate Hercules, I think you will have to settle for a simple CD…

This Australian band formed in 1973 around the charismatic and brilliant leader Julian Browning, an excellent guitarist and adept on the Mellotron and keyboards. The superb Freg Mckinnon on bass, drummer Graeme Carter, singer Marty Rose, and many other excellent brass musicians were summoned, and the ambitious frontman Browning gave birth to his most successful creation, the Rainbow Theatre. With a total of about 16 actual members, after cutting their teeth in various theaters and studios around Melbourne, the group made their recording debut only in 1975 with the highly ambitious work "The Armada".
Surely a multifaceted record: Browning is a great lover of classical music (especially Wagner, Mahler, and Stravinsky), opera, and jazz. Another source of inspiration for the group was certainly the early King Crimson (especially those of Lizard and Islands), as evidenced by the reprise of Ravel's Bolero. The addition of the Victorian Opera Company Choir makes the work even more majestic and epic: this is one of the most ambitious bands in the entire history of contemporary music.

A year later, the group presents their most complete work, bordering on perfection: "Fantasy of Horses".
Browning adjusted the lineup, including a full string section. The pompous Victorian Opera Company is no longer present, and in its place, the tenor Keith Hoban dramatically, almost theatrically, sings the poetry of the Great Browning. The work consists of four pieces: two suites and two instrumentals; the influences are more or less the same as "Armada": the album seems like a combination between the most original King Crimson and the most imaginative Mahavishnu Orchestra, although it is all presented as an incredible and majestic (and perhaps, for some, prolix) theatrical Opera. Surely the introduction of the first piece "Rebecca" immediately provides us with the menu of the album: the piece is indeed a splendid instrumental of few but majestic minutes. A sort of free jazz on the notes of regal brass and a towering Mellotron. The Mellotron, in fact, is the real protagonist of the track and is followed by a perfect usage of brass; Carter's drumming is almost divine, and Mckinnon's bass can be compared only to the best Pastorius.
I would not like to fall into the pathetic, but I think that technically this group is second to none.

The second is a dramatic and lengthy piece called "The Dancer". It is introduced by Browning's organ and the usual and indispensable brass; for the first time, you have the opportunity to hear the precious singing of tenor Hoban reciting the inspired lyrics of Browning. The central section of the piece is a highly complicated interplay between the multiple winds: once again, it is led by a fantastic bass, inflamed and masterfully played. Hoban slowly resumes his evocative singing, accompanied by clarinet and strings until the grand finale of the piece, it almost feels like listening to Islands by KC, if not something better. Moving on to the next piece, "Caption for the city night life", a brief and fiery four-minute instrumental free jazz piece. I don't know how to express how much perfection there is in this piece, it is practically unrepeatable: the musicians' technique is nothing short of superhuman, the bass is monstrously perfect, and the drum solo is perhaps worthy of only Billy Cobham. The wonderful and unfortunately farewell "Fantasy of Horses" follows, a long and refined 16-minute suite. What might seem like the song of a dying swan is instead the graceful voice of Hoban telling us the story of Australian horses, prey to human exploitation that made them slaves and took them away from their wild and free nature.
Surely it is the most ambitious piece of the album, and Browning really put everything into its composition, but the fruits of such work are fully perceptible, and the composition has everything needed to be considered a classic of Prog. The piece is a succession of different moments: instrumental peaks slowly fade into a new and exciting more relaxing section supported by the great voice of Hoban, only to start again wild and proud, like free horses.

After disbanding Rainbow Theatre, leader Browning studied composition and conducting with Prof. Keith Humble at Latrobe University and composed several projects. Lucky owners of the CD reissue of "Fantasy of Horses" will be able to listen to the bonus track "Eagle odyssey": it is a movement of his Third Symphony performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In conclusion, I recommend the album to all those who want to be amazed, to all lovers of the refined, King Crimson, and the most complex and majestic musical solutions.

The only downside of the album: too much pursuit of perfection is functional to a slight prolixity (similar to the greatest Colossal in the film field). And I also ask the following perhaps pessimistically rhetorical and pathetic question: why do groups like this get forgotten, and so-called "artists" rake in piles of money with stupidly commercial records???
Was this their true Glory? Future generations will have the difficult task...