Not since ‘Tarkus’ by rock legend ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) have I felt so enthused about a ‘concept’ album, even though I am 100% certain that main-man Justin Greaves would loathe the classification. Described as the band’s fifth studio album, ‘(Mankind) The Crafty Ape’ makes me wonder where British post-rock specialist, Crippled Black Phoenix, has been all my life.

According to the PR, or Wikipedia (if you care to look), the current line-up is a five-piece consisting of the aforementioned musical genius (multi-instrumentalist Greaves), Karl Demata (guitars), Christian Heilmann (bass guitar) and the two Marks, Furneval and Ophidian (synths and keyboards). Yet, it is a band that has grown in the past eight years and has included several participating members from bands as varied as Mogwai, Gonga and Iron Monkey.

The double-album is broken into three chapters, two of which (‘A Thread’ and ‘The Trap’) feature on disc one, with the third (‘The Blues Of Man’, which is defiantly bluesy) on disc two. While listening intently to the entire work, I could not help wishing that vinyl should be heralded back for this class of musical excellence. Lo and behold, the band shares the thought and a vinyl version is also fully available. I shall be hauling my turntable from its hiding place to give it try in due course.

From the 01:25 opening track, ‘Nothing We Are’, and its delicious instrumentation, to the glorious three-part crescendo on the longest (14:50) final track, ‘Faced With Complete Failure, Utter Defiance Is The Only Response’, this is a complex and intense body of work that has to be listened to from start to finish. The three chapters are a perfect way to break it up and they have their relevance, not least as the track seven intro on the first CD features a distinct change of tempo and driving force that denotes the commencement of the second chapter.

Interestingly, away from the ELP comparisons, there are some progressive elements in some of the sound-scapes that emerge throughout the album. They possess the dreamy, well-constructed formats of something produced by Pink Floyd, even though the actual sound is determinedly not of that band. Similarly, I could hear influences of Canadian band, Rush, in ‘Born In A Hurricane’, which whisks up-tempo in a very spicy fashion.

The album was recorded at Chapel Studios, located in the Lincolnshire Wolds, which is a fantastic venue in which to develop an uniquely attractive sound and it certainly suited the creativity of Messrs Greaves and co. The acoustics in the main studio are renowned for their superior quality, which enabled an enthralling layering of the sound to be built-up that gifts this album its outstandingly exciting appeal, to avid collectors and ardent listeners alike.