A nostalgic tribute to kids TV shows of yore (Trumpton, Camberwick Green and Chigley), A Visit To Chigwick is perhaps the best introduction to this extraordinary album.
‘Why does it make me sad? How can you miss what you’ve never had? Is there a way we can go back in time to the quiet little town in my mind?’ Cocoon takes Genesis’ Supper’s Ready as its inspiration and spins off that masterpiece’s many movements. With its merry vicars, kindly firemen and plentiful birdsong, it perfectly evokes the feel of an idealised time and place where childhood innocence and imagination run untethered. Cocoon is also musically diverse, and a testament to its sole creator, Pete Jones. A big Steve Hackett fan, Jones has a life story that’s a movie script in itself. Blind since infanthood, he began playing piano at four and became an adept vocalist and all-round musician. As half of pop duo 2 To Go, he was a 2004 X Factor finalist. But dismiss that from your mind. Legging it from Simon Cowell’s world, Jones has reinvented himself convincingly and almost obsessively. This is a splendid, slightly barmy and thoroughly entertaining journey into the very essence of prog.
