Reviews

Settle in to Mrs. Henry’s ambitious rock opera, Keep On Rising

There are far too few rock operas in the world. San Diego, USA’s Mrs. Henry are doing their bit to change that.

By Graeme Smith

Taking their cues from the likes of The Who’s Tommy and Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Mrs. Henry’s musical rock odyssey is called Keep On Rising. It’s a tale of seeking glory without remorse, and invites us to get lost in the world of rock and roll fame. It’s an album born from 2020’s lockdown by the band’s original line-up of Jody Bagley, Dan Cervantes, Blake Dean, and Chad Lee.

As well as the aforementioned bands, there are hints of AC/DC, Alice Cooper, and Guns N’ Roses in Mrs. Henry’s swaggering, dramatic rock style. We get this initially from A Time Like This, which follows short, ecclesiastical title track Keep On Rising. Big riffs and meandering keys set the stage before characterful vocals introduce the album’s tale.

Get comfortable because Keep On Rising is a story that takes it time to unfold. Over two hours to be exact. There are 45 tracks in total, taking us through highs, lows and everything in between. It’s far too much to cover in a short review but there are plenty of stand out moments. We Are A Rock N Roll Band sets the bar high early on with its powerful glam rock. Bye, Bye Baby is a classic rock anthem. I Don’t Want to Let You Go could be a bonus track for The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Delivery Room of the Morning Sun and Here I Am provide some eerie contrast. It’s Okay is a passionate ballad which is amusingly followed by It’s NOT Okay (the wordplay of the tracks’ titles gives another enjoyable dimension to the album). Find A Circle is wonderfully honky-tonk. The Overture comes 29 tracks in and is followed by groovy highlight Everybody Wants Peace and Love. Hope, Keep On Rising has a rousing crescendo before Peace, Love Rock N Roll provides the victory lap.

You have to admire the ambition of this album. There’s a risk that putting this much material on a record can lead to a lot of it being sub-par, but Keep On Rising never seems to suffer from this. Each track contributes to the overall story, and we get plenty of diversity of styles to keep things fresh. If you make time for it, it will reward you.

Keep On Rising is out now to stream, and available to pre-order on vinyl and CD. You can listen to it below.