Vangelis & The New American Orchestra "Blade Runner" 1982**** vs. Vangelis "Blade Runner O.S.T." 1994*****

Citizen Kane my ass! Blade Runner is the best movie ever produced in the history of the medium! It renewed film noir and science fiction and stands as an unsurpassed landmark in both genres. And its influence stretches beyond film to other visual arts, design, advertising and literature: the Cyberpunk movement was SF's reaction to the unprecedented mix of high tech and low life, the twin reality of the gleaming Tyrell Corporation towers and crumbling Los Angeles ghettos. And although it didn't stick very close to Philip K. Dick's original story, its version of the future shared the writer's pessimism: No leisurely living thanks to the machines, at least not for everyone: While the rich enjoy the fruits of android slave labor, the bulk of humanity scrapes a living under the domination of huge corporations and police oppression. Murderous as these replicas are, you can't help but sympathize with them in their quest for...meaning? freedom? revenge? I suppose it's different things for each one. The film's music was no less revolutionary in its mix of jazz noir, electronic and symphonic music. Composer Vangelis Papathanasiou (known outside his native Greece just by his first name) was a veteran of the Greek pop scene, starting with his invention of the popular Yanka dance craze in the early 60's. He shot to international fame after his collaboration with Demis Roussos in the prog-pop Aphrodite's Child and had since become a pioneer of proto-electronic music. His music for the film "Chariots Of Fire" had already won him an Oscar and he deserved another one for "Blade Runner", but fell victim to the Academy's contempt for science fiction. Sounds improbable that an iconic film like Blade Runner would go on to win 0 (zero) Academy Awards, but there you have it. Despite the obvious appeal of the film's music, there was no official soundtrack release until 1994 - which is how this album came to being. Entitled Blade Runner - Orchestral Adaptation Of Music Composed For The Motion Picture Soundtrack, it's a recreation of some of Vangelis' original music from the film. For many years it served as O.S.T. for us fans and I must admit that, although I clearly heard that it wasn't exactly the same as the film, I hadn't realized it was a completely different work until recently. Which doesn't render it useless at all. It still displays that revolutionary mix of jazz and electronic music and it still conjures up scenes from the movie - which is a secondary but important function of film soundtracks. The opening "Love Theme" is an orchestral piece with late-night sax, romantic but thankfully not as corny as would be expected by its title. "Main Title" is another mellow tune featuring an orchestra, synthesizers and subtle acoustic elements like small bells. The next song entitled "One More Kiss, Dear" is the album's only vocal track and sounds like a 30's jazz tune, only it's not an original one. It was composed by Vangelis for the film but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference just by listening to it. "Memories Of Green" is an older Vangelis piece included in his See You Later album, a delicate piano tune with an orchestral backdrop. "End Title" and "End Title (Reprise)" are big electronic synthesizer music. Pretty much of their time, yet classic all the same. "Blade Runner Blues" is a melancholic jazz piece with a lonely sax playing over atmospheric synths and "Farewell" is another mellow orchestral/electronic mix, with a slightly oriental flavor. It may not be the best track in the album, but it always moves me because it reminds me of android Roy Batty's unforgettable farewell speech in the film: "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die"

***** for Memories Of Green, End Title

**** for Love Theme, Main Title, One More Kiss Dear, Blade Runner Blues, End Title (Reprise)

*** for Farewell

I wrote the above review in 2015. At the time I only had the CD of the NAO version of Vangelis' music for the film. Later, I bought the vinyl reissue of the real 1994 O.S.T. This was originally released in CD only, finally becoming widely available on vinyl in 2015, while there's one more version (the final word?) released as a triple CD under the title Blade Runner Trilogy.

For now, though, we'll focus on the 1994 O.S.T. and its differences with the NAO CD I presented here more than a decade ago. Obviously these are two very different records, the NAO one being a more orchestral work, and the original score a more electronic/synthesizer-based one. Opener "Main Titles" starts with a minute-long intro including spoken word followed by Vangelis' imposing synths, exactly what the opening sequence of the movie demanded with its futuristic cityscape, flames, and first glimpse of the Tyrell Corporation pyramid. Thaks to the absense of electronic instruments, the song "One More Kiss Dear" is the closest match between the two albums, although the OST vocal probably gives off a more vintage feel. "Memories of Green" (originally from 1980's See You Later LP) is a fragile piano-based piece, without the classical dimension of the orchestral version. The romantic "Love Theme" sounds superior here, with the sax providing the necessary smoky noir element to complement the atmospheric synths. "Blade Runner Blues" on the other hand is more ambient, and less jazzy, than the NAO version, and "End Title" (which was previously split in two) is presented in its whole, a majestic classic of early electronica. The NAO LP contained 7 tracks, of which only "Farewell" does not appear here. But, even though there's still a lot of the actual film music missing, we do get 6 tracks absent from the NAO version: "Blush Response" (complete with dialogue from the film) takes us back the first meeting between Deckard and Rachel, "Rachel's Song" features some gorgeous female vocalizing, and "Damask Rose" some cello-like synth emulating what sounds to me like a traditional Greek mountain village melody. "Wait For Me" is another atmospheric electronic piece incorporating film dialogue while "Tales Of The Future" contains a distorted vocal reminiscent of traditional Asian music. Closer "Tears In Rain" features some of the film's best dialogue with a suitably emotive instrumental backing. All in all, although the NAO version still sounds quite good, being orchestral it's curiously more like conventional film music than the actual OST. Vangelis' original music is way more interesting, with its futuristic synths, smoky jazz feel, and dialogue excerpts conveying the right atmosphere for this seminal sci-fi noir cinematic masterpiece. Most of the music could work well as a standalone piece of electronica, but combined with the stunning cinematography of Blade Runner, it makes for one of the greatest soundtracks of all time - in my opinion even better than Vangelis' Oscar-winning Chariots Of Fire.

Unbeatable, really.

***** for Love Theme, Blade Runner Blues, Memories Of Green, Blade Runner (End Titles), Tears In Rain

**** for Main Titles, Blush Response, Wait For Me, Rachel's Song, One More Kiss Dear

*** for Tales Of The Future, Damask Rose

The Siegel-Schwall Band "Three Pieces For Blues Band And Orchestra/ Street Music (Russo)" 1972-1977(Rec) 1977 (comp)***

OK, I found this LP at the bargain bin of my neighborhood record store and it caught my attention; I don't believe I had ever heard of a blues/classical fusion work before. Rock yes, but blues not. And Siegel-Schwall sounded like a random choice for such a work - not highbrow enough, somehow. I got it, then tried to find out more about how it came to be. Apparently, Japanese orchestra maestro Seiji Ozawa actually got the idea of a blues/classical fusion work after seeing Siegel–Schwall Band perform live at a Chicago blues club - so, the band choice was anything but random. He pitched the idea to composer William Russo, who wrote the symphonic parts to Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra as well as broad outlines for the blues parts, to be filled by the band themselves. The work debuted in 1968; at the time, it was an unprecedented combination - the only similarly bold experiment in roughly the same period that I can think of was The Moody Blues' Days Of Future Past (1967). By the advent of prog rock in the early 70's, the combination sounded interesting rather than outlandish, so Siegel-Schwall went into studio to record the piece with the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Ozawa himself. Side two featured a different work, Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. The album opens with a minute-long atmospheric intro followed by a blues boogie with beautiful electric guitar; here the orchestra nicely compliments the blues band, which seems to have the upper hand. On "2nd Part", it's the orchestra that dominates. Guitar and piano enter after 3 minutes, and harmonica after 6:30. The playing of the blues band on "3rd Part" is excellent, but for me the piece is somewhat marred by the orchestra occasionally being too loud. While this is quite normal in a symphonic setting, it sounded too bombastic and out of place to my ears compared to the gentleness of the blues band. It makes for an interesting comparison with another, more successful fusion work: more than 20 years later, the same San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael Kamen this time, would play a concert with Metallica immortalized in the Metallica S&M DVD and CD. Here the orchestra would never overpower the band, sparring with the powerful metal rockers during the louder parts, and adding drama and nuance to the (relatively) quieter ones. The original LP issue was released by classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, and sold quite well, reaching number 21 on the Billboard Jazz Chart and number 105 on the Billboard Top 200. My 1977 reissue on Polydor is quite different, as side 2 features another Russo composition called Street Music: A Blues Concerto. Taken from a different Deutsche Grammophon LP, this piece was also recorded by the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Since Siegel-Schwall had disbanded, it only features Corky Siegel on harmonica and piano. It consists of 4 movements: the first one opens with a mourning harmonica whose sound blends well with the strings; after 3 minutes the symphonic parts takes completely over. To me it sounded like the music of a movie or ballet, going through various moods that seemed to comment on something invisible happening onstage. The "2nd Movement" consists of alternating passages of boogie woogie piano and classical, never really integrating. The combination works better on "3rd Movement", while "4th Movement" starts with an upbeat harmonica intro, followed by classical segment, then a segment with nice harmonica/orchestra interplay, and ends with a bombastic symphonic coda. As a whole, I find "Street Music" rather less engaging, as I missed the blues guitar, but Corky Siegel's performance on harmonica is insanely good. He convinced me for the first time that this "humble" yet versatile and very expressive instrument actually has a place in classical music, which I never would have thought before. To summarize, I thought the blues playing by the band is particularly strong, while the symphonic part sounds great when it blends well with the blues. When it takes over, it sounds just like a random classical piece - or, to be more accurate, like soundtrack music. In any case, an interesting experiment which may sound pompous as an idea but it certainly has its moments.

Three Pieces For Blues Band And Orchestra: 1st Part****,  2nd Part***, 3rd Part*** 

Street Music: A Blues Concerto 1st Movement***, 2nd Movement**,  3rd Movement***, 4th Movement***

The liner notes, translated from German

David Gilmour "Live In Gdansk" 2008*****

I set about writing this review after witnessing David Gilmour's concert at the courtyard of the majestic Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna, a huge baroque palace and the erstwhile seat of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Like everyone else present, I wasn't drawn there by Gilmour's fame as a solo artist: we were all there to listen to "The Voice & Guitar of Pink Floyd" as advertised on the CD sticker here. Which doesn't leave much for Roger Waters - maybe he should advertise himself as "The Bass and Brains of Pink Floyd" just to get even. Not that he's doing badly himself. I've had the luck to catch his Athens show in '06 and Pink Floyd in '89 - now with the solo Gilmour concert, I can compare 3 different live versions of my favourite Floyd tracks like "Comfortably Numb", "Time", "...Crazy Diamond" etc. One may argue that '89 Floyd were Gilmour and co but I'll beg to differ. First of all, that'd be hugely underestimating Rick Wright, which everyone seems to do, and secondly the Floyd concert was all about the show. Stunning visual effects, unparallelled surround sound, huge flying pigs etc. Gilmour's stage show and sound equipment would be impressive for any other band, but compared to Floyd (or his former bandmate Waters) it comes up short. He was so little interested in the show that he used the same visuals (e.g. in "Time") that I remembered from the '89 Floyd concert. But the guitar - ah, the guitar!- was up front like never before. Gilmour's solo career has allowed him to get rid of the elaborate Floyd concepts, write simpler songs and focus on his guitar playing which was always impressive but often overshadowed by the huge show. His playing is now better than ever, or at least better presented than it ever was. The Vienna concert consisted of a 60/40 mix of Floyd and solo tracks. We heard most of his new album, a couple of older solo tracks, and of course Floyd songs, both classic and obscure ("Fat Old Sun" from Atom Heart Mother, "One of These Days" from Meddle, "Coming Back to Life" from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and Division Bell's "Sorrow"). 

Live In Gdańsk is likewise divided between solo and Floyd numbers, but here we get the whole of On An Island played in its original sequence, albeit with the addition of the Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by noted Polish composer and Gilmour collaborator Zbigniew Preisner. The location is highly symbolic as the city's shipyards were famously the birthplace and bastion of Poland’s Solidarity trade union, somewhat of a Marxist paradox where the workers were inspired by Catholicism, and rebelled against a Communist (supposedly the worker's own) government, demanding workers' rights and political freedom. Gilmour's band here also includes former Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera, Floyd saxophonist Dick Parry, and -critically- Rick Wright in one of his last performances; he would be dead within a few months. It opens with a Dark Side medley (Speak to Me-Breathe-Time) before launching into the tracks from On An Island. Thanks to the intimacy of the live setting and Manzanera's second guitar the songs gain a little in punch, while they are perfectly complemented by the orchestra which enriches the sound without drowning the band out. IMO, the live versions are different but equally good to the more atmospheric studio ones, while some songs (e.g. "Castellorizon") sound much better live. "Live In Gdańsk" is, just like "On An Island", above all a guitar album for people seeking something more sophisticated than Heavy Metal's flashy guitar pyrotechnics. As such, it stands well as a whole while the individual songs are less impressive. The song "On An Island" is melodic with folky harmonies and the standout track of both the studio and live version of the album. "The Blue" and the closing "Where We Start" lull you into a state of comfortable numbness, until it's time for the passionate solo. On the atmospheric instrumentals "Red Sky at Night" and "Then I Close My Eyes" the guitar takes a back seat to the sax and orchestra, with Gilmour returning to his fiery solos with a rocking "This Heaven". "Smile" and "A Pocketful of Stones" are closer to Paul McCartney balladry, but the former is saved by its great slide guitar. "Take a Breath" is the hard rocker of this bunch, channeling the angst of classic Floyd circa Animals and The Wall. The second set is the fans' reward for politely listening to Gilmour's latest album when all they wanted was their favourite Pink Floyd hits.
It opens with a flawless "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and makes an unexpected return to Sixties psychedelia with versions of "Astronomy Domine" and the folky "Fat Old Sun". A forgotten Floyd gem that Gilmour has dusted off and polished with a fabulous solo, making it worthy to feature in his set among classics like the following "High Hopes", undoubtedly Floyd's greatest post-Wall achievement sounding even more resplendent backed by a full orchestra. The inclusion of "Echoes" is a pleasant surprise. Gilmour and -especially- Wright shine in their recreation of the "Meddle" track and it's incredibly sad to think that this was one of the Wright's last performances. "Wish You Were Here" is one of the greatest ballads ever, while "A Great Day For Freedom" gets an orchestral score especially for the occasion by Michael Kamen, supposedly as a tribute to the Solidarity freedom fighters of so long ago. Thankfully Gilmour does not join the fools in celebrating the "End of History" and "Triumph of the Free Market". Listen carefully to the lyrics and you'll discover the irony behind the title: "On the day the wall came down/They threw the locks onto the ground/And with glasses high we raised a cry for freedom had arrived...Now life devalues day by day/As friends and neighbours turn away/And there's a change that, even with regret, cannot be undone/Now frontiers shift like desert sands/While nations wash their bloodied hands/Of loyalty, of history, in shades of grey". Does that sound like a celebration of freedom to you? Did the Solidarity workers really win as "history" wants us to believe? Only if their dream was to scatter around Germany, England or anywhere else there was demand for cheap labor. As for the trade union itself, it withered and died as its leaders surrendered hard-won workers' rights in the hope that rampant capitalism will magically bring prosperity to all. You've got to hand it to Pink Floyd, there's nothing like one of their songs to start a socio-politico-philosophical discussion. "Comfortably Numb" closes the concert in a grand manner, with one rock's most transcendental solos ever. I don't know how Gilmour does it -he should have been tired of it by now, but he always pours his soul into this solo and never sounds like he's just going through the motions. This song alone would be enough to earn "Live In Gdańsk" its 5* rating...

***** for Time, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, High Hopes, Echoes, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb

**** for Breathe, Breathe (reprise), Castellorizon, On An Island, Red Sky at Night, This Heaven, Astronomy Domine, Fat old Sun, A Great Day For Freedom

*** for Speak to Me, The Blue, Then I Close My Eyes, Smile, Take a Breath, Where We Start, 

** for A Pocketful of Stones

Harmonium "Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquième Saison" 1975*****

Harmonium were a folk/prog band from Montreal, Canada. They wrote exclusively in French and supported Quebecois independence. 1975's "Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquième Saison" ("If there was need for a 5th season") was their 2nd LP and it represented a huge leap forward from the acoustic folk of their debut. The sound is still acoustic and drumless, but incredibly rich, with flutes, accordion, pianos and mellotrons, vocal harmonies etc. The orchestration and the long and complex compositions push the album from folk to prog territory, despite the absense of the usual heaviness and grandiosity. Of course, the "4 seasons" concept has been done before (Vivaldi is more than a popular name for pizzerias, you know) but they give it a new twist: after presenting a song for each season, they top it off by adding "Histoires Sans Paroles", representing the hypothetical "fifth season" of the title. As for its musical worth, no reason to be coy: It's an album of sublime beauty, period. Some may find it a bit too pretty for its own sake, but that's their problem. "Vert" (spring) opens the album with a sweet flute melody and is, despite the instrumental flourishes, basically folk rock with airy vocal harmonies. "Dixie" is a playful ragtime jazz tune that will remind you of carefree summers and silent movies. It's followed by the 10-minute "Depuis L'Automne", a melancholic song with wonderful passages of classical guitar and Chopin-like piano. It's all given a lush symphonic feel by washes of floating mellotron. "En Pleine Face" (i.e. winter) is another broody piece which reminds me more of French chanson - maybe  it's the effect of accordion that closes the song creating a nostalgic effect. The last song in the 5-season cycle is a 17-minute suite called "Histoires Sans Paroles". As in classical music, this is comprised by five movements. The first "L'Isolement" is a charming flute-and-acoustic-guitar melody. It ends with majestic mellotron segueing into "L'Appel", dominated by electric piano and acoustic guitar. It made me think of Pink Floyd circa Atom Heart Mother, a feel that became even stronger with the shift to "La Rencontre" (the meeting) a psychedelic collage creating an uneasy feeling akin to walking through an enchanted fairytale forest. This is followed by new age symphony ("L'Union") with soaring mellotron, soothing beach sounds (wave and seagulls) and some of the most beautiful vocals you'll ever hear on an instrumental, courtesy of ms. Judi Richards. The last movement "Le Grand Bal" starts off like carousel music, and is slowly enriched with piano, reeds and mellotron playing a waltz-like tune to match that movement's title. Harmonium would go on to record a double studio album and a live one, before disbanding in '78. I have in my collection many albums I prefer to listen to (especially louder ones), but few can compare to this for sheer beauty. I can't understand why Harmonium are not mentioned in the same breath with Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes. Their music is as accessible as any in prog, though I guess they lacked radio hits. "Dixie" was released as a single (maybe because of its short duration) and was a local hit, but it's atypical of the band's sound and not indicative of their capabilities. Oh well...

***** for Vert, Depuis L'Automne, Histoires Sans Paroles (HSP)1: L'Isolement, HSP4: L'Union 

**** for Dixie, En Pleine Face, HSP2: L'Appel, HSP5: Le Grand Bal

*** for HSP3: La Rencontre

After Forever "Remagine" 2005**

Pretty cool on the part of record companies to stamp promos with big capital letters PROMOTIONAL COPY-NOT FOR SALE. That way, when they do appear for sale they're dirt cheap. I got this one for €1. My knowledge of symphonic metal doesn't go too deep, but After Forever have a good name here in (their home country of) The Netherlands - so I thought I'd try them out. I had an idea of what to expect because I'd already seen the band of their former guitarist/co-leader Mark Jansen, Epica. They played a free festival in The Hague and had a huge show with exploding fireballs and a pretty female singer with an impressive operatic voice. Listening now to After Forever (and looking at the CD cover) it's obvious what their blueprint was. Singer Floor Jensen is the main draw here, and not only for the reasons obvious on the record cover. Throughout the record she showcases her vocal abilities to the max, singing in an operatic soprano style as well as in earthier rock tones. She has immaculate technique, not surprising since she's classically trained and -before going professional- made her living as a vocal coach. Guitarist Sander Gommans adds occasional infernal death metal growls as well as metal riffage, while a further ingredient is the atmospheric synths. The overall sound is an amalgam of Nightwish's symphonic metal, Opeth's prog-meets-death metal sound and compatriots The Gathering's goth rock. As it invariably happens, though, the result is less than the sum of its parts, suffering from lack of inspiration and discernible hooks. This album takes a more pop approach than their previous ones - nothing wrong with that, if you have the hooks to support it. Fans, of course, cried "Sell Out!", starting their criticism from the cover and Floor's see-through blouse -a blatant attempt for commercialization. I mean if you have to show some skin, why not dress her as Xena the Warrior Princess? I can't think of any metal fan objecting to that. The music is a mix of metallic riffs, operatic vocals, symphonic orchestral passages and choirs. "Boundaries Are Open" is the stand-out track, as it has a memorable chorus and introduces synth-pop elements in the usual mix. "Being Everyone" is the one with the most commercial sound, Floor abandoning the opera for a straight pop performance with a catchy chorus and synths reminiscent of 80's pop-metal acts like Europe. "Living Shields" is a personal fave: although the Carmina Burana choir does sound slightly ludicrous, I like how it integrates with the metal riffs, death growls and rolling bass line. "Free of Doubt" is full of symphonic/prog passages, "Strong" is the token power ballad and "Face Your Demons" tries a more alternative/nu-metal approach with Floor wailing like a rock singer instead an opera one. "No Control" sees the male vocalist taking the lead (both growling and clean vocals) and "Forever" is the big prog moment, with everyone giving his best in an oriental melody that reminds me of Rainbow's "Gates Of Babylon". The rest of the album is a nondescript mix of all the elements I mentioned before. It's well played and cleanly produced and I imagine it may appeal to fans of its genre as it ticks the right boxes. Personally, though, I found it rather uninspired. After Forever recorded one more album before they disbanded in 2009, while Floor Jensen has found a home for her considerable vocal talents with the champions of symphonic metal, Finland's Nightwish. For those wondering how she's doing with replacing the ever-popular Tarja Turunen here's a link to a fan-made video mixing their performances on the same song. Meanwhile, you can see After Forever in a clip from Remagine...

*** for Come, Boundaries Are Open, Living Shields, Being Everyone, Free of Doubt, Strong, Face Your Demons, Forever

** for Enter, Attendance, Only Everything, No Control

Lisa Gerrard "The Best Of" 2007(comp)****

I made my acquaintance with Lisa Gerrard's music as a first year student in '88 - '89. Two fellow students and friends were fans and taped their Dead Can Dance records for me. I spent a lot of time listening to these cassettes -and, later, my own DCD records- especially while studying my textbooks or doing other work that requires concentration. For the most part it's calm and introspective music, good for emptying your mind and refocusing - despite the fact that it didn't help produce any favorable academic results in my case. DCD consisted of singers/ multi-instrumentalists Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, of whom the latter was to find greater fame as a film music composer. This compilation is divided equally between DCD tunes and her later solo and soundtrack work. As such, it's way too short to provide a decent introduction. On the other hand this compilation (compiled by Gerrard herself) may be a good entry point for new fans who want that elegiac music piece they heard in the movie and are eager to discover more of the same. Or for DCD fans like me, who already have most of that band's output and want a sampler of her soundtrack work. I won't get into the DCD tracks, as we'll get back to that band often, unless to say that the likes of "Yulunga (Spirit Dance)", "Cantara" etc. are a breathtakingly beautiful mix of classical, goth and world music and that there's plenty of that where they came from. You only get the tiniest of glimpses into the world of DCD here. The solo pieces, often produced with the help of fellow Australian musician/producer Pieter Bourke, are not much of a departure from that sound. Possibly downplaying the world music elements in favour of a more neo-classical sound. Gerrard's vocals are still the main attraction: ethereal, mournful and quasi-operatic, with an exotic Arabic flavour. The voice is used as an instrument, singing often wordless or indecipherable lyrics. This CD opens with "Wheat" and "Elysium", two cuts from Gerrard's most successful release, the Soundtrack to the movie Gladiator, co-written with Hans Zimmer. These are atmospheric and classical-sounding, while "Now We Are Free" from the same movie is slightly more rhythmical and even features an African-style chorus. "Sacrifice" comes from the Insider soundtrack and features a majestic vocal performance halfway between opera and Celtic lament. The version of "Sanvean" included here is a live DCD recording rather than the one from her solo debut "Mirror Pool". From that album we get "Swans", a relatively upbeat number reminiscent of Eastern devotional music. The last two songs are more electronic (but no less atmospheric) than the rest of the album. "Go Forward" from Whale Rider is the more experimental of the two, incorporating world music elements in keeping with the movie's maori theme. "See The Sun" from Ali is closer to a pop ballad, as can be probably expected from a big budget Hollywood production. As a compilation, "The Best of Lisa Gerrard" has both strengths and weaknesses: while it offers 75 minutes of heavenly music, as an introduction to the artist it only scratches the surface: it's representative enough, but many of her best songs are left out while others seem to have crawled in by random selection. It'd make much more sense to just compile her best soundtrack/solo moments in one CD. If you want a concise but comprehensive introduction to DCD, I'd suggest double CD "Wake" as the bare minimum. 

***** for Elysium, Sacrifice, Sanvean, The Host Of Seraphim, Cantara, Yulunga (Spirit Dance), Now We Are Free

**** for Ariadne,  The Promised Womb, Indus, Persephone (The Gathering Of Flowers), See The Sun

*** for Swans, Go Forward

Joanna Newsom "Ys" 2006*****

That's it - my Belgian sojourn is over and I'm back "home" in Delft in the Netherlands. Normally home should mean Athens where I've spent most of my life but, after 6 years away, it almost feels alien to me. Not because of the duration of my absence but of the way everything back in the Greece has turned around in the last years. From my point of view the country is hardly recognizable: The austerity program imposed by IMF and EU has demolished both economy (deep recession and unemployment) and democracy (laws and government acts must be validated by technocrats operating without accountability on a strict neo-liberal agenda). The leftist government elected last year with an anti-austerity mandate resisted for 6 months before submitting to naked force and blackmail. Now the dominant feeling is one of resignation, desperation and anger. The country I left behind was not rich, but people weren't scavenging the dubsters for food. Nazis were laughed at or chased away, not elected in the parliament. I now feel more at home at quiet old Delft with its medieval buildings, beautiful canals and the most square and conservative students I've ever seen. 

Anyway, during my last week in Brussels I got to visit the city's grandly named Palais de Beaux Arts, which people have been pronouncing boz' ar' for so long it had to finally embrace the name change. Inside, though, it's still the typical baroque old European concert hall. Hardly the place for pop concerts but then harpist/singer/songwriter Joanna Newsom isn't your average pop star. Though a star she certainly is, the darling of photographers and film directors who love to tap into her slightly kooky fairytale personna. And while I read in a recent interview that she hates being referred to in those terms, she surely acts and dresses the part. Record covers like this don't help too: whose idea was it to dress like the daughter of druid Panoramix posing for a Botticelli portrait? Her dress in last week's concert was no exception, although these days she looks less elvish maiden and more fairy godmother. As for her music, in the beginning it was associated with the so-called freak folk movement and artists like Devendra Banhart and Vetiver, but it really is sui generis. For once, she must be the only modern artist using the harp as a lead instrument (she also played some piano in the concert). Her harp playing style is highly personal, neither classical nor Celtic or African, and her songs are often overlong and experimental. As for her voice - let's just call it unusual. Analogies with Bjork have been employed as to her singing style, which may not be an exact description but is a fair comparison. Like Bjork, you'll either love her voice or hate it, probably the latter.
Or you'll eventually embrace it, because that is the voice that goes with these songs - dreamy, childlike and idiosyncratic just like the music and lyrics. In the concert she sang with abandon, at times abruptly raising her voice, not caring about the odd bum note. Here she is more restrained, although the vocal emphasis is always on emotion rather than technique. It's telling that her vocal and harp were recorded by Steve Albini, an indie producer with a grounded sound vérité approach, only to be dressed with exquisite orchestrations by Van Dyke Parks, famous for the pop symphonies he produced for The Beach Boys. Strings and oboes abound, lending the music a lush symphonic feel. Lyrics are intricate and integral to the song. I guess we needn't ask the eternal question to songwriters, whether they write music or lyrics first. They most certainly pre-existed as poems or even short stories. An analysis would take forever, so I'll just post a link to a website dedicated to that purpose. Opener "Emily" is about her (astrophysicist) sister of the same name, combining shared personal memories and references to celestial bodies. An intricate, almost progressive, 12-minute piece it nevertheless is probably the most accessible and popular track of the record and even provided one of the highlights in the Brussels concert 10 years later. "Monkey & Bear" features Bjork-ish vocals and playful classical arrangements, as befits a fable populated by woodland creatures. "Sawdust & Diamonds" is slower and more understated and "Only Skin" a long poem filled with ingenious wordplay. The music follows many twists and turns, like a mini-symphony consisting of many parts. Closer "Cosmia" is (at 7+ minutes!) the shortest track here, relatively upbeat with supreme harp playing.

Newsom and band at the Bozar, Brussels 24/2/2016

Although Newsom comes from the alternative rock scene and is often categorized as folk, "Ys" (incidentally, the name of a lost Atlantis-like city of Celtic myths) is closer to progressive rock or even classical music in its grand scope and ambition. She'd later follow it with (another ambitious feat) a triple CD of more conventional songs drawing from jazz, pop and appalachian folk. It's perhaps best she didn't try to duplicate Ys's sound, allowing it to stand alone as a quixotic gesture and hyperbolic monument that'll forever polarize opinions. In any case, she continues to be a wonderfully eccentric, romantic and creative female figure in the tradition of Kate Bush and Tori Amos. May she stay in the clouds forever!

***** for Emily, Cosmia

**** for Monkey & Bear, Sawdust & Diamonds, Only Skin

Quella Vecchia Locanda "Il Tempo Della Gioia" 1974*****

This album has been on my list for quite some time, based on the reviews I'd read on the progarchives website. But can you really trust progheads? They're into some pretty weird stuff. Last months' Prog magazine had a "100 greatest artists of all time" feature and who do you think was number 1? Yes... as in the band Yes, not as in yes you guessed it right. If you were thinking the Beatles, they barely sneaked in the list at No.80: Nice little band, catchy melodies, just not complex enough for the fans of "Prog". Anyway I was in the Vecchia Locanda's hometown last week (Rome, of course) holding a handful of Italian prog CD's, and listening to song samples on Discoteca Laziale's listening stations. I scanned the barcode for "Il Tempo Della Gioia" and, even judging from those limited samples, my mind was blown! I hadn't heard such a marriage of rock and classical music from the days of The Moody Blues - only these guys are more complex and progressive, closer to King Crimson."Villa Doria Pamphili" opens with a minute of classical piano, followed by mournful violin and melodic Italian singing. I've said it before, English is the best language for rock but damn if those ballads don't sound better in Italian. I don't understand the language but the translation of the lyrics goes like this "Going down on the ground when it's soaked of dew/then offering her the hands/Waiting for the wind to take here all the stars...Sweet the harmony plays with the nature/it rises and then slips over the lawns/The joy for the matchless moment vibrates inside us/in that roar there is all its glory". I figured it'd be something all poetic like that. Probably makes more sense in Italian, too. After a couple of grandiose symphonic fanfare moments, the song segues into the exquisite baroque instrumental "A Forma Di" with its cascading pianos and choral arrangements taking us back a couple of centuries. Until now the guitars have been very discreet, letting the keyboards and violin take the spotlight. "Il Tempo Della Gioia" is more modern, keeping the classical elements but incorporating them into a more free-form jazz rock frame. Drums and electric guitar make their appearance. "Un Giorno, un Amico" is another, almost 10-minute long, jazzy track with many shifts and different tempos. It's distinguished by some absolutely fiendish violin playing, among the best I've ever heard on a rock album. Near the end, the violin is almost matched by a frantic saxophone, but then it abruptly stops. "È Accaduto una Notte" starts off with choral vocals before returning to baroque territory with some gentle acoustic guitar and flute. From the 6th minute onwards, it keeps gathering speed and intensity and ends with a big bang 2,5 minutes later. Quella Vecchia Locanda gave their best with this album, but it was met with lukewarm response and they disbanded soon after. Too bad - only 5 tracks (34 minutes) of this excellent music just isn't enough. Well, there's still their debut album from '72, somewhat less classical-minded yet also revered by prog fans. I've put it in my amazon basket and will probably order it as soon as I'm finished listening to the huge pile of yet-unlistened CD's I've got in front of me...

***** for Villa Doria Pamphili, A Forma Di

**** for Il Tempo Della Gioia, Un Giorno, un Amico, È Accaduto una Notte

Jethro Tull "A Passion Play" 1973***

Among fans and critics alike, no other Jethro Tull album creates more controversy than "A Passion Play". To be honest, opinion isn't all that divided: critics, at least, all agree it's pompous shite (somehow, the medieval form sounds more appropriate than just plain shit). Fans often defend its complexity and argue that the band undermine any notions of pomposity by injecting it with healthy doses of surrealist humour, although all agree that this mix of English folk, classical music, jazz and rock is somewhat difficult to digest. Serving it all up in one piece (or two sides of vinyl) makes it nigh-on impossible to swallow. Which is why I had so far abstained from acquiring it. It took the recent appearance of a Steven Wilson remix to change my mind. The Porcupine Tree mastermind's remixes of classic prog albums (especially in 5:1 surround form) have won heaps of praise but what tipped the scales for me was his decision to divide the album into 15 "songs" - although few of them can actually be described as such. Now even those of us with a short attention span can enjoy "A Passion Play". Bandleader Ian Anderson's first mischief was his work's title, the word "passion" in classical music usually referring to the passion of Christ. But, although this play deals with Heaven & Hell, its take on the afterlife is distinctly different from the official Christian version. After an instrumental intro, track 2 ("The Silver Cord") has the protagonist Ronnie Pilgrim watch his own funeral, in ghostly form. The song is a ballad in the familiar JT prog-folk style, giving way to an acoustic instrumental interlude ("Re-Assuring Tune"), a complex prog piece ("Memory Bank") and a more hard rock one ("Best Friends"). "Critique Oblique" is a strong prog-rocker which survived from sessions for an aborted album at the Château d'Hérouville studio. In storytelling terms, these songs account for Purgatory and Judgement. "Forest Dance" (a nice baroque-prog piece) sees Ronnie Pilgrim pass the test and get admitted to Heaven. But it's interrupted, to the dismay of Tull fans, by a completely unrelated Monty Python-esque story about a "hare who lost his spectacles", narrated in a silly voice. A short film of the story was made and projected during the band's concerts of the time. Trying to describe it is pointless. You just have to see it:

The second part sees Ronnie experiencing Heaven and Hell and rejecting them both, to finally get in line for reincarnation. Musically it is, to my ears, more accessible, with songs like "Flight From Lucifer" and "Magus Perde" sounding like the familiar Jethro Tull of the Aqualung period. Saxophone solos (most notably in "The Foot Of Our Stairs") make for a nice addition to the Tull sound, as do some flamenco flourishes in "Overseer Overture". Two short pieces (acoustic instrumental "10.08 to Paddington" and the literally titled "Epilogue") round up the record. My final verdict is that "A Passion Play" isn't all that bad. Taken in small morsels rather than swallowed whole, it can be quite enjoyable. The new remix, which properly highlights the musicians' inspired playing, almost compensates for the absence of recognisable song structures. On the other hand, there can be no excuse for including the silly rabbit story and placing it in the middle of the album. JT fans circulate their own versions of the album on youtube with that piece edited out - probably a better way to enjoy this work...

**** for Critique Oblique, Flight From Lucifer, Magus Perde

*** for The Silver Cord, Re-Assuring Tune Memory Bank Best Friends, Forest Dance #1, Forest Dance #2, The Foot Of Our Stairs, Overseer Overture, 10.08 to Paddington, 

** for Lifebeats /Prelude, The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, Epilogue

The Moody Blues "Days Of Future Passed" 1967*****

Another concert I recently saw in Amsterdam was that of the Moody Blues. The audience in these two concerts (The Who and Moody Blues) had an average age of 60+, quite the opposite from what happens in Greece where, regardless the kind of music, concert-goers are mostly young with the odd middle-aged person here and there (Of course, the crisis may have changed that, too). Why that happens in The Netherlands, I don't know. Is it a sign of youth turning away from rock? Of the deep influence pop music had in Sixties' Holland? Or of the Dutch baby boomers being really active and immersing themselves in all kinds of activities when Greeks of their generation mostly just go to the tavern? Anyway, it made for an enthusiastic audience. The band featured 3 members from the classic line-up, Justin Hayward (guitar & vocals), John Lodge (bass, guitar, vocals) and Graeme Edge (drums, though a second drummer was required as he couldn't physically pull off the whole gig). The other two played with undiminished prowess, while the rest of the musicians were also very good - especially the two ladies contributing vocals, flutes, saxes, keyboards and more. My only objection is the "psychedelic" screen projections, obviously meant to replicate a 60's light show but actually looking like a Windows Media Player visualisation. The music was a melange of pop and progressive rock drawing from all stages of their career. Not that I'd mind had they stopped in 1972, when they took a break after a string of 7 masterful albums which began with this one, arguably one of the cornerstones of pop and rock music.

The Moody Blues at Heineken Music Hall,
Amsterdam 25/6/2015

Funnily enough, the original idea behind it belonged to a member of that most maligned profession, a record company executive. Having devised a new enhanced stereo recording technique, Decca Records sought for the right sound to showcase the new technology and came up with a (previously unimaginable) mixture of pop and classical music. They even chose the piece, Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 and enlisted a pop group to play. Only they had other ideas. Instead of working on their symphony parts, they hijacked the orchestra and had them play their own music, a song suite replicating the different hours of a typical day. The result was so good that no-one was upset by their mischief and the album was released with much fanfare, Despite the fact that neither album nor single bothered the Top-10 at the time, it signalled the opening of new horizons and the birth of the Progressive Rock genre, The orchestra bridges the songs together and takes the spotlight on the symphonic opening and closing parts, but the Moodies' sound is in itself very rich, as it's embellished with flute, sitar and, most notably, mellotron - a tape-replay synthesizer emulating the sound of an orchestra which came to dominate prog rock in the 70's. The album begins with "The Day Begins", an orchestral piece cleverly previewing some of the themes that will follow, in symphonic form. A spoken intro and instrumental bridge are followed by the majestic ballad "Dawn Is a Feeling" and the playful "Another Morning" evoking vivid images of children playing. Another orchestral interlude is followed by psychedelic rocker "Peak Hour". The Afternoon is comprised by Hayward's lyrical "Tuesday Afternoon" and Lodge's "(Evening) Time to Get Away". The first part was also released as a single and is a beautiful melody with great vocals, acoustic guitar and mellotron. "The Sunset" somewhat echoes The Beatles' flirtation with Indian music while Evening's second part "Twilight Time" is an upbeat psychedelic rocker typical of the late 60's. Which leads us to "Nights in White Satin", one of the all-time greatest ballads in the history of music. It's impossible to calculate how many couples have slowdanced to this song holding each other tight, how many lovestruck youths have written it on cassette compilations for their loved one or dedicated it to them on the radio. Emotive vocals, majestic strings, breathtaking melody: no wonder it's never off the airwaves - just turn the dial long enough and it'll pop out. I'll hazard a guess that, as long as there are lovers and music, it'll keep getting played. The original album ends with a short narration by Edge, but this edition adds no less than 10 bonus tracks: Alternate versions of "Tuesday Afternoon", "Dawn Is A Feeling", "The Sun Set" and "Twilight Time" prove that the songs work fine even taken out of context, while a live version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" provides a link to their R&B roots. Single tracks "Fly Me High", "I Really Haven't Got The Time" and "Leave This Man Alone" are fine specimens of Beatles-y pop, while "Love and Beauty" and "Cities" veer closely to the more intricate sound of the album. All in all, an influential bona-fide classic - no record collection is complete without it...

***** for Dawn Is a Feeling, Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?), Nights in White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon (alternate version)

**** for Another Morning, Peak Hour, The Sunset, Twilight Time, Fly Me High, Love and Beauty, Cities, Dawn Is A Feeling (alternate version), The Sun Set (alternate version),Twilight Time (alternate version)

*** for The Day Begins, Morning Glory, Lunch Break:Intro, (Evening) Time to Get Away, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, I Really Haven't Got The Time, Leave This Man Alone

Le Orme "Studio Collection 1970-1980" ****

LE ORME (The Footsteps) is, probably together with PFM, the best known Italian progressive group. They started their career in 1966 playing Beat and Psychedelic Pop music and in 1971  they switched to Progressive Rock with classical overtones. Some influences would be Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer and maybe Barcley James Harvest, but the fact that they sing in Italian sets them apart. They say that English is a natural fit for Rock'n'Roll and that may be true. I wonder if Italian is likewise a natural language for ballads. Le Orme certainly make a good case for it. This compilation CD covers their best years (1970-1980) and comes in single and double CD editions. The 2CD edition contains 37 tracks, virtually everything you'll ever need from them. CD1 starts off with popsike 1970 single "Il profumo delle viole" and proceeds with covering the period from Collage (1971) to Contrapunti (1974), mostly symphonic prog in the ELP-vein. "Gioco Di Bimba" from 1972's Uomo Di Pezza was their biggest hit of the period, a gorgeous baroque-pop ballad reminiscent of Aphrodite's Child's "Rain And Tears" and Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Of Pale". CD2 covers the years from 1975's Smogmagica (containing their hit ballad "Amico Di Ieri") to 1980's Piccola Rapsodia Dell' Ape. It is a more varied collection, containing forays into new wave and acoustic baroque-inspired numbers. Although most prefer their earlier more bombastic symphonic prog, I find the soft and melodic neo-classical sound best exemplified in 1979's Florian more to my liking. For a complete discography and individual album reviews I'd suggest trying their page at progarchives. Progheads should definitely check them out - they will discover a group at the least equal to the English prog giants from that era like Genesis, Yes, ELP etc.

 **** for Sguardo verso il cielo, Una dolcezza nuova, Gioco di bimba, Figure di cartone, Felona felona, All'infuori del tempo, Frutto acerbo, Amico di ieri, Verità nascoste, Se io lavoro, Calipso.
*** for Il profumo delle viole, I ricordi più belli, Collage, Era inverno, Cemento armato, Morte di un fiore, La porta chiusa, Aspettando l'alba, La solitudine di chi protegge il mondo, Ritratto di un mattino, India, La fabbricante d'angeli, Sera, Primi passi, Immensa distesa, Canzone d'amore, E' finita una stagione, In ottobre, Regina al Troubadour, Storia o leggenda, Un angelo, Florian Fine di un viaggio, La mia sposa bianca, Il treno, Buona notte