Sakalli
Freedom to Music
Siena Root – A New Day Dawning (2004) (@256)
09 Nov 2011
(Review from maelstroem.nu)
Originally formed in 1997, Swedish rockers Siena Root take their name from Tuscany’s “warm, earthy colors”.
Siena Root manages to recreate the spirit of old with a clear, sterile production, integrating uncountable influences from the late 1960s and 1970s into one entity, that smells “classic” and rocks from start to finish throughout the album’s 68 minutes.
The mainstream psychedelia Cream influence is evident from the opening cut “Coming Home” and continues throughout the album. The bass playing is blessed with a Geezer Butler-like masculinity and the drums wink at a heavy, all-around “John Bonham” sound, while the guitars tend to be more of a free spirit and slow-handed, much like Clapton’s on his early days.
“Just Another Day” follows, opening with a typical Alice Cooper extravagant bang, while leading the way to an assault of vintage Deep Purple/Atomic Rooster-styled heavy organs, slowly making the way to the pounding rhythm of “Shine On”, where the band revisits the Grand Funk Railroad engine.
On the first listen there’s just no escape from the comparisons to familiar oldies that scream from the above mentioned tracks and those that follow, but once you get past it, further listens will reveal a nice songwriting, as well as interesting takes forming a tasty cocktail out of the influences, answering some of the classic rock’s “what if” questions. This is strongly evident on the two lengthy closing tracks that sound as if early Jethro Tull, with its acoustic, folk-drenched playing, met the crunchy riffs of Black Sabbath, yet without dwelling into the doomish depth of the soul as the latter did.
A New Day Dawning is a refined work with a classic feel, which would satisfy anyone who looks for a trip back in time, ready to compromise on originality in favor of familiarity.
Line-up:
- Oskar Lundstrom / vocals, organ
- KG West / lead guitar, organ, sitar, Rhodes, Mellotron
- Sam Riffer / bass, percussion, vocals, double bass
- Love H. Forsberg / drums, percussion
- Sartez Faraj (Abdulrahman) / lead vocals, guitar
Track List:
01. Coming Home – 4:22
02. Just Another Day – 4:37
03. Shine – 2:54
04. Fever – 5:55
05. Above the Trees – 3:31
06. What Can I Do – 3:20
07. Little Man – 4:26
08. Roots – 4:42
09. Trippin’ – 6:07
10. Until Time Leaves Us Again – 6:11
11. Words – 4:33
12. Rasayana – 9:06
13. Into the Woods – 8:19
Link in comments.
Yes – Fly from Here (2011) (@256)
08 Nov 2011
(Review from allaboutjazz.com, popmatters.com)
“Fly from Here” is Yes’s first studio album in a decade, the longest gap to date between two Yes studio albums. Benoit David replaced long-time member Jon Anderson when Anderson was struggling with health issues in 2008.
Yes had already tried a project with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes—and without Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman—in 1980, and the resulting project Drama turned into an guitar-focused curio.
Now, Anderson and Wakeman are gone once more, and Horn and Downes are back again. They’ve even brought along a tune in the form of lead single “Fly From Here, Part I: We Can Fly” from the tour in support of Drama.
So if the multi-movement title track sounds like it’s rooted in the Drama/Asia era of carefully aligned arena rock, that’s because is. The 23-minute piece’s overture has a steady rise and fall not unlike Drama‘s opener “Machine Messiah”, making sure that every note and lyric serves its scene-setting purpose. There’s something about this carefully-measured approach to writing extended progressive rock, one that flies in the face of the more organically-minded elastic forms of Tales from Topographic Oceans and Relayer, that feels slightly stifling.
The second half of “Fly From Here” is tame and unassuming by comparison. Howe’s distorted power chords and White’s tricky meters largely go into hiding on tracks like “The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be” and “Hour of Need”, the former featuring Chris Squire on lead vocals during the verses. These songs are representative of Yes’ purgatory state, one that flirts with concise pop forms but is afraid to fully commit to them. Squire’s vocal delivery obviously comes from a personal place whereas Howe’s lyrics for “Hour of Need” are cynicism without a target. “Solitaire” starts with andante Travis-picking, like a slowed-down “The Valley of the Rocks” and spontaneously moves into classical territory a la “Mood for a Day”. Disjointed nature aside, it is a fine piece of nylon plucking.
“Life on a Film Set” is another long-lost Horn/Downes tune that never got past the demo stage of the second Buggles album. Though it probably wasn’t written with Yes in mind, it seems to fit the Squire/Howe/White approach like a glove even if the song isn’t impressively memorable.
It’s with the closer “Into the Storm” that Yes sounds the most surefooted and perked. Steve Howe and the keyboards match on a theme centered on a broken chord, one that gives the song drive and the album some much-needed momentum.
Line-up:
- Chris Squire / bass guitar, vocals
- Steve Howe / guitars, vocals
- Alan White / drums
- Geoff Downes / keyboards
- Benoit David / lead vocals
- Trevor Horn / vocals
Track List:
01. Fly From Here – 1:53
02. Fly From Here Pt I – 6:00
03. Fly From Here Pt II – 6:41
04. Fly From Here Pt III – 5:16
05. Fly From Here Pt IV – 2:15
06. Fly From Here Pt V – 1:44
07. The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be – 5:07
08. Life On A Film Set – 5:01
09. Hour Of Need – 3:07
10. Solitaire – 3:30
11. Into The Storm – 6:54
12. Hour Of Need (Bonus Full Length) – 6:45
Link in comments.
Yes – Word Is Live (1970-88) (@256)
06 Nov 2011
(Review from amazon)
This three disc, multiple band line-up spanning collection of (mostly) previously unreleased live performances pays apt tribute to that proud, expansive mindset. While it skips almost entirely over the band’s mid-‘70s prime (a period already amply chronicled on the double-disc Yessongs), the band’s formative era and first line-ups get showcased on raw ‘70-’71 performances from the BBC and Swedish Radio (the latter pair capturing some of guitarist Steve Howe’s first performances with the band) on disc one, a chapter highlighted by their sprawling, if still evolving version of Paul Simon’s “America”and a rare, nearly as grandiose cover of The Rascals’ obscure “It’s Love,”both from London ’71.
Disc two focuses on arena performances from the late ‘70s, featuring an ambitious “Sound Chaser” from the Patrick Moraz line-up, as well as a “Big Medley” of reworked versions of some of their defining songs, with Rick Wakeman back behind the keys. The final chapter is the set’s most varied, chronicling not one, but two band revampings via a trio of live tracks from the short-lived tenure of former Buggles Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes and a quartet of performances from the band’s surprisingly successful, Trevor Rabin -sparked 1980s pop reincarnation, including the rarities “Rhythm of Love” and “Shoot High, Aim Low”. If the overall sound quality varies considerably, spanning mono radio recordings of indeterminate generation to soundboard cassettes from Howe’s collection and professional multi-track (most of disc 2), it’s the ever-forceful, often ambitiously reinventive performances they capture that’s more the point.
This can be called an official bootleg, as a mixed bag of performances and sound quality.
Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Chris Squire / bass and vocals
- Tony Kaye / keyboards
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Peter Banks / guitars
- Steve Howe / guitars
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Alan White / drums
- Patrick Moraz / keyboards
- Trevor Horn / vocals
- Geoff Downes / keyboards
- Trevor Rabin / guitars & vocals
Track List:
CD1
01. Then (BBC 1970) – 5:25
02. For Everyone (BBC 1970) – 4:44
03. Astral Traveller (Gothenburg 1971) – 7:24
04. Everydays (Gothenburg 1971) – 11:01
05. Yours Is No Disgrace (London 1971) – 11:45
06. I’ve Seen All Good People (London 1971) – 7:52
07. America (London 1971) – 16:21
08. It’s Love (London 1971) – 11:07
CD2
01. Apocalypse (Cobo Hall, Detroit 17 Aug 76) – 3:08
02. Siberian (Khatru Cobo Hall, Detroit 17 Aug 76) – 10:10
03. Sound Chaser (Cobo Hall, Detroit 17 Aug 76) – 11:17
04. Sweet Dreams (Queen’s Park Rangers Football Ground, London 10 May 75) – 6:22
05. Future Times-Rejoice (Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA 8 Oct 78) – 6:59
06. Circus of Heaven (Forum, Inglewood, CA 5 Oct 78) – 4:52
07. The Big Medley- Time and a Word-Long Distance Runaround-Survival-The Fish-Per.. – 25:53
08. Hello Chicago (Chicago International Amphitheatre, Chicago, 9 Jun 79) – 2:11
09. Roundabout (Chicago International Amphitheatre, Chicago 10 Jun 79) – 8:42
CD3
01. Heart Of The Sunrise (Oakland 1978) – 10:56
02. Awaken (Chicago 1979) – 17:53
03. Go Through This (New York 1980) – 4:21
04. We Can Fly From Here (New York 1980) – 6:46
05. Tempus Fugit (New York 1980) – 5:53
06. Rhythm Of Love (Houston 1988) – 6:42
07. Hold On (Houston 1988) – 7:24
08. Shoot High, Aim Low (Houston 1988) – 8:27
09. Make It Easy – 6:09
Link in comments.
Where In The World Is Sakalli (Sandiego)?
31 Oct 2011
This has been probably the longest run of driness in the history of this blog.
Unfortunately I’ve been out of the one thing I need most: “Time”.
I’ll be back, just don’t know when — it can be tomorrow, it can be weeks later. Stay tuned.
Van der Graaf Generator – A Grounding In Numbers (2011) (@256)
23 Aug 2011
(Review from progarchives.com)
After over two years, VDGG returns with another batch of tracks written and recorded as a trio. Following the excellent surprise of Trisector, the band were going to have a tough time equalling or topping their previous effort. The least we can say is that “A Grounding In Numbers” is another worthy album.
After a strong “Your Time Starts Now”, the album flips to the small tour de force of the unofficial title track, dealing with a concept about numbers and maths. Some tracks are in the fairly basic verse-chorus mode (well the usual VDGG complexity aside) with a short solo, like “Highly Strung”. Later on the album, “Embarrassing Kid” and “Mr Sands” are made from the same mould and “Smoke” has an almost new-wave/electro-pop sound and segues into another early-80′s-ish track, “5533″, which sounds a bit like the Talking Heads with a return to the math theme.
There are some brilliant interludes, which allow for some breathing space, like the haunting instrumental “Red Baron” (Evans’ awesome drumming), duly separating the violent “Highly Strung” from “Bunsho”, a quieter track, which seems to evolve from the Baron’s descent, and where Hammill deals out a decent guitar and very personal lyrics about his creation process. The challenging “Snake Oil” features a slow crescendo, some abrupt dynamics and then leaves the floor another instrumental interlude “Splink”, features some harpsichord over those wild drums of Guy Evans. The album closes on the longest (barely 6-mins) “All Over The Place”, with Hammill all over the harpsichord and the band finally unleashing mean solos to arouse our intellect.
Line-up:
- Peter Hammill / guitar, keyboards and vocals
- Hugh Banton / organ, bass pedals and bass guitar
- Guy Evans / drums
Track List:
01. Your Time Starts Now – 4:14
02. Mathematics – 3:38
03. Highly Strung – 3:36
04. Red Baron – 2:23
05. Bunsho – 5:02
06. Snake Oil – 5:20
07. Splink – 2:37
08. Embarrassing Kid – 3:06
09. Medusa – 2:12
10. Mr. Sands – 5:22
11. Smoke – 2:30
12. 5533 – 2:42
13. All Over The Place – 6:03
Link in comments.
Irish Coffee – Irish Coffee (1972) (@256)
22 Aug 2011
(Review from progarchives.com)
Formed in 1970, Belgian band Irish Coffee (under a different moniker) started by playing covers from their favorite British and American bands.
Their sole album resembles all sorts of band especially in the Energy Dept: Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep, Birth Control, etc. It features great organ throughout all the numbers. The intro for “Can’t Take” is one of the finest moments available.
The group disbanded following the death of keyboard player Paul Lambert.
Line-up:
- William Souffreau / vocals, guitar
- Jean Van Der Schueren / lead guitar
- Willy De Bisschop / bass
- Paul Lambert / Hammond organ
- Hugo Verhoye / drums
- Luc De Clus / lead guitar (14, 15)
- Raf Lenssens / drums (12-15)
- Dirk Dierickx / backing vocals (1, 5, 6)
Track List:
01. Masterpiece – 3:06
02. Can’t Take It – 4:08
03. The Beginning Of The End – 6:22
04. When Winter Comes – 4:54
05. The Show (Part I) – 2:55
06. The Show (Part II) – 3:01
07. Hear Me – 4:03
08. A Day Like Today – 6:54
09. I’m Lost – 4:32
10. Carry On – 3:13
11. Child – 3:44
12. Down Down Down – 2:40
13. I’m Alive – 4:13
14. Witchy Lady – 2:57
15. I’m Hers – 4:37
Link in comments.
Krokodil – Psychedelic Tapes (1970-72) (@256)
21 Aug 2011
(Review from progarchives.com)
“Psychedelic Tapes” is a collection of early unreleased materials. This compilation represents the multi facets of the band, from gorgeously epiphanic enchanting-ethno folk to bluesy-fuzzy kraut jams.
The musical pieces are immediate and efficient psychedelic vehicules, largely instrumental and hyper active. The sound aesthetism and musical tendances are very closed to their classic “An Invisible World Revelaed”. It embraces the wild-spacy tribal hippie genre of bands such as Amon Duul II but the progressive moments are much more accomplished with impressive ethno-rockin arrengements.
“The Creator Has a Master Plan” is a freaked out improvisation which incorporates sensual-bucolic exotic harmonies and sonic tones. “Stehaufmadchen Part 1″ is a dreamy-like, floating acoustic interlude before to carry on the eccentric, endlessly bluesy-kraut jamming “Marzipan”. This piece perfectly restitutes the dynamic and propulsive atmosphere of the band on stage.
“Stehaufmädchen Part 2″ is a garagey blues rock song. Their classic piece “Odyssey in om” is presented as a live version. “Stehaufmädchen Part 3″ is the highest point here, a lovely and detached psych-atmospheric ballad, including slowing moving melodies with nice bluesy touches.
This album is a pleasant listen despite that it doesn’t bring anything new. It remains a best off, providing a good selection of Krokodil’s alternative versions of their classics and obscure songs.
Line-up:
- Hardy Hepp / Violin, Farfisa Organ, Recorder & Vocal (1)
- Düde Dürst / Drums, Congas & Vocal
- Walty Anselmo / Guitar, Sitar, Bass (7) & Vocal
- Terry Stevens / Bass, Guitar (7), Percussion & Vocal
- Mojo Weideli / Mouthharp, Flute, Percussion & Vocal
Track List:
01. The Creator Has A Master Plan – 9:24
02. Stehaufmädchen Part 1 – 1:07
03. Marzipan (Live) – 8:04
04. Stehaufmädchen Part 2 – 1:05
05. You’re Still A Part Of Me (Live) – 5:46
06. Stehaufmädchen Part 3 – 1:07
07. Odyssey In Om (Live) – 30:33
08. Raga – 3:15
Link in comments.
Krokodil – Sweat and Swim (1973) (@256)
20 Aug 2011
(Review from amazon, recordheaven.net)
“Sweat and Swim” is a double album, a little more rock & roll / progressive than their earlier heavier albums.
Most of the songs run a little bit on the long side. Synth sounds, possibly a moog, dominate Krokodil’s “progressive” numbers (like the song “Skylab”). Other songs often sound interchangable with Savoy Brown or Humble Pie (except the big brass sound, the classic harmonica sound is on most of these numbers).
The album’s shortest song is this 4 minute acoustic guitar and violin folk number, “Billy Dee”. Folk was a style always found on Krokodil’s albums, but of the surreal, freak out variety like Donovan’s heyday.
Line-up:
- Walty Anselmo – vocals (01,05,09,10), sounds (04), guitar (01-08,10), bass (06), acoustic guitar (08,09)
- Düde Dürst – drums (01-08,10), bells (07), vocals (06), sounds (07)
- Mojo Weideli – harp (01-07,10), flute (07)
- Terry Stevens – bass (01-05,07,08,10), vocals (02,06,07,10), guitar (06,10)
with
- Rainer Marz – guitar (01-08,10)
- Veit Faiden – Fender piano (01,02,07,10), piano (03-08), vibes (07), organ (10)
- Hardy Hepp – vocals (03,08), violin (09)
Track List:
01. Talking World War III Blues – 4:45
02. All I Ever Wanted – 5:06
03. Daybreak – 8:28
04. Skylab – 6:09
05. Two To Twelf – 5:44
06. That’s Allright, Mama – 4:57
07. Linger – 17:40
08. Little Girl – 4:59
09. Billy Dee – 4:03
10. There You Stand Entangled – 7:18
Link in comments.
Krokodil – Getting Up For The Morning (1972) (@256)
19 Aug 2011
(Review from amazon)
For their fourth album, Krokodil kept their progressive sound and psych blues, without moving into hard rock boogie blues.
This album’s sitar song, is only a minute and a half long. The song “And I Know” is a nice, long progressive rock type number, with a smooth groove, haunting melodies, and really great vocals.
Other highlights include the opener “Marzipan”, the jamming “Schooldays” and “The 12th Of March”.
Line-up:
- Walty Anselmo / guitar, sitar & vocals
- Dude Durst / drums
- Terry Stevens / bass, klavino & vocals
- Mojo Weideli / flute, harp & back vocals
Track List:
01. Marzipan – 6:10
02. And I Know – 7:45
03. Rabatz – 3:23
04. Was There A Time – 1:20
05. Schooldays – 8:09
06. Song No. 2 (Thought Under Bad Conditions) – 6:10
07. The 12th Of March – 7:25
Link in comments.
Krokodil – An Invisible World Revealed (1971) (@256)
18 Aug 2011
(Review from progarchives.com)
After Hardy Heep had left, Krokodil soldiered on as a quartet, releasing their third album by early 1972.
Opening on the pure-psych “Lady Of Attraction”, the album is a relatively fine psychedelic rock album, that could be coming out of Ten Years After’s “Stonedhenge” or “Cricklewood Green” albums. After the short acoustic “Miss Trimmings”, the album plunges into a 15-mins Indian-raga extravaganza “Odyssey In Om”, where guitarist Anselmo gives a credible performance on the sitar and singer Weideli uses some freaked-out flute and harmonica. Once Anselmo returns to his guitar, the track veers crunchy bluesy/hard-rock and goes on a jam ala Steamhammer on Speech or Tritteoria Kriget-style with some (loads of) good Mellotron, making the whole thing enjoyable, but still raw enough.
Past the hard-rocking Green Fly opening the flipside (but there are trons of mello in it), the 14-mins “Looking At Time” is the album’s other cornerstone, starting acoustically, but soon crescendoing at cruising speed and developing into an excellent lengthy mainly-instrumental finale. The album-closing “Last Doors” could also be a Ten Years After track, this time from Shhhh or Watt.
There are three bonus tracks in this issue of the album; the first of which, Pollution, fits the album’s rockier songs’ mould. Two lengthy 11-mins+ Krokodil -Session tracks are also tacked on, both recorded a tad louder than the rest of the album. Obviously the jam had already started a while ago when the tapes started rolling and we get a wild and half- improvised slightly jazzy loose rock track ala Grateful Dead. The second part is a blusier mainly-instrumental Ten Years After-like jam, but again nothing far removed from the album’s general soundscapes.
Line-up:
- Walty Anselmo / guitars, sitar, bass, vocals
- Terry Stevens / bass, guitar, mellotron, vocals
- Mojo Weideli / flute, harmonica, vocals
- Düde Dürst / drums, percussion, vocals
Track List:
01. Lady of Attraction – 4:21
02. With Little Miss Trimmings – 1:42
03. Oddyssey In Om – 15:19
04. Green Fly – 4:23
05. Looking At Time – 14:02
06. Last Doors – 3:59
07. Pollution – 3:41
08. Krokodil Session Part 1 – 11:26
09. Krokodil Session Part 2 – 11:42
10. Don’t Make Promises – 3:59
11. Hurra! – 3:05
Link in comments.
Krokodil – Swamp (1970) (@256)
17 Aug 2011
(Info from CGR)
This 1970 release shows a band in flux between the scorching boogie-blues workouts of their eponymous debut and the massive stoned psych action of the direction they’re headed.
“Swamp” ventured into Van Morrison, Fairport Convention, and even Wailers territory. Meanwhile, the rest of the band was experimenting with sitars, flutes and avant percussion. Thus Hardy Hepp’s violin and far-eastern sitar sounds gained more importance.
This is a most tuneful and infectious album.
Line-up:
- Walty Anselmo / bass, sitar, vocals
- Dude Durst / percussion, drums
- Veit Feiden / keyboards, back vocals
- Herdy Hepp / violin, keyboards
- Rainer Marz / guitar
- Terry Stevens / bass, guitar, vocals
- Mojo Weideli / flute, harmonica
Track List:
01. Get Your Personality Together – 3:08
02. Light Of Day – 5:19
03. Sunlights Beautiful Daughter – 5:43
04. Tell Me What You Want (Tell Tale) – 2:59
05. Blue Flashing Circle – 3:27
06. Snow White And Blue – 4:09
07. Human Bondage – 8:00
08. Gipsy Man (Bonus) – 3:48
09. That’s What I Do (Bonus) – 2:56
Link in comments.
Krokodil – Krokodil (1969) (@256)
16 Aug 2011
(Review from last.fm, sleeve)
Guitarist Walty Anselmo had been playing in rock groups for several years and he and drummer Dude Durst found English bassist Terry Stevens and started this Swiss band at the height of late 60s “Flower Power”.
Their debut album which was released in 1969, contained blues-inspired rock with many progressive touches, often harkening Groundhogs.
A band not to be missed by anyone who likes blues, psychedelic and ethnic in his music and does not mind them being mingled together.
Line-up:
- Hardy Hepp / violin, piano, vocal
- Dude Durst / drums, percussion, vocal
- Walty Anselmo / sitar, lead guitar, vocal
- Terry Stevens / bass, guitar, vocal
- Mojo Weideli / harmonica, flute, percussion
Track List:
01. Morning Dew – 4:41
02. You’re Still A Part Of Me – 6:29
03. All Alone – 3:56
04. Mis Blues – 3:19
05. Prayer – 4:14
06. Watchin’ Chain – 6:59
07. Dabble In Om – 9:39
Link in comments.
Icarus – Marvel World Of Icarus (1972) (@256)
15 Aug 2011
(Review from progarchives.com)
Formed in 1968, the UK outfit Icarus issued its single in 1969. After a lot of line-up changes, they managed to release their only album in 1972.
Each of the players on this fast-rocking album with a strong progressive touch presents themselves as comic character, ranging from Spiderman via Conan the Barbarian to the Hulk. The lyrics likewise deal with the vicissitudes of these heroes, lending the album a comparatively agreeable degree of fun.
No lengthy or wild instrumental passages at all here. What makes this one stand out is the sheer variety of compositions and brilliant songwriting. Tracks like ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Thor’ are pretty bluesy, ‘Iron Man’ veers into a Psych territory and ‘Madam Masque’ is a beautiful ballad. Due to the nature of the concept, it is simply great fun to listen to. All musicians are competant and the singer has a great voice.
According to legend, the album was quickly pulled from the market due to a dispute between Pye Records and Marvel Comics. Without an album to promote the band didn’t last for much longer and by the end of 1972, Icarus disbanded.
Line-up:
- Peter Curtain / Drums
- Norrie Devine / Sax, Flute, Clarinet
- David Plotel / Guitar
- John Plotel / Bass
- Steve Hart / Vocals
- Iain Hines / Keyboards
- Jimmy Wiley / Bass
Track List:
01. Prologue – 0:38
02. Spiderman – 2:51
03. Fantastic Four – 3:20
04. Hulk – 3:02
05. Madame Masque – 3:46
06. Conan The Barbarian – 4:04
07. Iron Man – 2:53
08. Thor – 4:48
09. Black Panther – 3:22
10. The Man Without Fear – 3:54
11. Silver Surfer – 4:03
12. Things Thing – 2:00
13. Captain America – 2:35
Link in comments.
Rahmann – Rahmann (1980) (@256)
14 Aug 2011
(Review from progarchives.com)
French one-shot Rahmann plays in a fairly unique style, mixing fusion and Arabic flavours with a slight zeuhl feel courtesy of explosive bass lines and repetitive rhythmic patterns.
The central point of all music is Mahamad Hadi’s guitar sound, heavily influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra. Another musical layers are bouzouki and oud sounds. The mix is finished by energetic drumming, keyboards and some North African percussion.
This is a very competently produced album, with very clear sound and excellent instrumental performances. Recommended to anyone who thinks a cross between zeuhl a la Magma and Eastern-tinged fusion a la Mahavishnu Orchestra sounds like an interesting proposition.
Line-up:
- Mahamad Hadi / synth-guitar, electric guitar, fretless guitar, oud, bouzouki, snitra
- Amar Mecharaf / drums, percussion
- Michel Rutigliano / acoustic piano, grand piano, ARP Odyssey
- Gérard Prevost / acoustic bass, fretless bass
- Louis-César Ewande / percussion
with:
- Nadia Yamina Hadi / vocal
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Sylvain Marc / fretless bass
- Richard Gérard Kurdjian Guem / ney, tablas, darbouka
- Liza Deluxe / vocals
- Joël Loviconi / electric piano
- Ali Shaigan / violin
Track List:
01. Atlanta – 5:26
02. Nadiamina – 6:23
03. Ab – 8:00
04. Danse Sacree – 6:35
05. Leila – 9:38
06. Marche Funebre – 5:00
07. Marche Funebre (Bonus) – 5:04
08. Danse Sacree (Bonus) – 10:13
09. Nadiamina (Bonus) – 7:08
10. Atlanta (Bonus) – 4:51
Link in comments.
Anyone’s Daughter – Wrong (2004) (@256)
12 Aug 2011
(Review from progarchives.com)
The last offering of the 2000s Anyone’s Daughter has a gorgeous production, the rich and emotional vocals of Andre Carswell and an extremely tight performance from all musicians (especially keyboardist Matthis Ulmer).
Things start on a high note with the Kansas-meets-Faith No More “The Wrong”, brooding and introspective most of the time, exploding in fury elsewhere, even reaching metallic heights at certain points. “Miscellaneous” is also a nice expansive number, drawing another Kansas comparison, mostly due to the vocals sounding similar to Steve Walsh. “Far Away” is a successful meeting of melodic melancholy and a huge, triumphant, booming choral piece, recalling the glory-vibe of epic metal without being anywhere near that heavy.
The two closers are also noteworthy. “Helios Reloaded” bounces between cosmic rhythms and an upbeat, radio-friendly melody line. “Out Of This World” is a superbly crafted song, aided by a patient and precise stacking of layers, each part eventful, and Carswell’s vocals are pulling emotion from somewhere deep.
Line-up:
- Uwe Karpa / guitars
- Matthias Ulmer / keyboards, background vocals
- Peter Kumpf / drums
- Raoul Walton / bass
- Andre Carswell / lead vocals
Track List:
01. The Wrong – 7:30
02. Miscellaneous – 6:14
03. Happy Go Lucky – 4:29
04. Far Away – 4:38
05. Fade Out – 5:32
06. Your Time – 4:00
07. Out Of This World – 5:46
08. Without You (The Way It Was) – 6:07
09. Helios Reloaded – 4:09
10. Out Of This World (Radio Edit) – 3:52
Link in comments.
