Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Clive Nolan
Ayreon – Ayreonauts Only (Compilation 2000) (@256)
21 Jul 2010
(Review from wikipedia, amazon, progvisions.net)
As the title suggests, it is an album made primarily for fans of Ayreon, and contains demos and alternate versions of Ayreon songs.
Every previous Ayreon studio album is represented. There are three tracks from Ayreon’s debut album, “Final Experiment”, one from “Actual Fantasy”, one from “Into the Electric Castle”, one from “The Dream Sequencer” and four from “Flight of the Migrator”.
The first alternate version is “Into the black hole” sung by Damian Wilson and Lana Lane instead of Bruce Dickinson, who this time gives chorus only. Robert Soeterboek is the one in charge of doing vocals in “To the Solar System”, giving a more bluesy and hard rock feel.
Something similar happens to “Through the Wormhole” sung by Ian Parry in a more “classical” mood. To conclude with the “Migrators”, we find a beautiful acoustic version of “Temple of the Cat” sung by Astrid Van Der Veen, a 14-year old lady.
From “Actual Fantasy” there is only one version of “Beyond the Last Horizon” sung by Gary Hughes (Ten). From “Final Experiment” there are three tracks: “Charm of the Seer” sung by Arjen himself; “Eyes of Time” where Leon Goewie (ex Vengeance) does his best to complicate the song with his voice making a final noisy version. In “Nature’s Dance”, a beautiful acoustic guitar driven track with the voice of Arjen not filtered by Hammond’s Leslie as it was in the original.
We can find the original version of “Chaos” (opening track of “Flight of the Migrator”), originally recorded 9 years ago, now renamed as “Carpe Diem”. A very faithful version to the original but without Ed Warby’s drums.
“Original Hippie’s Amazing Trip” is sung by Mouse who originally had to be the hippie in “Into the Electric Castle” but was replaced by Arjen. With a beautiful Floydian feel the hippie’s character from the album is developed with the help of the good choirs of Anneke Van Giersbergen and Edward Reekers.
The last track is “Cold Metal”, a preview of Ambeon, the new project of Arjen Lucassen with the splendid voice of Astrid van der Veen (from track 5). The “Ambeon” project seeks a more ambient effect to Ayreon music. This track shows a new direction in the career of Arjen, beautiful and rich music with a moderate and pleasant ambient touch.
This is a great offering for Ayreon fans, however if you don’t have any material from this Dutchman, it is always better to pick any of the original works.
Line-up:
- Arjen Anthony Lucassen / vocals (8, 10), all other instruments
with
- Ed Warby / drums (1-3)
- Erik Norlander / keyboards (1, 2)
- Clive Nolan / keyboards (1)
- Gary(eon) Wehrkamp / guitar, synth (3)
- Roland Bakker / hammond (6)
- Robby Valentine / piano (6)
- Stephen van Haestregt / drums (7, 11)
- Ernst van Ee / drums (9)
- Peter Vink / bass (9)
- Cleem Determeijer / hammond, minimoog (9)
- Jolanda Verduijn / bass (11)
- Damian Wilson / vocals (1)
- Lana Lane / vocals (1), back vocals (3)
- Rob Soeterbroek / vocals (2)
- Astrid van der Veen / vocals (5, 11)
- Mouse / vocals (6)
- Anneke van Giersbergen / vocals (6)
- Edward Reekers / vocals (6)
- Gary Hughes / vocals (7)
- Leon Goewie / vocals (9)
- Bruce Dickinson / back vocals (1)
- Fabio Lione / back vocals (3)
- Rob Soeterbroek / back vocals (7)
- Okkie Huysdens / back vocals (7)
- Mirjam van Doorn / back vocals (9)
- Debbie Schreuder / back vocals (9)
- Rene Merkelbach / back vocals (9)
Track List:
01. Into the Black Hole – 10:46
02. Out of the White Hole – 7:12
03. Through the Wormhole – 6:14
04. Carpe Diem – Chaos – 4:15
05. Temple of the Cat – 3:07
06. Original Hippie’s Amazing Trip – 6:38
07. Beyond the Last Horizon – 5:34
08. The Charm of the Seer – 3:30
09. Eyes of Time – 5:10
10. Nature’s Dance – 2:33
11. Ambeon: Cold Metal – 7:10
Link in comments.
Ayreon – Universal Migrator, Pt. 2 – Flight of the Migrator (2000) (@256)
20 Jul 2010
(Review from progarchives.com)
Part 1 of “Universal Migrator” was melodic and atmospheric, while this album is a heavy progressive adventure.
There are a plethora of guest singers and musicians, including Bruce Dickinson and Clive Nolan on “Into the Black Hole”, but the sound and feel remain very much Ayreon. The list of bands supplying guests gives more than a hint of what to expect, including as it does Symphony X, Arena, Helloween, Iron Maiden, Stratovarius, and Rhapsody.
There is still plenty of melodic, and indeed accessible rock here though, “Dawn of a Million Souls” for example has an anthemic chorus backed by heavy keyboards and orchestration. The usual space and time themes prevail throughout, with more synthesiser, organ and guitar solos than most bands manage in their entire existence. There’s an excitement and good feeling to the music which gives this concept album a lasting appeal.
Line-up:
- Arjen Lucassen / electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, analogue synthesizers, Hammond, Mellotron and additional keyboards
- Erik Norlander / analogue synthesizers, piano, vocoder, Hammond and additional keyboards
- Ed Warby / drums
- Michael Romeo / guitar (2)
- Oscar Holleman / guitar (4)
- Gary Wehrkamp / guitar, keyboards (6)
- Rene Merkelbach / keyboards (4)
- Clive Nolan / synth (5)
- Keiko Kumagai / keyboards (9)
- Russel Allen / vocals (2)
- Ralf Scheepers / vocals (3)
- Andi Deris / vocals (4)
- Bruce Dickinson / vocals (5)
- Fabio Leone / vocals (7)
- Timo Kotipelto / vocals (7)
- Robert Soeterboek / vocals (8)
- Ian Parry / vocals (9)
- Damion Wilson / back vocals (2)
- Lana Lane / back vocals (4-6, 9), narration (1)
Track List:
01. Chaos – 5:11
02. Dawn Of A Million Souls – 7:45
03. Journey On The Waves Of Time – 5:47
04. To The Quasar – 8:42
05. Into The Black Hole – 10:25
06. Through The Wormhole – 6:05
07. Out Of The White Hole – 7:10
08. To The Solar System – 6:12
09. The New Migrator – 8:15
Link in comments.
Ayreon – Universal Migrator Pt. 1 – Dream Sequencer (2000) (@256)
19 Jul 2010
(Review from progarchives.com)
Released in 2000 as the first of two albums entitled “Universal Migrator”, this set bears the sub-title “Dream Sequencer”. The two sets come from rather different moulds. While part 2 (“Flight of the Migrator”) has a distinctly metal edge to it, this album focuses on lighter, more melodic aspects.
These albums continue a developing science fiction story started on Ayreon’s first album (but bypassed on the second). By now, Earth has been destroyed by a war, the survivors forming a colony on Mars. These innovative people build a “Dream Sequencer”, allowing them to experience once again, their past lives.
The opening “The dream sequencer” is a smooth, Gilmour-esque scene setter, with atmospheric spoken word introducing a lead guitar instrumental. As we merge into “My house on Mars”, the mood remains constrained, with processed lead vocals alternating with a female chorus. The track builds subtly, with horn like synths (as featured on the aforementioned “The final countdown”) conveying the main theme. If you enjoy those opening numbers, you are pretty much guaranteed to be drawn in by the rest of the album. “One small step” for example is a magnificent piece, but could well be “My house on mars, part 2″.
“The shooting company of Captain Frans B. Cocq” is one of the most diverse numbers on the album, dipping into David Bowie territory at one stage, complete with his Cockney style accent. As is Lucassen’s custom, he calls on the services of a diverse range of vocalists and instrumentalists throughout the album. Of these, highlights include the appearance of Lana Lane on a number of tracks, and Clive Nolan adding keyboards to “2084″. The closing “The first man on Earth” features the distinctive voice of Neal Morse, resulting in a song which is a strange crossbreed of Ayreon and Spock’s Beard.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the album is the way Lucassen develops the songs. Time it seems is not an issue here with many of the numbers, while relatively simple in structure, being elaborated into 7 and 8 minute pieces. That is not to imply that they outstay their welcome, the listener’s attention is retained throughout by inventive instrumentation and variations on the themes.
Simply sit back and enjoy and hour or so of highly melodic music performed by masters in their field.
Line-up:
- Arjen Lucassen / electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, analogue synthesizers, Hammond, Mellotron and additional keyboards, vocals
- Erik Norlander / analogue synthesizers, piano, vocoder, Hammond and additional keyboards
- Rob Snijders / drums
- Clive Nolan / synth solo (3)
- Johan Edlund / vocals (2)
- Floor Jansen / vocals (2)
- Lana Lane – vocals (3, 6), voice (1), back vocals (4, 5)
- Edward Reekers / vocals (4)
- Mouse / vocals (5)
- Jacqueline Govaert / vocals (7)
- Damian Wilson / vocals
- Neal Morse / vocals (10)
- Mark McCrite / back vocals (10)
Track List:
01. The Dream Sequencer – 5:09
02. My house on Mars – 7:48
03. 2084 – 7:41
04. One small step – 8:45
05. The Shooting Company of Captain Frans B. Cocq – 7:57
06. Dragon on the Sea – 7:08
07. Temple of the Cat – 4:10
08. Carried by the Wind – 3:58
09. And the Druids turn to stone – 6:36
10. The first man on Earth – 7:19
11. The Dream Sequencer reprise – 3:38
Link in comments.
Ayreon – Into The Electric Castle (1998) (@256)
18 Jul 2010
(Review from progarchives.com, allmusic)
Into the Electric Castle is a complicated story involving eight individuals who are pulled from out of their timeline and brought together by an entity called Forever of the Stars. They are given the task of finding the Electric Castle and entering it to find out what’s inside. The storyline is actually a lot more complex and covers several levels of concepts.
The historical characters include the Roman played by Edwin Balogh (Omega), the Indian played by Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation), the Barbarian played by Jay van Feggelin (Bodine), the Highlander played by Fish (Marillion), the Egyptian played by Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering), the Hippie played by Anthony Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon’s creator), the Futureman played by Edward Reekers (Kayak), and the Knight played by Damian Wilson (Threshold, Landmarq). In addition, Peter Daltrey (Kaleidoscope) is the voice of Forever of the Stars. In addition to all these vocalists, a number of guest instrumentalists appear on this album, including Clive Nolan (Arena), Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak), Thijs van Leer (Focus), Ed Warby (Gorefest), and others. Lucassen really gathered together a wonderful group of performers.
The musicianship on this album is superb incorporating elements of symphonic progressive rock, progressive metal, psychedelic, electronica, and occasionally some blues and jazz. The production is amazing, the mix is perfect. Lucassen is clearly a skilled studio technician in addition to his musicianship.
The concept and characters are based on old sci-fi TV shows and B-movies. They still reflect on so many levels of human perception, such as how each character perceives what the Electric Castle might be. The Highlander perceives it as Hell, the Knight as the Island of Avalon where the Holy Grail is, the Roman perceives it as the Underworld, the Egyptian perceives it as the Afterlife, the Hippie thinks he’s in a drug-induced stupor, and the Futureman perceives it as a virtual reality. The conflicts between these different personalities from different eras of civilization adds a whole additional layer. Lucassen may have been inspired by B-movies, but he has the making of a compelling storyline for a full-blown science fiction novel.
This campy rock opera spawned a devout cult following for Ayreon.
Line-up:
- Arjen Lucassen / guitars, mandolin, bass, Minimoog, Mellotron & keyboards, vocals
with
- Fish / vocals
- Damian Wilson / vocals
- Sharon Den Adel / vocals
- Edward Reekers / vocals
- Anneke van Giersbergen / vocals
- Edwin Balogh / vocals
- Jay van Feggelen / vocals
- Peter Daltrey / narrator
- Roland Bakker / Hammonds
- Jack Pisters / sitar
- Robby Valentine / pianos, synth solos on IIa, IIIa (disc 1) and IV (disc 2), mellotron on VIa (disc 2)
- Erno Olah / violins
- Clive Nolan / synth solos
- Rene Merkelbach / synth solos, harpsichord
- Ton Scherpenzeel / synth solos
- Ed Warby / drums
- Taco Kooistra / celli
- Thijs van Leer / flute
Track List:
CD1
01. Welcome To The New Dimension – 3:06
02. Isis And Osiris – 11:11
03. Amazing Flight – 10:15
04. Time Beyond Time – 6:04
05. The Decision Tree (We’re Alive) – 6:23
06. Tunnel Of Light – 4:05
07. Across The Rainbow Bridge – 6:19
CD2
01. The Garden Of Emotions – 9:41
02. Valley Of The Queens – 2:24
03. The Castle Hall – 5:49
04. Tower Of Hope – 4:53
05. Cosmic Fusion – 7:27
06. The Mirror Maze – 6:34
07. Evil Devolution – 6:30
08. The Two Gates – 6:28
09. ‘Forever’ Of The Stars – 2:02
10. Another Time, Another Space – 5:20
Link in comments.
Pendragon – Masquerade Overture (1996) (@256)
15 Sep 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Pendragon have never (yet!) received the recognition they undoubtedly deserve.
“The Masquerade Overture” certainly have all the right ingredients here for a good neo-prog album with similarities to Marillion, Arena, IQ etc, and derivative influences of Genesis and to a lesser extent Yes. Long tracks, time changes galore, swirling keyboards, melodic guitars, choral overtures, etc., there all here by the bucket load.
The highligh is “The shadow” a definitive prog track if ever there was one. It opens with an “Entangled” like vocal section with acoustic guitar and keyboard orchestration. As the sound builds, through synthesiser breaks and guitar interludes, the pace quickens slightly, the track at times being suddenly but briefly set free in bursts of heads down rock. The impact of these bursts is quite magical, giving the track a unique identity. The track closes with a symphonic cascading vocal refrain, quite magnificent.
The opening section of the album is also highly notable. The album is introduced by a brief operatic overture which leads into “As good as gold”. Once again, here we have classic symphonic neo-prog, Clive Nolan creating layers of lush keyboard sounds on which the track is based.
The remaining tracks are all excellent slices of neo-prog at its finest, there really is not a weak offering to be found here. That said, unlike other similar albums, “The Masquerade overture” does not demand to be heard as a complete piece, the tracks being equally enjoyable when heard in isolation.
Clive Nolan spreads his talents among many projects but with all of them, while there’s a diversity, there is also a consistency of quality. If you are unfamiliar with Pendragon’s work this is an excellent place to start, you will not be disappointed.
Line-up:
- Nick Barrett / guitars, vocals
- Clive Nolan / keyboards
- Fudge Smith / drums
- Peter Gee / bass
- Tracy Hitchings, Tina Riley, Anthony Plowman, Gwen Ross, and Simon Clew / backing vocals
Track List:
01. The Masquerade Overture (3:03)
02. As Good As Gold (7:15)
03. Paintbox (8:39)
04. The Pursuit Of Excellence (2:37)
05. Guardian Of My Soul (12:41)
06. The Shadow (9:55)
07. Masters Of Illusion (12:51)
08. Last Man on Earth (Bonus Live) (14:40)
Links in comments.