Posts tagged Eloy

(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)

Usually compilation albums are only a collection of the “greatest” songs of a band. Hopefully organized chronologically. At times (guess why), an unreleased or rare song will be added to seduce the fans.

With “Chronicles I”, the band did much better. Eloy re-recorded these songs which gives a fresher angle, a more modern sound and better arrangements. A great idea and so much better than a usual compilation. Chronicles I contains songs from Ocean (1977), Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes (1979), Colours (1980), Planets (1981) and Time to Turn (1982) re-recorded and mixed in 1993. The album also contains one previously unreleased track from the album Destination (1992).

The two songs from “Ocean” and “Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes” are just phenomenal. An incredible journey in their spacey music. The versions for “Poseidon’s Creation” and “The Apocalypse” are sublime. Much better than in the original work. As such, their are brightly shining. The two indisputable highlights from this album.

“Poseidon’s Creation” is a psychedelic jewel. Rather hard-rocking as well. But this was how Eloy still sounded in the mid late 70s. Wonderful guitar break after the long intro. Gilmour is very close my friend. But “Floyd” has always been a major influence. The drumming is great, we also get some great synth parts (fully Banks oriented).

“The Apocalypse” is the song that benefits the most of this new life. More guitar oriented than the previous, it has a similar structure (long instrumental intro as well). The second part is just a jewel with great female vocals. A masterpiece.

The unrealised song “Spirit In Chains” is much more than a fan’s trap. This excellent song is a mix of “Yes” (vocals) and “Jethro Tull” (flute of course). It was a leftover of the “Destination” album, one of the few good songs from these sessions.

Not only is “Chronicles 1″ worthwhile on its own merits but it is likely the impetus for the release of two subsequent original recordings in the mid to late 90s that appealed to old fans while exploring new areas. Recommended for chronic afficionados and those wanting to start a tentative exploration of Germany’s most prolific symphonic prog band.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals & guitars
- Michael Gerlach / keyboards
- Klaus Peter Matziol / bass
- Hannes Arkona / guitar
- Hannes Folberth / keyboards
- Fritz Randow / drums
- Nico Baretta / drums
- Lenny Mac Dowell / flute

Track List:
01. Poseidon’s Creation ’93 – 11:31
02. The Apocalypse ’93 – 11:05
03. Silhouette ’93 – 3:11
04. Mysterious Monolith ’93 – 6:12
05. Sphinx ’93 – 6:23
06. Illuminations ’93 – 6:20
07. End Of An Odyssey ’93 – 9:16
08. Time To Turn ’93 – 3:35
09. Spirit In Chains ’93 – 5:51
10. Say It Is Really True ’93 – 4:25

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Eloy

Eloy – Ocean 2 : The Answer (1998) (@192)

15 Nov 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

This is Eloy’s final fling, a return to concepts and themes first explored in the 1970s but updated with modern sensibilities and techniques. Ocean 2 takes stylistic references from the melodic arena-rock of their previous album, while resurrecting the space rock of its spiritual ancestor “Ocean” and a hefty dose of superior symphonic progressive. The band also demonstrate a far greater control of spatial dynamics with plenty of light and shade mood swings.

If the original Ocean was about the fall of mankind and the human condition, then Ocean 2 is Bornemann’s vision of the way forward by exploring esoteric and religious pointers that reach deep into the mystical. For example, Ro Setau makes the familiar claim of great secrets lying in an undiscovered chamber under The Sphinx in Giza, “treasures of wisdom / left by wise men / thousands of years ago”, while Awakening Of Consciousness takes the Buddhist route where “predestination and karma remain at your side”. The culmination is reached in The Answer, Bornemann’s vision of Revelation when the human mind becomes at last “in unison with space and time”.

The album’s sound is alive with industry and imagination. No one instrument dominates, but keyboards patrol all facets of the compositions, from soft ethereal washes to the full-blown wall-of-sound of the band in full flight where they merge with Bornemann’s wonderful guitar playing. Vocals are universally excellent, and special mention must be made for Matziol’s superb contribution on bass, one of the highlights of this album.

Ocean 2 is a high quality modern take on spacey progressive rock that should please most fans, old and new alike, but don’t expect it to sound like the original “Ocean”. The connection between them is mainly lyrical rather than musical.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass
- Bodo Schopf / drums & percussion
- Michael Gerlach / keyboards, vocoder

Track List:
01. Between Future And Past (2:43)
02. Ro Setau (7:09)
03. Paralysed Civilization (9:28)
04. Serenity (3:09)
05. Awakening Of Consciousness (6:03)
06. Reflections From The Spheres Beyond (12:59)
07. Waves Of Intuition (4:56)
08. The Answer (11:19)

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Eloy

Eloy – Destination (1992) (@320)

14 Nov 2007

4 comments

(Review from progressiveworld.net)

The thought that goes through my mind while listening to Eloy’s Destination is: Yes. That is, more specifically, Rabin-era Yes. Of course, Frank Bornemann sings heavily accented but still, Bornemann’s range is the same, that very high pitched falsetto, if only with a dark undertone not found in Anderson’s voice. It isn’t just Bornemann’s vocals, which are the most up front element. The music does as well – think of the crunch that Talk had. This is in the same realm. Interestingly, it precedes Talk by about two years. Of course, it also recalls, to varying degrees 90125 and Big Generator, becoming less so the further back in time we go.

The album rocks and rocks fairly hard. There are some interesting arrangements on this guitar heavy album … well, that’s misleading, because it’s more accurate to just call this a heavy album – deep, booming bass, throaty keys, dark guitar, pounding percussion (which sound digital on the title track). The more accessible tracks — the opener “Call Of The Wild” and “Racing Shadows” — really stick in the mind. “Call Of The Wild” pulses darkly and includes light flute notes from guest Lenny MacDowell that are reminiscent of that other famous Anderson, which seems like an easily, lazy comment to make but I could help but think of classic Tull. “Racing Shadows” could easily have been a track on Big Generator, though I think more of “The Calling” from Talk.

This is far from a boring album, as “Silent Revolution” is anything but, being a hard pounding rocker with some great guitar work – rocker is an understatement. The drive of this track is just propulsive, not quite with speed metal ferocity and velocity. The latter two minutes feature twinkling keys and the chirpy voices of a kids choir. This is a heavy album, aside from the music, covering such weighty issues such as humanity’s destination, political lies/promises.

“Prisoner In Mind” is in the mold of the typical rock song, easily the most accessible track here, and the shortest at just over four minutes. The odd track out is “Jeanne d’Arc” which closes the album, in that it is more operatic-rock, with a majestic choir of voices. It is an epic track along the lines of Ayreon, say, to make a somewhat anachronistic reference.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Michael Gerlach / keyboards
- Nico Baretta / drums
with
- Peter Chrastina / choir arrangements
- Hege Engelke / bass (3-4), rhythm guitar (4), acoustic / solo guitar (6)
- Detlev Goy / bass (1-6-8)
- Lenny MacDowell / flutes (1-3)
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass (2-5)
- Kai Steffen / solo guitar (5)

Track List:
01. Call Of The Wild (6:49)
02. Racing Shadows (7:11)
03. Destination (7:41)
04. Prisoner Of The Mind (4:26)
05. Silent Revolution (7:55)
06. Fire And Ice (5:10)
07. Eclipse Of Mankind (6:29)
08. Jeanne d’Arc (7:36)

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Eloy

Eloy – Ra (1988) (@256)

13 Nov 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, amazon)

After 1984′s Metromania, the members of Eloy went their separate ways until Frank Bornemann reconvened with Michael Gerlach to continue as a duo assisted by session musicains and a host of electronics. The band has come a long way from its roots. It is clear that technology and the fact that this is the first album in four years make Ra a kind of a shifting sound album.

The material here is high quality arena rock, a semi-progressive return to form that ploughs the same musical furrow as Rabin-era Yes but much more progressive! The band’s songwriting had never been better, songs are intelligently produced with strong developing arrangements.

Long-term fans of Eloy may feel that “Ra” does not sit well alongside their earlier albums. Though it is a fine example of 80′s progressive, with some good compositions and competent performances.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Michael Gerlach / keyboards, drums, bass synthetizers
with
- Diana Badey / whispers (3)
- Udo Dahmey / drums (4)
- Achim Gieseler / keyboards (4-5)
- Paul Harriman / bass (2)
- Stefan Höls / bass (4), backing vocals (3-5)
- Tommy Newton / guitars (2)
- Annette Strangenberg / vocals (3-4-5)
- Darryl Van Raalte / fretless bass (3)
- Sue Wist / vocal intro (1)

Track List:
01. Voyager Of The Future Race (8:51)
02. Sensations (4:46)
03. Dreams (8:05)
04. Invasion Of A Megaforce (7:42)
05. Rainbow (5:21)
06. Hero (6:51)

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Eloy

Eloy – Codename Wildgeese (1985) (@256)

12 Nov 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, hopto.org)

Eloy broke up after “Metromania”. Three members recorded this soundtrack without Frank Bornemann under Eloy’s name.

The soundtrack is a mix of discrete instrumental tracks – some surprisingly good, containing the Eloy synth moods of the “Space Metal” era. Other than that there is not much of Eloy’s touch here — don’t expect enchanting melodies, guitar solos or symphonic evolutions.

Though generally not considered to be a “true” Eloy album, it could be worth exploring as an Eloy side-project.

Line-up:
* Hannes Arkona
* Hannes Folberth
* Klaus-Peter Matziol
with
* J. Nemec-Bolek on Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Track List:
01. Patrol (2:47)
02. Hongkong Theme I (3:32)
03. Hit And Run (1:38)
04. Queen Of Rock ‘n’ Roll (2:36)
05. Destiny (4:34)
06. Discovery (0:50)
07. Juke-Box (1:58)
08. Deadlock (1:30)
09. Cha-Shoen (3:35)
10. Sabotage (1:20)
11. On The Edge (3:30)
12. A Long Goodbye (2:13)
13. Face To Face (1:47)
14. A Moment Decides (2:07)
15. Revenge (1:13)
16. Hongkong Theme II (1:07)

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Eloy

Eloy – Metromania (1984) (@256)

11 Nov 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

Metromania represents the seeds of a resurrection with a shift to a harder rocking style blending elements of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Hawkwind with Eloy’s symphonic Prog tendencies and sophisticated Stadium-AOR.

As usual, the songs rely mostly on instrumental dexterity and clever arrangements rather than pure songwriting skills, but several turn out to be quite memorable for one reason or another with pounding riffs, stomping basslines and aggressive guitar figures. They are intelligently arranged and presented with little twists and turns.

“Escape To The Heights” sets the scene with a powerhouse wall-of-sound not unlike the old days of Hawkwind. “All Life Is One” is slow and stately in a heavy kind of way and features some excellent slide guitar work. “The Stranger” chugs along very effectively, while “Follow The Light” progresses in fine style, incorporating catchy Suzi Quattro soundalike vocal refrains and a welcome instrumental mood shift. “Night Riders” thunders into Black Sabbath land with a slow beat, grumbling bassline and big gritty guitar solo.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Hannes Arkona / guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocoder
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass
- Fritz Radow / drums
- Hannes Folberth / keyboards

Track List:
01. Escape To The Heights (5:03)
02. Seeds Of Creation (4:28)
03. All Life Is One (6:28)
04. The Stranger (3:59)
05. Follow The Light (9:37)
06. Nightriders (9:39)
07. Metromania (6:10)

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Eloy

Eloy – Performance (1983) (@256)

10 Nov 2007

4 comments

(Review from amazon, progarchives.com)

With their eleventh studio album, the band’s sound now evolves into a more plastic product of the eighties with only some sparkling hard rock flavour.

The keyboards are floating, rythmic, varied, futuristic and melodic. The electric guitar is well balanced between sometimes distortion-free parts, sometimes quite aggressive hard rock parts, and it is always very clean and very rythmic. The bass is surprisingly complex, very well played and often fast. The drums are sophisticated and may be fast too.

On one hand the sound is quite heavy (Shadow and Light) and on the other hand it’s quite poppy and simple (In Disguise, Surrender, Fools). There is an instrumental piece called Mirador where a lot of keyboard and synth goes on, but it seems out of place among the other tracks. Heartbeat and “A Broken Frame” are closer to their previous albums with some heavier stuff in them.

This album is faster hard rock and the keyboards steal less the show.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / basses
- Hannes Arkona / guitars, keyboards
- Hannes Folberth / keyboards
- Fritz Randow / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. In Disguise (4:29)
02. Shadow And Light (5:17)
03. Mirador (3:44)
04. Surrender (5:38)
05. Heartbeat (6:26)
06. Fools (5:10)
07. A Broken Frame (8:10)
08. Shadow And Light (Bonus Live 1983) (5:08)
09. Heartbeat (Bonus Live 1983) (6:00)
10. Fools (Bonus Live 1983) (4:49)

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Eloy

Eloy – Time To Turn (1982) (@256)

09 Nov 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, vintageprog.com)

With “Time to Turn” Eloy conclude the second (and final part) of their great concept work about Salta and the Ikareens, they started with “Planets”. Although stylistically comparable with its conceptual twin “Planets”, it relies a little more on subtlety and elegance. Keyboards and synths still predominate, but are nowhere near as overpowering, while guitars have made a welcome return to the foreground.

“Behind the Walls of Imagination” is one of the highlights here. It has some very interesting use of clavinet, as the instrument is the main part of the track’s rhythmic foundation. “End of an Odyssey” is with its 9-minutes the longest track on the album and features lengthy passages with lots of spacey keyboards that make sure you won’t miss the typical sci-fi atmosphere that usually is one of the most important things on an Eloy-album. The title-track is a strongly melodic tune with a very nice female-chorus. The opener “Through a Somber Galaxy” and “Magic Mirrors” are both well-structured tracks with decent melodies and more of the spacey atmosphere.

From the fantastic cathedral-organ-like intro to the unespected acoustic closer, this is a voyage to distant worlds, through obscure and spectral galaxies where evil cold forces seemed really to prevail over all things light and warm.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass, pedals
- Hannes Arkona / guitars, keyboards, percussion
- Hannes Folberth / keyboards
- Fritz Randow / drums

Track List:
01. Through A Somber Galaxy (6:00)
02. Behind The Walls Of Imagination (6:25)
03. Time To Turn (4:32)
04. Magic Mirrors (5:25)
05. End Of An Odyssey (9:25)
06. The Flash (5:34)
07. Say, Is It Really True (4:45)

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Eloy

Eloy – Planets (1981) (@256)

08 Nov 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com)

“Planets” is the first of two concept-albums about the planet Salta and its inhabitants the Ikareens in the solar system Hel. The heavy riffs of “Colours” had obviously only been a one-time experiment, as they are mostly absent here.

What “Planets” offers instead is a very well produced symphonic progressive rock sound with all the most important trademarks of Eloy, but still with the tight and more compact song-structures of “Colours”. The atmosphere is also even more spacey than before, and this was a natural consequence of the story and concept. It shows the band at their best and remains their creative peak from the 80′s. It’s also one of the few examples of a progressive rock band that actually handled the transition from the 70′s to the 80′s very well.

The album opens with a 2-minute introduction of spacey synths that immediately let you know that you’re in for a cosmic adventure. The highlight of the first side is undoubtedly the impressive “Mysterious Monolith” that features some of the best instrumental-passages Eloy ever did. The second side featured some strings that reminded slightly of the arrangements from “Dawn”, especially on “At the Gates of Dawn”. The hard rocking “Queen of the Night” is the musical opposite, while “Spinx” is more in the style of the first side. The album closes with “Carried by Cosmic Winds” that is carried along by a strong keyboard-riff and dreamy female vocals.

Despite it’s relatively simple composition, this album comprises all excellent tracks that form a cohesive music as a whole.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / basses, vocals
- Hannes Arkona / guitars, keyboards
- Hannes Folberth / keyboards
- Jim McGillivray / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Introduction (1:58)
02. On The Verge Of Darkening Lights (5:37)
03. Point Of No Return (5:45)
04. Mysterious Monolith (7:40)
05. Queen Of The Night (5:22)
06. At The Gates Of Dawn (4:17)
07. Sphinx (6:50)
08. Carried By Cosmic Winds (4:32)
09. On The Verge Of Darkening Lights (Bonus Live 1983) (4:09)

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Eloy

Eloy – Colours (1980) (@256)

07 Nov 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com, progarchives.com)

Eloy entered the 80′s with a new line-up (again). Eloy moved with the times and updated their sound to include a stronger keyboard presence. New keyboard player Hannes Folberth has brought a raft of fresh ideas and sounds, replacing the old spacey textures and grooves with a more structured ‘symphonic’ form. The addition of a second guitarist adds depth to full and imaginative arrangements, ably assisted by exciting rhythmical twists and a detailed and powerful production.

“Colours” marked a move into shorter and more compact songs with gradually more 80′s-sounding arrangements. It also tried to fuse their symphonic style with driving hard rock-riffs, “Illuminations” and “Child Migration” are the best examples of this. There are also several songs here in the 3-minute range and all of them are surprisingly good. The opener “Horizons” combines a complex rhythm with a nice melody sung by a female choir. “Impressions” is a nice song with a flute-solo, and “Giant” is the track here that reminds most of 70′s Eloy. The closing instrumental “Sunset” reminds a lot of Kitaro!

“Colours” is an original album that proved that Eloy was one of the few progressive rock bands that could evolve and change without selling out but instead still remaining progressive.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass, vocals
- Hannes Arkona / guitars
- Hannes Folberth / keyboards
- Jim McGillivray / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Horizons (3:20)
02. Illuminations (6:19)
03. Giant (6:05)
04. Impressions (3:06)
05. Child Migration (7:23)
06. Gallery (3:08)
07. Silhouette (6:57)
08. Sunset (3:15)

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Eloy

Eloy – Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes (1979) (@256)

06 Nov 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com, progarchives.com)

After the near perfect blissed-out Space-Psych-Electro-Prog of Ocean, two years later Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes presents more of the same.

The album is packed with superior spacey atmospheres from a variety of well-matched synths and guitars, and hypnotic grooves often featuring meaty rubber-band bass themes. With a number of ear-catching themes, and some gorgeously organic instrumentation from the tail-end of the ‘analogue’ era. Eloy take you much further into the void of outer space. Keyboards tend to dominate, but Bornemann’s fluid guitar still captures the attention with some inventive playing, even venturing into an occasional solo.

The opening track “Master of Sensation” has an instrumental intro that sounds very much like “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” and the track itself is drenched in atmospheric background-effects that sound like something from “Meddle”. The track is a very good up-tempo track with some great synth-solos in the middle. “The Apocalypse” is 15 delightful minutes of slow-paced and atmospheric symphonic progressive rock dominated by Bornemann’s Gilmour-influenced guitar-playing and lots of the usual dreamy keyboards from Schmidtchen.

The Pink Floyd-influences are more or less absent from the second side of the album that seems to be more in the vein of “Ocean”. “Pilot to Paradise” is an absolutely outstanding track with a great organ-theme and a beautiful synth-break in the middle. “De Labore Solis” is a very laidback song based in another very nice and typical Eloy-theme played on the moog. The closing-number “Mighty Echoes” has a much more sinister theme and feel.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / guitars, vocals
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass, pedals, chorus
- Jürgen Rosenthal / drums, percussion
- Detlev Schmidtchen / keyboards, chorus
with
- Brigitte Witt / vocals (2b)

Track List:
01. Astral Entrance / Master Of Sensation (9:09)
02. The Apocalypse (14:54)
a) Silent Cries Divide The Night
b) The Vision Burning
c) Force Majeure
03. Pilot To Paradise (7:01)
04. De Labore Solis (5:12)
05. Mighty Echoes (7:16)

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Detlef Schmidtchen, Eloy, Jurgen Rosenthal

Eloy – Live (1978) (@224)

05 Nov 2007

(Review from seaoftranquility.org)

In 1978, Eloy released their sole live album, at a time when most progressive bands were either going commercial or altogether disbanding. Eloy however were at the peak of their popularity in their homeland of Germany. The band was famous for elaborate stage shows featuring copious laser lights, dry ice machines and plentiful pyrotechnics. Eloy live sounded so more powerful: strong and flowing guitarwork, lush keyboards and great shifting moods.

Live compiles some of the band’s best loved compositions to date and very often, the live versions outshine their studio counterparts. Most of the classic “Ocean” album is represented here (it was recorded during the Ocean promotional tour afterall) as well as choice cuts from Dawn, Power and the Passion and the title track from Inside.

The narration from the studio version of “The Dance in Doubt and Fear” is gone and given mostly an instrumental treatment. However, there is some narration on other cuts. The closing track, “Atlantis’ Agony at June 5th-8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime” is extended to twenty plus minutes of spaced out bliss and leans towards the cosmic side of compatriots Ash Ra Tempel, Mythos and perhaps Tangerine Dream.

The only significant flaw of the album is that it feels a little too cut and paste. Each track fades with Frank Bornemann cheerfully eing “danke schon!” so that the songs generally don’t segue or flow very naturally. On the other hand, Live is not at all a bad place to introduce a novice to the music of Eloy. The sound quality is fine given the age of the master tapes.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass, vocals
- Jürgen Rosenthal / drums, percussion, voice
- Detlev Schmidtchen / keyboards

Track List:
01. Poseidon’s Creation (11:37)
02. Incarnation Of Logos (8:46)
03. The Sun-song (8:30)
04. The Dance In Doubt And Fear (7:36)
05. Mutiny (9:56)
06. Gliding Into Light And Knowledge (4:24)
07. Inside (6:34)
09. Atlantis’ Agony At June 5th – 8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime (20:54)

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Detlef Schmidtchen, Eloy, Jurgen Rosenthal, Live

Eloy – Ocean (1977) (@256)

04 Nov 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com)

“Ocean” is a distillation of all that had gone before yet displaying an ever increasing level of competence and self-confidence. Smooth ambient atmospheres rub shoulders with hypnotic yet ethereal space-jams in an irrestible combination of lush and futuristic keyboard textures, understated sensitive guitar phrases, superb bass motifs, excellent vocals [yes, really], solid performances, inspired arrangements and a thoughtful concept all assisted by a crystal clear soundstage.

The dominant musical device is densely layered keyboards creating moods with and without support from harmonious guitars and a tight rhythm section, sometimes light and upbeat but often dark and sombre, using ‘drones’ and spoken vocals to invoke feelings consistent with the story: suspense, awe, wonder, dread and melancholy. Tempos are exclusively mid-pace and rhythms are loping rather than aggressive.

The allegorical concept of Ocean is a cautionery tale based on the ancient myth of Atlantis, a ‘heaven-on-earth’ continent containing a race of people who became so corrupt that they had to be destroyed by the gods before they terminally polluted the earth. Bornemann has said they chose “the subject of Atlantis to point out the wrong direction society is taking – that our development into such a wrong direction can only result in a catastrophe” but provides no answers to the conundrum.

Although divided into four tracks, the album proceeds and succeeds as a single homogeneous entity, stylistically coherent and satisfyingly constructed: there is no hint of filler, nor anything out of place, as each section sets an appropriate mood in an entertaining and inventive way. Even a lengthy monologue-over-ambient-drones section covering the first half of the final track never descends into tedium as attention is maintained by background subtleties and tantalising foreknowledge of the rhythmic section to follow.

Atlantis is both inside and outside, a commentary on a possible past in a parallel universe out in the infinity of space, yet a warning for us in the here-and-now. Ocean’s music-scape eerily conveys the magnitude and wonder of the cosmos in a very direct manner, more succesfully than most of its peers.

“Ocean” remains for many people to be Eloy’s finest moment, simply because it features some of their best material and atmosphere and they had managed to make something completely of their own that reminded of no other progressive rock band.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / guitars, vocals
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / basses, vocals
- Jürgen Rosenthal / drums, percussion, flute
- Detlev Schmidtchen / keyboards, mellotron, xylophone, voice
with
- The Boys Of Santiago / chorus (1)

Track List:
01. Poseidon’s Creation (11:38)
02. Incarnation Of The Logos (8:25)
03. Decay Of The Logos (8:15)
04. Atlantis’ Agony At June 5th – 8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime (15:35)

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Detlef Schmidtchen, Eloy, Jurgen Rosenthal

Eloy – Power and Passion (1975) (@256)

03 Nov 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, vintageprog.com)

“Power And Passion” represents something of a transition phase for Eloy, the ‘missing link’ between earlier heavy hammond-and-guitar driven power-progressive and the ethereal space rock that typified succeeding albums. It is their first concept-album, and it showed that the band went in a more polished and symphonic direction.

The album tells the story of Jamie, son of a mad scientist, who accidentally swallows a ‘tardis’ drug that sends him back in time to 1358 in Paris where he meets and falls in love with a girl called Jeanne, gets embroiled in a peasant uprising, is imprisoned and finally finds his way back to the 20thC to ponder his sense of loss for Jeanne and how little the world has changed in 600 years. The point of Bornemann’s story is that humans have made great strides forwards in technology, but little in the way of relationships and humanity: the focus may have shifted, but the world remains full of greed, suppression and exploitation. The story is told in a literal and simplistic manner, barely touching the philosophical aspects. Neither is there any attempt at illustration in musical terms.

The music is more symphonic than their earlier albums and the keyboard-arsenal has been broadened considerably and featured now mellotron, piano, organ and various synths. The material on the album is varied; the two ‘time travel’ songs – Journey Into 1358 and Back Into The Present – are old style rock work-outs; Mutiny is a changeable long track with some excellent Mellotron and organ touches but is otherwise unremarkable; Imprisonment and Thoughts Of Home are simple reflective ballads; Daylight gets into a groove of sorts but is rather bitty; and The Zany Magician crosses a terrific gritty guitar riff with The Who’s Uncle Ernie from Tommy!

Love Over Six Centuries is the first of two exceptional tracks, moving effortlessly from gentle chiming guitars, bass groove and heavy riffing to a classic Eloy space-groove telling the stories of Jamie and Jeanne. Beginning predictably with bells, “Bells Of Notre Dame” sets up a reflective languid mood with mellotron and guitar, gradually building towards a crescendo with some fine guitar work and strong backing. Both songs are great examples of spacey Eloy.

Eloy’s music may not have won awards for originality, but they adopted, adapted, developed and perfected chosen styles over time. The hints on this album show a trip to space to come.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitar
- Luitjen Janssen / bass
- Fritz Randow / drums
- Detlef Schwaar / guitar
- Manfred Wieczorke / keyboards, mellotron
- Mary Davis-Smith / voice (3)

Track List:
01. Introduction (1:10)
02. Journey Into 1358 (2:56)
03. Love Over Six Centuries (10:05)
04. Mutiny (9:07)
05. Imprisonment (3:12)
06. Daylight (2:38)
07. Thoughts Of Home (1:04)
08. The Zany Magician (2:38)
09. Back Into The Present (3:07)
10. The Bells Of Notre-Dame (6:26)

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Eloy

Eloy – Inside (1973) (@256)

02 Nov 2007

8 comments

(Review from progarchives.com, vintageprog.com)

Guitarist Frank Bornemann became the sole leader and singer of Eloy when Erich Schriever left after the debut. Eloy took a turn for a much more progressive direction under Bornemann’s leadership.

At its heart, Inside is constructed from a winning combination of melodic, semi-Symphonic Prog songs and lengthy jams. The core songs are not as complex as eg Yes, yet they display memorable melodies, typically inventive arrangements and meaningful lyrics. This side of Eloy’s playing would be developed further on later albums, but here the jams impress more. Essentially these comprise mesmeric repetitive riffs played out by bass and drums while guitar and organ alternate improvised leads and rhythm support.

Bornemann’s guitar playing is fluent and fluid, equally at home providing gutsy support or ripping into a solo, yet it is keyboard player Wieczorke who steals the show. With a classy performance, Wieczorke rings the neck of his trusty Hammond, sometimes angry and gritty, at others light and ethereal, pushing it to the limit in a way familiar to fans of Keith Emerson to provide most of the instrumental highs, even when chugging along as ostensible support to Bornemann. The rhythm section of Stöcker and Randow do an excellent job in support, especially Stöcker’s bass driving the jam sections forcefully yet rhythmically.

The album has just four tracks, beginning with dark and menacing astral travelling of 17 minute ‘epic’ Land Of No Body, primarily a vehicle for Wieczorke to take centre stage with his flamboyant improvisation and experimentation, taking in some riff-tastic themes and head-down grooves along the way. Brilliant title track, “Inside” has a lovely tick tock feel, with a gripping sinister riff-theme before heading off into the stratosphere. “Future City” has a nice loping percussive beat and a guitar-led instrumental jam but is overshadowed by impending final track “Up And Down”, a classic Eloy combination of languid haunting spaciness, a seering workout dominated by fat overdriven organ chords, and a sublime laid-back slow-smoking bluesy-jazzy number.

“Inside” is rough round the edges and musically naive in places but that is admirably countered by an endearing freshness and infectious energy.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / guitar, vocals, percussion
- Fritz Randow / drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, flute
- Wolfgang Stöcker / bass
- Manfred Wieczorke / organ, vocals, percussion

Track List:
01. Land Of No body (17:14)
02. Inside (6:35)
03. Future City (5:35)
04. Up And Down (8:23)

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Eloy

Eloy – Eloy (1971) (@192)

01 Nov 2007

1 comment

(Review from allmusic, progarchives.com)

Taking their name from the “Eloi”, the futuristic race of people in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, Eloy was initially formed in 1969 in Germany.

At the time the band was co-led by vocalist Erich Schriever and guitarist Frank Bornemann, and the two differed on musical direction, which is evident here. Filled with political lyrics, the sound is dark and deep with a heavy focus on electric guitar and percussion. Songs are exploratory and full of great 70′s instrumentation with loads of wild guitar solos and great percussive sounds. Erich Schriever’s vocals adds that extra rough sound which adorns this album.

While Eloy would move in a more spacey direction, which would yield more consistent results, they would never sound as honest and vulnerable as they do here.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / guitars, vocals
- Erich Schriever / lead vocals
- Helmut Draht / drums
- Wolfgang Stöcker / bass
- Manfred Wieczorke / keyboards

Track List:
01. Today (5:56)
02. Something yellow (8:15)
03. Eloy (6:15)
04. Song of a paranoid soldier (4:50)
05. Voice of revolution (3:07)
06. Isle of sun (6:03)
07. Dillus roady (6:32)

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Eloy

Eloy – Tides Return Forever (1994) (@256)

10 Jul 2007

(Review from amazon)

The Tides Return Forever marks Eloy comeback to its classic musical spirit. Klaus Peter Matziol is now a permanent member again and it pays off big time.

The overall sound is very Eloy-ish but more contemporary. The Day of Crimson Skies features some really nice synth work by Gerlach and some good guitar work by Bornemann. Though the structure is quite simple it still keeps the classic Eloy atmosphere.

Fatal Illusions starts off in typical Eloy fashion: atmospheric and mystic before the band kicks in in a very spacey section. Then the band starts the real song with Klaus bassplying taking the leading role. There is a nice mellow middle section before the band kicks in again with an excellent guitar/synth solo.

Childhood Memories is a beautiful song. it starts off with just percussion and guitar and keyboards build up a really pensive and melancholic atmosphere. Lyrics are very poetic (dedicated to Frank’s mother) and there is a lovely synth solo at the end, though it’s a pity it fades away rather quick.

Generation of Innocence is a heavy track. The main riff is very heavy indeed though vocals are quiet mellow and Gerlach’s synth gives it a symphonic feel. There is a beautiful guitar solo and some outstanding synth soloing towards the end.

The Tides Return Forever is mainly acoustic. It’s quite dark, not in terms of depressing but in terms of atmosphere. A particularly evocative song with a female chorus in the middle section that is really awesome.

The Last in Line is the more poppy song in this album. There is a lot going on here, especially regarding synths, vocals, drums and lyrical content.

Last track Company of Angels is the pinnacle of the record. It features a great chorus melody, some inspiring synth work, very good guitar solos, incredible bassplaying and solid drum work. It’s a song dedicated to Jeanne d’Arc and it lives up to the expectations as the epic and symphonic atmosphere really shines in every second of the song.

One of Eloy’s best albums in years and one that sees Eloy creating those classical eternal and infinite atmospheres.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Michael Gerlach / keyboards, vocals
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass
- Nico Barretta / drums
- Peter Beckett / vocals (5-6-7)
- Tom Jackson / vocals (5-6-7)
- Bettina Lux / backing vocals (6)
- Steve Mann / acoustic guitar solo (5)
- Dirk Michaelis / acoustic guitar (3)
- Suzanne Schätzle / backing vocals (6)
- Jocelyn B. Smith / vocals (5)
- Miriam Stockley / vocals (7)
- Ralf Vornberger / acoustic guitar (5)

Track List:
01. Day of Crimson Skies
02. Fatal Illusions
03. Childhood Memories
04. Generation of Innocence
05. Tides Return Forever
06. Last in Line
07. Company of Angels

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Eloy

Eloy – Dawn (1976) (@256)

12 Apr 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, vintageprog.com)

Dawn represents a new start for Eloy. As the previous band disintegrated due to differences arising from managerial interference, so from the ashes arose a new band with Frank Bornemann as sole survivor of the fall-out. With this influx of new blood and ideas came a new musical direction. Long gone are the extended rock work-outs and solo improvising of yore, to be replaced by carefully orchestrated and structured arrangements – less space-rock and more ‘conventional’ symphonic prog. Guitars and keyboards are more integrated, often merging to form a wall-of-sound not unlike contemporary Genesis, the Hammond now merely one voice among many. Soloing is severely restricted, in some cases almost incidental to the arrangement.

Dawn was another concept-album, and left no doubt that the new line-up was perfect for the symphonic kind of spacey progressive rock that Bornemann now favoured. The lyrics had become more or less impossible to understand, and reminded a lot of Jon Anderson’s lyrics. They even sing “Nous Somme du Soleil” in “Gliding into Light and Knowledge” and the title-track! The music sounded now even spaceier with tons of floating and pleasant keyboards that make a very big and impressive sound. The highlights include “Between the Times”, “Return of the Voice” and the energetic “The Midnight Flight”. Some parts and passages sound maybe a bit too much like each other, and the album as a whole is a little bit messy. But the beautiful arrangements and atmosphere more than makes up for it. “Dawn” is actually one of the most spacey symphonic progressive rock albums I’ve heard, and worth having for just that.

Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / basses, vocals
- Detlev Schmidtchen / keyboards, mellotron, guitars, vocals
- Jürgen Rosenthal / drums, percussion , voices
- Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Maus

Track List:
01. Awakening
02. Between the Times
03. Sun Song
04. Dance in Doubt and Fear
05. Lost!?? (Introduction)
06. Memory Flash
07. Appearance of the Voice
08. Return of the Voice
09. Lost (The Decision)??
10. Midnight-Flight/The Victory of Mental Force
11. Gliding Into Light and Knowledge
12. Reveil du Soleil/The Dawn

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Detlef Schmidtchen, Eloy, Jurgen Rosenthal

Eloy – Floating (1974) (@256)

22 Jan 2007