Issue #29 Extra!: Archives & Reissues
Dave Brock – “Earthed to Ground / The Agents of Chaos”
John Cale – “Words for the Dying”
Famlende Forsøk – “Return of Monster Attack”
James Gerrard Gilmour – “Instrumental Encounters”
Laraaji – “Flow Goes the Universe”
Tantalus - “Short Stories”
Laraaji – “Flow Goes the Universe”
(All Saints Records ASCD 10, 1991/2003, CD)
Laraaji Nadananda began his international recognition with the release of Ambient 3 - Day of Radiance, a work performed exclusively on autoharp in 1979 as part of Brian Eno’s Discreet label. Since that time the New Jersey native has made quite a few more ambient music friends including Roger Eno and Michael Brook whom both contribute on the piece “Laughing in Tongues”. The track is the most developed as Laraaji’s vocal blends well with Eno’s accordion against Brook’s infinite guitar. The centerpiece of the album is the lilting title track, “Being Here” that is a reflective pastel painting of chords and crystalline flux. The piece sustains a wash of tranquility for over 25 minutes of pastel beauty, wavering left and then center to right in the headphone experience. “A Cave in England” is also a notable track performed on mbira and highlighting natural sounds in the underground surroundings. “Deep Celestial” in contrast relies on the man’s unaccompanied zither playing to create a mood of serene sleep. Both ‘Space Choir” and “Immersion” fall into the tone poem category as each piece creates a mode of deep space music with occasional heavenly choir embellishments. Closing out the disc are five pieces of “Silence” that implicitly point to an inward degree of meditation and calm. Overall the disc is wholly representative of the many facets of the man’s capabilities as performer and teacher. - Jeff Melton
Tantalus - “Short Stories”
(Headline HDL507, 1996/2002, CD)
Short Stories, by British outfit Tantalus, was released on cassette in 1996. Back when the album was recorded, Tantalus was the trio of Max Hunt (keyboards), Rupert Willder (vocals, guitar), and Steve Meston (bass). Instead of a drummer, the band utilized programmed percussion (supplied by Hunt). The seven tracks from the original cassette comprise guitar-and-keyboard heavy melodic rock that occasionally crosses over into full-blown neo- and symphonic. The crossover is most pronounced on the two instrumental pieces, “23 Enigma” and “Moondance”, where the three musicians really get to demonstrate their talents as players. This is especially true of Willder, whose fluid guitar solos are easily the disk’s greatest strength. On the songs with vocals, the sound is a bit more accessible, straddling the boundaries between art-rock and a keyboard-heavy 80s’AOR style that reminds me of Saga. There is also “Shot Down in Flames”, a blues tune that features great soloing by Willder, but seems a bit out-of-place. Additionally, this CD reissue contains a re-recording of Bach’s “Toccata & Fugue in D minor” (a different version of which appeared on original cassette) and “Can’t Say No” (a straightforward rock ballad), both of which are performed by the band’s 2001 lineup. Short Stories may not be the most complex music around, but it’s definitely got something to offer Exposé readers who enjoy rock that’s only somewhat proggy and who don’t mind programmed percussion. - Jim Chokey
James Gerrard Gilmour – “Instrumental Encounters”
(Eclipse Entertainment SPV 084-46652, 1996/2003, CD)
James Gerrard (a.k.a. Jim or Daryl) Gilmour has been the lead keyboardist of Saga throughout most of the band’s existence. Though he’s played on many albums over the years, this was his first solo CD. The tracks are all short instrumental keyboard-based songs, with additional parts added by a drummer, bassist, and two guitarists. With the exception of a few sections now and again, there isn’t much Saga-sounding material on this album. For the most part, the tunes are fairly mellow rock arrangements that could almost be called New Age. Gilmour’s typical format on Instrumental Encounters is to use moving piano parts with thick orchestral string pads underneath and occasional other synth sounds. “Autumnmoves” is one of the album’s better tracks and has nice piano and clarinet parts, somewhat evocative of “Voila” from Saga’s Security Of Illusion. Jim plays a nice Celtic accordion part on “Highland Sunset,” while “Getting Through” has a Latin feel with acoustic guitar and percussion parts driving the song. “Earthward” is the album’s best track and, not coincidentally, one of the few songs on the album that actually highlights some very cool synth parts. Gilmour is a great synth player and sonic architect, so it’s a little disappointing that he didn’t pursue that route more on this CD rather than rely on the stock piano/strings presets for most tracks. Because of this narrow sound palette, several individual songs don’t really stand out and the album overall sounds repetitive. – Mike Grimes
John Cale – “Words for the Dying”
(All Saints ASCD09, 1992/2003, CD)
I have to admit an orchestral setting for a set of Dylan Thomas poems reminded me of many of the criticisms for many a 70s progressive rock concept album. John Cale’s arrangement of this collection of prose is not much like any else he’s ever done though. Enlisting Brian Eno as producer aids in the specific area of arranger focus on delivery and tone. Cale’s vocal outside of the rock and roll idiom becomes a focal point unlike any other project I’ve heard by the man. The synchronicity of the creative process is directly linked to the stark results as Cale worked in parallel with the timing of the British Falklands war. Perhaps the best execution is on “On a Wedding Anniversary” that depicts a forlorn melodic phrase well from the orchestral arrangement. The best mesh of ensemble delivery and solo vocal appears on “Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed” where a boy’s choir is also utilized. Cale composed two separate piano pieces without lyrics that are also quite efficient in approach. The first of these is less bleak than the second, which is plaintive and hopeful. An alternate version of “The Soul of Carmen Miranda” co-performed with Eno is also included as the last piece on the disc (an outtake from the Wrong Way Up sessions). Overall the work recalls elements of many of Michael Mantler’s works, especially Many Have No Speech or the Hapless Child. - Jeff Melton
Famlende Forsøk – “Return of Monster Attack”
(The Crawling Chaos SHiT re-CD022, 1996/2002, CD)
Lumpy Davy and Brt started Famlende Forsøk in 1981, their music inspired by such great bands as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. Because Brt could not sing nor play an instrument, they decided to combine poetry and music (keyboards, tapes, guitars, and percussion). ChrispH joined the band in 1983. Since then FF has performed and recorded intermittently between other side musical projects such as the psychedelic band The Smell of Incense. From its beginning, FF has been obsessed with HP Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos. They recently released their Lovecraft project One Night I Had A Frightful Dream. Return of Monster Attack, originally released on cassette in 1996, is the first Crawling Chaos title to be re-mastered and reissued on CD. Though not a concept album, Return of Monster Attack is a loose collection of dark and edgy songs about HP Lovecraft (“Cthluhu Lives!”), David Lynch (“Looking for Bob” and “Music from the Black Lodge”), Beelzebub, and Freud. Brt’s otherworldly vocalizations lend just the right air of the outré to the music. The mood of the disc is somber, but right in the middle of the darkness is a ray of light from the psychedelic and dulcet sounds of Bumble B on “Spider & The Octopus”. If you are looking for that perfect disc to haunt your late nights, this is it. However, keep in mind the owls are not what they seem. – Henry Schneider
[Contact: The Crawling Chaos, Dave Jorgensen, Hestag, n-4900 Tvedestrand, NORWAY, ch@osland.com ]
Dave Brock – “Earthed to Ground / The Agents of Chaos”
(Hawkrecords HAWKVP23CD, 1984/88/2003, CD)
Dave Brock has long been the guiding light behind Hawkwind much as Robert Fripp has been for King Crimson. Brock’s solo albums from the mid to late 80s were large departures from the space rock with attitude that Hawkwind fans had long been accustomed to. Earthed to Ground is a collection of fourteen tracks created by the guitarist at his home studio. In place of the blazing guitars and driving rhythm section, the songwriter switched his focus to pulsing synthesizers. Fans of latter day Tangerine Dream would delight at the album’s opening track even if the electronic percussion isn’t quite as fitting. Songs such as “Spirit” showed another side of Brock that could be both sinister and ambient at times. “Machine Dream” is one of the few tracks that I could imagine a band live version due in part to the riffing guitar and penetrating organ parts. The disc has been appended with three additional tracks, “Riding the Range”, “Sleep of 1000 Tears” and “Social Alliance” that were not available in the previous two disc compilation.
In contrast, The Agents of Chaos disc was a collaboration between Brock and his songwriting partner Crum (now in the Moonloonies). The two created eleven tracks that also have a distinct electronic sound somewhere between older Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. The first piece “Hi Tech Cities” rekindles work done by Steve Hillage in his And Not Or phase relying heavily on guitars and synths to carry a dreadful message of futurism. At times the end result is nearly like Bauhaus on “Hades Deep” or “Heads” where the tone is altogether goth. “Infinity” and “Mountains in the Sky” have been appended to the original release as bonus tracks. The former piece is a work of heavy synth and foreboding lyrical imagery while the latter is a looser slice of percussion and guitars. Together these two albums of material present Brock as a multifaceted figure who is quite able to deliver the sonic abandon on his own. - Jeff Melton