Big Ears

beBooks: Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (Published 1963)

Monkey Planet





If asked a couple of months ago, to name my favourite novels, I would certainly have included classics such as George Orwell's 1984 (1949) for the adept use of English in making a polemic and Robert Graves' I, Claudius (1934) for the way in which Classical machinations are brought to life, and might have balanced them with a pulp western by the Piccadilly Cowboy, Terry Harknett writing as George G. Gilman, Edge: The Loner (NEL 1973), that evokes spaghetti western-style imagery. Unforgettable science fiction work such as Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters (1951) or Brian Aldiss's Hothouse (1962) would be added. Now, having read it this summer, I would definitely add to the list another science fiction book, La Planète des Singes, known in English as Monkey Planet and later Planet of the Apes, which was written by French author Pierre Boulle (published in 1963). The novel was adapted into the famous Planet of the Apes films, initiating sequels, a TV series and recent remakes.




During the 'space race', which culminated in the success of the Apollo 11 mission, a number of original and imaginative cinema films and TV series were inspired, including: Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds (1964), Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek (1966), Irwin Allen's Lost in Space (1965) & Land of the Giants (1968), Kubrick and Clarke's 2001: a Space Odyssey (1968) and many others. Among these was the Planet of the Apes film (US 1968), starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell, and directed by the talented Franklyn J. Schaffner (The Double Man 1967, Patton 1970 and Papillon 1973). The plot was mesmerising: a team of astronauts take-off in a Saturn spaceship, become inexplicably lost in space and return to what they think is Earth, but something is amiss and they discover they are on a world where roles are reversed and submissive humans are dominated by apes. Hitherto circumspect astronaut Charlton Heston becomes impatient and utters the so-called iconic film phrase, 'Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!' The conclusion to this first Planet of the Apes film, which I will not reveal, became equally famous (although for this journal writer was a disappointment). Like many fine novels made into Hollywood films, there are similarities, but several significant differences.

The novel is framed with the story of a couple 'sailing' in space, who discover and recover a message in a floating bottle. They learn the message was written by journalist Ulysse Mérou, who was invited by his friend Professor Antelle to accompany him, his assistant physician Arthur Levain and a chimpanzee, Hector, to the planet Betelgeuse on the opposite side of the universe. After two years of travelling close to the speed of light, they enter the orbit of a temperate, forested planet, near Betelgeuse, which they name Soror (Latin for sister). The crew descend by shuttle-craft to Soror's surface, where they can safely breathe the air. Unlike the film, they are not lost in space and time, although in common with Schaffner's work, the companions are inexplicably captured by a tribe of primitive humans.




Mérou strikes up a relationship with a beautiful girl called Nova, but she is terrified by Hector, whom she immediately and shockingly strangles to death. The tribe then, equally disconcertingly, set about destroying the shuttle, increasing the sense of the astronauts' isolation. An approaching disturbance in the woodland causes the humans, including their captives, to run towards a clearing. From a position of cover, Mérou is astonished to see gorillas dressed as hunters firing at the humans who have been driven by the 'beaters' into the open, 'There I lay for a moment or two as though floored by a blow, bludgeoned by a vision out of all proportion to my poor human mind.' Some fugitives reach the end of the clearing, while others are killed, including Arthur Levain. Mérou, Antelle and Nova are among those who make the crossing, but are captured with other survivors in nets. The apes sit in armchairs, smoke tobacco, photograph their hunting trophies, drink through straws, and appear utterly 'human'. Most disturbingly, they are clearly enjoying the kill.




Contrasting with the film, but consistent with the role reversal of apes and humans, the prisoners are transported by motorised vehicles to an urban biological research facility, where the unflinchingly simplistic tribespeople are subjected to experimentation and Pavlov's dog conditioning. Much of the novel is concerned with this period in which Ulysse Mérou is paired with Nova in a cage, from where he observes the apes' status system, strategies and politics. Their decadent society is divided into three classes: organisation gorillas, inflexible orang-utans and sophisticated chimpanzees. Humans are animals and thus do not constitute a class. Mérou succeeds in communicating, initially by geometrical drawings, with a researcher, Zira, who being a chimpanzee is imaginative (as opposed to the stubborn orang-utans), and with her help crucially learns the apes' language. An emotional relationship develops between them, causing Nova to be understandably jealous and revealing the fickle nature of Mérou. Boulle beautifully describes a number of touching scenes, revealing the closeness of the albeit cross-species couple, 'Ah, what matter this horrid material exterior! It is her soul that communes with mine.' If I reveal more it will be a spoiler, so you will have to read the book!

Pierre Boulle (20th February 1912 – 30th January 1994) is best known for two best-selling works, The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) and Planet of the Apes (1963), that were both made into award-winning films. He was an engineer serving as a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore during World War 2, when he was captured and subjected to two years' forced labour. Boulle used these experiences to inform The Bridge over the River Kwai, about the notorious Death Railway. During the war, Japanese soldiers were sometimes (mistakenly) portrayed in Allied cartoons as anthropomorphic monkeys, in the same way as Hitler was often drawn as a comedy cowboy. It is my view that the irony was not lost on Boulle.




Why should you bother to read this book? First, if you enjoyed the original film; it is highly-regarded, but the book is better. By reading the novel, the shortcomings of compromise in order to make a Hollywood film are clear. For example, to save production costs, Schaffner abandoned the futuristic city and replaced it with a mediaeval and therefore less costly countryside. My example may seem trivial, but it downplays the sophistication and development of ape society, contrasted with the nagging naivety of humans. More profound is where Pierre Boulle concentrates for a number of chapters on the subtleties of differences and similarities at the research facility, whereas Schaffner opts for a narrative whereby an expedition is taken on horseback to a cave in the Forbidden Zone. With radical changes to events and characters comes a different story. If parts from most of the films could be edited together, with a few additions, they might come close to the novel. Exceptions would be the most recent, despite their technical achievements.




Second, Boulle writes eloquently in a clear, flowing and compelling style. A few words should also go to the sensitive French-to-English translation of Planet of the Apes by the cultured Major Xan Fielding DSO (26th November 1918 – 19th August 1991), a British author, translator, journalist and traveller, who served as an Special Operations Executive agent in Crete, France and the Far East during World War 2. I could only marvel at the accuracy of his efforts. Planet of the Apes is by turns a rattling good yarn, a moving tale of relationships, a scientifically based science fiction story and a polemic on the treatment of those who seem, but are not, inferior. Finally, the book provokes thought and will stay with you, even when you have moved on to other works of literary genius.

My copy was published by Vintage Books, an offshoot of Random House, with an anaglyphic 3D cover by Mick Brownfield, 'that leaps out at the reader when viewed using traditional red-and-blue glasses (which are included with each book).' Mine were missing!



Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (Published 1963)
Translated into English by Xan Fielding
Originally La Planète des Singes, also known as Monkey Planet

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Big Ears

Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple (Polydor 1984)

Returning the echo of a point in time . . . distant faces shine




Tracklist:

Side One, Vinyl
1. Knocking at Your Back Door 7:09
2. Under the Gun 4:40
3. Nobody's Home (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice) 4:01
4. Mean Streak 4:26

Side Two, Vinyl
5. Perfect Strangers 5:31
6. A Gypsy's Kiss 5:14
7. Wasted Sunsets 3:58
8. Hungry Daze 5:01

Bonus Track CD
9. Not Responsible 4:53

Bonus Track, Remaster 1999
10. Son of Alerik (Blackmore) 10:01

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover except where stated


Lineup:

Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
Jon Lord – Organ, keyboards
Ian Paice – Drums
Ian Gillan – Vocals
Roger Glover – Bass

Album produced by Roger Glover and Deep Purple


When Ian Gillan left Deep Purple in 1973, he released a trio of surprisingly flat sounding jazz-rock albums, albeit containing some terrific musicians and at least one great album cover in Ian Foss's Clear Air Turbulence (1977). Following a Live at the Budokan album (1977), he changed the line-up, shortened the band name to Gillan and released a promising self-titled album (1978), available only in Japan/Australasia. The following year saw a return to the Ian Gillan of old, with the wonderful Mr Universe (1979), made all the more remarkable by flying in the face of a dreadful production. At around the same time, he performed a triumphant set at Reading Festival, broadcast on BBC Radio 1's Friday Rock Show introduced by Tommy Vance. Gillan built on this success with the more refined Glory Road, a succession of increasingly commercial Gillan albums and even a stint with Black Sabbath for the Born Again album (1983) and tour. Deep Purple, in the mean time, with Glenn Hughes from Trapeze and the unknown David Coverdale sharing vocals, released a series of patchy records, which had moments of brilliance like Sail Away on Burn (1974), but were moving away from the established Purple sound. It all became too much for guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who formed his own band Rainbow and made the glorious Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975), featuring members of Purple support band Elf including Ronnie James Dio. Other solid and big-selling records followed under the Rainbow banner, but were eventually marred by the succession of lineup changes.

More than ten years after Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left Deep Purple, the second incarnation of the band reappeared in 1984 with the ironically titled Perfect Strangers album and a single, Knocking at Your Back Door. Arguably the best known track on the album, Knocking at Your Back Door opens proceedings in style, with a distinctive drumming phrase forming the intro, that must have been beguiling even to non-heavy rock fans. Gillan brought the punning lyrics from his solo career, 'So we put her on the hit list/ Of a common cunning linguist/ A master of many tongues' [among many others in this song alone!] and exciting guitar work at the close of the track showed that Ritchie Blackmore had lost none of his brilliance. Despite the intervening years, or because of them, Deep Purple were back with music to stand alongside their classic era and to rival the best of their independent projects. Gillan's lyrics sometimes make me cringe, but I cannot help loving this track.

Under the Gun is an attempt to replicate the dirty feel of In Rock (1970), with added anti-war lyrics, a hangover from the Falklands Conflict. One can hear tight bass playing from the underrated Roger Glover and tastefully restrained keys from Lord - astonishing in an era dominated by synthesizers and over-production. Blackmore has free reign and Gillan shows he can still scream with the best of them. Gillan's intonation is fascinating to behold, especially when considering the music press had it that his voice was gone before the Mr Universe album (made when he was only in his early thirties). Nobody's Home combines the feel of the two previous tracks, giving us more of Gillan's punning lyrics and a grinding riff.

For two people who struggled to resolve their differences, Gillan and Blackmore demonstrate almost perfect symbiosis on Mean Streak; Gillan pausing at the end of a phrase just long enough for Blackmore to introduce his well-placed guitar runs. Indeed, this chemistry was never better demonstrated than on Mean Streak. Jon Lord adds an organ solo, frustratingly on the fade, as, in keeping with the times, Purple were aiming for shorter songs. The title track rivals Knocking at Your Back door for a fantastic intro, with another Lord organ part, which segues into an exotic Kashmir groove. Although a great track, I would have expected Deep Purple to have risen above Led Zeppelin, so Jon Lord adds a spacey synthesizer just to show this is Purple after all. Gypsy's Kiss is one of the best tracks on the album to the extent that, apart from the list of nonsense lyrics, it could have been on Machine Head (1972). It is great. Wasted Sunsets, by contrast, is the slowest and weakest song on the album, despite Gillan's constantly dynamic singing.

Hungry Daze has some epic sampled strings, which again brings Zeppelin to mind, but Gillan's growling brings everything back to earth. I'm Not Responsible is driven by a funky bass line from Roger Glover and again Gillan screams as in days of yore. I saw Gillan live many times and I do not recall hearing him swearing on stage, but he (pointlessly) employs the f-word here in yet another pun, 'I got no ticket, but I'm gonna take a ****ing ride'. For once the lyrics appear clear and when Gillan denies responsibility, regarding ladies of the night, we know what he really means.

Bonus instrumental, Son of Alerick, fully deserves to be on the album, giving Blackmore opportunity to shine with a Shadows-on-testosterone workout. He is an elegant guitar player of the highest order. An (almost) final word should go to drummer Ian Paice who was a technician, rather than a showman, in a way that has rarely been replicated in heavy rock. In hindsight, Paice was shamefully overlooked among his showy bandmates and percussive peers. Lyrics throughout the album may allude to the band's situation, but their impenetrability makes it difficult to draw a meaning. Production is credited to Roger Glover and Deep Purple, the presence of the former ensuring quality.

To conclude, Deep Purple MKII lived up to expectations when they reformed and, in Perfect Strangers, and recorded an album which was as good as classics such as In Rock or Machine Head. The inconsistencies of MarkIII were almost forgotten, but unfortunately they could not consolidate the success of Perfect Strangers. Disagreements between Gillan and Blackmore resurfaced to the extent that the follow-ups, beginning with House of Blue Light (1987), contained moments of brilliance amongst mediocrity, which continued until Blackmore departed for the last time in 1993. His replacement, Steve Morse from Dixie Dregs, joined a line-up which has survived to this day, with the sad exception of Jon Lord, who retired and died in 2012 (to be replaced by the veteran Don Airey). Before his retirement, Jon Lord observed, 'Ian Gillan thinks he can go on forever.'

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Unknown Soldier

I was surprised to see you going into literature here and I know these Planet of the Apes films well but have never read the books. I'm guessing that besides a colourful taste in books you've probably got an equal interest in films from this period.

Most people regard Ian Gillan's jazz-rock period as quite boring and I've reviewed a lot of his solo stuff in my journal. I was never that much of a fan of Perfect Strangers but am looking forward to to given it another listen when I get t0 1984 in my journal. I always found the relationship between Rictchie Blackmore and Ian Gillan a weird one really, as both knew they were the leading lights of Deep Purple but could never really sort out their differences.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Big Ears

I am not prolific enough to start a separate thread on book or films, so I thought I would post it here. Is it heresy to say if I post in a journal at MB I am not distracted by other threads? Also, I like the time given here for editing as, no matter how careful in drafts, I often spot errors in my writing after posting.

Even after leaving Deep Purple, Ian Gillan denied the personality clash with Blackmore, but later admitted he thought stories of infighting would detract from the music. I thought the rifts between Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, Ozzie Osbourne and Tony Iommi, and various members of the Eagles were fascinating. They demonstrate that musical chemistry may have little to do with personal relationships. Curiously, Gillan felt that his tenure with Black Sabbath did not work, but regards Tony Iommi as one of his best friends.

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Big Ears

The Platinum Collection, CD2: The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 by David Bowie (EMI/Virgin 1998/2005)


A thoughtful collection of singles and outtakes from a period of bewildering change





Disc Two 1974/1979 Tracklist:

1. Sound and Vision (David Bowie) 3:02
2. Golden Years (single edit) (David Bowie) 3:28
3. Fame (David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, John Lennon) 4:13
4. Young Americans (single version) (David Bowie) 3:12
5. John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) (David Bowie) 6:59
6. Can You Hear Me? (David Bowie) 5:05
7. Wild Is the Wind (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) (David Bowie) 5:59
8. Knock on Wood (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd) (live) (David Bowie) 2:58
9. TVC 15 (single version) (David Bowie) 3:52
10. 1984 (David Bowie) 3:25
11. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City (Bruce Springsteen) 3:46
12. Look Back in Anger (David Bowie, Brian Eno) 3:06
13. The Secret Life of Arabia (David Bowie, Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar) 3:45
14. DJ (David Bowie, Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar) 4:02
15. Beauty and the Beast (David Bowie) 3:34
16. Breaking Glass (David Bowie, Dennis Davis, George Murray) 1:51
17. Boys Keep Swinging (David Bowie, Brian Eno) 3:18
18. 'Heroes' (single version) (David Bowie, Brian Eno) 3:33


Core Lineup:

David Bowie – vocals, guitar, saxophones, keyboards
Brian Eno – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers
Carlos Alomar – guitar
Dennis Davis – drums, percussion
George Murray – bass
Plus others, including David Sanborn, Willie Weeks, Andy Newmark, John Lennon, Earl Slick, Roy Bittan, Ricky Gardiner, Simon House, Roger Powell, Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp


1974 to 1979 was an inconsistent period for David Bowie (even by his erratic standards), coming as it did between his early seventies, Ziggy Stardust-defined, creative peak and his early eighties, dance-rock infused, commercial comeback. During this era he: surprisingly, and disappointingly, switched from glam rock to blue-eyed soul, although it gave him success in America; entered a period of transition from soul/funk to more expansive rock; made some well-received Krautrock-inspired experimental music in Berlin; and recorded a number of fascinating outtakes, remakes and singles. EMI/Virgin's The Platinum Collection is a 3x CD set, issued in 2005, which assembles mainly the singles from this six year-spell on the second disc, The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979, originally released as a single CD in 1998. The remaining compact discs are the first, known as The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974, originally released in 1997, and the third, The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987, which was put together for this set. The first CD of early seventies material, 1969/1979, is the most attractive and compelling for listening, but I have chosen the less likely second disc, covering the period 1974 to 1979, for my review.

Sound and Vision is a mainly instrumental piece with synthesizers to the fore and was one of the first tracks to reignite my interest in Bowie after some dull mid-seventies material. The shimmering guitars and synths counterpoint a thick sounding rhythm section and a 'lazy' saxophone solo from Bowie. Low (RCA 1977), the first of the Berlin trilogy, from whence it came, with Brian Eno's synthesizers and its Krautrock feel remains to this day one of my favourite David Bowie albums. Track two, Golden Years, is one of the aforementioned mid-seventies songs which put me off Bowie after a succession of strong singles from 1972 to 1974. His Anthony Newley inflected voice worked on the theatrically inspired Ziggy Stardust, but not with the soft soul feel of this unrepresentative track from Station to Station (RCA 1976), or the previous and more soulful album Young Americans (RCA 1975). Tracks three and four on this compilation, Fame and Young Americans (single version), are from Young Americans: Fame being an overtly funky collaboration with John Lennon and Young Americans a blue-eyed soul cut with Luther Vandross on backing vocals. Both remain unconvincing and are of little or no interest to this listener.

When musicians revisit their earlier songs it rarely works, but David Bowie recorded an unusually successful revision of John, I'm Only Dancing with the bracketed 'Again'. Paradoxically, part of the success was the decision to make a more soulful version than the original and blending it with European-style synthesizers - the intro is great. Initially recorded during the Young Americans sessions, it was not released until 1979 in two formats 12" and 7". Unfortunately, the version employed here is the 12", which at seven minutes is too long and the repetitious second half could have been completely excised from the final edit. Indeed, the second half was removed for the vastly improved 7", so the compilers missed an opportunity to incorporate an extremely rare and improved track. Can You Hear Me? was the b-side of Golden Years and is one of the better tracks from Young Americans.

Dmitri Tiompkins and Ned Washington's Wild is the Wind, recorded by Bowie in 1976 for Station to Station, but not released until 1981, represents his late-seventies/early eighties purple patch which also included Baal's Hymn and Cat People (neither within this album's remit). His singing is eerie, atmospheric and panoramic. David Bowie often sounded too close to the Rolling Stones for comfort and the abrasive cover of Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper's Knock on Wood (David Live, RCA 1974) is an example. 1984 comes across as a cross between a Bobby Womack film theme and a seventies stage musical like Godspell, but oddly it works. Apparently it was intended for a musical based on Orwell's dystopian novel, but the Orwell estate were unhappy and it appeared instead on the Diamond Dogs (RCA 1974) LP. Ill-advisedly, it was released as a single only in the US and flopped. TVC16, a key part of Station to Station, sounds more interesting now than in 1976, when it was a disappointment (at least to me). With hindsight, it combines the futuristic imagery of Bowie's past (the subject of a dangerous TV set), his recent soul fixation (the 'girly' backing vocals) and the dense production of his future Berlin albums.

Bowie was an early contemporary to cover a Bruce Springsteen song with Growin' Up (not included here, but on the Rykodisc Pin Ups, EMI 1973/1990 and the 30th Anniversary Diamond Dogs, EMI/Virgin 1974/2004) and It's Hard to be a Saint in the City (which is included here) from the Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (Columbia 1973) album. Springsteen was present in the studio for the second effort, recorded during sessions in 1974 for Young Americans, but Bowie was unhappy with the results and the song was shelved, which is a shame as the singer unexpectedly draws parallels with his own earlier The Jean Genie. The recording was not completed until the following year, but remained in the vaults, until 1989, when it was exhumed for the Sound + Vision box set (Rykodisc/EMI/Virgin 1989). It's Hard to be a Saint in the City was not released as a single to my knowledge.

Look Back in Anger, a collaboration with Brian Eno, this time from Lodger (RCA 1979), is a full-on rock track with a Kinks-style chorus and enlivened by some funky guitar playing from Carlos Alomar. The Secret Life of Arabia is a terrific track from 'Heroes' (RCA 1977), the second of the Berlin trilogy, but is another song on this CD that was not released as a single as far as I can ascertain. DJ from Lodger, the final Berlin album and not recorded in Berlin, with Adrian Belew on guitar sounds like Talking Heads, while Beauty and the Beast from 'Heroes', with Robert Fripp on guitar is more original and catchier. Both tracks are over recorded but their respective albums sold well. Short and strange best describes Breaking Glass, taking us back to Low, with its blues guitar riff, Eno's buzzing synthesizers weaving in and out and weird descriptive lyrics. Somehow, a longer live version from Stage (RCA 1978) was a hit single. A last astonishingly successful track from Lodger, Boys Keep Swinging, is a mess, while the title track from 'Heroes', is relentlessly turgid in its build up of layers of noise.

David Bowie's early glam rock period was his most fruitful and enjoyable and the early eighties brought him back to his best for a while. A number of songs in the mid to late-seventies matched his best during these periods and The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 compilation is as good as it is possible to find at the moment. It is worth buying with the remainder of The Platinum Collection, as it sensibly gathers in one place his hit singles and adds a few rarities. For the casual fan, CD2 is probably not worth getting on its own. Dedicated followers, who can afford to do so, will be collecting the Rykodisc series of original albums with bonuses.

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Tower of Silence by Anubis (Bird's Robe 2011)

A strong example of Australian progressive rock that wears its influences on its sleeve



Tracklist:
1. The Passing Bell (Part I- VI) 17:08
2. Archway of Tears 05:44
3. This Final Resting Place 08:27
4. A Tower of Silence 09:56
5. Weeping Willow 02:43
6. And I Wait for my World to End 05:15
7. The Holy Innocent 11:45
8. All That Is... 11:13


Lineup:
Robert James Moulding: vocals, percussion, additional guitar
David Eaton: Hammond Organ, Farfisa Organ, Moog Synthesizer, piano and electric piano, string machine, mellotron, harpsichord, synthesizers, bass pedals, 12-string guitar and vocals
Douglas Skene: electric guitar, 7 string electric guitar, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar and vocals
Dean Bennison: electric Guitar, slide Guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion and vocals
Nick Antoinette: bass Guitar, vocals
Steven Eaton: drums, percussion and vocals

Martyn Cook: saxophone and flute
Rebecca Bennison and Katrina Shaw: vocals

Produced by Dean Bennison
Co-Produced by David Eaton and Robert Moulding
Mastered by Reece Tunbridge


Before the internet and in my ignorance, I wondered if there were any Australian progressive rock bands. As it turns out, there are quite a few of them. Although a relatively new band, formed in 2004, Anubis are predominantly neo-progressive, but with a number of Australian-isms. They also tend to use traditional instruments (Moog synthesizer, mellotron, Hammond organ, flute and saxophone among others). Towering Silence is a concept album in that the lyrics tell the story of an 11 year old girl who lived and died in a workhouse in England in the early 19th century. I incorrectly first took them to be about the moving of the Aboriginals from their land, but there are ambiguities . . . According to the Bandcamp description, 'A group of teens, trespassing in the abandoned buildings play seance in one of the abandoned wards, leading to the apparition of the girl, who proceeds to recount her life, death, and her inability to pass on to any form of afterlife. The album functions as a metaphor for any kind of entrapment, be it depression, loss or terminal illness. The theme of being caught between two places, within the unknown, is the central conceit. On the way, the album tackles alienation, social division between the rich and the poor and even the very concept of afterlife.'

The opening track, The Passing Bell, is a 17 minute epic and is probably the most successful on the album. Divided into six parts, I-VI, The Passing Bell Part I, an instrumental, begins in time honoured style with David Eaton's mellotron solo, followed by the band in a complex time signature (Pt I Instrumental), before the It Bites-style vocal passage, via early Yes, of Part II. A part of the vocal is a bit echo-y and shambolic, typical of antipodean bands from the late seventies and early eighties. The despairing lyrics of Part II, 'You broke me down just like a rose/ Through winter chills and harshest snow,' are made all the more morose by the ponderous rhythm and tubular (passing) bell of Part III. Nevertheless, Part III daringly contrasts a delicate harpsichord instrumental passage with a dissonant guitar solo. The chorus is repeated throughout the song and the early, strange, time signature returns for Part IV. The penultimate part, V, begins with a lengthy instrumental passage of sustained synthesizer notes of the Pink Floyd kind (Signs of Life from A Momentary Lapse of Reason), overlaid with stark piano notes. At the end of The Passing Bell, Part VI, another instrumental, has a David Gilmour-style guitar solo of mellifluous rising notes, metamorphosing into that rasping motorised Floyd guitar sound. In between are the guitarists' own melodic touches, showing Douglas Skene and Dean Bennison are unquestionably talented players, and a military snare pattern from a drummer, Steven Eaton, who is often unorthodox. Ethnic voices, of the Adiemus/Moby sort, appear at the close but are fairly sparse and therefore quite effective.

Second track, Archway of Tears, although much shorter at under six minutes, has many of the previous elements of mellotron, harpsichord and melancholy lyrics, 'Bruised and Bent upon my knees,/ I hope and pray for happiness,/ It won't come for me.' However there are added bouncing drums and an original guitar solo. The Final Resting Place is more of the same, although the first mainly vocal part, over an Ian Mosley 'Punch and Judy' drum sound, is over long, until a sudden fast drums and guitar passage ushers in a progressive rock melange (of Wishbone Ash, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream) to rescue the track from ignominy. The title track is emotively sung in multi-part harmonies by various members of the group, particularly Robert James Moulding who sounds a bit like David Gates of Bread. The mid-passage instrumental section of guitar with saxophone and guitar with keyboards, could be from Floyd's Echoes and Dark Side of the Moon respectively, but the inevitable instrumental second half of huge guitar solo over jaunty cymbals and ever reliable keyboards is fantastic. Every time I hear this solo, it makes me sit up and listen.

Weeping Willow is a short acoustic, almost folk music piece. And I Wait for My World to End opens with a bright guitar motif, which reappears later, and a more upbeat rhythm, but the title betrays the dispiriting lyric, 'We pray we can take to the stars/ Find our way out when we no longer breathe'. There are Pink Floyd megaphone vocals (Waiting for the Worms from The Wall) and some excellent bass playing from Nick Antoinette (also reminiscent of Roger Waters' lingering bass lines on Sheep from Animals). Rain and ticking clock effects mark the transition between songs before the Echoes-like keyboard intro of The Holy Innocent, which adds more Gilmour guitar and Richard Wright organ over its own chiming piano. Even a Dick Parry-sounding sax solo is added, although the rousing backing vocals are not quite from The Great Gig in the Sky. As effective as the influence of Pink Floyd is on this album, there is a danger that it is becoming overused. Nor is final track, All That Is, with its Crowded House vocal feel, immune to the Floyd guitar, keyboards and harmonised vocals (Toni Tennille and Bruce Johnston's Beach Boys pastiche on The Wall).

Admittedly, it would be difficult to write songs about a life time spent in the workhouse and make it uplifting, but I found these dispiriting when I took the time to listen to them. If the lyrics are ignored, the album has a more sprightly feel. Give me Jon Anderson's nonsensical but positive outlook any time. Furthermore, I am not sure how some of the lyrics, the ethnic voices and artwork fit into the album's concept of a Victorian workhouse, appearing more Australian, with their aboriginal and desert imagery. The band reminds me of Mostly Autumn with their overt reproduction of the 'Pink Floyd sound', defined by guitar, organ and echo-y drums, but without the Celtic elements. They also bring to mind the Victorian romanticism of Big Big Train.

As good as Anubis, Mostly Autumn and others may be, if I want to hear Pink Floyd, then I will play my Floyd albums. By comparison Meddle, Dark Side and Animals are punchier and funkier, because Waters and company did it first and best. In Towering Silence, Anubis have recorded one of the better neo albums, but I would like to hear them with less Pink Floyd touches and more of their own input. There is something endearing about bands who make albums in a British/ American style, but who are geographically isolated, in this case in the southern hemisphere, which leads them to produce something with an added dimension. Anubis could yet be a convincing example.

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Subsignal - Touchstones (GoldenCore 2011)




Touchstones Tracklist:
01. Feeding Utopia
02. My Sanctuary
03. Echoes In Eternity
04. The Size Of Light On Earth
05. As Dreams Are Made On
06. Wingless
07. Finisterre
08. The Essence Called Mind
09. The Lifespan Of A Glimpse
10. Embers – Part 1: Your Secret Is Safe With Me
11. Touchstones
12. Con Todas Las Palabras

Touchstone Lineup:
Arno Menses: Vocals
Markus Steffen: Guitars
Ralf Schwager: bass
David Bertok: Keyboards
Roel van Helden: Drums


The second half of the 1990s and the early noughties saw the rise of newly formed bands 'expanding' the boundaries of traditional so-called progressive metal by, "Introducing electronic/spacey elements, investing heavily in lyricality and/or syncopation and further rhythmical experimentation. Also the idea of thematically conceptual albums has returned in accord with the practices of the progressive metal pioneers. Well-known examples in this category are Ayreon, Pain of Salvation and Riverside" (as defined in Progarchives' Prog Rock Guides: What is Progressive Rock ?/ The Genres [or Sub-genres] of Progressive Rock/ Progressive Metal/ Modern Progressive Metal). Subsignal is one such progressive rock band. It was originally formed in Germany as a side project by Sieges Even members Arno Menses on vocals and Markus Steffen on guitars, but after the main group disbanded, they recruited former Dreamscape members Ralf Schwager on bass and David Bertok on keyboards, along with Suncaged drummer Roel van Helden. Touchstones is Subsignal's second album.

Opener Feeding Utopia combines mildly prog-metal guitars with sparkling lead vocals borrowed from Jon Anderson, multi-part harmonies from Yes and a chorus from Manfred Mann's Earth Band. However, it hints at a forthcoming progressive rock style which is never fully realised. Complex Kansas-ish harmonies are again employed on My Sanctuary, this time with Mike Oldfield guitar, but while this blend seems promising, the track again disappoints in drifting towards AOR and avoiding an all-out progressive approach. Echoes in Eternity has full on prog-metal guitars, and this seems to be where the heart of Subsignal really lies. As on track one, backward tapes (probably computer) are employed. A strong melody, a strength of the band, and a trip-hop feel are in evidence too. Subsignal are melodic and catchy if nothing else and in a way that is missing from many modern progressive or hard rock bands. Dare I say it, there is even an added neo touch from more of lead singer Arno Menses's Anderson vocals, filtered through It Bites? Roel Van Helden is of the Neal Peart school of drumming in that, more is more. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing; he does not overuse the double-kick and is constantly busy driving the band out of introspection. Lyrics are traditional progressive rock nonsense, but effective nevertheless.

Keyboard player David Bertok is a bit underused, which may be what is holding back the band, but he introduces As Dreams Are Made On with some Keith Emerson piano touches (from Tarkus). As always, the harmonies are complex and well considered, but Markus Steffen's Ralph Schwager's grinding guitars are never far away. Wingless reminds me, in its floatiness, of Lifesigns, a modern band that uses soaring neo guitar and keyboards (I recommend their self-titled album). Another superb melody underpins Finisterre; David Bertok's keyboards again shine and the use of acoustic guitar to emphasise the heavy rock is like that of Michael Schenker in his solo work. A sense of deja vu comes not just from the neo intro of The Essence Called Mind, but the neo-inflection of the harmonies. Regrettably, by the graunching guitar intro to The Lifespan of a Glimpse, my concentration is beginning to waver. As a duet between Menses and a female vocalist, a la Evanescence, it is well done. Embers - Part 1: Your Secret is Safe With Me is a slow melancholic track, which introduces strings and a returning trip-hop feel. Melancholy reeds introduce Touchstones, which has interesting vocals and keyboards, but they are marred by turgid distorted guitars. Thankfully, Con Todas Las Palabras closes the album on an epic ballad, built on Genesis keyboard textures and rising Mike Oldfield guitar parts.

Listening to Subsignal's Touchstone is a frustrating experience; Arno Menses is that rare creaure, an excellent singer in a modern progressive rock band; the harmonies are not only present, but intricate; Roel Van Helden works hard on drums; and the band have undoubted technical ability. But . . . there are the prog-metal guitar cliches, along with the traditional progressive rock, neo and AOR guitar/keyboard stylings. The answer would be to: decide on a definite style rather than drifting between them; bring the keyboards more to the fore, while abandoning the heavily distorted guitars; and editing the album length. Having said all this, I enjoyed the listening to the album and I will definitely be seeking out more from the band.


Originally written in September 2013. In keeping with the best laid schemes o' mice an' men, I did not seek out more from Subsignal.

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My Journal: Rabbiting On

Big Ears

Frontiers by Journey (Columbia 1983)

Putting hope in front of fears




Tracklist:

Side One, Vinyl
1. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain) 5:23 - Single one
2. Send Her My Love (Perry, Cain) 3:55 - Single four
3. Chain Reaction (Perry, Neal Schon, Cain) 4:21
4. After the Fall (Perry, Cain) 5:01 - Single three
5. Faithfully (Cain) 4:27 - Hit single two

Side Two, Vinyl
6. Edge of the Blade (Perry, Schon, Cain) 4:30
7. Troubled Child (Perry, Schon, Cain) 4:29
8. Back Talk (Perry, Cain, Steve Smith) 3:17
9. Frontiers (Perry, Schon, Cain, Smith) 4:10
10. Rubicon (Perry, Schon, Cain) 4:19

Bonus Tracks, Reissue 2006
11. Only the Young (from the soundtrack of Vision Quest) (Perry, Schon, Cain) 4:18
12. Ask the Lonely (from the soundtrack of Two of a Kind) (Perry, Cain) 3:55
13. Liberty (Schon, Perry, Cain) 2:54
14. Only Solutions (from the soundtrack of Tron) (Cain, Schon, Perry) 3:33


Lineup:
Steve Perry - Lead Vocals
Neal Schon - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Jonathan Cain - Keyboards, Vocals, Rhythm Guitar on 'Back Talk'
Ross Valory - Bass, Vocals
Steve Smith - Drums, Percussion

Also
Randy Jackson - Bass on 'After the Fall'

Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Mike Stone


Journey began life when former Santana members, guitarist Neal Schon and keyboard player Gregg Rolie, joined bassist Ross Valory and rhythm guitarist George Tickner, from the less well known Frumious Bandersnatch. Prairie Prince completed the lineup on drums, but soon rejoined The Tubes, so British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, from Frank Zappa's band, became the drummer. Gregg Rolie was lead singer with Schon, Valory and Dunbary singing harmonies. Journey released a number of fine jazzrock albums, but when Steve Perry joined on lead vocals in 1977, they became a full-on commercial AOR/ melodic rock band. Frontiers was their eighth album and followed their commercial high point, Escape (1980) a number one album in the US album chart, and was itself a massive commercial success, almost matching its predecessor by reaching no. 2.

Frontiers starts as it means to go on with the now well known Separate Ways, the first hit single from the album, with its stomping riff, majestic production and Steve Perry's wonderful voice to the fore. Jonathan Cains' keyboards give the song a hymnal quality and Neal Schon's faultless guitar is the icing on the cake. Send Her My Love, hit single number four, is an unashamed mid-tempo ballad to showcase the heartfelt Perry, but Cain and Schon add their customary flourishes. Perry's screams deserve better than the chug of Chain Reaction, which squanders a strong riff. But, all is not lost with Shon's solo and the beat did have me tapping my foot.

We are back on track with After the Fall, a vehicle for Randy Jackson's snappy bass playing and the Eagles-ish harmonies. Steve Perry's voice snarls and swoops in equal measure, as does Neal Schon's guitar. Annoyingly, the guitar fades on an interesting passage, possibly having something to do with it being hit single three. By the follow up album, Raised on Radio, original bassist Ross Valory was gone, to be replaced by Jackson. Faithfully, hit single number two, is another spiritual sounding piece and all credit goes to Perry for finding the emotions for a song written by Cain about the break up of his marriage while on the road.

I came to Edge of the Blade after playing Jorn Lande's cover version (from Starfire 2000) until I wore out the tape and, sadly, the original now suffers as a result. Journey open with driving guitar, bass and cowbell, to be joined by a restrained growl from Perry. The layered keys are reminiscent of Geddy Lee's on Subdivisions (Signals 1982). Journey's original differs from Jorn's cover, in that Starfire's keyboard player and producer, Dag Stokke, plays his instrument as a lead instrument, while also encouraging more of an attack from Lande. Cain's keys, on the other hand, wash around the track and Perry is more ironic in his delivery. A stroke of genius was in Stokke and Lande adding a pounding Journey-style baa-ba-ba-baa-baa harmony phrase to the track, which is entirely absent from Journey's original.

Troubled Child is a slow ballad and contains all of what became the Journey cliches, with the jangling guitar and keys, the soaring voice and the rising finale. However, it is no less beautiful for all its recognisable features; the melodies, the chorus and the lyrics are all sublime. Steve Perry is that rare creature, an original lead singer (even if he occasionally sounds like Rod Stewart). If Troubled child is the introspective chalk then Back Talk is the rhythmic cheese, being a take on the Bo Diddley beat. Frontiers is also rhythmic (both songs were co-written with drummer Steve Smith), but has a complexity more in keeping with the early jazzrock incarnation of the band. Schon's retrained guitar and the intricate vocal parts are a joy to behold. The vinyl version of Frontiers closes appropriately with Rubicon, which has an intriguing lyric, perhaps about the band's change of style(?), and an unusual time signature.

There are four bonus tracks on the 2006 remaster, Only the Young, Ask the Lonely and Only Solutions are from the soundtracks of Vision Quest, Two of a Kind and the excellent Tron Respectively. Liberty was previously only available on the compilation of rarities, Time3. All are strong and worth owning. To conclude, Frontiers is a very good album in spite of its huge commercial success and in the face of the band changing their style from a jazzrock Santana spinoff to AOR/melodic rock pioneers.

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My Journal: Rabbiting On

Big Ears

End of the Beginning



While working on a review of ELP's Love Beach, which was becoming the case for the defence that I had wanted to write for so long, I decided to make it my last post on Music Banter. The bulk of the text was written in about a day and then, typically of me, I sat on it for several weeks, during which I decided to leave MB altogether. MB came to my attention after leaving another forum, where I was otherwise content, but for a troll. A new home for my 'rabbiting' was not my intention at this stage, I was just looking for forum reviews to inspire my own. However, a number of threads in the prog and psychedelic rock sub-forum were interesting and I began posting. The Prog Rock Album Club attracted me and, crucially, Trollheart inspired me to use a members' journal for album reviews - something which had never before occurred to me. Unwisely, I returned to the old site, which did not work out (as one cannot 'reheat a souffle'), and found myself drifting again.

It was another chance thought which brought me back to MB. Some forums provide a surprisingly short amount of time in which to edit a post. For someone like me, this a problem as, no matter how careful I try to be in order to perfect a review, I spot errors after posting . . . and often continue to refine them. To some forums, who want quick posts, this is probably trifling. The marvellous thing about the Music Banter members' journals is that they can be edited months, if not years, later - as I returned to test completely satisfactorily. Nevertheless, the banter part of Music Banter has not worked for me, which can be a good thing and has kept me out of mischief, but man cannot live on reviews alone. Also, as a general music site, it is not the place for an old fashioned headbanger. If anyone knows of an old style site with a long editing time, please PM me!

The whole purpose of the above is to (pardon the cliche) draw a line under my time at MB and hopefully to leave a tidy conclusion to this, my first and only proper journal of reviews. In true Gwyneth Paltrow-style, thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read my rabbitings, to TH for the original idea and to Unknown Soldier for his positive replies. The eventual destination for the Love Beach review? Possibly one of the bigger progressive rock forums, just to redress a balance!

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My Journal: Rabbiting On

Pet_Sounds

What can I say? I hope you return. This journal is one of my favourites, and you're a fantastic writer. I'm glad to have known you.

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease