Esoteric according the G-man, on his Facebook page, reviewed here "Alchemy"...
Sometimes, I wonder why I do this to myself.........after the “Elements” album being quite, shall we say, “challenging”, I was consumed with curiosity, bearing in mind I'd never heard any of their albums before now, to see what happened next........
…..to which the answer is........things got “less challenging”..... you can see this review is really gonna help, can't you.......
With a whole CD and a bit of previously unreleased tracks, let's start with the “Alchemy” album itself. The whole package is instrumental – get that out of the way first – and the main album is a whole lot more cohesive and structured than what came before, or it certainly sounds that way. For the first track, against a shuffling tabla rhythm, the violin, or viola, interweaves with the oboe and the effect is both mesmerising and hypnotic as the instruments kind of stride along with the textures counteracting and creating an almost melodic feel to the density. The 10+ minute “Ghetto Raga” that follows, is, however, the first time for this band, that my ears (lol) pricked up and something really grabbed me, coz this track is an absolute gem. Again, with tabla rhythms to the fore, the viola and oboe continue to weave, soar, drone, stride and fly over the ever gathering rhythmic clouds and something akin to Terry Riley meets Indian, unfolds in all its glory to remarkable degree and itr's this track that makes you think “thank the heavens I bought this album” as, despite what comes next, you somehow manage the resist the urge to loop this and make it last about 10 hours, never mind 10 minutes. There follows a couple of 3+ minute tracks that are more sedate, as the tabla rhythms calm, the strings plink and pluck and drone their way to infinity while the oboe continues to whirl and swirl, the whole thing achieving that Philip Glass/Terry Riley kind of cyclical nirvana, but injected with greater texture, less intensity and more melody.
“The 8+ minutes of “Egyptian Book Of The Dead” (kinda gives it away, really) starts more of a wail before the slow tabla beats begin, the dervish like dance of the oboe begins and it all gets rather rhythmic in a quite unexpected but delightful way, as the cello unfolds a mournful meandering underneath, and you can just picture the boat with the body on it, floating down the Nile, as the mood darkens, the strings shimmer eerily and the beats keep beating.
From there on in, things swing to and fro from slowly sailing to wickedly dervish swirling and most points in between, the whole album a huge step up from the first and, although I never thought I'd say this, something I'll be listening to again when the mood is right (you know, funerals, bad news, your girlfriend's dumped you – that sort of mood). As a bonus there are two 6 minute tracks froma 1969 “Top Gear”session which continue the mood of the album, only here in a “live” situation, the viola and cello sound incredibly Cale-esque (that's John, not JJ) while the oboe is just sensational sounding with the tablas as the heartbeat that keeps it all alive – superb stuff and a thoroughly excellent CD.
The extra bonus CD consists of all previously unreleased tracks from recordings made in 1968 (back to “challenging” although not quite as harsh) plus tracks recorded at Abbey Road studios in 1969 which are more varied yet consistent with the moods of the main album, but I won't go into detail as (a) you'll be bored, and (b) life's too short. Suffice to say, the main album is a stunner so give this a go and if you only ever own and love one Third Ear Band album, this is definitely going to be the one.
no©2019 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)
