Desolation Rose - The Flower Kings

Desolation Rose (The Flower Kings, 2013)

1. Tower ONE - 13:37
2. Sleeping Bones - 4:17
3. Desolation Road - 4:00
4. White Tuxedos - 6:30
5. The Resurrected Judas - 8:24
6. Silent Masses - 6:18
7. Last Carnivore - 4:22
8. Dark Fascist Skies - 6:05
9. Blood of Eden - 3:13
10. Silent Graveyards - 2:52

Bonus disc:
1. Runaway Train - 4:41
2. Interstellar Visitations - 8:25
3. Lazy Monkey - 2:25
4. Psalm 2013 - 2:11
5. The Wailing Wall - 3:19
6. Badbeats - 5:25
7. Burning Spears - 3:16
8. The Final Era - 2:58

I'm probably reviewing this album too soon. Each time I listen, I find more subtle intricacies and carefully interlaced themes linking certain songs together. It is one of the Flower Kings' most carefully constructed and intentional albums, something of an oddity in a band known for its free-wheeling, expansive musical excursions.

With the uniformly dark song titles, I wasn't sure what to expect. Had the Kings gone death metal?  Thankfully, no - grand melodies, jazzy interludes, stately themes, heartfelt vocals, and bright yet complex arrangements abound as usual. Lyrically, the album is a sober semi-allegory about societal evil, personal confusion, and the search for hope. Intriguing images abound: the bones of a predator lie beneath the silent soil of Eden, kings and spies machinate in dark edifices, a Beatrice-like guide leads us through dark lands as we descend in ashes. I don't know if I could cobble together something half as good, and English is my first language.

Overall, the songs focus on human greed, war, and oppressive government, and individual responsibility. They juxtapose a personal hope of salvation with the state of the earth, almost putting them in conflict. The most frequent lyric on the album is "In silent graveyards, they look for saviors / A promised land beyond all prayers / A land where all the suffering is gone / And no one will bring you down / While the road to desolation lingers on..." The album is a call to action on earth, rather than waiting for heaven.  (Though Chesterton has it right - without the hope of heaven, there isn't much on which to base earthly improvements.)

The bonus disc is a testament to the intention of the album, since all the songs on it are very good and worthy of being more than just "bonus", but they don't carry the weighty theme. On the double albums of the Kings' past, these would have been the breathers between grander opuses. Cut mercilessly from the "official" album, they serve as an excellent set of creative instrumental compositions and up-beat progressive pop songs, a short but substantial record in their own right. The boys from Sweden are still at the top of their game.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 sober semi-allegories

It Makes Me Glad - Glass Harp

It Makes Me Glad (Glass Harp, 1972)

1. See Saw - 2:16
2. Sailing On a River - 3:40
3. La De Da - 5:48
4. Colt - 3:24
5. Sea and You - 4:14
6. David and Goliath - 2:51
7. I'm Going Home - 2:41
8. Do Lord - 4:24
9. Song In The Air - 2:41
10. Let's Live Together - 3:53

Glass Harp's third and final album sees the band still very much in the vein of happy 70's rock with a folk acoustic basis. The rough edges of Synergy have been honed off, and the songs provide a solid melodic framework for John Sferra's tasteful percussion, Dan Pecchio's muscular bass guitar and reflective flute, and Phil Keaggy's liquid guitar solos. More cohesive as an album, this overall strength detracts a bit from individual song spontaneity, especially in the first half, but the second half has some of the band's best rock, classical, and progressive songs.

On the whole, the band swaps out flashy virtuosity for tasteful arrangement and augmentation. "See Saw" and "Sea and You" are relaxed ballads featuring close harmony vocals, calming flute, and swells of volume-pedal guitar. "Sailing On a River" and "Colt" are good hybrids, marrying acoustic finger-picked chord progressions with more up-tempo rock elements, particularly Pecchio's athletic bass guitar lines and Keaggy's multi-tracked guitar harmonies fluttering over all.  The only weak moment for me on Side A is "La De Da", a laid-back stepchild of "Hey Jude". It still has enjoyable elements, particularly Keaggy's constantly inventive guitar fills, but, like its inspiration, it goes on a little long.

Side B instantly starts on a stronger footing.  "David and Goliath", "I'm Going Home," and "Do Lord" form a delightful progressive rock trilogy. The instrumental "David and Goliath" is a playful bolero with a gorgeous cascading melody on guitar and a little rhythmic play as it shifts effortlessly in and out of 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4. The transition into "I'm Going Home" ushers in a hand-clapping, feel-good rocker with celebratory vocal harmonies and impressive work from the rhythm section (and, of course, more mind-blowing guitar). The band's hard rock adaptation of the old spiritual "Do Lord" provides a stellar outlet for Keaggy's unbridled melodic guitar improvisation, and a satisfying conclusion to the ten-minute musical excursion. Closing numbers "Song In The Air" and "Let's Live Together" are equally strong, the first with its folky melody sung joyfully by Keaggy, and the second with another round of foot-stomping, singalong celebration.

While I do think that Keaggy would release stronger music as a solo artist, his work with Glass Harp provides a fascinating insight into his development as a musician, while still standing proudly on its own merits.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 playful boleros

Retrospektïẁ I+II - Magma

Retrospektïẁ I+II (Magma, 1981)

1. Theusz Hamtaahk - 36:05
2. Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh - 40:05

This live double-album was the first time anyone who hadn't been to a concert could hear part one of the trilogy, Theusz Hamtaahk.  I'm not sure why it was never recorded in the studio. Maybe the band had too many other works in progress, maybe the timing was never right, maybe the record company (bewildered that their groovy jazz rock band had become a war-like alien choir) put down their collective foot. Whatever the reason may be, Theusz Hamtaahk is every bit as intense, dramatic, and rewarding as Magma's best, and I'm just thankful it wasn't left to linger solely in the memories of concert-goers.

Theusz Hamtaahk starts out with an abrupt, machine-gun-like chant (same as Ẁurdah Ïtah), which cycles through menacing melodies before dying down to a half-tone pulse (think the fast part in the music for Jaws). This pulse relentlessly climbs the scale for the next eleven minutes. Curt vocals and synthesizer carve out a jagged atonal melody, and harmony female vocals swell and ebb upon the turgid waters, releasing the monotony of the slow and steady build at just the right moments. When you think you'll never escape the semi-musical vortex (somewhere around the 17-minute mark), the vocalists burst forth into a song about "da zeuhl wortz mekanik", and from there the dramatic choir takes over the direction and feel of the piece. Celebratory jams with bubbly vocals and synthesizer transition dizzyingly into aggressive rhythms and calm respite. 

The apex of the piece comes at the 26-minute mark: Everything dies down to mysterious chords on electric piano, with synth arpeggios percolating in the background. Two male vocals begin a monotone incantation building up to repetitions of the phrase "Theusz Hamtaahk" (sounds like "tuce omtok"), slow and spooky at first, then building into a forceful, lung-busting war chant. The piece ends with another vocal celebration that ratchets up the intensity to an enormous cathartic release. The audience applause subsides to reveal sirens and screams. Chilling!

As if that wasn't enough, we get a full (if significantly altered) live performance of MDK. Without the horns and mass orchestration, hidden harmonic details emerge, and different melodies are highlighted. Not only does the music breathe more, but the excitement of the performers shines through. The performance stays true to the studio version up through track four. However, when the band gets to "Nebëhr Gudahtt", they take a left turn into a lengthy, freeform improvisation highliting bass guitar (Bernard Paganotti) and electric violin (Didier Lockwood). The two prove to be impressive performers, but the section definitely interrupts the flow and feel of the piece, even if it does assert the band's jazz credentials. Coming back to "Mëkanïk Kömmandöh" (track six of the studio album), the group flies through this incredibly complex section, the vocalists tripping lightly over the treacherous rhythms. The performance ends here instead of going on to "Kreühn Köhrmahn Ïss Dëh Hündïn" - a puzzling move for me, but it still gives way to massive audience applause.

It must have been otherworldly to see this music live, much less to perform it. (It's hard enough to sing in a made-up language, but to sing it in a round? In a weird time signature? C'mon...)  Apparently Magma is still a performing band, with Christian and Stella Vander leading a whole troop of young musicians who bring their best talents and enthusiasm to this complex music. I think you have to be in France to have a chance of seeing them, though... C'est la vie.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 lung-busting war chants

P.S. I promise I'll review something more normal soon. You've suffered enough.

Köhntarkösz - Magma

Köhntarkösz (Magma, 1974)

1. Köhntarkösz (Part I) - 15:24
2. Köhntarkösz (Part II) - 16:04
3. Ork Alarm - 5:29
4. Coltrane Sündïa - 4:14

Christian Vander's natural form of expression might be the album-length epic. At this point, all four of their albums were works of high concept that either boasted lengthy standalone pieces (1001° Centigrades) or album-length song suites (Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh and Ẁurdah Ïtah). They were also performing a fourth epic live (Theusz Hamtaahk), but instead of recording that existing opus in the studio like any normal, workaday progressive band would do, Vander opted to pursue an entirely new project.

Still sung in Kobaïan, Köhntarkösz presents a more paced, measured approach to the long-form piece. Perhaps minimalistic compared to MDK, it is still full of interesting melodic and rhythmic experiments, choral explosions, and moments of stark peace and rare beauty. The entire work is based on a three-note upward progression that permutates through various tempos, tones, moods, and arrangements. With this intentional limitation of the chordal movement, the band achieve startling focus and subtle creativity as countermelodies, solos, improvisations, and ominous drones weave in and about the flux of the main theme. The overall tone is dark and mysterious, with moments of blinding light. (Wikipedia says the story is about an archaeologist whose research uncovers a pharaoh prophet with knowledge of the planet Kobaïa. I'll buy that explanation!)

Rounding out the album are two shorter pieces.  Bassist/cellist Jannick Top's "Ork Alarm" features guttural vocals and insistent pulsing cello, with harsh electric guitar screeches punctuating the melee (though, surprisingly, drums are absent). It successfully evokes both orcs and alarms! Abruptly changing gears, "Coltrane Sündïa" is a beautiful coda for several pianos and volume-pedalled electric guitar, bringing the whole to an uncharacteristically serene close.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 moments of blinding light

Ẁurdah Ïtah - Magma

Ẁurdah Ïtah (Magma, 1974)

1. Malaẁëlëkaahm - 3:38
2. Bradïa da Zïmehn Iëgah - 2:18
3. Manëh Fur Da Zëss - 1:36
4. Fur Dïhhël Kobaïa - 4:55
5. Blüm Tendiwa - 3:29
6. Wohldünt Mem Dëwëlëss - 3:30
7. Waïnsaht - 2:30
8. Wlasïk Steuhn Kobaïa - 2:47
9. Sëhnntëht Dros Wurdah Süms - 3:25
10. C'est la Vie Qui les A Menés Là! - 4:58
11. Ek Sün Da Zëss - 2:17
12. De Zeuhl Ündazïr - 3:41

The second part of the trilogy that culminates in MDK, Ẁurdah Ïtah was originally released as a Christian Vander solo album, with Vander playing all pianos and keyboards in addition to his usual vocals and percussion, and only Magma-ites Jannick Top (bass guitar), Klaus Blasquiz (lead vocals), and Stella Vander (vocals) participating. Somehow, it served double duty as the soundtrack to the French avant-garde film Tristan et Iseult (how that worked out, I have no idea),but for all its bizarre identities, it truly is a Magma album, and an essential one at that.

Like MDK, the two sides of the record (1-6 and 7-12) form one 40-minute musical movement, with an intermission in track 6 (which would have been the midway point of the whole trilogy as well). The tone palate is more focused compared to MDK: only bass guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes, and various drums/percussion make up the instrumentation, and the number of singers is reduced to three. That doesn't mean the music is any less adventurous. Turbulent chants and rhythms mingle with more reflective arias, celebratory choruses, and the occasional brain-stretching experiment.

Rhythmic play is the key to this album. My favorite part might be the beginning of "Fur Dïhhël Kobaïa" when the music dies down to a shaker or some other hand percussion, then a solitary vocal with piano comes in, at first in time with the percussion, then slowly increasing in pace while the rhythm holds steady. When the vocal reaches the new tempo, the rhythm falls back in time, but its character is changed. The album is full of similar subtle intricacies in rhythm, harmony, and structure.

Based on the overall arc of the music and the tenor of the vocals, I feel like this album portrays a time of negotiation between the Kobaïans and the Earthlings. Perhaps a Kobaïan messenger or prophet is preaching like Jonah to the Ninevites, while the humans, dead to the beauty of Kobaïa's celestial music, make ready for war.  But of course, I'm making all that up, since the tale isn't meant to be literal, and it's all Greek to me anyway. I'm not making up the quality of the music, though. This impressive opus is filled with alien melodies, dazzling rhythms, elemental jazz, symphonic compositional structures, and masterfully placed musical cues to tie it to the other works in the trilogy. Not to be missed for those so inclined.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 reflective arias and celebratory choruses

Prince Otto - Robert Louis Stevenson

Prince Otto (Stevenson, 1885)

Stevenson's second novel Prince Otto followed the wildly successful Treasure Island. Though the plot boasts a little turbulence, it is a much more poetic, comic, and philosophical work. Mixing romance, political drama, character study, and humour, it follows the last few days of a small (fictional) German kingdom before the populace revolts against its ineffectual sovereign.

We first meet Otto when he's off on a little incognito excursion through his lands to hear what the people are saying about him. We learn quickly that they see him as an oblivious, pleasure-seeking blunderer whose wife and prime minister are misgoverning the country and having an affair behind his back.  He tries to regain control of his family and his kingdom, but true to character, he intends much more than he accomplishes, and he is only good for witty repartee. His honest desire to change struggles against his habitual self-effacement and self-doubt.

It's a testament to Stevenson's prose that this fairly simple, uneventful story still commands interest, and in several scenes, excitement. On the whole, though, I think the plot and characters, while rendered perfectly for what they are, do not offer as much as Stevenson's other books. The story arc is intended for some sort of redemption for Otto, if not as a prince then as a husband, but his self-abnegating qualities that led him into error are difficult to correct.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 ineffectual sovereigns

The Body-Snatcher and Other Stories - Robert Louis Stevenson

The Body-Snatcher and Other Stories (Stevenson)

More excellent examples of Stevenson's short story stylings.  In addition to "The Body-Snatcher", "The Sire de Maletroit's Door", and "Olalla", we encounter:

"The Pavilion on the Links" - Praised by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this tense, claustrophobic novella tells of two loners in love with the same woman who try to protect her criminal father from the Italian mafia. In a house on a barren beach riddled with quicksand, they await the arrival of their private boat, hoping it comes before the pursuing avengers close in.

"Markheim" - A dark Christmas story, equally inspired by Faust and Crime and Punishment, the title character wrestles with conflicting thoughts while committing a senseless crime.

"The Bottle Imp" - An ingenious twist on the genie legend, this fantasy story involves a magic bottle that grants infinite wishes to the owner with no consequences - unless the owner cannot sell the bottle to someone else before their time runs out...

"The Beach of Falesa" - Gritty realism and colonial greed play out in this novella of the South Seas. The narrator, an uneducated British trader, arrives at Falesa to manage his company's trading post, which has seen the sudden death of several of his predecessors.  Fake marriages, manipulation of the natives, and the absence of morality make this something of a precursor to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Weir of Hermiston - Unfinished at Stevenson's death (he was dictating Chapter 9 to his daughter-in-law when a stroke stopped him mid-sentence), this Scottish novel presents several striking, flawed characters as it examines family, rebellion, disappointment, and the love triangle. The projected plot would have incorporated some turbulent action and a dramatic legal dilemma as father tries son, but what we have are shards of sometimes brilliant, sometimes tedious character portraits. The tedium comes from page-long descriptions which hopefully would have been tightened, had he had the chance to finish and edit the work. Regardless, it is an intriguing first section that shows Stevenson at the height of his narrative art.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 pursuing avengers

The Merry Men and Other Stories - Robert Louis Stevenson

The Merry Men and Other Stories (Stevenson, 1887)

Stevenson's pithy prose works to good effect in the short story/novella format. The stories here deal with sin and retribution, family curses, unexpected good fortune, and stoic philosophy.

"The Merry Men" - A young man travels to see his distant uncle and cousin on an isolated island farm and to search for sunken treasure. However, he finds his uncle sorely changed by storms, shipwreck, and secret sin.

"The Treasure of Franchard" - An ex-doctor in a French country town adopts an orphan boy after talking with him and seeing in him the "child of his mind". Unlucky in business, untrustworthy with riches, the doctor finds that his impulsive act of love rewards him more than he could ever have predicted.

"The Body-Snatcher" - A medical student tasked with stocking the anatomy classroom becomes entangled in dark and unsavory deeds.

"Olalla" - A convalescing British soldier in Spain lodges with a strange family. Once cruel nobles in the land, the remaining scions of the line are almost feral, except for the beautiful, haunted daughter Olalla.

"Will O' The Mill" - Stevenson traces the quiet, introverted life of a country boy whose unorthodox philosophy and actions earn him a reputation for wisdom in the surrounding area. More a prose poem than a story, my only complaint is that it goes on a little too long. The conclusion is sufficiently moving, though. Perhaps the best touchstone here is Ecclesiastes.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 dark and unsavory deeds