Earthstone - Seed


Year of Release: 1994
Label: Kinesis
Catalog Number: KDCD 1012
Format: CD
Total Time: 59:22:00

Being fed up with all the problems caused by a band, Chris Philips decides in 1990 to record his music completely on his own. Meant to be a cassette-album, copies are also mailed to record companies (you never know!). Suddenly Chris finds himself with a recording deal with the American Kinesis label.

With the help of studio owner Chris Bond, work starts on the recording of this Seed CD. Like in so many cases with people who want to do EVERYTHING on their own, the drum parts are programmed. Opening tracks "Seed" and "ELF" are no good at all to open the record: much too superficial, not enough depth and, above all, weak compositions rather than the "knock-em-dead" tracks which openers are supposed to be. "The Hand Of Glory" is better, but then again it's an instrumental where Philips conjures some nice synth so-los out of his pocket.

Earthstone certainly doesn't want to copy the sympho from the seventies. The group wants to be original and progressive for the nineties. Earthstone wants to combine the complexity of King Crimson and Rain Tree Crow with the electronic wizardry of Hawkwind and Ozric Tentacles spiced with the seventies-sounds of Van Der Graaf Generator. A first example of this can be found on "Unicorn Home." A carpet of dark keyboard sounds is the basis for "Llid The God," where Philips gets the time to put into music the feeling of the universe. In "The Splintered Sky" Philips has taken on the Peter Gabriel voice to get to an honourable result. It strikes me that Philips has lots of difficulty in reaching the high notes. Therefore the end result of the song sometimes is negative.

However there's a big BRAVO for the epic "In The Winter Of The Night" which holds some splendid guitar playing and small brooks of Hammond organ. Pity about the sound of the drums though. No, for the next CD Earthstone has to look out for a real drummer! I must confess the Earthstone music is indeed "new" pro-gressive rock in every way. Unfortunately they are still lightyears away from Porcupine Tree!


Tracklisting:
Seed (4:47) / E.L.F. (7:20) / The Hand Of Glory (6:04) / Unicorn Home (7:04) / Llid The God (4:17) / The Splintered Sky (6:58) / The Set (6:03) / Whitlingham Lane (4:56) / In The Winter Of Night (10:48)

Musicians:
Chris Philips - guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals, programming
Chris Bond - programming and additional keyboards
Mark Richards - guitar (8)

Discography:
Seed (1994)
These Are The Days That Were (exp. Summer 2008)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: May 15th 2001
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.myspace.com/earthstoneuk
Hits: 3079
Language: english

  

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