Fave band is Marillion, but I'm also into Moody Blues, Yes, Camel, Genesis, Crimson and pretty much ...
Fave band is Marillion, but I'm also into Moody Blues, Yes, Camel, Genesis, Crimson and pretty much anything which came out in 1971.
I also find time for Bowie, Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Donovan and The Goodies.
Member since:18.10.2006
Reviews:4
First of all, better get the technical stuff out of the way. This is a two-disc set, the first disc contains the original album remastered on SACD. It plays stereo on a CD player and...er stereo on an SACD player (even though the sleeve states there's a quad mix).
The second disc is a normal CD which contains seven alternate versions, two studio songs previously available on the collection 'Prelude' (and 'Caught Live +5'), five live sessions tracks and one b'side.
The packaging is a big cardboard fold-out thingy which takes up quite a bit of shelf space and the plastic slip-case is a nice touch. The booklet is very informative but... NO LYRICS. Such a shame as I really wanted to read along while stroking my beard.
This is the period of the band before Justin Hayward really took over and it's surprising how democratic everything is. More or less two songs by each member of the band (plus one poem by the drummer and one co-written). So first of all it can be quite a surprise to find lots of other people singing the songs. However this all works surprisingly well as each member brings their own philosophy and talents to the table.
It's hard to find highlights on this album as the whole thing is just so good. Special mention must go to the astonishing 'Legend of a Mind,' (complete with flute solo) and 'The Actor' which is probably one of Justin Haywards greatest songs ever, but really, the whole album is just one long, wonderful trip.
Highlight of the bonus disc has to be the Justin Hayward version of 'A Simple Game' (finally sung by Mike Pinder, both versions appear here) and the instrumental version of 'Visions of Paradise' which makes you wish for the whole album in instrumental form!
Anybody who already knows this album and is wondering whether to buy it again, the answer is a great big 'YES!' The new mastering makes this the best CD version so far, revealing loads of little details which were lost on the previous, rather muddy version. That, plus the amount of rarities on disc 2 make it an essential purchase for anybody who's already a Moody fan.
And if you're not, well you ought to be and this is a perfect place to start (well, actually, start with 'Days of Future Past' and then buy this).
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