earthlab's blog
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Sunday, May 20th, 2007
New Review of ELEMENT CD from concreteweb.be
28 Apr 2007
New review of ELEMENT from concreteweb.be
Current mood: Dreaming on a sunny afternoon....
Category: Dreaming on a sunny afternoon.... Music
Howdy Folks....
Here's a new review from our VERY HEAVY frendz at concreteweb.be, an online zine for most things metal and harder....
Review copyright and courtesy of Peter (cosmicmasseur)..... Many thanks for this.....
Review as follows:
Band : Earth Lab
Title album : Element
Record label : Earth Lab Records
Distribution : Bertus
Release date : 2007
Review : CD
Although Element is Jerry Richards' first solo album, the UK guitarist is most widely known for his mid nineties membership of Hawkwind . The terranauts included on Earth Lab is bassist Winston Blissett (Massive Attack), drummer Jon Moss (Culture Club), synth player Alf Hardy (Sonic Boom's Spectrum), friends Chris Alridge (sax and flute), Robin Hill (drums, synth and percussion), Barry Jones (bass). Bandmates from Hawkwind also appear, including Simon House (violin), Steve Taylor (bass), Steve Swindells (vocals and keyboards) and Ron Tree (vocals),
At first listen my reaction was to stop listening and shove it aside. But the music sneaked up on me with each next spin and now I have come to like it a lot. The spacerock label does not seem to fit Element but it is good music so who cares for the correct label!
The music itself is a splendid mixture in a myriad of styles and incorporating influences from around the globe. This is exemplified in opening cut "Separation by Skin" which effortlessly blends an Eastern vibe with a heavier Western rock sound. On tracks like "Liquid Crystal Clear" and "Back Seat Angel" you can hear the deep bass beats that aren't too heavy, but inject a trip hop, mellow mood! "Digital Age" is a an up-tempo hawksong with a contagious beat.
All the tracks are lengthy pieces, 5 to 10 minutes, which evoke a variety of moods and atmospheres, and contain a mix of instrumental and vocal sections. The use of instruments such as the sax, violin and the flute also conjure up images of Pink Floyd, High Tide and Los Dug Dugs , an obscure Mexican seventies power trio.
Jerry Richards is not only a gifted player, but obviously a versatile guitarist as well, and this shines through in the material.
Element really showcases Richards' talents as a multi-dimensional composer. I hope he takes this set out on the road so I get the chance to hear these numbers live.
88/100
Cosmicmasseur.
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| Posted By earthlab @ 5:51 PM | [Comment on this blog post] |
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