Name: In The Region Of The Summer Stars (1 LP Gatefold Sleeve)
Brand: VINYL
SKU: 50088383
Price: 22.7 GBP
Availability: InStock

In The Region Of The Summer Stars

Rating

Album: In The Region Of The Summer Stars (1 LP Gatefold Sleeve)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Fool/The Falling Tower	More Info...
2)	Death, the Reaper	More Info...
3)	The Lovers	More Info...
4)	The Devil	More Info...
5)	The Sun	More Info...
6)	The Last Judgement	More Info...
7)	In the Region of the Summer Stars	More Info...

Performer Notes

The Enid: Robert John Godfrey, Francis Lickerish, Stephen Stewart, Dave Storey, Glen Tollet.
This record was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Punk swept in just as this glorious swathe of prog rock appeared, even though it had been recorded a year earlier. A concept album based on the tarot deck, it features Robert John Godfrey's orchestral keyboards pushing against guitar work that ranges from the sublime to the metallic. Like so many prog bands, the classics raise their heads here, in influence if not in cribs, whether it's the Rachmaninov-style piano of "The Lovers," the Bart¢k harmonies of "The Fool...the Falling Tower," or the epic "The Last Judgement," where a rhythm based on Ravel's "Bolero" builds into a theme from a Latin mass before soaring to a climax. The title cut, on the other hand, is lazily pastoral and lilting, reflective until the heavier middle section, then slowly fading away. Really, the closest this band comes to rock as we know it is on "The Devil," where heads get down, but never quite bang. It's well worth noting that the CD version is different from the original vinyl, not only in tracks but even down to re-recording some tracks without some of the original members, which offers a different perspective. Comparing the two, it has to be admitted that the original version comes off better in its delicacy and freshness, although the newer recordings do make better use of the available technology. ~ Chris Nickson

Professional Reviews

Record Collector (magazine) (p.78) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] fluid, atmospheric record that threw the musicians' rulebook out the window and looked to construct a new one."