|
"Ace of Spades"
from compilation
Sheep in Wolves' Clothing CD
| ". . . 'Ace of Spades' like you ain't never
heard. Odd grooving spacey lounge ambient and tribal percussion
rocking." -- Jerry Kranitz,
Aural Innovations #40 |
"If you have a half decent hi-fi system,
(which I don't, but I heard these tracks several times in Studio
42), Don Falcone's Production on this is fabulous, he uses every
bit of space available between the two speakers; knockout! For
anyone who never thought they'd hear a 'different' version of
'Spades,' well, this is about as 'different' as we'll ever get!"
-- Alan Burridge, from Interview on Jimmy's
Motörhead blog, April 12, 2008
"Spirits
Burning & Bridget Wishart get to grips with that Motörhead
brand anthem, 'Ace Of Spades' and produces a whammy bar overload
that would not be out of place as a teaser for a David Lynch
bar-room scene but without the bad trip!" --
Jimmy, Motörhead blog, April 11, 2008 |
Alien Injection
| Alien Injection ".
. . space rock lovers would certainly be advised to check out
"Alien Injection" which certainly has something to
offer fans of this style of music." -- Tom De Val - DPRP,
Vol 41, September, 2008 |
| Alien Injection "An
absolutely successful collective of Space/Psychedelic rock; tripping
with fuzzy hippie sounds between ethnic and Krautrock that echo
through the æther with an extremely fascinating journey
that is far from the here and now." -- Kristian Selm - Progressive
Newsletter, No. 63, August, 2008 [translated from German] |
Alien Injection "The
fourth album by the Spirits Burning collective reads like an
awards list for space rock enthusiasts, featuring donations from
Don Falcone (Weird Biscuit Teatime), Daevid Allen, Michael Moorcock,
Pete Pavli (High Tide), Adrian Shaw (Bevis Frond), Larry Thrasher
(Psychic TV), and Bridget Wishart (Hawkwind), plus members of
Dark Sun, Melting Euphoria, Mushroom, Quarkspace, Secret Saucer,
ST 37, University of Errors, and others. The early contributions
concentrate on the guitar riffs but later works bring in more
exotic instruments with a particular emphasis on strings.
. . . Quite a hefty package but the variety of ideas
and quality of its players makes this a worthwhile addition to
any stoner's album collection." -- Richard Barnes, Sea
of Tranquility, September 2nd 2008 [ full review ] |
|
Alien Injection "Spirits
Burning is a project that brings together a great number of artists
(Daevid Allen (Gong), Michael Moorcock, Pete Pavli (High Tide),
Adrian Shaw (Bevis Frond), Larry Thrasher (Psychic TV), and Bridget
Wishart (Hawkwind), plus members of Dark Sun, Melting Euphoria,
Mushroom, Quarkspace, Secret Saucer, ST 37, University of Errors,
Weird Biscuit Teatime, and more...) all interested in the psychedelic
side of Prog. As you can tell, many of them are of well known
groups.
Partly because of what I've just written, the music on "Alien
Injection" is very varied. On different tracks I hear hints
of The Doors, Pattie Smith, Tom Waits, Grace Slick... and also
of some of the groups of the artists involved in the project,
but the music is never derivative of any band or singer, and
also it is not very "radio friendly".
Still Alien Injection is a very interesting music project,
this because of the great quality of the people involved. Spirits
Burning is a group that should be seeked out by lovers of psychedelic
experimental music in the vein of what was produced in the late
sixties and seventies." -- Marc, ProGGnosis, June, 13, 2008
|
| Alien Injection "
. . . packaging its Spirits Burning as an alternative to these
cosmic small rock orchestras . "Alien Injection" is
a long, exciting and dreamlike journey through space. Long live
the space-rock!" -- Donato Zoppo, MovimentiPROG, July 2009 (Average rating:
8) [translated from Italian] |
Alien Injection "Spirits
Burning is a musical collective overseen by American composer/producer
Don Falcone that has released a pluralistic combination of ambient,
jazz and full-on space-rock with input from many of the genre's
luminaries. Boasting contributions from notable members of Gong,
Jefferson Starship, Hawkwind and others of their ilk, Spirits
Burning has become a respected melting pot of the space-rock
fraternity.
This year Falcone
has been working overtime, first on a collaboration with former
Hawkwind singer/songwriter Bridget Wishart (the recent Earth
Born) that leaned towards a Massive Attack/Bristol sound, and
now with this heavier 'bass and electronics' incarnation of Spirits
Burning. On Alien Injection, Falcone has not only recruited such
consummate musicians as Daevid Allen, High Tide's Pete Pavli
and Adrian Shaw of Bevis Frond but has gained permission to rework
demo-recordings by Hawkwind collaborator and noted Science Fiction
author Michael Moorcock.
'The hawk in my room won't leave me alone' suggests Falcone on
'The Hawk' and, indeed, there's a legacy shared by most space-rock
outfits that turns much of what is produced under that guise
into something approaching glorified Hawkwind tribute status.
Spirits Burning however, always transcend the limitations of
the two-chord riff and, as Alien Injection proves, Falcone has
many intriguing ways to present his ideas." -- Ian Abrahams,
Rock N Reel, July-August 2008 |
| Alien Injection ''Alien
Injection must be metabolized as long as necessary, because it
tastes of the labyrinth from which you do not want to quit -
to discover ever more details, tracking sounds, no escape."
-- Riccardo Storti, Mentelocale.it, 10 June 2008 [translated
from Italian] |
| Alien Injection "Strap
yourself in, pull down your mask, we're headed for the psychedelic
reaches of outer space. Things get off to a very trippy start,
swirling in a melting maze of mystery, with a different singer
on every track (and some outstanding vocalists one might add)
which continues to build as it goes. . . The journey definitely
goes to some places you've never been. Recommended!" -- Peter Thelen, Expose, #34, March 2007 |
Alien Injection
"Alien Injection is quite different from Found In Nature,
being much heavier and including vocals on many of the tracks.
Things begin on a hard driving space rock note with the title
track, with Kev Ellis on vocals and backed by a powerful backing
band including deep grooving bass from DarkSanttu, appropriate
alien synths and classic prog mellotron from Don. What a great
opening number! "New Religion" is next and is another
strong track, with more powerful bottom end from Ade Shaw's bass,
excellent vocals from Karen Anderson (whose congas also add a
nice tribal groove to the song), gliss guitar embellishment from
Daevid, and freaky electronics from Don. "Alpha Harmony"
is a completely cosmic jamming space rocker with a nice bluesy
edge and spoken word vocals from Thom The World Poet.
Damn nearly every track is a winner on this one and
I'm tempted to go on at length on all of them, but I'll control
myself and just describe a few of the other standouts so you'll
get the idea. Anyway, "Augustus" starts off as a jazzy-proggy
cosmic instrumental with a great electric/acoustic guitar combo
from Doug Erickson and Dave Figoli, more tron from Don, and sax
leads from Purjah (Quiet Celebration) that go beautifully with
the mellotron lines. It flows along for a bit but then took me
by surprise by launching into a killer space rock and prog jam.
"Another World" and "Salome" are the tracks
with Bridget on vocals and I think they turned out really good.
"Another World" is deep in 70's styled progressive
rock territory, with gorgeous tasteful guitar soloing from Steve
Palmer and classic prog keyboard sounds from Don. And "Salome"
is a tribal hippie psych song with an Amon Düül II
flavor. "The Hawk" is another standout space rock and
prog tune. It rocks hard in space and Jerry Jeter's guitar sounds
like something off an album from the early 70's. This sucker
ROCKS! Ditto for "Imported Serpents", on which Purjah
switches to guitar and cranks out some of the most fiery licks
on the album. "Upturned Dolphin" is an otherworldly
piece, with Daevid on spoken word vocals, Graham Clark on violin
and dual guitars from Jay Radford (electric) and Michael Moorcock
(acoustic). We've also got a few tunes ("Every Gun Plays
Its Own Tune", "The Entropy Tango", "Ingleborough")
from Michael Moorcock's Deep Fix days, but with additional new
material that makes for some interesting tracks. Overall this
album really blew me away and is probably my favorite of the
first four Spirits Burning albums." -- Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations #34 |
Alien Injection "It's
a fine album that once again features a lot of musicians who
have worked in other musical endeavors. Wishart herself shows
up on two songs on this disc. Michael Moorcock also guests on
this CD and wrote several of the tracks. Members of groups like
Gong, Hawkwind (others besides Wishart), Mooch and Dark Sun are
also featured. The music here is in many ways similar to the
space rock produced by Hawkwind. It's not limited by that label,
though. Instead they wander into neo-classical, jazz, RIO and
other sounds. I hear echoes of Patti Smith in at least one place,
Pink Floyd (Barrett era) in a couple others and Anubis Spire
here and there. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. This
disc should definitely be of interest to Hawkfans, but prog fans
in general (assuming they have an adventurous spirit) would be
well advised to check it out. It's a good one!" -- Gary
Hill Music Street Journal April 2008,
Issue 69
|
Earth Born
| Earth Born ".
. . a big BRAVO to Don Falcone for yet another exciting album.
The spirit of Spirits Burning is the bringing together of multiple
talents, and, it would seem, bringing out the best in them. Kudos
also to Don for spotlighting Bridget and facilitating a showcase
for her talents. I highly recommend visiting the official Earth Born
web site." -- Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations, May, 2008, Number
39 |
| Earth Born "I
must say that I was pretty off balance at first, when Spirits
Burning released and album with virtually no space rocking. However,
the album's tracks are so exquisite and pleasant that they attracted
me. After listening to the CD a few times it started to open
up in a whole new way and has since proved to be a very pleasant
experience. Some fresh air after all the heavy, psychedelic space
rocking." -- Dj Astro, Psychotropic
Zone April 14, 2008 |
Earth Born "Don
Falcone always gets some amazing musicians to help out on his
Spirits Burning albums and this one is no exception. Earth Born
does have a twist though, there was such a major contribution
from Bridget Wishart that it's almost her solo album with Spirits
Burning as the backing band. I guess I would say that this CD
took me by surprise a bit. Not because it's better than I though
it would be, I have a few Spirits Burning albums and I think
they are great. What surprised me was how poppy the material
here is. For once that isn't a bad thing at all and I really
appreciate the lighter mood present here."
--
ffroyd, Progressive Ears March 2008 |
Earth Born "Since
this disc features performances from a number of people who have
been involved with Hawkwind (most notably Wishart herself) comparisons
to that band are obvious. A lot of the music lives up to that.
In fact a good deal of this disc reminds me of a more pure progressive
rock oriented Hawkwind with some serious jazz thrown into the
mix."
-- Gary Hill Music Street Journal March 2008,
Issue 68
|
|
Earth Born "Don Falcone,
guiding light behind the Spirits Burning space-rock collective,
has done sterling work in the genre's service over the past few
years, recruiting many of the scene's leading lights for his
many projects, but he's surpassed himself with this release.
In collaborating with Bridget Wishart, formerly Hawkwind's sole
female lead singer, and member of many 80s festival bands, he's
been able to bring a host of free festival musicians on board
for an album that effortlessly mixes contemporary zest with that
timeless vibe of campfires and ancient stones.
Spirits Burning regulars such as Daevid Allen and Jefferson
Starship's Trey Sabatelli are blended with Wishart's former bandmates:
Rich Chadwick and Alan Davey from Hawkwind, Sarah Evans from
the Hippy Slags and the Demented Stoats' Steve Bemand. The result
is a mature, eclectic and cool psychedelic jazz-rock creation.
Wishart's lyrics are ethereal ruminations on friendships made
and lost on the traveller's trail, of freedoms found under starry
skies or through performance and dance, and of darker undertones:
betrayals, disillusionment and excess. It's a sophisticated and
delicate production, particularly the scene-setting title track
and Wishart's duet with Daevid Allen on 'Crafted From Wood.'
The festival scene is gone, but the lingering memories are well
infused here." 
-- Ian Abrahams Record Collector Magazine Issue 348,
April 2008
|
Found In
Nature
|
Found In Nature "Much
influence from the past, from "classic" psychedelia
of the 70's, but also the modern ... as Spirits Burning knows
how to stir together old and new sounds. . . .natural, full of
positive impulses ... and sincere art." -- Peppe di Spirito,
Arlequins (from translation), 11-13-2006
Found
In Nature "Don
Falcone has again made a huge (although also fun) task of getting
all this stuff together and mixing it, and in my opinion he has
done an excellent job since the album forms a well-progressing
whole and creates an odd, intriguing atmosphere for the listener.
The project's next album, Alien Injection, should also be out
soon, and this time we're in for a bit heavier stuff with some
more vocals, as well. Also Finnish musicians will be included...
" -- Dj Astro, Psychotropic Zone, 03-04-07
Found In Nature
"There's a clear theme on the album as most of the tracks
on Found In Nature are instrumental and to varying degrees in
the ambient/atmospheric realm, though there's lots of variety
and throughout the album you'll find all manner of space rock,
progressive and electronica influences. There are 16 tracks but
among the highlights is "Burning Bush", a groove laden
slab of space jazz that will get your toes tappin' and hips shakin',
though it also has its more dreamy ambient moments." . .
. An excellent album and if you listen close you'll really get
an appreciation for the role Don plays as producer, mixing and
shaping the various parts into tracks that are simultaneously
cohesive and wildly varied. -- Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations
#34, August 2006
Found In Nature This time
round Gong's Daevid Allen plays some spectacular lead (and glissando)
guitar work on seven of the album's tracks, while cohort in a
previous line-up, Graham Clark, contributes his violin skills
to 5 tracks, one with Allen. Tracks range from the surging guitar-driven
dynamics of 'Dolmen', past the soaring violin-led 'Variable Shades
Of Friendship', the solid but calming acoustic ethno-fusion resonance
that is 'Oak, Elm and Spruce', with guitar, synth and flugel
to the fore, the dizzy heights that is 'Ingredients, Pink Lady
Lemonade, Liftoff' with an initial drums-driven intro leading
to high-flying wordless vocals, synths, djembe, bass and guitars
combination that is just superb and the longest track on the
album at nine minutes, through 'Chiaro', a short slice of space
and abstract from three keys/synth players plus guitar, bass
and drums, four minutes of 'Rakasha-Loka' that manages to be
five completely different styles within one remarkably cohesive
track, from calm to attack, the mix of ethnic fusion and Tim
Blake style synths that is five minutes of 'Blue Wings', to growling
calm, King Crimson-like attack and rumbling multi-layered strangeness,
all mostly led by guitars, keyboards, synths, bass, drums, percussion
and effects, but always cohesive, adventurous, atmospheric, layered
and overflowing with interest. The
most varied of the trio to date, and in many ways quite deep,
it's the sort of thing that someone with a flair for cohesive
musical statements and brilliant musicianship/arranging will
really sink their teeth into and find hugely rewarding."
-- Andy G (Dead Earnest)
Found
In Nature ". . . excluding the three tracks described
last, "Found in Nature" is overall a strong collection
of instrumental tunes reflecting multifaceted tendencies adopted
within that genre, some being really transporting. Recommended
to those preferring:-) to travel in space by means of such a
universal carrier as music." -- VM, Progressor, November
13, 2006
Found In Nature "If Spacey potpourri
is your cup of tea, look no further." -- John Collinge,
Progression, #52, Fall 2007
|
"Wilder
Beams of Moon" from (Dead Earnest) compilation Psytrax II
"From the forthcoming Found in Nature album
by the international Spirits Burning project we get to hear an
instrumental called "Wilder Beams of Nature." I hope
the whole album sees a release date soon, at last... this sounds
very promising!" -- Psychrotropic Zone
|
"High
Rise" from Godreah
Records compilation Daze of The Underground, A Tribute
to Hawkwind
"Don Falcone's Spirits Burning project
take on 'High Rise', again retaining the feel and tone of Calvert
but the arrangement turning into this smouldering slice of synths,
awesome rivers of slow-running bass, tight and crisp drum work,
as its decelerated nature gives the track a whole new lease of
life, a makeover that really works, the synths becoming the lead
focus rather than guitars, as the expansive arrangement fills
every part of the sonic panorama to exquisite effect. Then, just
over four minutes in, this magnificent guitar solo just erupts
from the speakers and takes you to a heaven you never knew existed
- simply awesome and another 100% slice of magic that will have
the hairs standing up on the back of your neck." -- Andy
G. (Dead
Earnest)
|
Reflections In A Radio
Shower
Reflections In A Radio
Shower ". . . the
result is a very dense yet navigable sonic maelstrom, with many
layers of sound-adding textures, psychedelic effects, shimmering
gliss guitars and voices to the basic tracks. There's a lot going
on in every track . . . and even after many listens, this writer
is still hearing new, as-yet-undiscovered parts with each successive
listen." -- Peter Thelen, Expose, #25, August 2002
|
Reflections In A Radio
Shower [5 Stars] "While
not a masterpiece, "Reflections In a Radio Shower"
is by all means an excellent album. In my view, it is way better
than any of the solo albums ever released by Daevid Allen. Certainly,
this album should please not only the fans of Gong and Hawkwind,
but also all those who miss the sound of Classic Space Rock of
the 1970s." -- Vitaly Menshikov. ProgressoR, May,
2002 [Full version]
|
Reflections In A Radio
Shower "All
in all this album is a strange trip, taking up the baton where
Gong (& others) left off, and is if you like a chilled-out
psych supergroup , creating mesmerizing hypnotic melodies and
including absolute masterpieces. . .
If you like psych and chill-out, you'll love
this, best listened to with a big fat spliff and a lava lamp
bubbling away." -- James Turner, Wondrous Stories,
#122, Mar, 2002
|
|
Reflections In A Radio Shower "Released exactly two years after the first
Spirits Burning (New Worlds By Design), the new Reflections In
A Radio Shower CD is, like its predecessor, a "gathering
in space" organized by Don Falcone, the man behind Spaceship
Eyes, Quiet Celebration, and other projects. At a mere glance
one might think this is a compilation. But in fact, Spirits Burning
is an ambitious project involving creativity by cyberspace and
mail. Space rock musicians from around the globe uniting (conspiring?)
to bring a unique collaborative effort to thirsty ears everywhere.
Feast your ears upon this star-studded cosmic cast including
members of Mushroom, ST 37, The Moor, Quarkspace, Melodic Energy
Commission, Inner City Unit, Mooch, Primordial Undermind, plus
Daevid Allen, Carl "Nomuzic" Howard, and others.
Among the highlight tracks is "Second
Degree Soul Sparks" which has spoken word by Calvert, Daevid,
and Thom the World Poet, plus a banquet of space synths that
are both ear piercing and heavenly, droning didgeridoo, and trippy
rockin' guitar from Daevid Allen and Judge Trev. A nice cosmic
opening track. "New Spell" is a trio of Daevid's gliss
guitar, Michael Clare on bass, and Don Falcone giving a dancey
drum 'n bass groove to the music.
Beautiful cosmic space and tripped out beats. "Clear Audient"
has a classic prog rock feel, particularly due to Kenneth Magnusson's
mellotron and Judge Trev's delectably
tasty guitar licks. Like Steve Hackett playing with King Crimson.
"Hidden Rope Trick" has some nice tasty space guitar
from Daevid Allen. "Eye = I" is a Mushroom led track.
Tribal, bluesy jam rockin'... it's about the rawest and most
rollicking music I've heard from the Mushroom clan yet. I really
liked Jerry Jeter's vocals on the most recent Spaceship Eyes
CD and am glad to hear him singing here on "Intelligent
Sparkling Fish" and "Walking Shadow."
"Gods At The Top Of The World"
and "Elliptical Orbits (Over and Out)" are the two
lengthy tracks on the CD. The former starts as a raw space rockin'tune,
and then transitions to a jazzy space jamming piece by the members
of Mushroom. I like the way Judge Trev 's
heavier guitar sound works with Mushroom. Continual AM radio
voice samples contrast with the cosmic space, horns, guitars,
and synths to make for a freaked out jam. Half of "Elliptical
Orbits (Over and Out)" consists of heavy driving spacey
prog rock. I really like the combination of Daevid Allen's guitar
and Teed Rockwell's Chapman Stick. The other half is a rant from
Thom the World Poet, a charismatic and inspiring artist whom
I've had the pleasure of hearing several times as M.C. at the
Strange Daze festivals and Quarkstock 2000 festival. Good choice
for a closing track.
In summary, Spirits Burning is a testament
to what people can accomplish working together to create without
being hindered by distance. It's clear that several of these
tracks include contributions coming from multiple directions
and there are lots of examples of contrasts that ended up working
well together. Kudos to Don Falcone for assembling it all into
a wonderfully coherent whole. Come here to experience the true
depth of space..."
--Jerry Kranitz
Aural
Innovations
|
|
Reflections In A Radio Shower "If the first one was a runaway
success supergroup project, this one is, if anything, even better.......
To fill you in, the idea is that the mastermind musician behind
the project, Don Falcone, plays musical phrases and ideas onto
DAT, gives that to a musician who adds more and then passes that
on to someone else and - lo! - the tracks are created. The list
of participants could hardly be more impressive: Daevid Allen
(Gong), Karen Anderson (Psi Club), Robert Calvert (Hawkwind -
sampled), Michael Clare (Daevid Allen's University Of Errors),
Knut Gerwers (The Moor), Carl Howard (Bron To Go), Kenneth Magnusson
(The Moor), Mushroom, Roger Neville-Neil (Farflung+Hawkwind lyric
writer), ST 37, Stephen Palmer (Mooch, Blue Lily Commission,
Spaceship Mooch), Doug Pearson (Primordial Underground, Dogbreath,
Mushroom) Neil Pinnock (Mooch), Trevor Thoms (Nik Turner's Inner
City Unit), Paul Williams (Quarkspace, National Steam), Pete
Wyer (Mooch), Don Xaliman (Melodic Energy Commission) and more.
Musically, we're talking quality and range, breadth and class,
dimension and expansion. With 16 tracks and more line-ups than
you can shake a stick at, detailed reviewing is a pleasure but
I don;t have the space here, so let me say that the album opens
with a four minute piece that features a Calvert spoken intro,
Hendrix sample, a dual guitar lead from Allen/Thoms, '72-era
Gong-like bass, swirling synths from Palmer in an early Hawkwind-y
style, plus bass, samples, and more to create a brooding piece
of psychedelia-meets-Kraut/Space Rock with a '73 atmosphere and
one steaming gem of an opener. The four minutes plus, of track
two is a languid slice of space-ambience-meets-'72-era Gong with
some gorgeous guitar work from Allen over the loping bassline
from Clare around and behind which the synths, samples and percussion
from Falcone, fill out the mix to create one sensational, slowly
rhythmic ambient instrumental masterpiece.
Track three features no less than ten players, including a
reading from Calvert ('Centigrade 232'), another Gong-style bass
line, a single-line chorus and the whole thing feels like a mix
of classic space-rock/psych ambience with classic early seventies
Gong, as Falcone, Howard, Palmer, Jerry Jeter on lead guitars,
Pinnock, Anderson & ST37 create a sparkling array of layers,
melodies and textures. Track four is a three minute instrumental
that revolves around keyboards, the treatment of said keyboards,
guitars, bass and drums, coming over as a slightly dark but rhythmic
piece that echoes the sadly unrecorded Laswell group Zu that
transmutated into Material, and hints of Eno tracks around the
"Another Green World/Apollo" periods. Track five features
an almost King Crimson-like lineup with bass, keys, mellotron,
Chapman stick, electric guitar and drums, while musically has
hints of "Clear Light Symphony" as much as anything
(if you know that classic album) with some splendid work from
all the musicians including Magnusson, Clare, Thoms, Williams,
Falcone & Teed Rockwell on the Stick. The three minute track
six is a piece composed and largely played by Mushroom, remixed
by Falcone, with added mellotron way up front from Magnusson,
and short it may be, but total class it certainly remains, a
sort of laid-back jazzy, proggy ambience. Track seven features
Allen sounding for all the world like Robert Wyatt on the wordless
vocals and then just like his old familiar self on the actual
song, while his lead guitar cascades down like slow-motion rain
showers, as Falcone, Pearson & Palmer provide the synths
backdrop on the shade-under three minute slice of ambient/Gong-like
magic.
Track eight is an eleven minute job, with the lion's share
of the work from Mushroom, Pearson & Falcone, guitar from
Thoms and a quite epic composition that starts with solid percussive
rhythms and phased almost Neu-like guitars, drops to a melting
pot of samples, loops and keys all really spacey/atmospheric
as the band begins the main body of the piece with solid layers
of samples, hot guitar figures, as much textural as melodic,
a laid-back series of echoed guitar/synth lines and a track that
is now slowly progressing on some kind of vast intergalactic
voyage, as assorted sounds, landscapes, layers and textures pass
by, all so psychedelic but in a very spacey manner. Gradually
it picks up steam to turn into one giant cauldron of guitars,
keys, samples, synths, drums, bass and trombone, the individual
instruments almost being indistinguishable in the molten musical
soup that is unfolding gloriously around your ears, altogether
one stunning piece of musical creation. Track nine at a touch
over six minutes includes no less than sixteen participants,
sounding for all the world like some lost gem from an early Amon
Duul album with drums, guitars, bass, percussion and flute creating
that all-important early seventies Krautrock-esque atmosphere
as guitars shoot off and drums/percussion provide the solid rhythmic
backdrop, with a hint of very early Can in there too.
The next six tracks last between one and a half and four and
a half minutes each, with assorted line-ups, some absolutely
cracking psychedelic-space-Krautrock music that mirrors the feel
of what has been heard up to now and is every bit as riveting
listening, the longest track being the one song featuring a hugely
expansive backing from guitars, synths, keys and drums, the three
lead guitarists being Thoms, Joel Crutcher & Mark Stone.
While the just under two minutes of track fifteen are thoroughly
chilled out featuring Falcone, Palmer & Xaliman on synths
plus Rockwell on Chapman Stick, all so wondrous and you wish
there could have been a lot more of this one, as you do for much
of the rest I have to say. Finally, the last track, at eleven
minutes, features Allen, Anderson, Clare, Falcone, Rockwell,
Wyer & Thom The World Poet, is an instrumental piece that
is the album's most psychedelic gem with the guitars, synths,
Stick, drums, bass creating a sort of ambient-psych-Crimso style
melting pot of textures, swirling leads, expansive backdrops,
textural subtleties, and again, a chilled-out ambience that is
almost unique to what is essentially a rock band at work.
Totally satisfying it has a spacious quality to it all, as
ever totally demanding your full attention - and getting it with
interest. Overall, this is a seamless, class and 200% quality
album that is a masterpiece of creation, will be satisfying listening
for years to come, easily eclipses the first one (and THAT was
a gem) and can quite easily be said to be genuinely an essential
purchase for a wide variety of music fans ac ross an equally
large stylistic range. It's consistent, enjoyable, brilliantly
assembled and produced, and throughout, it sounds like each musician
was present in the studio on each track concerned. It just doesn't
come any better than this."
--Andy G (Dead
Earnest)
|
New
Worlds By Design
|
New Worlds By Design "Sometimes
I lose track of exactly what I have in my collection. CDs can
lie around for months before I dig them out and put them on the
CD player. Such was the Spirits Burning CD New Worlds By Design.
What was this? Why was it sat in my
collection?
I had a look at the credits - and it
all came rushing back to me. Spirits Burning was a project created
by Master Ambience himself, Don Falcone - he of Spaceship Eyes
and a plethora of other projects. And the accompanying cast reads
like a Who's Who of Psychedelic Rock. First up, the Gongmeister,
Mister Daevid Allen. Also check in the ubiquitous Steve Wilson
of Porcupine Tee, No man, etc. And special appearances by former
Can vocalist Malcolm Mooney and Pressurehed's Thomas Grenas.
Add elements of various of today's top psych-rock bands including
Anubian Light, DarXtar, Melting Euphoria, NemeSis, Pressurehed,
Quarkspace and SubArachnoid Space - as well as Don's own Spaceship
Eyes touring band, and you have a line-up which makes Live Aid
look like a village fete!
And the music What music! The harmony
of the spheres teleported to Tibet on back of some rather large
silver machine. Everyone has brought their own sounds with them,
and rather than try to use their skills to forge a new sound,
they have melding elements of everything into one large CD-shaped
psych-rock mosaic. Basically, if you like your music with extra
Gliss and Celestial Synths - you need go no further!
And as a result, the range in styles
across the tracks is vast. On one hand, you get the very Spaceship
Eyes-influenced ambience like the opening track Solar Campfires
with its sound effects and minimal melodies. Compare that to
the space rockiness of Arcturus featuring Thomas Grenas. This
is pure riffing guitars and bubbling synths and could easily
have come from one of the 1970s Hawkwind albums. And change again,
and you get the guitar-heavy, but very Mother Gong-sounding The
Unknown. Each track is different, and as a result you end up
with a melded compilation of the best of contemporary space rock.
My favourite track is possibly Beautiful
Stealth, In A Church, which is Daevid Allen at his best. A hoarsely
whispered Gongish poem overlays some gorgeously ambient effects
- and I love the imagery describing Bond Bergland's Stealth guitars
because that describes it so well! I say 'possibly' my favourite,
because each time I listen to this album, something new crops
up in a track I previously missed; after all there are seventeen
tracks here - it's easy to overlook one.
Also worth a mention are The Ticking
Of Science and The Eagle Has Landed, as this is where Steve Wilson
and Malcolm Mooney respectively guest. Ticking was initially
a bit of a disappointment, although to be honest, you can never
predict what Mr.Wilson is going to come up with next. I kinda
hoped for some scorchingly ambient guitar solos - but instead
the guitars are rather low-key. At over 13 minutes though. This
is twice as long as any of the other tracks, and even without
extended guitar solos, it is incredibly effective. I must remember
was Mr Hillage said - not a guitar hero; a guitar zero. The Eagle
is a bit of cheat really. Rather than being a joint effort, it
is merely a Malcolm Mooney & The 10th Planet track licensed
for inclusion of this CD. Mooney fans will already know it -
and to be honest, I don't think it fits here - it is obviously
rawer and lacks Don's soothing touch; as a result it stands out
amidst sixteen other ambient tracks. And as for Daevid Allen,
well he features on seven of the tracks, and is pretty obvious
on all. Would you expect anything else?
The best way to describe this album
would be as a musical barbecue in Don Falcone's back garden.
He invites everyone he knows to come along - and bring a vibe.
Everyone turns up, throws their vibes in with Don's (after all,
as a good host, you are expected to make sure you have enough
vibes for everyone!) and everyone mucks in. And like all good
barbecues - it doesn't rain, the neighbours don't call the cops,
and the vibes last long into the night. I just hope they all
hung around and helped clean up afterwards!" -- Frank
Blades, Alternative View, February, 2001
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New Worlds By Design
"... New Worlds By Design is the first full-length album by Spirits Burning.
(Don) Falcone used the Internet to create this debut CD; he asked
around for contributions to his project and got a massive response;
musicians from US psych bands like Melting Euphoria, Pressurehed,
Anubian Lights, Farflung, Zero Gravity, The Brain, Spiral Realm,
Quarkspace/National Steam, F/i, Subarachnoid Space, Quiet Celebration
and Saqqara Dogs offered their assistance, but also people like
Daevid Allen and Steve Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Scandinavian
groups like DarXtar, The Moor and NemesiS contributed to the
making of this CD. Falcone wrote or co-wrote songs and used the
Internet possibilities of digital music transfer to create 17
tracks (77 min), each bearing the distinct mark of their composers
and/or performers. Not every track is an instant classic but
the majority of this versatile brew of '70s-'90s psych rock and
ambient electronics is very much OK and offers enjoyable listening
to anybody into the modern electronic side of rock. Check it
out." -- Crohinga Well
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New Worlds By Design
"Perhaps Musea's best kept secret, Spirits Burning
is ex-Melting Euphoria/Spaceship Eyes/Thessalonians Don Falcone's
latest 'band.' . . . The material here generally falls in an
area between space rock, electronica, experimental, and psychedelic
- all working together in varying degrees, resulting in an interesting
recipe that offers a good sense of variety, but also has a definite
purpose and direction. . . . New Worlds By Design has
a far more aggressive rock-based perspective punctuated by flourishes
of electronics and psychedelica. . . . Challenging and experimental,
yet remarkably accessible, this disc should appeal to those into
the Hawkwind/Neo-Psych axis with a thirst for forward-looking
ideas. Recommended."
-- Peter Thelan, Exposé #20, October, 2000
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New Worlds By Design "The brainchild of Don "Spaceship
Eyes" Falcone, Spirits Burning began life in 1986 as a band
and has cropped up in recent years on a few Cleopatra tribute
CD's and in concert. In 1998 Don sent out invitations to numerous
spacerock musicians to join in a group project that in most cases
involved Don sending out tapes that the various participants
added to. And looking at the lineups on each track it's clear
that many of these tapes traveled between more than two points.
The result has got to be one of the most ambitious projects of
1999. It is, as Don describes it, "A Gathering in Space."
Among the many esteemed contributors are Daevid Allen, Steven
Wilson of Porcupine Tree, members of Can, DarXtar, Quarkspace,
Farflung, F/i, SubArachnoid Space, Melting Euphoria, plus various
other contributors. There are 17 tracks running a full 76 minutes
and the music runs the gamut from spaced out drum 'n bass to
full blown heavy Hawkwind-styled spacerock. Getting too deeply
into each track is impossible but I'll single out a few of my
favorites that cover the stylistic range on the CD.
By Design, Arcturus, and Snakebite Serum
are the heavy spacerockers represented on the set. By Design
is a potent space power rocker with crunchy guitar from Joe Diehl
pumped up by the keyboard combo of Don on organ and Paul Williams
(Quarkspace) on Prophecy. Arcturus is a heavy spacerocker
from Len Del Rio and Tommy Grenas (both of Pressurehed, Farflung,
Anubian Lights, and more). And Snakebite Serum is a fast-paced
rocker with blazing guitar from K. Soren Bengtsson (DarXtar),
along with saxes, tablas, and a heavy keyboard backbone.
There are also numerous soundscape atmospheric pieces on this
CD, though they are far from being simple floating electronica.
In nearly every case the music has numerous layers of synths
and spacey guitars which add a bit of complexity to the dreamy
environment. Beautiful Stealth, In A Church includes several
contributors that create an aural collage of sound using mostly
synths, but also Daevid Allen on gliss guitar and Knut Gerwers
reciting a freeform style of poetry. The Ticking Of Science
is partly a Tangerine Dreamy soundscape work, but includes drum
'n bass beats and loads of bleeping freaky synth sounds. At 13
minutes it gets to stretch out a bit and continually changes
direction and rhythms. Smart Messages In The Sand is another
track that grabbed me with its techno beat, many layers of synths,
and gorgeous soaring guitar.
The disc also includes a few song-oriented tracks. Secret
Invention is an electro-pop tune that is as complex as it
is simplistically toe-tapping. Speak To The Wind has a
New Wave rockin' feel with a thudding bassline and loads of freaky
space sounds. And The Unknown is a heavy rocker with dual
smoking guitars and Karen Anderson on vocals.
Finally, Arc - A Real Creeper, is an atmospheric piece
with gliss guitar and poetry from Daevid. Don had told me earlier
about how Daevid Allen was at his home and found his college
thesis of poetry on the shelf and just started reciting from
it. The result is a freaky but floating tune that serves as a
fitting close to this fine collection.
In summary, there is something for all spacerockers on this collection.
A true spacerock supergroup effort that combines a variety of
talents. Gazul is a sub-label of Musea and your best bet for
obtaining it in the USA is through Wayside Music."
-- Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations, January, 2000, Number
9 |
New Worlds By Design
"The brainchild of American musician and Spaceship Eyes
main man, Don Falcone, this is a project whereby pieces of music
or single phrases or just solo excerpts of all the tracks were
started by Falcone and the tapes then sent all round the world
to the musicians, asking for them to make contributions to the
track, from excerpts to the whole track, in many cases. The amazing
result of all this is not only a stellar line-up of musicians
that will make your jaw-dropped in amazement, but a set of seventeen
tracks in seventy-six minutes of which every one is so cohesive,
flows so well, and delivered to perfection, so that you'd swear
that on each track, all the participants had been in the studio
at the time of recording.
Stylistically, it covers a wide amount of mostly instrumental
ground from mainly instrumental space-rock, with nods to prog-rock,
Krautrock and contemporary to wild prog-fusion and chilled-out
acid-rock - virtually everything to make up a truly classy album
that will have a massively wide appeal, built around a predominant
instrumentation of drums, electric bass, electric guitars and
synths on each track but almost all tracks possessing a huge,
solid sound and production that places them firmly in the more
prog/ Euro-/ jamming side of rock and space-rock, in the vein
of classic jamming bands such as Ozrics, Tribe of Cro, yet here
the whole thing is a lot more cohesive, less bombastic, less
indulgent and more on-fire, full to the brim with original ideas,
inspired playing and superb execution, editing, production and
sound. But you'll hear some truly outstanding guitar work in
particular, with some great spacey synths and on-fire rhythm
section work from the likes of Gong's Daevid Allen, Don Falcone,
Paul Fox, K. Soren Bengtsson, Pressurehed's Len Del Rio, Farflung's
Tommy Grenas, Sub Arachnoid Space's Mason Jones, Porcupine Tree's
Steve Wilson and loads more, with Daevid Allen playing some fantastic
electric guitar and glissando on quite a few of the longer tracks
on the album, showing he can still play a mean guitar lead, while
the penultimate track is written largely by and features Can's
Malcolm Mooney.
Overall, it is a loud, exciting, mainly space-rock style project
that is so much more than it seems in a review like this and
you really should give it a chance whether you are into space-,
prog- or psychedelic rock styles and want to hear something fresh,
different, melodic, rhythmic, exciting, powerful and invigorating
- every track is superb. To single out any particular contribution
or to dissect each track would take more space than ever I've
got here, so just indulge yourself in one awesome CD - a winner
and no mistake." -- Andy G (Dead
Earnest)
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New Worlds By Design "Solar Campfires pushes
drum'n'bass to its epileptic consequences, while the keyboards
sustain mechanical patterns in the vein of industrial music and
doodle in the vein of Morton Subotnick's electronic dadaism.
By Design detonates the electronic fabric with a bluesy,
hard-rock riff which develops into a full-fledged, dense and
pounding, Hawkwind-style, space-rock suite.
The horror riff that propels Arcturus, the pow-wow dance
of Triquetrium Delight, the techno torpedo of Avatar
444, not to mention Suicide-like threnodies and free-form
noise suites, are the highlights of a diverse collection that,
with a little more self-control, could have rivaled Brian Eno's
Before And After Science for the digital generation."
-- Piero Scaruffi |
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