ECHOES OF EDENSONG

OH-MY-GOD. This band has once again knocked my socks off. The first track, BENEATH THE TIDE is a masterpiece . I haven't heard a song this dense since THICK AS A BRICK or something from YES from the 70's. The layering, harmonies, and melodies will blow you away. A double bonus is that you get the live version of this track from the 3RP concert. Lorelai, the 2nd track, was written for the Haiti Projekt benefit and left me with chills the first time hearing it. The percussion and background vocals are breathtaking and haunting. Granted, half the album contains THE FRUIT FALLEN tracks, but they are never before released live tracks that sound as good or even better than their studio counterparts. Furthermore, TO SEE BUT NOT BELIEVE was a bonus track on the previous album, and now we have it as its own track! I can't emphasize how good this band is. It's really nice that they released something for their fans, because we've been dying since the release of THE FRUIT FALLEn. This compilation is a tasty appetizer and leaves us panting for more. I can't imagine how good the next album will be. i hope this band doesn't fall through like so many other bands in the industry. Disaster strikes so often when bands lose touch with their ingenuity and inspiration. This band is so good that I'll keep my faith in them. Don't let me down EDENSONG!!!!!!

Two years after their well received debut, which was largely a recording effort by James Byron Schoen with help of some guest musicians, Edensong is a full blown band again. Again, because they were a band under the name Echoes of Eden in the late '90s. That band was a trio, consisting of Schoen, Anthony Waldman and Benjamin Wigler. After a reunion on stage during 3RP in 2009, Waldman became the permanent drummer for Edensong, and an old Echoes of Eden track, Beneath the Tide was re-arranged and re-recorded by Edensong. The track is indeed a nice piece of progressive metal, in the vein of some of the tracks of The Fruit Fallen but with more metal influences, consisting of interleaving metal riff driven parts and more melodic (acoustic?) guitar parts. Toward the end, the metal riffs disappear for a while, in favour of a melodic piece that is carried by guitar and keyboards akin in sound to older Genesis material, with Barry Seroff's flute appearing as a nice contrast to the closing riff. The second track, Lorelai is a ballad, played on acoustic guitar and sung nicely. It might have fit better on a full concept album, now it gets a bit lost amongst the heavier tracks. It's a song with a good cause though, it was written to support the fundraising and support for victims of the Haitian earthquake in January 2010. After Lorelai, it's back to the more metal akin side of Edensong, with the complex, multi layered To See but not Believe. The potential of guitar, keyboard, vocals and the availability of flute is put to good use here. Here I have to mention that Mike Lunapiena is the cello player for Edensong, but it takes a while to spot his sound when listening to the album the first couple of times. After the three new tracks, we find well played live renditions of Beneath the Tide and the tracks Reunion and The Sixth Day from the band's debut. These three allow those who haven't seen the band live to enjoy the sounds of different line ups and additional guest musicians. It's good to know that the band can deliver on the promise of the debut album in a live show, and as with The Fruit Fallen, I keep waiting for the day the band does make the trip across the Atlantic. If not, I can only hope my vacation in Canada goes through next year and Edensong plays close to where I am then. As far as judgement of this album goes, it's nice to know the band is still there, and that new things are underway, but overall I think The Fruit Fallen will get more playing time than this one.

I have waited to weigh in on this one for over a month because of the nature of this album. Billed as an EP, but with 60 minutes of music. "New" material that is NOT really new. Half studio, half live. What is it exactly?

It is what it is stated to be. An album built around a favorite old composition of the band from an earlier incarnation, designed to keep Edensong fans interested until an album of all new material appears, hopefully in the near future. Given this stated objective, the album is an overwhelming success. The album begins with the above-referenced song, "Beneath The Tide." This has been a staple of the live Edensong shows for years, but apparently no satisfactory recording of it had been made. Accordingly, this unfinished business was attended to. This song alone, is worth the price of the album. It seems to have everything one could want in a song, be it prog or not. Like the songs from "The Fruit Fallen," this one has intelligent lyrics and great composition. However, it has that special something that is not easily definable. It can get your toes tapping, your head bobbing and cause your flesh to be covered in goosebumps. It is, for lack of a better word, "exciting." Just when you think, it can't get any better, the 5th track is the live version of the same song from their first big show at the 3RP festival in Pittsburgh in August, 2009. As someone who was lucky enough to be there I love the way that this version ramps up the intensity, adds a little virtuosity, and lets James Byron Schoen do what he does best; serve up incredibly impassioned live vocals. I can still visualize the flautist, Barry Seroff, completely unable to keep his body from spastic gyrations as he let go with a flute solo that seemed perfectly suited for the piece and kept the incessantly cresciendoing final chapter soaring to its conclusion. The biggest dilemna becomes choosing whether the studio or live version is better. My advice; feast on both.

The second song "Lorelai" is a ballad which provides a great counterpoint to "Beneath The Tide." Melodic, ethereal, and haunting it stands on its own, as well as providing a bridge to the third song "To See But Not Believe." To me, the inclusion of this track was, initially, a puzzling choice because it also appeared on "The Fruit Fallen", as a hidden track. However, due to the fact that it was so well hidden on the first album that some listeners may not have even found it, the choice makes more sense. In any event, the song works perfectly here. It is a high energy piece which also displays the characteristic Edensong mood shifts. It also is a great transition from "Lorelai."

Next comes the live performances. First, a terrific version of the classic "Reunion," from Progday, also performed last year. This song meanders through the familiar territory of its studio counterpart, but with increased energy and the everpresent passionate live vocals. This recording demonstrates the ability of the band to deliver the goods in a live setting. After the live rendition of "Beneath The Tide," there is a short (hidden?) metal type intro that begs to be finished, but unfortunately is not. This leads into the album's finale, the powerful "Sixth Day." Although this live recording from the Terra Incognito festival in Quebec, is a little lacking in the engineering, the excitement of this song comes through loud and clear! This album is every bit, the incredible and unique sonic experience of "The Fruit Fallen," which I found to be a masterpiece. Accordingly, I must also give this one 5 stars. However, if the abovementioned quirks bother you, I can understand taking off 1/2 to a full star. They obviously don't bother me.

The US outfit EDENSONG started out as a band back in 2002, but by 2006 it had become the creative vehicle for musician and composer James Byron Schoen. Following the release of Edensong's debut effort "The Fruit Fallen", the band was back in action, however, and while crafting a new album's worth of material, they decided to provide their fans with a tidbit in 2010. Cue "Echoes of Edensong", sporting 15 minutes of new material, an official release for the hidden bonus track on their first CD and three live recordings, clocking it at just under an hour in length.

While I can't really see this hybrid album recruiting many new fans for Edensong, their existing fans will most likely find this production to be a nice acquisition while waiting for a sophomore effort. The live takes of their previous material are arguably the main points of interest, but ardent fans might want to get this due to the previously unreleased material anyhow.

My first exposure to Edensong came in a flood of new material that was the Haiti Projekt. Released earlier this year, it contained 40 songs from 40 different bands and the proceeds were donated to help the people of Haiti after that tragic earthquake. As you can imagine, with that many songs by that many different bands, it was easy for many of them to sort of blur together for a number of listens. One of the immediate standouts, though, was an Edensong track called "Lorelai." Their name was instantly added to my "groups to check out" list. When I heard their latest release, Echoes of Edensong, I have to confess I was at first put off by how different the other five tracks on this almost-album/almost-EP were from "Lorelai," (which is also included on the release). Not that I expected them to all be the same, but the light touch of the orchestration in the very mellow, almost dream-like "Lorelai" makes the more hard-hitting nature of songs like "Beneath the Tide" and "To See but not Believe" sound like they were done by a totally different, but equally good band. But that's the great thing about this kind of music, isn't it?

The opener of the album is "Beneath the Tide," and after giving it a few listens to get used to its various arrangement quirks, I think it's an amazing tune. An album's worth of great musical ideas packed into ten minutes, and it all seems to work. "Beneath the Tide" and "Lorelai" make Echoes of Edensong a worthwhile investment on their own.

The third track, "To See But Not Believe" has some great moments, as well. The recording quality of this song is a bit sharper than the first two, but the vocals don't seem quite strong enough to be as loud as they are in the mix.

The remaining three tracks are live cuts?including a live version of the album opener? recorded at various festivals the band has played over the past few years. The recording quality isn't top notch, which is explained in the on-liner notes, but it's not bad at all. The tracks reveal that Edensong is a strong live act. (Random aside: I want credit for inventing the phrase "on-liner notes," which is when, instead of including credits with the album artwork, everything is put up on a website.) Again, I think the vocals aren't as strong as they could be, but the playing, for the most part, is spot on.

Echoes of Edensong is not only, as it is billed in the credits, a snack to tide-over existing fans until the next full release, but also it's a great introduction to the band. Definitely a rewarding listen.