THE YUMYUM TREE

The YumYum Tree is very reminiscent of _Waterfall Cities_. Could very well be _Waterfall Cities Part II_, although it does harken back to the '80s version of the Ozrics with a hint of Ozric electronic music offshoot Eat Static. Tracks 4 and 5 known as OOLONG OOLONG and YumYum Tree flow nicely into one another making this an Ozric suite. Nothing groundbreaking here, but consistent as always. I don't think I've ever given the Ozrics less than a 4 star rating. ODDWEIRD is another barnburner harkening back to Strangeitude. Plant Music and Nakaru are fairly boring tracks and best served as nature recordings or new age fluff. But, this is the Ozrics, eh! They need something to set up the final killer track _San Pedro_. A great track similar to _Meander_ from 1997's Curious Corn. Great album artwork. My favourite one since _Arborescence_. 4 solid stars.

Ho Hum ... Yum Yum

This is an album which is growing steadily on me. First blush was not good. Having said that I've come to expect a different standard from the Ozrics. They've been a core part of my musical collection since university in the late 80s (thanks again for the introduction Seb).

There's a late 90s Curious Corn/Waterfall Cities feel here. And as you sit back and listen without prejudice it dawns on you ... the groove is back: that intangible feel that oozed from Zia Geelani. Ed is free to place his astounding but restrained licks over the blissful soundscape.

Magick Valley gives you that feeling that you should be listening to this at a festival: sweat mud smell of fresh rain (I'm a frog and I love mud - griff pilchard) - pulsing, hypnotic dance beat with Ed nonchalantly putting Steve Vai to shame.

The title track -oolong, oolong-mooncalf is pure spacerock at it's cultured best. Is there a nod to Hillage in there? Odd weird has a strong bass riff that harks back to Xingu (Waterfall Cities/pyramidion) but the synth is taking a similar strain to Meander (Curious Corn).

Plant music picks up the tempo. A little more middle-eastern feel. there's a lovely swift bass run down the scales about three quarters of the way through after a fast riff throughout. Nakuru fills a gap and so far I haven't got the point of it. There may well be one but I've definitely missed it thus far.

San Pedro picks up the beat with a great bass riff overlaid with that OT signature calming synth: the swan is gliding over the surface but boy is the engine room pumping it out. It's a Ozric paradigm: speed/groove and blissful calming synth with Ed free to lay down great riffs.

Ozric's groove is back.

As soon as I began this, I knew I was in for something very akin to Spirals in Hyperspace and yet something very different. The trance and house sensibilities are still in full force, but it seems Ed Wynne has incorporated some fresh sounds, ranging from synthetic strings to synthesizer leads. However, like the aforementioned album, I really only enjoy half of this album (in this case it's the first half) before I get bored silly.

"Magick Valley" The opening tone made me cringe initially (although I can't reasonably say why), but what sounds like the electronic equivalent of a gargling monster gradually becomes something more coherent and rhythmic, if rather exotic.

"Oddwierd" Some bouncy, slippery tones begin this fresh piece, as punchy yet deep bass swing in underneath it. The guitar soloing is stellar, as are the upbeat drums, all of which make this an undeniably happy track. It's my favorite here.

"Mooncalf" Brighter synthesizer takes over, and the exotic melodies make me think of Jon Anderson's Olias of Sunhillow. It's at once mystical and soothing. But soon the tempo picks up, and over a simple bass groove, there's guitar solo and lush pads. Later, the piece becomes something like electronic reggae.

"Oolong Oolong" There's some exceptional guitar playing here that initially serves as a lead instrument before melting into the liquid fabric of the piece. The funky bass line welcomes a warbling synthesizer solo and many other strange sounds.

"Yumyum Tree" The title piece gets going with some light synthesizer and bouncing bass. The middle section is a bit of a disaster, but things pick up again fairly quickly. The trouble I have with this piece is that there's nothing to make it stand out- it essentially sounds like urban club dance music.

"Plant Music" An electronic rhythm pulses in the background while drums, bass, and the like come in. The lead guitar is an excellent aspect, and there's a great bass excursion in the middle, but other than that, the track suffers from the problem as the previous one, just to a lesser degree and of an unnecessary length.

"Nakura" This is mostly an empty track, with occasional percussion sounds and a tin-can-sounding, zigzagging synthesizer. It's an airy piece with not a whole lot going on.

"San Pedro" Electric piano and heavy drumming make up this one. It's kind of a spacey mess, though.

OT's umpteenth album (and latest to date) is yet another faithful album that the fans can buy safely as it fits the usual safety zone. Coming with a superbly drawn cartoon fantasy artwork, YYT is just what the doctor ordered if you're in the mood for spacey twirly travels in the aural stratosphere and have a little Jamaican cigar to go along with, although the latter is not really necessary to enjoy OT's music. Indeed this is the perfect kind of music for gently groping your mate, and does whatever goes by your twisted and horny brains. Yup , OT's music has always been one of my first answer (along with Pink Floyd) to progheads complaining that their girlfriends or wives don't like prog music. Well it's normal they don't like whiney neo-prog and things like TFK (but you might want to have a little taste yourself and avoid these as well), and start thinking about harmonious music?.. which OT is always, even, when they are on the fringe of semi-techno music. OT's music is never offensive, often very danceable, always happy/joyous, with traces of reggae, heavenly flutes; GonG-like space twirls?. Just the usual superb OT blend that has been going around for over two decades. As usual, what I just said of this album is applicable to almost all of OT's discography, because YYT is not much different from all of their other albums. If there are a few groups where you can say that having one album is having them all, OT is certainly in the top 3 of your list?. But in this case, it's plainly a compliment rather than a complaint. But winning by playing safe is triumphing without any glory??

True to form(ula), the Ozrics have given us another outstanding blend of spacey styles, moods, and sounds to please the ear. "Yum Yum Tree" kicks the grooves into gear from the get-go, and delivers what is one of the group's most consistantly enjoyable albums yet. All of the elements to the Ozric's unique sound are here: ambitious and multifaceted songwriting, instrumental prowess, solid bass grooves, and a dynamic blend of electronic effects, with the "Yum Yum Tree" featuring an exceptionally well-produced sound, bringing the cosmic texture out better than ever. I found the bottom-end much more dynamic hear than in recent albums, making for fatter grooves and a more full sound.

The opening track starts things off great, serving as a sort of encapsulation of the Ozric's music in one crisp package. The styles morph and blend throughout, and the listener will doubtless find themselves being energized by Ed Wynne's guitar only to be submerssed in an airy cloud of synth and soundscape. The title track's composition is especially strong, sustaining its length with creative transitions and energy. "Yum Yum Tree" rocks, grooves, drifts, splooshes, meditates, spirals all at once, and is satisfying with everything it attempts.

Ozric fans will be immediately satisfied, and new comers will doubtless enjoy the sonic journey offered by this release.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: NA Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

My first journey to Ozric universe, I hope that I'll judge fairly enough. I have to say that first time I've been listening this, I was disappointed. A lot, very, very lot. As a spacey rock, it's not so bad, it's listenable. But for real deal music, I lack there something. For me, this is too much monotone, without real treats. To put it simply, you know when it's heading and how will it end. And such spoiling of story isn't good, is it ? Sometimes sounding like boring space rock combined with ethnic music of inhabitans of great island Papua New Guinea (really boring), but then, suddenly, song makes 180 turn and everything is interesting again. Not so much, but at least it's better average.

3(+), I don't believe that I will enjoy this music anytime soon. But for those who loves this style, it'll be quite sufficient I believe. Nice and properly weird cover.

The YumYum Tree is the umpteenth album by legendary British spacerockers Ozric Tentacles, and shows all the signs of a band that has been going so long that they are able to create okayish tracks without much effort.

The mostly bass-driven songs explore the usual territories for this outfit - some energetic forays with energetic rhythms adding to the intensity with searching, distorted guitar sounds and soloing and swirling space-tinged synths providing the finer melodic details and spacey feelings. Other efforts are dreamier affairs, slow moving atmospheric efforts that can tend to get close to ambient and even new age territories at times. A couple of tracks adds in world music influences for variety.

Most of the tracks are nice. Okay efforts but lacking the magic blend of elements or the finer, subtle details needed to make the tracks stand out. There are a few occasions where the magic reappears though - opening effort Magick Valley and final track San Pedro first and foremost. I doubt if this album will win this fine band any new fans, but it will sustain their existing fanbase.

This was my first experience with Ozric Tentacles. I picked it up because I saw that it was a new album released this year (this being my first year really being into prog, I'm trying to get a vast grasp of the current landscape along with the classics), and that these guys were associated with "Space Rock", a genre that I have heard little of but enjoyed what I have.

Reading about this album, I became aware that their sound would be more electronic then other music I had heard of the genre, or even listened to on a regular basis. As far as I was concerned, this was fine.

But my first listen through the album, I couldn't quite get into it at all. It had interesting moments, but it sounded (to my untrained ear) like techno. Techno is a genre that, while I have nothing against philosophically, I have not encountered much that I enjoyed. I was actually initially excited, thinking, "This will be good! All the neat sounds of techno without the cliche, repetitiveness of the all the dancey techno I've head before!"

Given that my initial reaction was lukewarm, I knew that I probably wouldn't like the album. But I gave it a few more tries. After all, it was a musical landscape that I was not familiar with, and I felt that I might be able to enjoy the music more after I grew accustomed to it.

But try as I might, I just could not pierce this music. I tried listening to it with headphones, with my nice stereo speakers, louder, quieter, and I couldn't get much of an emotional reaction from this music.

It just seemed as though the music lacked much feeling or emotion. Some songs have interesting starts, and others had neat sounds or beginnings, but for the most part, they reach a point where the music is basically synth sounds overlayed on top of bass and drum beats. It works but it's not interesting. It doesn't engage. It sits mostly in the background, and in that sense, it works well as background music. Yet even for background music, I tend to find myself thinking, "Oh, I should put some music on ... oh yeah, I have Ozric Tentacles on."

I really tried to like this music. It has everything that one could want for a weird musical experience ... a crazy band name, an eclectic album name, weird album art. The only thing that is lacking in this package is the music itself.

This album isn't without it's high points. Nakuro and San Pedro an excellent example of 'spacey' music, and Magick Valley was the track that gave me the most energy. But neither of these tracks are particularly amazing, and other than that, the album doesn't have a whole lot to recommend it.

A YumYum production. Cool.

When someone said Electronic Prog or Electronic Rock, I tend to believe is this kind of production and sound what I'm going to find. The reality is that most of the times, the word "Electronic" is given to any single production with some random noises here and there and some keyboards filling all the spaces as well as repetitive phrases looped to infinity. Well, I have found a band that makes interesting music, complex and with a lot of different moods and elements that have the electronic vibe in the core of their music, but being very fresh and flexible, something hard to find in most "Electronic" efforts.

If we understand YumYum as the onomatopoeia of someone enjoying a delicious food, and if we understand that music is made to be "eaten by the ears", yes, we have found the right tree to be delighted by a wonderful "menu" of plates full with great music vibes ready to be eaten and enjoyed in every single way.

Enough with metaphors. What you are going to find in this album is great music, very eclectic and flexible, changing the moods very often and having a lot of electronic elements, like electronic drums and atmospheric synths playing together with great groovy bass lines and many electric guitar effects.

It's an instrumental album in which each song has their own approach and give something different to the mix, and the result is an impressive album, interesting and fresh that could be enjoyed by anyone, even those who are not used to complete instrumental material. The moods, the phrases, the sounds and the overall result shows the capability of the musicians and the variations gives you a lot of elements to be entertain and you just have to let yourself go, you will travel into an interesting journey forged in the chemistry of many layering of synths and guitars.

In the other hand, the last two songs are not at the level of the first 6 songs, but I don't worry too much, those are good enough to pass by.

I'm really interested in this band and I will check them more, because this album really impressed me, in the best way. Growing with every listen, I should give it a 4 stars, hoping that soon it will become my favorite electronic prog album. Who knows? The album is strong enough, fresh and very, very enjoyable. So, don't let you pass this opportunity to be delighted by stimulating music. Come to enjoy of the fruits of this YumYum Tree. You won't regret it?

'The Yumyum Tree' - Ozric Tentacles (6/10)

Since they heyday with classic records like 'Jurassic Shift', the space rock landmark Ozric Tentacles has gone through a multitude of lineup changes, leaving guitarist Ed Wynne as the only permanent member. In this sense, the band has become less of a band, and more of a glorified solo project that continues to write music in the style and sound of the same band that once took us deep into Erpland. The musicians and lineup of 'The Yumyum Tree' aside, this is quite similar to the music I have heard from the Ozrics before; atmospheric, electronic, spacey and magical. Suffice to say, Ozric Tentacles shows no signs of changing up their sound by this point, instead adding little flourishes here and there for the sake of continuity. The band's 2009 output does not necessarily add anything new to what they have already done in the past, but for what its worth, it is another good addition to a band that I have always admired for their consistency.

It becomes something of a difficulty to review more than one of a band's albums when the band so uncompromisingly sticks with one staple sound. For Ozric Tentacles, they have always tried out new things, but largely stick to their formula of world music inspired space rock. 'The Yumyum Tree' does not give any new sounds to someone who has heard the music of this band before, but keeping in touch with the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' motto, it is pretty difficult to fault the band for this. One thing that my existing familiarity with the band's sound does though was make 'The Yumyum Tree' ironically a tougher cookie to crack when it came to appreciation; I already had no doubts for the band's strength, but having heard much better music from the band before, the album sounded- and still sounds, to some extent- a little unnecessary. Ozric Tentacleskeeps the music trippy and enjoyable here, but the lack of the other classic members is sorely evident in the lack of memorable drum fills and exciting bass grooves. Immediately, this puts the album a couple of steps below an album like 'Jurassic Shift', but while I cannot see myself choosing this over one of their better albums of similar sound, 'The Yumyum Tree' does have it where it counts.

For someone who is not yet familiar with the work of this band, the sound is based in instrumental psychedelic rock, but instead of travelling into space with their music, the Ozrcis instead choose to visit distant and exotic cultures, as is evident in their Eastern musical influences here. One thing that I have noticed is that the band has started gravitating more towards electronic music with each successive album, and this album is no exception to that. There is still little difference between this and the style of the classic albums, but Wynne is sure to milk the synths for all they got here. The title track is a fair example of how Ozric Tentacles can break out of the space rock label and create something more akin to house electronic music than anything rock-based. Overall, this emphasis helps the music for the sake of ambiance, but in terms of a more engaging listening experience, it is undeniable that things get a little boring as the album wears on.

With the other musicians gone and replacements being taken in, Ed Wynne's guitar solos are the most standout part of the record, and show up everywhere; surprising considering that at this point, the band's music is highly based in electronica. His solos and noodling is certainly matured from earlier works, although its loose, improvised nature does not always tend well for a memorable experience. 'The Yumyum Tree' is a very good album from the band though, even though it is all too clear that the band has seen better days. That being said, they are highly consistent, and the music here truly is not that much weaker from the Ozrics' golden material. However, at this point in their career, the band's sound has lost most, if not all of its shock merit, and despite having a very similar sound to other work by this band, they are steadily losing their organic touch.

This is where I got off of the OZRIC'S spaceship and headed home. A good album and we know what to expect but this felt uninspired. Having said that it was pretty cool that Joie Hinton(synths) and Mrev Pepler(drums) both long, long time members are guesting on the same two tracks which I'm sure was a blast for the band to record. Joie was there from the start while Merv arrived in 1988 or so.

I like dividing their discography in three with the first six albums from the 80's of which I have one being part one and then seven from the nineties their most popular period by far being part two and then post 90's we have eight records of which I have three and "The Floor's Too Far Away" is easily my favourite from their most recent period. I was thinking the other day that the happiest music fan must be the one who's favourite band is the OZRIC TENTACLES. I mean Ed Wynne has decided to keep the same formula from the start because it works. So as a fan you know that the flavour of each album might be slightly different but yeah I'm getting the same tasting Big Mac I always get.

One dimensional? Again if it works why change it? I don't have any of their albums in my "best of" Psychedelic list but that my tastes in music and finding that a consistently good album from this band is hard to find although that post 90's record I mentioned does that for me. Even the cover art work like the band's music continues in the same vein. They went one style for their first five then the rest is in the style most of us know. This is a brand!

Anyway not my favourite from this band by a long shot, just feeling like I said a little stale to my ears. As usual we get some ethnic sounds, plenty of synths often in the style I don't like, some reggae of course and silliness with the beeps and blips. I enjoy the guitar parts the most but I definitely didn't even consider that this was a 4 star record even though it was a fun week listening to it.

After a couple of bands produced with fluctuating lineups, Ozric Tentacles get a bit more stability on The YumYum Tree, at least in the sense that the same core of four musicians appear on all the tracks. For the most part, this seems to be a bid of going back to their usual formula, but perhaps with the occasionally more "cinematic" moment - like a psychedelic remake of Laurence of Arabia could use some of this stuff in its trailer with no problem. Solid, but there's a sense that the group are a little low on fresh ideas and are concentrating more on getting this new, more stable lineup to gel in the studio.

A foursome that includes Brandi as well as newcomers Vinny Shillito and Roy Brosh on bass and drums, respectively.

1. "Magick Valley" (6:42) some very weird, non-musical synth noises sounding like an alien race of animals who possess language opens this for about a minute. When the musical part enters and congeals into full form it is a kind of house/dance version of electronically-rendered Middle Eastern sounds and melody styles. It sounds very much like some of the music I might have heard in one of the Lebanese restaurants I used to love in my graduate school years in East Lansing, Michigan. Synths are definitely the domineering thread-producers of this weave--even when Ed picks up his guitar it is so effected that it almost sounds like it, too, is a synth. (8.875/10)

2. "Oddweird" (6:14) right musicianship in a very rock-sounding style and sound. The usual exotic and tropical sounds manage to make their way into the song, of course, and the dominant bass lines and additional percussion instruments used sound near Jamaican/Caribbean--and then there is the koto in the fifth. I'm still listening for the kitchen sink. Just a transcontinental, transcultural stew that satisfies a lot of rock "needs." (8.75/10)

3. "Mooncalf" (7:41) strong bass, drum, and percussion play is not quite enough to launch this mutt of styles and sounds into the heavens. (13.33333/15)

4. "Oolong, Oolong" (5:54) nice laid-back jungle groove that supports some very pleasant solos. That first guitar slash and burn is top notch--and I love the way the rhythm section gives way to the spacemospherics and hypnotic synth strokes in that third minute. The amazing synth solo in the fourth minutes makes me now question whether or not that initial solo in the second minute was a guitar or not! (It was, but the sound duplication from the synth is astounding!) A song that really sits well with me from all perspectives: a new OT masterpiece! (9.75/10)

5. "Yum Yum Tree" (9:08) jungle noises bleeding over from the previous song are augmented by an odd synth tuned percussive, odd muted bass, and percussionist's cymbal play. This interplay of odd, andro-fabricated sounds goes on well into the third minute before new sounds are added to the weave. Then we cut back to just multi-percussives and the "talking drum" synth for a good spell before everybody else joins back in so that Ed can add his speedy flangy guitar solo to the background scenery. (This is the exact effects settings used by Todd Rundgren on the 1974 Utopia and Todd albums--especially for "The Last Ride.") I'm so glad the bass gets some lead time (in the seventh minute) where he is nicely paired with the xylophone. Not a big fan of the raunchy rock electric guitar strumming that comes next, but, luckily, it's short-lived, yielding to synth and multiple tuned percussion instruments weaving a cool semi- Gamelan (17.75/20)

6. "Plant Music" (5:28) I'm not as big of a fan of these STIVE HILLAGE driving rock songs that Ed produces. The sounds incorporated in the song--cameos and integrally--become the feature that you have to look for while the rhythm section just keeps motoring down the Autobahn. (8.666667/10)

7. "Nakuru" (5:38) Cool effected-saxophone sound being produced from some kind of MIDI-ed instrument is played like a blues saxophone solo over some gentle spacemospheric synth, percussion, and JACO PASTORIUS-like bass play. The music actually sounds like a cross between WEATHER REPORT and AL DI MEOLA's 1983 album Scenario. Nice! (8.875/10)

8. "San Pedro" (6:21) an actual chord progression coming from an electric piano-sounding keyboard! You never know how odd this phenomenon is in an OT song until it happens! Despite this foundational anomaly, the song once again creates a delivery mechanism for odd instrumental sounds (and some awesome percussion play) to make their presence known. (8.75/10)

Total Time 53:06

The weird thing about my reaction to the music on this album is how much I enjoyed the percussion parts--especially when multiple tracks were playing with and between each other. The other thing I notice as I near my completion of the OT discography is how there seem to be some "default programs" that OT uses to get songs started, rhythm section formulae that have become stable staples over which to build songs. The unfortunate part of this is that the rest of the instrumental performances on these particular songs become more of an exercise in exhausting mathematical permutations and combinations of surplus/adjunct sounds: while the synth and effects engineering can be highly creative, the overall songs end up existing while lacking in any core originality or freshness.

B/four stars; a very solid and respectable, if not totally refreshing display of Ozric talent and creativity--but also containing more songs founded in patterns and styles that sound "rote" or "default" for the band. I suppose after 18 studio albums in 25 years there is bound to be a little repetition and borrowing. At least this album has far less ideas borrowed from other bands' music than some of OT's other albums.