ATLANTIS

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1973 followup to "Song of the Marching Children", but I felt it was just a notch down. The album, entitled "Atlantis", of course, is a concept album on the rise and destruction of Atlantis (something ELOY would do four years later for their album "Ocean"). This album is pretty much in the same vein as its predecessor, so really little has changed in the band in those two years. Even the lineup is the same (Jerney Kaagman, twin brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts, bassist Hans Ziech, and drummer Ton v.d. Kleij).

The album opens up with the side length title track, which actually sounds like a collection of separate songs, but still works quite well. Great vocals from Jerney Kaagman as usual, and the ever presence of Mellotron. The music of course, tells to story of Atlantis, the birth, and the destruction thereof. The second half of the album mostly consists of non- related music, with the exception of a recurring theme. One song, "Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight" is without a doubt, the most pop-oriented number on this album. I am not pulling your chain that this song sounds a whole lot like SPANKY & OUR GANG (it reminds me of "Sunday Will Never Be the Same"). Of course, unlike that CHICAGO folk-pop band that's often derided as little than a second-rate MAMAS & THE PAPPAS, this song has Mellotron, to let people know this is a prog rock band. There's the much more progressive "Fanfare", with enough Mellotron to keep anyone happy. "Love, Please Close the Door" is a nice acoustic ballad that closes the album. Great album, nonetheless, even "Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight", and if you're new to EARTH & FIRE, I suggest you get both this album and "Song of the Marching Children" in one go.

Give this album another halfstar. Although almost a carbon copy of its predecessor , I find this album less worthy but still worth a listen for mellotrons fanatics. As I said in the review of Marching Children, the over-use of Mellotrons is simply too much as this is almost another showcase for that instrument alone.

The eponymous side-long suite has the same flaws as the one in the preceeding album full of delicate moments but maybe too delicate/precious (in the bad sense of the word) to truly enjoy. A useless Prelude , a clicheed Prologue (now there is a redundancy if I ever heard one : Prelude+Prologue) the main theme all too classically inspired , weak vocals composition during Rumbling ..... the lists goes on to stop this from being really and truely a masterpiece..... More like a Prog rock troubleshooting manual . Most progheads into symphonic prog will disagree with this but this is the way I feel about E&F in general along with the many borrowings to classical masters and the mellotron indigestion. Side 2 is rather different with relatively weaker and shorter numbers with one track reprising the main theme of side1 : did I hear the word pointless. Fanfare is again almost a mellotron solo.

So with so many flaws , you might want to ask why I still rate this not that bad..... well because this album does have its charm (this is also true of its predecessor) and does have enough qualities that I did not mention because of the flaws that will remain unspoken by other reviewers.

Earth & Fire keeps on building on the same foundations. An epic song, a great commercial pop tune and a couple of good songs to release a good album. Sounds familiar.

OK, this is probably right. Still, for the mellotron lovers (but not only) the title track "Atlantis" will be a very sweet moment. It is a very diverse song; it sounds almost as there is little links between the seven parts. "Rise And Fall" (hummm, I have already heard this...) is one my preferred excerpts. Very interesting keyboards. The most beautiful one, is the gorgeous "Theme From Atlantis" of course. An extraordinary harmony, but this is symphonic rock, right ?

"The Threat" is a bit weak in comparison. Almost grotesque at times. I can't really be too much enthusiast about "Destruction". The poppiest part of the whole song. It actually sounds more as a collage than as a truely epic. For the fianl touch, some crystal clear vocals during the "Epilogue". It is obvious that the band is willing to reproduce "Song From The Marching Children".

I will get acquainted to the band with the next song "Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight". A phenomenal symphonic prog pop song (is this a new genre ?). It will pave the way for several other of their great pop songs. This song was frequently aired on the radio. How much I loved it !

It features fantastic vocals (but you know my feeling about Jerney), great keyboard riff and a sublime guitar break. When you SEE them performed, the charm (hi Jerney) fully operates. On top of her great voice, she is so ... beautiful. OK, OK...

The short "Interlude" is pleasant but not really essential while "Fanfare" is of course of another caliber. The third good number : fully in-line with the most symphonic of their music. The finale of the song is just wonderful. Superb mellotron. If, like me, you are found of this instrument, you'll just love it (by the way, this song is over six minutes not the short timing shown in the tracklist).

The closing number features a very quiet intro with acoustic guitar and aerial vocals (very much Grace oriented - once again).

This album is short. Even by 1973 standards (just to put things in perspective, "Selling" was over fifty-five minutes). This has been an Earth & Fire trade mark so far. Maybe a lack of creativity ?

Three stars.

Atlantis is the last album from the "classic" era of Earth & Fire, because their next album is still progressive, but the sound is very different than the first ones. This one has almost the same structure of the predecessor, with a sidelong song and other short songs. The sound is dominated by keyboards and guitar, with lots of mellotron to those who are mellotron fanatics.

Atlantis is the long suite of the album and it is a very good song. It has many variations, good vocals, acoustic and electric guitar work and mainly superb keyboards, which becomes evident after the verses and chorus, with a superb short instrumental interlude with nice mellotron and lead guitar. There is another part with more aggresive vocals and harder guitar and organ riff. There is a quiet flute part and then the best instrumental part of the song, with excellent mellotron and guitar. The guitar solo is really good. There is another sung part with good keyboards and singing.

Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight has a great organ intro and then turns into a normal rock song with great keyboard and guitar sounds, mainly in the chorus. There is an instrumental interlude like the intro, but with a lead guitar accompaining the melody of the organ and then a good guitar solo. There are some bits of mellotron in the song also.

Interlude is a very beautiful instrumental, with a beautiful slow guitar melody and mellotron backing. There are some variations in the guitar melody and the inclusion of other instruments later in the song, being a transition to the next song, Fanfare. Fanfare is a symphonic progressive tune with great keyboard work during the verses and beautiful vocal melody. There is a good instrumental section of guitar and organ and the second verse have a different instrumental backing than the first. There is another change in the instrumental backing, with good mellotron and synthesizers and another instrumental interlude that is impressive because the melody is excellent.

Theme of Atlantis another great short instrumental with great guitar and mellotron melodies, recurring to some melodies from the track Atlantis. The guitar tone is very beautiful.

Love Please Close the Door is another superb song, with a beautiful acoustic guitar intro and beautiful singing. Then there is another part with other instruments. The mellotron arrangements are superb and the vocals excellent, with Jerney Kaagman at her best. The rhythm of the song is strange because it has many differences of time among the verses.

The last four songs are masterpieces, but the other half of the album, although very good, is not that great, mainly the song Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight and some parts from Atlantis. So the album deserves 4 stars and it is strongly recommended to symphonic prog fans, mellotron lovers and those who like female vocals.

As with many transition albums, "Atlantis" shows the group at its best in a perfect storm of conflict between at least 2 opposing forces. In this case it's the pyschedelic prog of its predecessor and the more pop oriented material that would continue to impose itself in greater degree on the band throughout the seventies. Earth and Fire was somewhat unique in being artistically adept at both styles, although this album still tends to the more progressive side of their character.

The title suite opens the album, and, similarities to "Song of the Marching Children" notwithstanding, it actually flows together better. Rather than having one awesome theme and a bunch of middling sections, Atlantis is pretty strong from beginning to end, and varies the tempo a little more, especially in the "Under a cloudy sky" part and its counterpart "Rumbling earth". The lead guitars are more prominent, with the omnipresent organ taking a bit more of a back seat.

"Maybe Tomorrow Maybe Tonight" is the first hint at quality pop, albeit with a progressive heart in its 5:46. Chiefly it is the chorus that tells us where Earth and Fire wants to go, as it is simple and catchy. But "Fanfare" is quite the opposite, a mysterious mellotron drenched song much closer to their progressive roots. "Love Please Close the Door" is a fascinating call and response between Kaagman and the band, one of the more intriguing tunes in their repertoire, once you get past the fact that it has no flow in it at all per se.

While perhaps not as emblematic of an era as was "Song of the Marching Children", "Atlantis" is a more consistent album that sees Earth and Fire forge its own style even as it grapples with changing it in order to keep from becoming lost in the ocean of 70s rock.

Earth & Fire is a band from Holland - from Hague city and deliver some very good symphonic progressive music. Founded by brothers Chris on guitar and Gerard on keybords in 1968. Atlantis is their third album and maybe along with the next one from 1975 the best from thier symphonic era. Later releases were more towards pop and the decline was at the door around late '70's. So Atlantis feature some nice compositions, the title track is around 17 minutes of pure symphonic prog and the best piece from here, another hit of that times and a tune chart for the band was Maybe tomorrow, maybe tonight, an almost a pop tune very positive and catchy, the rest of the pieces are ok . The music is dominated by keyboards and guitars and the fine and sweet voice of Jerney Kaagman. So a 3 star album for me, a good one but nothing groundbreaking for symphonic prog listners, only good to listen from time to time. Still recommended if you like the golden era of prog , the '70's.

Tuneful and rather seductive is Earth and Fire's Atlantis, a big heavenly album full of bright vocals and blithesome atmosphere you'd expect from Yes at their most trippy, the Beach Boys, and the distinctive Northern European affectations later heard in Isildurs Bane. The sweeping nine part title is a well-planned collection of movements that samples symphonic rock, ersatz folk, romantic pop and Giorgio Moroder-like drama. Jerney Kaagman's soaring voice captivates all the way through the album with the Koertz Bros. firm compositions and more than competent vocal harmonies. 'Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight' is a good meeting of pop songsmithing with ELP's pageantry, and things slow way down for lugubrious 'Interlude' and 'Fanfare', helped by chiming 'Themes From Atlantis' as it parades proudly.

Not necessarily something to put on the wish list but the music is satisfying generally, and Holland's Earth and Fire represents a time when this kind of grandness was, at least in Europe, welcomed by many with open arms.