THE CLASSIC YEARS TRILOGY - BOX

Eloy's 3 album package commemorates 50 years of prog excellence. 3 masterpieces on vinyl packaged beautifully handsigned by Bornemann with love to the massive fanbase.

It opens with a crash of thunder, rain and storm clouds of orchestra strings with the magnificent "Dawn" by Eloy. Bornemann's familiar vocals soon come in and a beautiful acoustic flourish on 'Awakening'. The concept album was a huge drawcard to album listeners in the 70s and Eloy always delivered some of the best conceptual masterworks. The music with lengthy jamming instrumental was always designed for the conceptual link between songs and Eloy delighted listeners with lengthy complex compositions with reflective lyrics. The combination of virtuoso musicianship and high concept lyrical themes is an irresistible force and 1976 was at the peak of prog. Bands could get away with virtually anything and were free to express their own ideas through music no matter how outlandish.

"Dawn" is a complex album with some huge ideas put to very impressive musical themes. The tracks run together almost seamlessly as one and there are multi movement suites that encompass several songs such as 'Between The Times' in 3 sections with a variety of styles and time signatures, with inventive musical breaks.

These moments are definitely highlights and at times the music is uplifting and very emotionally charged such as the beautiful melancholia of 'The Sun Song.' The stirring majestic orchestral score at the end of this track is stunning; as good as the symphonic material on The Moody Blues "Days of Future Passed".

"Ocean" is the most revered and famous album from Eloy and close to the best the band has produced. "Ocean" is certainly an adventurous album with an over emphasis on Frank Bornemann's strained vocals and an over indulgence of the incoherent concept and narrations which is not necessarily a good thing, but it works for the most part. The band are at their best when they take off into full blown keyboard and guitar solos and there are plenty on offer here. This album relies heavily on atmospherics and symphonic soundscapes and is wonderful headphone music.

There are only 4 songs but they all feature incredible musicianship and a heavy concept that has something to do with the lost city of Atlantis and Poseidon's power with the divine Logos. The story focuses on the rise and fall of the great mythical city of Atlantis, depicting its creation and its destruction. It throws in the dawn of civilisation, and how it became corrupted by greed, power and lust and finally after the gods had taken all they could take, they proceed to destroy the city to rubble on June 5th 8498 at 13 pm.

The final, perhaps my favourite on this boxset is the awesome "Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes" that opens with the ominous drone of a synth, with majestic cathedral organ. The opening of 'Astral Entrance' as the soft guitar chimes in, is reminiscent of Pink Floyd's 'Shine On' intro with the same measured tranquil beauty and atmospherics. It builds with 'Master of Sensation', with a faster cadence and strong vocals by Bornemann. His delivery is quite forced with Hawkwind spacey echoes; "It is real, so unreal, it's the magic sign, Make us rise, makes us kneel on the edge of time, Here dwells the lord of creation, Here comes the master of sensation." Even the lyrics by J'rgen Rosenthal have Hawkwind references but no complaints from me as I love that. The instrumental section is dynamic with trade-offs of synth and lead guitar. As usual the heavy use of Hammond is electrifying. The band are incredible when they are in full flight on these instrumental sections. The lead break is awesome and this is a powerful way to open this album on every level. The cathedral organ at the end is absolutely wonderful. A triumphant song by Eloy and they are at their best here.

After an energetic opening the album moves into a tranquil passage of music with a 15 minute suite of songs under the banner of 'The Apocalypse' in 3 sections. The first part is 'Silent Cries Divide the Nights' and I am almost in tears at the beauty of the music at 1:58. The lead guitar augments the beauty with spacey echoes over a layer of synth pads and a pulsating bassline. The music organically ebbs and flows with an ineffaceable virtuosity. Bornemann's vocals are transfixing on part 2 "The Vision' Burning", as he sings of esoteric and high conceptual thoughts of the astral plain of existence; "The air will be afraid of our mortal frame, Ethereal we are, the air we breathe, The storm that's stirring up all fire, I see, our life and limb will still, Not come to harm at the moment, That's the reason why we still think, Of everything to be alright, But our hidden souls already dwell, In seas of flames, red hot solution." The next section is an ethereal instrumental, "Force Majeure", with some angelic female intonations, something like 'Great Gig in the Sky'. The lengthy instrumental section contains some breathtaking musicianship, with buzzsaw synths, mellotron nuances and emotional guitar soloing. At the end it even reminds me of 'Thus Spake Zarathustra'. Then the rhythm changes into a pulsating electronic sound like Jean Michel Jarre and some swirling synths take it into the stratosphere. There is not a moment that does not take my breath away with the powerful jaw dropping musical intensity. It really is a work of mesmirising beauty concluding another stunning masterpiece track for the band.

Next up is "Pilot to Paradise" driven by an undulating bassline by Klaus-Peter Matziol and powerhouse keyboard playing. This is a wonderful track and especially exciting due to some glorious vocals and an exuberant tempo. The musicianship is exceptional particularly the keyboard finesse of Detlev Schmidtchen trading off with the soaring guitars of Bornemann.

'Mighty Echoes' closes the album with a very melodic infectious atmosphere. There is a nice steady rhythmic pace, and Bornemann's vocals are simply stunning here; so original and emotional. There is a tirade of symphonic keyboards and guitars that drive the melody.

Overall, "Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes" is a sensational album, with some of Eloy's best songs of their lengthy career. It is totally killer and no filler, and came out at a time when prog was beginning to decline. The no-holds barred original approach to the music is awe inspiring, and sets them apart, though they clearly are enamoured with Pink Floyd (but who wasn't?). The musicianship is virtuoso and overflows with innovation and power from beginning to end. Once again Eloy has produced a masterpiece and I am in awe of how they can consistently produce one brilliant album after another; "Dawn", "Ocean" and now this album are 5 star treasures of prog. The band would produce other excellent albums after this, not masterpieces but still incredible music by any standard. Eloy are one of the greatest prog bands and deserve the highest recommendation