ADONIS

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I have been a big fan of this act for some time now and still rank them as one of my all time favorite prog acts. ANYONE'S DAUGHTER mix gentle vocal harmonies with some superb progressive rock elements. Uwe Karpa adds some beautiful and tasty guitar leads which seem to blend to perfection with Harald Bareth's bass and lead vocal. ANYONE'S DAUGHTER offer both English and German lp's and "Adonis" happens to be one they elected to sing in English . Although "Adonis" does certainly contain a rather awesome amount of great progressive moments, the major highlight still remains the title epic track "Adonis" (27 mins). Musicianship is very high here and ANYONE'S DAUGHTER are very easy to listen to and get into... the music is sophisticated but remains very much in control and many different moods swings. At times I get a very strong underground German feel to the music which I love. To this day Harald's voice still remains one of my all time favorites and the music of ANYONE'S DAUGHTER is essential in your collection... Highly required and is very intelligent music...!

Very good German late seventies band, with GENESIS and ELOY influences. Their first album has a brilliant long suite, "Adonis", where any prog fan can enjoy all the best elements of the genre: excellent guitar and keyboards interplay, rythmical changes and very nice melodies flowing between symphonic and spacey moments.

"Blue House" is an instrumental piece, very good indeed, atmospheric and intense, melodically beautiful.

"Sally" is the weakest point even when it isn't a bad song, but far from the majestic found in the remaining themes. Just a simple rock with saxophone touches.

Finally, "Anyone's Daughter" shows again what the band is able to do. Another magnificent piece with symphonic and spacey tunes, in the same vein of some classic German bands (ELOY, NOVALIS) but not so rough.

A recommended album, specially for those who like the German seventies scene and the GENESIS symphonic way.

Another excellent German progressive rock band. ANYONE'S DAUGHTER's debut was in the late 70's, so that they use slightly more modern keyboards than prog bands of the 70's, but they still keep an old sound. The music is quite complex: the drums are fast, the bass is sophisticated and not timid at all, the numerous guitars solos are extremely melodic & melancholic, and the keyboards are varied, melodic and elaborated. This is their first album, and probably their best one. There is often the presence of rythmic guitar, distortion free, like CAMEL. The electric guitar is never aggressive, despite some solos are near the hard rock style. Actually, the overall sound and style is similar to CAMEL, in a more melancholic way. The keyboards are often floating too, giving some relaxing ambience. The English lead vocals have a strong German accent, like Triumvirat. I would say this record can be quite sentimental. The first track, "Adonis", is a near 25 minutes of delightful prog rock: you can't stop listen it once started: at the very end, there is one of most POIGNANT guitar solos ever recorded: just hear the sustained notes full of tremolos: U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E, despite the sound is not at its best!

The side 2 contains 3 excellent songs: The "Blue House", an emotional combination of moog solos and electric guitars. The second track, "Sally", is a joyful piano+saxes song, full of punchy elaborated bass; again tons of excellent drums & lead vocals. The third song, "Anyone's Daughter", has beautiful cohesion between keyboards, guitars, bass and drums: organ solos and floating keyboards, fast guitar solos, very fast and complex drums.

Yes, "Adonis" is a sad album, melancholic, an emotion transporter. IMO, it is one of the most poignant record in the progressive rock history.

Actually nowadays this kind of melodic progressive music, which is characterized by a certain sad mood and its "floydian" melancholy as well, is a bit dated and prolix too (so I can give it a 3 stars rating and an half- as top score- but I'm not sure about it...);nevertheless the personal imprinting of A.D., a remarkable German ensemble, is much evident here and more than their following albums always in the vein of bands like Novalis, and with that typical harmonic construction on the main theme, which is a bit tiring at the end..don't get me wrong, the present album is often stunning-especially by maintaining a certain balance- that is a compromise between the personal arrangement of the melodies and their music references recalling a few derivative styles of such "German space rock"; instead their emulation of some "Britannic models" of progressive music,above all inside their next works in the vein of those ones -"symphonic-oriented"- by Pink Floyd, is not so extraordinary to me.However -coming back to the present debut album-there are a lot of memorable moments within and a recognizable style as well, apart from a few common places and a certain prolixity in the development of the concept...ok probably a "three stars score" is the right score, but it depends on your tastes and -as for my opinion above- I don't want to affect your evaluation: make your own choice, regarding of an old music stereotype of classic prog!!

Well it looks like I will be the minority once again here. And to avoid a genocided minority , I rounded up to the third star but I really think it does not deserves more. I found this album totally lacking inventivity and personality , a typical product of those years. When I listen to it Eloy comes to mind but also mostly neo-prog groups that would come much later Pendragon and Arena ) but also Novalis around those years (by 79 , Novalis was only the shadow of its former self). As you can see, not much to inspire me!

The side-long suite title track is, of course , the main course but has "deja-vu et entendu " feeling and if impeccably played , it certainly adds nothing new to the prog cause. I have a gripe agaionst the guitar 9maybe not present enough ) and the KB (sounding already too 80's-ish) and the singing is unremarkable. Side 2 does not fare any better, with the track that has given the name to the group being slightly more interesting than the rest. Again , the musicianship and execution are not at cause here , simply that the group seems to have little to say!

Every time I hear the name of this band , I cannot help but think of those cheap train ride novels and compare it to the classic novels. This is enjoyable but throw away after use . Actually, I feel a sense of relief when this record is over.

Anyone's Daughter were one of the few German bands that really "got" the symphonic style. Blending a Genesis-oid style with Camel-like touches and a touch of jazz-fusion, they gave German prog a swift kick in the pants that was so desperately needed. As bands like Novalis and Grobschnitt were flagging into obsolescence, this (comparatively, they'd already been together five years when ADONIS was released) young group set out to fill their shoes.

There's no better example of what they can achieve than the four-part, 24-minute title suite, which interpolates majestic adagio passages with soaring guitar against faster, intricate sections of fusionoid riffing. Matthias Ulmer absolutely SCREAMS on lead synth, and adds strong organ, piano and string-synth to the mix as well. Thoughtfully orchestrated, he is the highlight of an already strong band without dominating the field. Drummer Günther "Kono" Konopik (ex-Pancake) keeps up with the faster changes well, yet knows how to subtly complement the softer passages. Singing bassist Harald Bareth is one of the more pleasant German prog-rock vocalists.

"Anyone's Daughter" the song is the closest the album comes to the jackhammer intensity of the suite. "Blue House" is an adagio instrumental, a vehicle for Uwe Karpa's emotional, Latimer-esque guitarwork. "Sally" is merely a bouncy pop number, cute but pretty inconsequential.

This was quite a surprising debut album. Stylistically, not far from Asia Minor's great BETWEEN FLESH AND DIVINE album, oddly enough.

Hey hey luchadores, here's my review Sergio Leone style:

THE GOOD: well, lots of stuff. The band is tight and has good hit-hat rythms, toms rolls and changing beats. The guitar parts are really good, the emphasis is on melody, and I recall lots of references to Camel (Mirage album). The keyboard is also very present, they sound like the old John Carpenter movies like Escape from New York 1977 or The Thing mixed with the soundtrack of the first Mega Man video game; so that's a good thing for nostalgia. The bass is loud, so it's easy to practice on it. The Adonis suite is surprisingly complex and not repetitive for a 24 minutes track. The vocal harmonies can recall Genesis at times, but they are very few. Overall, these guys are really good, and unfortunately fell into the cracks of anonymat with time like so many bands. A great album, to place amongst Camel's Mirage, Genesis' Trespass and Novalis' Sommerabend.

THE BAD: Well, not much but the songs like Sally are not my cup of tea but has a cute Harmonium twist. The german accent is terrible and sometimes the keyboard is too melodramatic; marshmallow overdose on track one, which can be long at times.

THE UGLY: Man, get a load of the cover!! Holy macaroni, this has to be the worst cover of all time. Basically, there's a guy buck naked lying on his back with a ghost besides him and a guitar. What the h....?!? And the worst part is that you can actually see the poor man's crouch with pubic hair. You heard me. I laughed so hard in the store, people gave me the eyes for a while. Good lord, that's more than I ever wanted to see on an LP.

The best German album I ever heard!!!

Terribly underrated Sympho Prog masterpiece from Germany contains 24-minute suite epic "Adonis" with marvellous "ELOY meets GENESIS" style and sound,great instrumental "Blue House" ,funny radio-friendly song "Sally"(even this one can't ruin album's unquestionable greatness!!!) and closing dynamic mini-epic "Anyone's Daughter".Highly recommended - take it without any hesitation!!!

Coming as it did at the very end of the 70s, that is to say a half decade after the peak of prog, this album is a joy for the symphonic rock enthusiast, particular those who like a Teutonic flavour. While Anyone's Daughter is influenced by fellow Germans Grobschnitt and Eloy, they owe equal parts gratitude to Camel, Genesis and even King Crimson. None of this is to suggest that they are nothing but influences, but rather to help you visualize with your ears, if you will, what they brought to the table in 1979.

This debut album is highlighted by a 24+ minute suite that is one of the best of its kind! It is made up of 4 parts:

Part I: Come Away is the most purely symhonic and also one of the more mellow segments, but nonethless powerful, featuring elegant vocals by Harald Bareth in the John Wetton era KC style, ethereal keyboards, and versatile guitars ranging from near acoustic sounding to clear soloing. This is my favourite part.

Part II: The Disguise introduces the fusion side of Anyone's Daughter, one that reappears in various forms in their future, starting menacingly slow on moogs before heating up for a rousing but brief vocal section, and then settling down.

Part III: Adonis: In terms of prog development and potency, this portion is the most impressive. A gorgeous melody first delivered vocally and then nurtured by a very Latimer like solo, is followed by a brilliant, fiery, and lengthy keyboard/guitar interchange that is an absolute joy. Not a note is wasted even as it appears that chaos rules. The transition to the original theme is handled masterfully, and again we rest.

Part IV: The Epitaph : This is the most vocal oriented section with a very epiloguish feel, not unlike part 3 without the insanity. It's not quite as hard hitting as the other 3 pieces, but does tie up the themes in a more than satisfactory manner.

The remaining songs cannot match the suite, but all have great moments. Blue House is a spacey keyboard oriented instrumetal, Sally a countryish rock number, and the song "Anyone's Daughter" is of considerable interest for its powerful organ and monumental lead guitar work as well as the oddly catch brief vocal parts, but I must add that this track was reprised with much greater success on the album called "Live" from 1984, which also includes a superior version of the first part of Adonis.

Later, Anyone's Daughter would modify their generally symphonic styles to varying degrees with considerable artistic success, and even produce perhaps some of the first "neo prog", but Adonis or perhaps "Live" are the places to start.

Neo Prog was invented here?

I've just known the band sometime last year and it struck me with the fact that the music is in the vein of Pendragon or Pallas which normally people called it as neo progressive music. By the time I knew that this album was released in 1979, I was questioning myself about the birth of neo prog. So far I had been aware that neo prog started in early eighties even though Marillion was already there at the end of seventies; but the album "Script for a Jester's Tear" was not released yet until 1983. Nope, I'm not trying to say that the music of Anyone's Daughter is similar with Marillion - nor trying to identify who was the first time playing neo prog. I'm just curious with my knowledge about when actually started? But never mind, the music of Camel sometimes reminds me like neo prog as well. So let's just talk about this album "Adonis" by Anyone's Daughter.

Looking at the way the band approach their music it sounds to me that this kind of music is a kind of Pendragon, Pallas, Pulsar and even Camel. In fact, the voice quality of "Harald Bareth" who also plays bass guitar is similar with Nick Barrett of Pendragon. It actually shocked me the first time enjoyed this album. The music is quite enjoyable with keyboard-dominated composition and floating style. The fact that this album has an epic of the album title explains the center of this album is on its album title. The epic comprises four parts that have good transitions from one part to another. Each part has its own style and richness of melodies. The music brings us to various tempos that enrich the quality of music offered by this epic. There are segments with memorable melodies which make this epic is enjoyable from start to end.

"Blue House" (7:20) continues the domination of keyboard as main instrument that contributes to the music. The intro part contains long keyboard solo followed with simple guitar fills in mellow style. "Sally" (4:20) has faster tempo and more energetic and expressive vocal line augmented with electric piano and nice guitar solo. "Anyone´s Daughter" (9:10) concludes the album beautifully with great combination of dynamic bass lines and stunning organ / keyboard solo. It's an energetic track.

Overall, this album represents a gem of the seventies with its powerful song writing, tight composition, and nice melodies. Recommended. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Anyone's Daughter is a surprisingly late progressive rock band, that released their first album in 1979, when all the prog rock genre was facing problems of popularity. But Anyone's Daughter was concerned about releasing a great progressive rock album, and they managed to do so. Unfortunately, as expected, they didn't achieve much success and, although they made some other good prog offerings, they started moving to a more commercial approach and, eventually, disbanded in the mid eighties. This is sad because Adonis is a great symphonic prog album and the band had a lot of potential.

Their music is a competent symphonic prog with some Genesis influences, but not like neo-prog. The band used a mix of analog and digital keyboards that was interesting. There is the presence of some space rock influences, by long melodic synthesizer and guitar solos, which enrich their music.

The album has the sidelong suite named Adonis. The song is divided in four parts and sung in English, resembling a bit Eloy's vocals. The instrumental part is superb. The album has excellent guitar solos and keyboard work, mainly piano and synthesizers. There are many changes and many moods in the song. The first part is purely Genesis inspired, with a mellow feel and killer melodies. The second part is focused in long solos and there are superb guitar and synthesizer solos. The third part has melodic symphonic prog, with good keyboards, guitar and vocal melodies, sounding more like a Italian or South-American prog band. The last part is very beautiful, with piano, string synthesizer and a superb melodic guitar solo, closing the song in high style. Overall, the song has music for all tastes and is really impressive for 79, being, probably, the best prog song of that year.

Blue House is the next song and it has a beautiful synthesizer intro, sounding epic. Then, the song becomes a calm and mellow instrumental, with great guitar and synthesizer work. The guitar and synthesizer solos are beautiful. Sally is a good song, but less progressive than the others. The instrumental work is much more simple, than in the other songs, though it is nice. The song can be considered their pop song of the album.

The last song is Anyone's Daughter, is a very good prog song, with many changes, good rhythm section and great synthesizer and guitar interplay. The song has some jazzy touches along with their typical symphonic prog, with its excellent guitar and synthesizer solos over beautiful synth soundscapes. This is the best song of the album after the sidelong suite.

So it is extremelly recommended to look for this late prog album, because it is one of the best things a prog fan could get in late seventies and the band is very competent in making great prog even when most of the prog bands were changing their styles for something more commercial.

Well, this album is quite popular in Brazil, my country. Although it came in a time prog was the last thinkg to be called hip it was well received and it is much loved by progheads in general. Since I never heard it at the time only recently I had a chance to buy the CD. After repeated spins I have mixed feelings about it. On one side the music is beautiful and very well done. It seems a lot of the neo prog acts got at least some inspiration from its content. On the other I found it lacking some energy and originality. Vocals are only average, with some heavy german accent.

The centerpiece of the entire CD is of course the long title track. It is a great 24 minute epic although again I find it a little shaky in some parts. It takes some time to get used to, but in the end I found myself enjoying it a lot. Side two of the original LP starts with the very nice instrumental Blue House (great keys!). then comes the weakest and most ordinary moment woth the track Sally. My God, do those guys know how to break the record´s balance with this dud! the saxophone solo is simply totally out of place here. A track to be skipped ever since.The last song is a bit more jazzy and has its merits, but is not up to the other first two.

As a debut album I think Adonis is excellent. The band was already on its way to find their own sound. The production didn´t help a lot, but the songwriting and the playing is strong enough to hold your atention until the end (except for Sally). If you like nice, laid back, symphonic rock in the vein of early Eloy or Nektar you should check this one out. My rating: something between 3,5 to 4 stars.