STEVE HILLAGE

On top of that, more recent archival live releases from Hillage - both the standalone release of the Madison Square Garden concert from the L tour and the various live albums offered in the Searching For the Spark boxed set - stand head and shoulders above this one when it comes to audio quality. There's really no shortage of Steve Hillage live material these days - and as a result there's no compelling reason, unless you're a completist, to settle for a release with sub-par audio quality like this one.

The music of Fish Rising could closely be compared to that of Gong, but without the strange, comedic input of Daevid Allen. The album is rich in dreamy soundscapes and ambient, space-like textures. The influence of Canterbury-style jazz becomes evident on improvisational passages. The main melodies and themes of the pieces though, are kept in a rather popular convention with ballad-like vocal parts. Hillage often lays down a dry guitar riff with the whole band building a theme around it. On the instrumental parts, he takes care to keep good balance between jazz-fueled improvisation and more 'distant', beat-less passages. Studio equipment works in favor of the lush, cosmic feel of Fish Rising, enriching the music with various delay units, reverberated instrument sounds, Gong-like electronic shimmer effects, and oscillator devices.

Steve Hillage's guitar style and tone may remind the listener a bit of those of Manuel Göttsching from Ash Ra Tempel (who released his guitar-dominated solo album, Inventions For Electric Guitar the very same year). The guitarist switches between a wide variety of sounds ranging from as far as clean, glassy tone supported by a chorus effect, to dirty crunch on rhythm parts, to sustaining fuzz on solos. In addition, Hillage sings with his characteristic, gentle voice. Dave Stewart's organ, Tim Blake's synthesizers, and Miquette Graudy's keyboards all play a crucial role on the album. The wind section of Lindsay Cooper on bassoon and Didier Malherbe on sax and flute gives this release a unique flavor, sort of reminiscent of Gong. Pierre Moerlen's dynamic and accurate drumming is perfectly suited for the work. Moerlen also plays percussion, which really adds to the its distinct sound.

Firsh Rising comprises five pieces. The opening 17-minute 'Solar Musick Suite' is divided into four movements, each having a different feel. 'Aftaglid' and 'The Salmon Song', two other multimovement pieces, follow a similar pattern of the sung theme being presented and later resolving into instrumental madness, which displays the fantastic musicianship of Hillage's companions. Besides 'Solar Musick Suite', Side 1 also consists of shorter tracks, "Meditation of the Snake" and 'Fish'.

The style of Steve Hillage's solo debut, Fish Rising points the direction in which he would go in the following years. To make sure his musical vision is executed in the best possible way, he teamed up with the musicians of the highest order. The result is without a doubt incredibly pleasing. The album's sound is distinct and innovative, yet a bit familiar. Fish Rising is an absolutely quintessential Canterbury scene work.

The album is split into two side-long completely instrumental pieces. `Garden of Paradise' is a pool of soft running calming streams, meditative chimes, shimmering electric piano tiptoes, glissando guitar wisps, rippling loops and weeping ethereal guitar strains that gradually build in rapturous ecstasy. Ebbing washes of spacey wavering synths seem to hover in the air, a sense of reflective stillness pervading the mood. The second side's `Four Ever Rainbow' holds soothing chimes, groaning electronic trickles, mysterious electronic drifts, tranquil delays of electric guitars, time-altering synth caresses rising and falling, and waves of serene glissando strains reach for the heavens lifting aching veils of angelic cries.

`Rainbow Dome Musick' is just as iconic as other albums that successfully blended spacey electronics and new age/ambient atmospheres with guitar such as Ashra's `New Age of Earth', and it's one of the few albums that can completely alter the ambience and temperature of your environment. `Rainbow Dome Musick' was an album way ahead of its time when it was released, its aura and mystique has maintained for over 35 years now, and it still sounds absolutely timeless today.

Five stars for a classic and definitive ambient/electronic/new-age work.

First thing to strike is that three out of six tracks are cover songs, namely ''Hurdy gurdy man'' by British singer Donovan, the ethnic-styled adaption of the mantra ''Om nama shivaya'' and George Harrison's ''It's all too much'', originallly released for the soundtrack of the ''Yellow submarine'' film.These versions along the Utopia stylistical pinches explain why this sounded a bit different than ''Fish rising''.But the result was pretty awesome, cause all Hillage-written tracks are great and the covers sound like perfect pieces on a missing puzzle, an album needing some tracks to be completed.Hillage's original material is again a beautiful amalgam of smooth guitar instrumental madness, spacey keyboard themes, psychedelic overtones and Canterbury flavors, now mostly popping up in the vocal deliveries, ''Lunar musick suite'' in particular is absolutely mindblowing with Hillage making a rare explosion of virtuosity with solos and developing guitar moves, Cherry putting the shoes of Malherbe and adding some great trumpet work over the cosmic keyboard lines and the final beats sounding a lot like UTOPIA in a lyrical, Art/Prog Rock style with seminal symphonic echoes and atmospheric endeavors.The covers are also pretty cool, but I will have to make a praise for the unusual entry of ''Om nama shivaya'', which Hillage adapted greatly in his own style and transforming it into somekind of Ethnic-Space Rock piece.

Belonging to the minority, I can see why the choice of covers have turned fans of Hillage down, but as a whole ''L'' sounds more convincing to my ears than ''Fish rising''.The light American influences and the production of Rundgren thrown in the typical Space/Canterbury sound of Hillage have made some miracles here.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

I really think that if you look "underrated" on Wikipedia there will be a post on Steve Hillage, He is adventurous with his guitar playing and the phrasing is unique.

What happened to him? Where is He now? The whole collection of his CD's are on heavy rotation at home. And this one is the crown in the group.

A must for any fan of Vai, Satriani, Bonamassa to learn from the master.

I know, I know, I have a soft spot for Hillage. Whenever I hear his guitar I am reminded of someone who is free, He is a gipsy after all, and I am very jealous of him.

The music here is infused in a Utopia enviroment (listen to the keyboards) but to hear Don Cherry on the trumpet against a layer of keyboard music is superb and the guitar playing, as I said, is just marvellous.

Sorry, this is just as good as the first one. Get It soon.

(marginal note) I really miss Didier Malherbe.

Hillage's sound does not move far away from GONG's experiences and the album offers a slightly humurous Space/Psychedelic Progressive Rock with evidence on Hillage's alternating guitar lines and the dual keyboard textures of Miquette Giraudy and Dave Stewart.Three very long tracks are the album's highlights, consisting of fiery jamming parts, weird soundscapes with a psychedelic nature and synth-drenched spacey instrumentals.The Canterbury flavor is also very strong.Stewart's melancholic organ is almost flawless and jazzy interludes appear constantly along the listening, while Didier Malherbe's devastating sax work delivers a rich sound as a whole.Some instrumental parts are definitely overstretched with emphasis on the psychedelic side of Prog Rock, but after all this was what Hillage was born to do: Create spacey, atmospheric and edgy guitar soundscapes.Good electrified soloing combines with mid-tempo synthesizers and hypnotic drumming for a trademark sound of the British Canterbury scene.The more energetic and dense passages with the full-blown instrumental interactions shine through, although this specific style does not seem to be among Hillage's top priorities, with the music usually following a cosmic mood with shifting tempos.

Good album of well-played Psych/Space Rock, typical of the Hillage and Gong school.Sharp, nervous and psychedelic soundscapes, combining the power of keyboards with Steve's inventive guitar stylings.Recommended.

Those who are fans of the genre of progressive rock music will be familiar with the work of Steve Hillage. Hillage, who has worked with the likes of Gong and Egg, is a canterbury scene musician that has ventured into the realms of psychedelic rock, jazz fusion, and electronic trance music. L is a transitional release in Hillage's discography, since this is his first solo album that does not feature an extensive list of Gong's band members. The overall sound of the album is rather less spiritual and immersive that Hillage's previous album, Fish Rising, sporting a sound that is rather more riff driven and grounded than the bubbly new age sound of its predecessor. This is in no way a weakness, in fact one of the strengths of this album is its raw hippy tendencies which comes from the patchiness of the album as a whole.

The album begins with a cover of Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man", a rather less aggressive and softer version than the original. It is clear from the very opening of the song that this album does not feature the bubbly new age tendencies of Fish rising. The Hurdy Gurdy is used in this track, adding a nice flavour. "Hurdy Gurdy Glissando" is very different to the previous track, beginning with a mellow guitar solo that is backed with a swirly combination of guitars and bells. It is evident that Hillage chose to imitate the ancient "aum" mantra with his guitar sound, and this is an idea that he explores in his following releases, most notably the 1978 release "Green". The track soon progresses into a percussion driven vocal section, where the swirling guitars grow ever more intense, further highlighting the choice of the "aum" mantra sound. The track soon moves into a bass-driven jam. This track is reminiscent of some of Gong's earlier work, particularly in the ethereal guitar backing. "Electrick Gypsies" is a whimsical affair, placed rather insensitively alongside the more spiritual sounding "Hurdy Gurdy Glissando". This track is driven by silly lyrics and a standard rock riff that is rather uncharacteristic of Hillage's other work. This is the album's weakest point, but while this track does fail to reach the heights of Hillage's other work, this new sound is fun and a pleasant listen.

Side two opens with "Om Namah Shivaya", an incredible track that is unique among all of Hillage's songs. Origionally written by Kesar Singh Nariula and Uma Nanda, this song is one of the album's highlights, simply for its retro sound and unique indian flavour. This track is a blend of swirling sitars, brass, indian chants and some of Hillage's best guitar work. This track incorporates the sacred Hindu chant "om namah shivaya", a chant which translates to "adoration to Śiva". "Lunar Musick Suite" is another unique track, recorded exclusively under the full moon. Jazz trumpet player Don Cherry was taken on board to embellish this track with a spacy improvisatory solo, which paints an exquisite painting across the canvas of synths and swirling guitars. Hillage's guitar is used rather minimalistically here (with the exception of the manic synth driven opening and the final guitar solo), and once again, he uses his guitar sound to imitate the "aum" mantra, creating a superb musical soundscape that is delivered with both a strong sense of direction and a vague, ethereal subtleness. Hillage closes the track with his charming vocals, concluding the affair with lyrics somewhat reminiscent of those in his previous release. The album is brought to an upbeat and sentimental conclusion with a cover of The Beatles' "It's All Too Much", which would be compatible with the ethereal "Lunar Musick Suite" if the transition was not disrupted by a disconcertingly loud chord from the band. This is one of the weaker tracks on the album, but it's upbeat and joyous mood make it a fitting and worthy end to the album.

There is no denying the patchiness of this album as a whole, particularly in contrast to the previous release, Fish Rising, which stands as one of psychedelic rock's greatest albums. Many of the songs do not flow well into each other, which creates a feeling of hurriedness in the production. However, this album was obviously not intended as an exercise of coherence, and there are some incredible compositions to amend any damage done by the lack of unity that exists between some of the songs. L's highlights are the retro fusion classic "Om Namah Shivaya", and the ethereal gem "Lunar Musick Suite".

L is an excellent album and a worthy addition to any psychedelic music collection.

Live in England 1979 (2013) is a package recently released by Gonzo Multimedia that will be for sure a delight for fans. It contains 1 CD and 1 DVD of Steve Hillage's performance at The University Of Kent on 28th February 1979. Like I said, Live In England 1979 (2013) is mainly a piece for fans and collectors.

On the CD we have 6 tracks recorded in the aforementioned University, and two more recorded in 1977 (probably in Germany) on the tour of his album L (1976). Tough the performance of the 1979 show is absolutely great, it feels that the album is a bit of a patchwork with many bits here and there gathered together to have something extra on the package. But if you forget that and focus on Steve's band, you'll see his best band's line up with Steve Hillage (vocals and guitars), Miquette Giraudy (vocals and synths), Dave Stewart (guitars), John McKenzie (bass) and Andy Anderson (drums). This is the same line up that recorded his Live Herald (1978) album and also tracks recorded to his album Open (1979).

The highlights on Live In England 1979 (2013) CD are 'Salmon Song', 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' and an interesting version of The Beatles 'It's All Too Much'. To complete the album you still have 'Unzipping The Zype', the punk '1988 Activator', 'Unidentified (Flying Being)' and the 77 concert bonus material with 'Hurdy Gurdy Glissando' and 'Electrick Gypsies'.

But it's on the DVD that we have the most shinning treasures of Live In England 1979 (2013). The DVD disc has the full 1979 concert plus two short promo videos for the songs 'Radio' and 'Light In The Sky' that were released on his album Motivation Radio (1977) and a 2006 in-depth interview with Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy.

Basically, if you're a Steve Hillage fan this package that Gonzo Multimedia has put together is just essential for you. If you're not a fan, it would be interesting for starting with his music and to see a great band live.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)