CHAPTER IV

I found myself agreeing with the author of the biography here; to know and understand the artist, you need to listen to his music. Nothing is simple here, but these are the basics; Eveshka Ghost/Chalcedony, (yes, that confused me too,) is a hugely- talented pianist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is also a filmmaker, writer and actor. The music on the four Chalcedony albums is certainly symphonic, but also orchestral, all instruments being played by the artist, with the exception of the guitars.

I am reviewing a handful of the tracks from no.4 in the series as I find this the most immediate and accessible of the Chalcedony albums.

'Sharing Lives'. I am absolutely in awe of this song, its outstanding feature being its continuous flowing melody. Few modern composers have the confidence to go off on various different tangents within a song without feeling the need to 'tidy it all up' by repeatedly returning to the safety of the opening melody. Although it's nothing like Genesis' 'Mad Man Moon' or 10CC's 'I'm Mandy ? Fly me', you should see what I'm getting at. If I had a criticism of this track, it would be that the prominence of the guitar hides some of the subtleties of the music.

'Day by Day' is a fairly short but lyrically-powerful piece. Over a delightfully warm, cosy backing, the singer makes a series of highly personal, but respectful, (darling brother, dear mother,) statements to each of his individual family members. It would seem that the brother lacks acceptance of him, and there is the suggestion of friction with his 'good' father about his orientation. Reference is made to Eveshka's previous eating difficulties in his words to his 'dear' mother. It's a revealing and honest track, but with humour ? to the brother, 'Can't record these drums without you'.

'Senses' is the last, and best track on the album. Though hard to interpret, the lyrics are sublime. After a gentle piano intro, we learn about a man who had such an imagination that it killed him twice. It wasn't that the man could stop the great winds from blowing, but he could calm people's senses so that they no longer felt the winds. I'm paraphrasing the lyrics here. The track finishes with the words, 'And all the dreams that the people in pain are dreaming, are the pieces of the puzzle that no longer fit.'

There are three instrumentals on the album, the longest being 'Fables and Foes' at 14:02. The much shorter 'Talisman' at 4:02 is, however, my favourite of the three. Beginning with drums, bass and a lone horn, gradually the orchestra joins and builds with red-blooded guitars and strings taking the melody. The song reverts back to bass, drums and horn a couple of times before once again growing in magnificence before the whole fades to nothing

'Fables and Foes' has about 12 segments which flow effortlessly into each other with plenty of rhythm and key changes. It begins with a colourful piano intro, before the drums, keyboards and orchestra pile in. At about the 8 minute mark, all instruments depart leaving piano and strings to carry the fragile melody.

All in all, this is a highly original collection of tracks from a hugely talented composer/multi-instrumentalist which has not received the attention it deserves. If you are looking for clichéd prog, go elsewhere. If you are open to a unique twist on the symphonic sub-genre, look no further than this album.