SECRETS OF THE BEEHIVE

David Sylvian

Crossover Prog

4.13 | 206 ratings

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Seyo
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

This album is a work of pure art and of the sort where the artist does it with love and passion.

Although this is "progressive rock" site, please you should forget about this "rock" element when listening to David Sylvian's solo efforts. Nothing rocks on "Secrets of the Beehive" and many prog fans would perhaps dismiss it right away as being too serious, adult- oriented, elaborated, cold or whatever... But, once you got acquainted with this artist, he won't let you go easily.

This album is an album of atmosphere and Sylvian is the master of creating atmospheric music. Combining the elements of jazz, pop, classical, electronic and experimental music, he creates a completely new world that may sound as a classic, or more precisely, a romanticist novel or poem transferred into sounds.

At times, the music presented on "Secrets..." sounds like what would be subsequently labelled "chamber pop", at other moments ambient jazz/avant-garde prevails."The Boy with a Gun" and "Orpheus" are actually quite accessible even on the first listen and perhaps the closest Sylvian got to "pop music", at least in this period of his career. On the other hand, "Maria" and "Forbidden Colours" are dark and disturbing songs, the ones you can expect to hear as soundtracks for a horror movie.

This may sound odd, but whenever I listen to this music, I got a vision of characters from one of the most accomplished graphic novels ever created - "Corto Maltese" by Hugo Pratt. Somehow it all goes together in my mind. Sylvian's music demands solitude and dimmed light. You don't take it with your iPod or a mobile player device. You better stick to your Hi-Fi in your dark room, put on your headphones, sip a glass of whiskey if you like and enjoy the trip!

The title of the song "When Poets Dreamed of Angels" pretty much summarises the feeling of this album.

Seyo | 5/5 | 2007-2-22

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