ADONIS

Usually I focus my reviews on new albums. That has been my goal. But after receiving so many requests of doing reviews for re-editions I've decided to give them a try and this gives me the chance to review some classic albums or some old material that's worth mentioning.

Today I'm beginning this new section on the website with the German band Anyone's Daughter and their first album Adonis (1979).

Anyone's Daughter is a German band that was founded in 1972 in Stuttgart by Uwe Karpa (guitars) and Matthias Ulmer (keyboards and vocals) while they were still high school students. Their line-up (in their classic period) was then increased with Kono Konopik (drums) and Harald Bareth (vocals and bass).

Adonis (1979) was the first album by Anyone's Daughter and at that time the album came as a blow of fresh air to the Prog world in general. By at that time the genre was in trouble and most of the successful bands were changing their sound drastically searching for commercial success. And then here comes Anyone's Daughter and the bold album that is Adonis (1979)!

The sound of this German band can't really be compared with their English peers as it usually happens. Though certainly the band was influenced by the English famous bands their sound was much more like its country brothers Eloy (although they deny the fact).

Adonis (1979) opens with the suite of same name and its 4 parts in 24 minutes. The suite starts with a peaceful kind of Prog coming out of the speakers with beautiful melodies. Bass player Harald Bareth delivers some soulful playing and very competent vocals while the keyboard player Matthias Ulmer very often double his vocals forming then a perfect union. Also, in 'Adonis Part III: Adonis' he's the responsible for great synthesizers. Something else to pay attention to are Uwe Karpa's guitars. He doesn't show off all the time but instead he works greatly for the music, meanwhile Kono Konopik delivers tight and competent drums. All in all 'Adonis' is the main piece of the album and it should be clear to everyone with this suite the high quality of the group then, especially because this was their debut album.

The second side of the album starts with the slow instrumental piece 'Blue House'. The track was named after the house they lived and rehearsed for this album in the previous 2 years of the release. The next song is 'Sally'. This track, despite its weird tempo, is more of an upbeat song and a bit more simple in comparison with 'Adonis' suite, for example. Closing the original album we have the track that gives the band a name. 'Anyone's Daughter' (that was also influenced by the Deep Purple's song with the same name) is a building up kind of song. It begins slow and it goes on a crescendo, building its climax till the vocals start around the middle.

The original LP was released in 1979 by the labels Brain/Metronome. The version I'm reviewing was released in 2010 by the German label Tempus Fugit and has 3 bonus tracks. The first two are songs never recorded in studio. 'The Taker' and 'The Warship' were recorded live in 1977 on Scorndorf, Germany. The first has a great organ riff with galloping bass and dancing guitars. The second is more of a 'funk' piece full of twists and riffs, though it goes smooth with the verses.

I usually don't like bonus tracks as very often they don't add anything and are also recordings of a completely different period than this the album was recorded in. Not here, both tracks are great treasures for fans and they fit the studio material.

The third track is in fact a video of 'Adonis Part I: Come Away' that was recorded in 1978 in the studio Zuckerfabrick (Sugar Factory) during the recordings of the album. The remastered version of Adonis (1979) also has a very nice text on the booklet by Stefan Oswald (both in German and English) as well as lyrics and pictures of the band.

Adonis (1979) is a great album that brought the late 70's Prog back on tracks and this new edition is a must have for the band's fans and Prog lovers!

Very recommended!

(Originally posted on progshine.net)