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Sebastian Hardie - Four Moments CD (album) cover

FOUR MOMENTS

Sebastian Hardie

 

Symphonic Prog

3.86 | 160 ratings

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AtomicCrimsonRush
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Symphonic beauty.

Australian symphonic prog is a rarity so it is with gratitude that I am able to immerse myself in the beauty of "Four Moments" by Sebastian Hardie. I heard this on vinyl at a friend's place in the 80s and have since had this on cassete for years, and now the CD enhances the listening pleasure tenfold. I had forgotten how achingly beautiful and uplifting this music is. There is some incredible musicianship on this and it is not without its virtuoso moments especially some of the guitar lead work and organ phrases. The band consist of Mario Millo on vocals, guitar, mandoline, Toivo Pilt on keyboards, mellotron, Alex Plavsic on drums, and Peter Plavsic is bassist.

'Four Moments: 1 Glories Shall Be Released' begins this exporation of symphonic beauty. The orchestral keyboards are complimented by a melodic guitar and the percussion and bass rhythm prowess. Ater a long intro of melodic powerful keyboards, Mario Millo's vocals come in; "now you feel the heat of the sun upon your face, and as you reach out you really can embrace everything is real."

'Dawn of Our Sun' is a gorgeous piece of music with haunting flute sounds on keyboards, and a very effective phased psychedelic guitar picking rhythm, with cymbal splashes that add a sense of majesty to the sound. Vocals by Millo add to the sense of mystery; "time moves on, our sun will be gone, leaving our sky, and night time will come, deep in our minds, memories live on, lost in a haze, soon we will be gone." The melancholica of the lyrics are augmented by soaring lead guitar and uplifting mellotron.

'Rosanna' is a showpiece of exquisite music with violining guitar, and infectious melodic elegance. It is the biggest track for the band and is a popular live favourite. On the last track we have perhaps the best of Sebastian Hardie. 'Openings' is a 13 minute mesmirising journey into beautiful soundscapes. Camel influences abound, especially with the Andy Latimer guitar style. The melody is nice, and it is very relaxing music with tranquil synths and orchestration. The organ is excellent especially when it launches into a solo and shimmers with effervescence alongside pipe organ and piano. The feel of the piece is on the same steady time sig but it builds in intensity and is replete with passages of exquisite crystalline keyboards. The dreamy musicality is superb, and the violin style of guitar over the spacey textures of mellotron is exemplary. I love how the heavy riff locks in toward the end and it changes into a diferent rock style using the same melody but quicker tempo.

This is an excellent album with swathes of mellotron and guitar lead work, a must have for lovers of Camel, Yes, Eloy, The Moody Blues and symphonic prog.

AtomicCrimsonRush | 4/5 |

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