Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Jade Warrior - Now CD (album) cover

NOW

Jade Warrior

Psychedelic/Space Rock


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Bookmark and Share
Gooner
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars 4.5 stars. Easily becoming one of my favourite Jad Warrior albums. I highly recommend this album to fans of Porcupine Tree, David Sylvian solo, Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield, Flower Kings, Steve Morse-era Deep Purple, Djivan Gasparyan, Dead Can Dance, Elbow, old and modern King Crimson, David Gilmour solo, later period Talk Talk, Michael Brook and Rush(yes...Rush!). Also, throw in the kitchen sink with _world musics_ and the mid-period chamber rock/ambient works of '74-'78 Jade Warrior. Yet, this all sounds like Jade Warrior to me. Arguably their best album since 1978's _Way Of The Sun_ with a fusion of 1972's _Last Autumn's Dream_. Many surprises with volume, especially the guitar parts played by Tim Stone(like a cross between Robert Fripp and Jade Warrior's late guitarist Tony Duhig). This whole NOW is a roller coaster throughout the entire career of Jade Warrior. From the 26 second mark of the entire CD, you know instantly that this is Jade Warrior when the soaring Jon Field's flute appears. Other highlights include the saxophone playing of Theo Travis(Gong) where he sounds like a cross between Didier Malherbe(Gong) and Branford Marsalis. I was somewhat skeptical with a discriminatory outlook upon pressing play> since I'd some of Jade Warrior's later works - thinking that Jade Warrior were well past their due date. Glyn Havard is back in the fold on vocals from their early period. The whole Jade Warrior NOW is THE highlight of late 2008-2009 thus far. An almost Masterpiece, 4.5 stars really.

Other reviews I've come by on-line are here at amazon.com(I certainly hope they don't mind I include them here):

The Majestic Return of the Warrior, July 15, 2008 By Douglas Vencill Progressive Rock/Electronic ... (San Diego, CA USA)

Jade Warrior, for unjustifiable reasons, have been and remain one of the Best Kept Secrets in the annals of Progressive Rock, World Music, Jazz Fusion, New Age, & Avant-Garde/Experimental Music. They deserve SO much more in the way of international exposure & accolades from the music community; and we who love their music can only hope that the world finally, eventually takes notice of their utterly unique, hypnotic hybrid of music that, to say the very least, has an other-worldly feel to it. I've sometimes wondered what distant, glowing green planet Jon Field, Glyn Havard, & the late GREAT Tony Duhig came from!

We who've followed their music over the years have been long anticipating the release of this, their newest recording...and speaking for myself, I can state with a definite degree of certainty that long- time fans of the Warrior will NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. I received the CD from their website in the mail yesterday, listened to it through headphones last night, and started an Email to my fellow Warriors. The transcript follows:

Hey guys... I am writing to let you know I am listening to the new Jade Warrior CD called NOW, for the first time, as I type this. I will give you my immediate impressions of the songs as I hear them. 1. FOOL AND HIS BRIDE: Jazzy! Acoustic bass, tenor sax, sultry vocals from Glyn, builds to a very cool climax. 7:36 2. JOURNEY: Beautiful! A little faster-paced, very new age sounding, some cool acoustic guitar, mellotron-sounding keyboards, soprano sax. 5:52 3. LOST BOYS: WAY cool! Shuffling beat, more cool keyboards, treated harmony vocals, some cool lead guitar. 7:05 4. TALL TREES: Starts with wind chimes, the sound of a LARGE insect buzzing, then fretless bass, Fender Rhodes, sampled cello, very interesting time signature--can't get a grip on it yet. VERY psychedelic sounding! 3:56 5. FLOATING MOON: Crosses over from previous track into this also psychedelic sounding instrumental with tanpura (the droning instrument heard in the background of sitar music), layered flutes, very trippy! 2:18 6. 3AM MELTDOWN: Crosses over from previous track, here they move into previous avant-garde-heavy metal territory in the style of Snake, Joanne, 3-Horned Dragon King, etc. Very other-worldly sounding with some cool distorted fuzz guitar, soprano sax, trippy keyboards, & very angry vocals from Glyn. 4:21 7. TRUE LOVE: Starts with odd percussion sounds, fretless bass harmonics, more sultry, multi-tracked vocals from Glyn, very cool 4/4 drum beat, slowly builds in intensity, adding some great electric guitar power chording, ends dramatically! 5:47 8. TALISMAN: Nice-sounding ballad in Glyn's old style, nice 3/4 drum beat, acoustic guitar, piano, Jon's triple-tracked flutes--the thought comes to mind that if they were wanting to reach a larger audience, they could do a cool video for this & maybe put it on VH-1. Accessible-sounding track without sounding like they sold out. 3:05 9. SCREAMING DREAMS: Opening vocal intro very similar to their Soldier's Song (<--I think that's the title) from the REFLECTIONS album. Fast- paced with tone-defeated vocals, Glyn doing rapid-style vocalizing...this almost sounds like it could have come from the RELEASED album. A very dissonant, angry-sounding song, a cross between jazz and more avant-garde heavy metal. 4:54 10. EVERYTHING MUST PASS: Soft-sounding beginning with Glyn's 3-part vocals and a Latin beat a la WAY OF THE SUN, leading into kind of a Latin big-band sound with layered keyboards & saxophones, finally fading into silence. 6:04

Personnel: JON FIELD: Flutes, percussion, keyboards GLYN HAVARD: Vocals, additional guitar DAVE STURT: Basses, percussion, keyboards Joined by: TIM STONE: Guitars THEO TRAVIS: Saxes CHRIS INGHAM: Piano JEFF DAVENPORT: Drums With additional help from: LOTTIE FIELD: Woodwinds SAM RYDE: Piano CAROL BELLINGHAM: Backing Vocals GOWAN TURNBULL: Layered Saxes, Contrabass Clarinet BRIAN IMIG: Remiclud*

*took me a minute to figure that one out. It's dulcimer spelled backwards.

51 MINUTES LATER.....

Well, color me impressed! My first impression is WOW, VERY good, Jade Warrior is back! This is an uber-cool, very well-produced & well-executed album & one that I think Tony Duhig would be very proud of...I can envision him in Heaven saying, Good job, chaps. The engineering is also top-notch--every instrument on here (especially the DRUMS) sounds great. I could not recommend this more highly--a VERY worthy addition to Jade Warrior's already impressive library of music. Is sure to appeal to fans of progrock, jazz, & lovers of avant-garde & experimental music.

When Glyn worked with Tony's brother, guitarist David Duhig a few years ago (under the moniker Dogstar Poets) speculation began as to whether a Jade Warrior reunion was in the works. This current version of the band is a fantastic answer to our prayers. The CD is a jewel in their crown, a work of art that anyone can tell was tended to lovingly before its release into the material world. The production & engineering is flawless, absolutely crystal clear. Jon's flute-isms are as wonderful as always; Glyn's voice, sounding obviously more mature these days, STILL comes across in its alternately lilting and powerfully-growling manner. We simply could not have hoped for a better album in the way of a Jade Warrior Of The New Millennium. God bless Jon & Glyn and their flawless coterie of supporting musicians for doing an impeccable job of carrying on with the true spirit of the Warrior.

5.0 out of 5 stars Must buy for Jade Warrior fans, December 2, 2008 By James A. Woronow

This review is from: Now (Audio CD) Very nice! For all those who felt that Jade Warrior was dead this is a resurrection of sorts. This CD is somewhere between Last Autumn's Dreams and Waves. The score is great and reminiscent of their musical albums. Words are sung by a more mature and spiritual voice of Glyn Havard. Jon Field's flutes are soft and buttery. If I have one critique it would be that this should have been a two CD set; one with lyrics and one without. Everyone who enjoyed the Jade Warrior of the 70's will be delighted by this effort. Much better than the Dogstar Poets IMHO.

Report this review (#205778)
Posted Sunday, March 8, 2009 | Review Permalink
4 stars First an admission.......I was lucky enough to promote Jade Warrior at the Astoria 2 many moons ago. They were kind enough to send me a copy of this album so I could use the artwork. This is the only Jade Warrior album I own so I have no idea how it compares with their earlier material. I have lived with this album for many years now and every time I put it on I'm amazed at how 'modern' sounding it is. Brilliantly produced and well layered. It has much in common with Talk Talk and bands like the Alan Parsons Project. Each track boasts multiple 'parts' and you're never left for long to get tired of a particular passage of music. That's not to say it jumps around needlessly, rather that it ebbs and flows between acoustic reverie, lush orchestrated diversions and proggy flute salad. The vocals suit the music perfectly and the whole feel of the album is of a group of musicians who are relaxed and happy with their music.......it's not forced or 'difficult'. Highly recommended.
Report this review (#801731)
Posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 | Review Permalink
3 stars I like this album, and it is a fitting denouement for this obscure yet thrilling collective.

The first time I listened to it I expected the more New Age Jade Warrior that had prevailed since Nineteen Eighty Four's Horizen. I was wrong - this is a real rock and roll record that does have some atmospheric passages with a lot of trademark flute. Still, clanging rough Frippian guitars (another JW trademark) peek through here and there adding color and a sinister attitude to the proceedings. The real surprise were the vocals, there here and there almost everywhere. They don't detract from the music for me, they are just there.

The last three cuts are the highlight for me, it's like the rest build up to them. Excellent closing statement in Everything Must Pass.

Definitely on the softer side of contemporary prog, but a nice find nonetheless for inclined parties.

Report this review (#1934466)
Posted Sunday, May 27, 2018 | Review Permalink
kenethlevine
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Prog-Folk Team
4 stars With the benefit of almost a half century of hindsight, one can assess the classic era of JADE WARRIOR as being divided into two equally significant epochs, conveniently demarcated by the labels on which they recorded but also by something of a shift in style and content.

The first chapter, the Vertigo years, offered 3 releases and one minor classic, that being the self titled debut. It was characterized by a vocal orientation and a certain collision between yin and yang that didn't always end happily. Still, the blend of early KING CRIMSON and JETHRO TULL meets BLACK SABBATH in the quaint college town of Canterbury turned a few heads I dare say, and with reason.

The next phase was on Island records, where they magically parlayed a 3 record deal with continued lack of commercial windfall into a 4 record sojourn, of which the first and fourth, "Floating World" and "Way of the Sun", can be considered minor classics as much for the quality of the work as for their uniqueness and their apparent influence in the prog world and beyond. This was an all instrumental proposition, more ambient and world oriented but still with occasionally uneasy outbursts of fuzzy guitar that didn't always work. Hmm plus ca change...

That takes us to the end of the 1970s. But this is a review of their 2008 album, so I'd like to fast forward over the 30 intervening years to just say that, while to varying degrees they tried to resurrect the lifeblood of the Island work, they hadn't attempted to reclaim the early Vertigo sound, until "Now". It could not have been otherwise given that original songwriter and vocalist Glyn Havard was back in the fold for the first time since he was kicked out simply because he was a singer, coincident with the Island signing. The simple monosyllabic title is so a propos, for this is JADE WARRIOR now, today, but also now is all that matters; all the past experiences and reflections upon them can help inform our today, but only if one can learn to be in the here and now.

JADE WARRIOR has never made it easy upon themselves, but what "Now" does accomplishes is that most elusive triumph of drawing upon the old sound without retreading, updating without losing their vintage coolness, even if nobody can even imagine, let alone remember when they were cool. A group that barely managed to produce one near perfect piece has arranged two here, in a row! First is the ROUSSEAU like ballad "Journey", which would be miraculous if it didn't name-check "Last Autumn's Dream", but it does, and fully merits the shout out. Then we have "Lost Boys", with all the wisdom of an elder chiding today's spiritual bankruptcies. Yet as lyrically fascinating as it is, the meter here is the real marvel.

While the rest doesn't maintain this high level, "3 AM meltdown" manages to channel frenetic outbursts into gentle aftermaths better than most of what they attempted before. Everywhere are Field's flutes softening the face of the new band, while Gowan Turnbull and Theo Travis contribute lazy brass to persuade us of a jazzy timbre we may have missed before, especially noteworthy on the opener "Fool and His Bride". Shockingly, a dulcimer player happened to be in the studio at that time! Havard dominates in his DAVID SYLVIAN voice...or had Sylvian borrowed Havard's pipes for his uber elegant 1980s albums?. Either way, I do wish DAVID/GLYN would not use them to convey "Screaming Dreams" ever ever again.

Since this last JADE WARRIOR release is 12 years old as of this writing, and FIELD and HAVARD are both pushing 80, one would be pardoned for thinking that "Now" is the final chapter, though apparently there has been work on a successor since at least 2012, called "Haiku". One can hope, but "Now" is a vital release that more or less closes all those pesky loops that were uncomfortably littering our prog fairy tales for too long, if in somewhat typically chaotic WARRIOR fashion. 3.5 stars, of course rounded up!

Report this review (#2343988)
Posted Saturday, March 21, 2020 | Review Permalink

JADE WARRIOR Now ratings only


chronological order | showing rating only

Post a review of JADE WARRIOR Now


You must be a forum member to post a review, please register here if you are not.

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.