AERIE FAERIE NONSENSE

Listening to this and In The Region Of The Summer Stars back to back I like this a lot more.The question being posed by other reviewers seems to be whether this is actually prog rock or a symphony.Does it matter if its good? Anyway there is definitely a drummer on the album so it comes under prog rock! At pretty much the same time this was released ELP were recording the brilliant symphonic prog track Pirates(from Works Volume One) with the L'Orchestra Du Paris so I'm comfortable this comes with the genre we are discussing.

BUT is it any good? Certainly is! I found this overall a much more satisfying listen than In The Region Of The Summer Stars. The composition is more complete to my ears with more thought given to the flow of the music.I also really enjoy the use of orchestra and classical instrumentation. I have a tiny classical collection so my knowledge of such things is a bit sketchy. However I do know this is beautifully written and conceived. It is mainly orchestrated but drums,synths and guitars do figure along the way.All done for the benefit of the music to my ears.Despite the grandiose themes the music never sounds bloated or overdone. The creative vision reigns supreme.

Masterpeice then? Yes why not. Music like this is so rare it should be treasured

What? As of 2020 only 39 ratings and one review for this absolutely essential progressive rock album from the heart of the seventies?

On their debut, In the Region of the Summer Stars, The Enid charted out a new path for symphonic rock, rooted in late-19th century romantic symphonic music. It had all the rhythmic subtlety, rich orchestration and vibrant emotion one finds in Elgar, Puccini, Rachmaninoff and Mahler. Aerie Faerie Nonsense takes the raw materials of the debut album and pushes it into a territory that no other band has before or since approached. That's because carrying out their chosen style requires an expertise in rubato, articulation and dynamics that classical musicians struggle over many years to acquire. The Enid formula isn't one that can easily be emulated.

The first side of Aerie Faerie Nonsense is a symphonic suite in itself, bookended by bristling high energy numbers Mayday Galliard and Childe Roland, each full of counterpoint and instrumental detail. Robert John Godfrey's keyboards at first seem to be the foreground focus. Rather than the overt synth and organ flash of a Wakeman or Emerson, Godfrey forms miraculously authentic orchestral textures with the keyboard technology of the day, sometimes requiring stunning virtuosity. But we've learned over time that guitarist Francis Lickerish provided a lot of the melodic soul of the album. The duo guitars of Lickerish and Stephen Stewart weave through these rich arrangements, proving once and for all that the electric guitar is capable of more powerful melodicism than any other instrument yet invented by man. The slower track on the side, Ondine features Lickerish on lute and is absolutely enchanting.

Side two is probably the defining moment for this band. Fand is a continuous 17-minute symphonic movement that reaches far into the ethereal depths of the English imagination. A mythical tale is told with late- romantic orchestration filtered through rock and electronic instrumentation. It's done with confidence, mastery and inspiration. A brooding opening gives way to grand musical gestures that come in waves, with peaks of soaring electric guitar and rock orchestra that defy the needle to stay in the vinyl groove.

The release history of this album is confused. The band revisited Fand in a few different studio re-recordings, which have their strengths and weaknesses. The album itself was largely re-recorded in the 80s. Although the "updated" versions are pretty cool in their own way, I recommend getting to know Aerie Faerie Nonsense in the original versions as released in the fall of 1977 to get the full force of what they achieved. Then take a listen to the live Fand from Hammersmith, which is one of the greatest live performances ever put on record.

The ENID / AERIE FAERIE NONSENSE (1977)

Aerie Faerie Nonsense is The Enid's second album. With the genius of Robert John Godfrey's Classical and Symphonic touches, The Enid paved a new path for themselves by blending late (Wagner, Mahler, Sibelius, Elgar, Grieg, Beethoven) from Late Romantic Music Era into their symphonic arrangements. However, an important note, if you're not a fan of classical music (especially the romantic Mahler kind of era), then you're not going to enjoy this album.

Aerie Faerie Nonsense is a concept album, first side of the album is based on Robert Browning's Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came poem. The second side of the album is based on the Irish mythology of Fand. Fand is the queen of fairies, and the album art is based on her image. Tristan and Isolde and Myth of Parsival also make their way into the narrative of the album sparingly.

Let's start the review, shall we? The album opens with a brief prelude that sets the stage for a beautiful romance piece with mellow musical tone arrangements, and it ends with little vibraphone touches, It is a great prelude for the next track.

The next track is called "Mayday Galliard" which starts the tale of Roland. This track is kind of whimsy, I love Stephen Stewart's guitar work on "Mayday Galliard," a lovely piece of gentle Symphonic Prog.

The third track "Ondine" is a short dreamy song that features flute (keyboard simulated) backed acoustic guitar melodies, soft piano melodies, light keyboard parts. These soft harmonic melodies do give this piece a medieval touch, and piano melodies remind me of Beethoven. Guitarist Francis Lickerish does a great job here playing melodic guitar in this little song.

"Childe Roland" the fourth track of the album reveals The Enid's playful side in the middle of their voyage. When you combine very alive and kicking percussions and melancholic classical movements with ferocious (definitely not the right word) guitar sections and brilliant keyboard arrangements this happens! This tune symbolizes, in other words, embodies Symphonic Progressive music at its utmost best.

In the name of Classical Progressive music, who wouldn't love the soaring crescendos of the wonderfully orchestral "Fand" the sixteen-minute epic. Divided into two movements, the first movement musically portrays the meeting of Lady Fand and her love Cuchulainn, the second movement depicts the separation of them. These movements by The Enid, are based on the "Irish myth of Fand" originally but musically based on "The Garden of Fand", a symphonic tone poem composed by Sir Arnold Bax. In "The Garden of Fand", Lady Fand and her boyfriend Cuchulainn are introduced. Cuchulainn is seduced away by Lady Fand from her home and duty. As soon as Emer (the wife of Cuchulainn) becomes envious of the pair, she assaults them. Cuchulainn and Emer's affair upsets Lady Fand so much that she decides to leave Cuchulainn forever as she's worthy of Cuchulainn as his wife. Musically, this piece is the flagship of the album that brings such emotion and romance which is hard to resist, and in my opinion, it is one of the best compositions ever by The Enid. "Fand" does have The Enid's defining signature guitar melodies, and it has some sinister moments which alternates into engaging moments or vice versa which requires the attention of the listeners. This orchestral shouldn't sound boring to the listeners of late romantic classical composers, such as Mahler. This piece is classical music obviously, just done with rock instruments.

Aerie Faerie Nonsense, in my opinion, still belongs to the progressive music genre, however with very significant classical influences, from Mayday Galliard to the Fand. From a technical standpoint, the last two songs of the album "Fand 1 & 2" may either require a sound amplifier or pre-amp if your headphones are not loud as these two songs are low on volume, and they were not mastered very well for bassy headphones, as the band had been low on budget. Irrespective of the audio quality, this album is still a masterpiece of symphonic prog so it gets 5/5 from me.