SHEPHERD'S SYMPHONY

It's the first and last time the band changed radically their sound to very accessible, soft mainstream music. The album "for you and me" and "raga city" also released in the 90's announced the coming of shocking influences but the result were not as dramatic as in this derivative and poor album. When I listened to "Shepherd's symphony" I wondered if it was the right CD or if it was a joke. This album is a total disaster. I t consists of boring ambient / ethnic soundscapes turned into a very modern electronic style. The sound is very unpleasant, sophisticated, incorporated electro beats, mentioning an avalanche of pulsating rhythms which really can't work with Popol Vuh's peaceful music. We clearly understand the band's effort to convince younger listeners but all real fans of the band can only disapprove this new orientation.

In the 90s Florian Fricke tried to reinvent Popol Vuh and to turn music of his project into more understandble for the young listeners product. So he choose the model for the sound - popular in the 90s projects as Deep Forest, Enigma, Banco de Gaia, Peter Gabriel, Future Sound of London etc. - and recorded two albums ( "City Raga" and "Shepherd's Symphony") in the style close to those records. Comparing with "City Raga" this album is more developed and interesting. It's not prog rock at all - it is pop music with ethnic scent and ambiental feelings. Electronic rhythms, beats, loops and samples of ethnic singing.

So if you are stuck to prog rock epic guitar and keyboards solos, if you are listening not to the music but to the style, to the canons of it - simply it's not your album.

But if you are more open-minded listener and if you are like electronic and pop music in Deep Forest or Peter Gabriel influenced ethnic style - probably you would like "Shepherd's Symphony". Why not? It's still Popol Vuh album with positive driving energy and the developing of music themes. In time of the first listening I was wondering: "Is that Popol Vuh?". I was amazed. But after the second and the third times the music started to work for me, I felt that energy, and now it's one of my favourite albums by Popol Vuh. I frequently listening to it as to background music for creative work. I think that Florian Fricke was quite a strong person if he could start new phase of his career in the 90s with completely new concept of sound. For the first time this music appeared in the documentary "Kailash" which were filmed by the members of Popol Vuh - Florian Fricke and Frank Fiedler in this sacred place. Those who like "Cobra Verde" by Popol Vuh would hear samples of African girls singing from this album on the track "Dance of the menads". So relax, don't wait for the prog and give this album a chance - imagine fantasy Ancient world, Oriental or global village ladscape of the future - and welcome to the travel with Popol Vuh.