FACING GRAVITY

Second release from this excellent German progressive rock outfit. I acquired this CD several years ago and was immediately addicted to their sound. Lead vocalist Martin Eden has one of those voices which just go right through you (at times has a bit of a Peter GABRIEL delivery). Also of note is the excellent guitar work of Udo Lang and keyboard work of Tobias Budnowski who play with great emotion and sound performances. Highlight for me is opening track "Start It" which has been played to death and represents in my opinion perhaps their most expressive song ever. This is a great neo-prog like album which I have and continue to enjoy very much... a great discovery.

Despite the lame cover art-work CHANDELIER is not that bad you can think at first. They play in very IQ-like style (songs like "Start It" and "Wash & Go" could have been IQ outtakes from "The Wake" era!). Other songs remind me of H's MARILLION ("Cuckoo", "Safe"), while "Glimpse Of Home" epic borders Prog-Metal sometimes. Yes, there are some cheesy tracks like "Itai" and "This Circling World", but this is certainly not bad record. I'm ready to get "Pure", the most recommended among CHANDELIER releases. The only complaint is Martin's voice: hardly bearable for me. I think he's a bit too possessed with Gabriel/Nicholls-wannabeeing. He should work his own voice out. Recommended for IQ and MARILLION fans.

Same old story you know. "IQ" did a very good job at this and there is no real need any longer for me to get one of their clone on my CD player.

"Start It" or "Cuckoo" sounds as déjà vu a thousand times. Being the music or the vocals. Both are decent, but what's the use to listen to the 164th sub-par Gabriel?

Having said this, songs from "Facing Gravity" aren't bad; but lack in personality.

The most original moment is "Itai". Some Japanese words from the guest Masaru Kikawa during the intro, a fine melody, discreet backing band. A true "Chandelier" song! One of my fave from this album. The ballad "Safe" is not bad either. Martin Eden (the lead singer) even attempting to sound as Bowie now!

The epic "Glimpse Of Home" (almost fifteen minutes) starts very poorly and one might think: gosh, shall I bear this for a quarter of an hour? Well, things quickly get better and Udo Lang on the guitar play is really worth a listen, the melody is fine and Nicholls rather convincing (sorry, it's Martin). Passionate guitar really.

Some bombastic (if not pompous) keys are taking the role for a while. But not for long. The listener is brought back again into quiet and enjoyable moods. At the end of the day, this long piece also belongs to the good moments from this album.

The next good number (at least to my ears), is "Wash & Go". Even if, again, Martin sounds as a carbon copy of Nicholls. The song is harmonious, strongly keyboards oriented (hi Martin- Orford). Another good neo-prog song for sure with a poignant finale.

This work is pretty long. It would have been wise to shorten it a bit ("All My Ways" and "This Circling World" aren't that necessary). Three stars.

Chandelier is an obscure german neo prog band from the '90's with 3 albums under the belt. This is their second release from 1992 named Facing gravity. Despite the fact that the cover art is a little strange for the band musical vision, the album in my opinion is excellent, to tell the truth is one of the best I've ever heared from this sub genre. Clearly influnced by bands like IQ, Marillion or even Peter Gabriel, Chandelier manage to create somthing worthing investigated. What I like most is the voice of Martin Eden, he fits like a glove here, realy, I think is the cherry on the cake, very good voice with many great passages, doesn't matter if he's likeGabriel or Fish, he is very good in what is doing, is his range , his voice and I don't think must avoid a voice only because happend to be close to those well known musicians. Another shinig star here is the guitar of Udo Lang , he has some truly amazing moments here like on opening track Start It - one of the best neo prog pieces I ever heared , damn catchy riff and excellent musical lines, the voice again is brilliant and on longest track from here Glimpse Of Home anearly 15 min of great and full of intristing arranhements, on the middle of the piece the guitar take lead and is realy great, the keys aswell have an important role. Another two gtrea tunes from this album are Itai - intristing intro words providing by Masaru Kikawa, great piece full of unexpected smoothness and brilliant and discrete instrumantal passages and Safe, the rest of the pieces are great not a weak moment here for sure. This band was never popular in prog circles, it's a shame because at least this one from the three albums they released is very good and for sure can beat most of the albums from neo prog who are miles away better known. I will give 4 stars easy for Facing gravity one of the releases who needs a wider recognition for sure and can stay without problem near Iq, Pallas, Arena, Marillion or other important bands from this field.

To explain the cover art which pictures a bee and the title "Facing Gravity" i'll quote the liner notes. "The principles of aerodynamics show that it is impossible for a wing area of 0.7cm squared to support, in flight, a gross weight of 1.2 g. The humble-bee, blissfully ignoring of this fact, simply flies". CHANDELIER are a Neo-Prog band from Germany who sound to me more like IQ than they do MARILLION. Regardless this album really did little for me even though i'm a big IQ and Neo-Prog fan. Hard to put a finger on it but the fact is I didn't enjoy this that much.

"Start It" opens with drums and keyboards standing out. Guitar then vocals follow. It's the synths and keyboard show 3 /2 minutes in. Good song. "Cuckoo" is mellow with reserved vocals to start but it does get fuller 3 minutes in. "Itai" is interesting to start with that gong followed by percussion and guitar. Spoken words come in then vocals after a minute. It kicks in before 4 1/2 minutes with drums out in front. "Safe" is really a ballad.

"Glimpse Of Home" opens with keys and fragile vocals. It picks up 1 1/2 minutes in then picks up even more before 4 minutes. It settles with reserved vocals and piano after 5 minutes. Guitar is prominant 7 1/2 minutes in. A change a minute later as synths,bass and drums take over. "All My Ways" is uptempo with some good guitar. It settles when the vocals arrive. Nice bass after 2 minutes. Synths come and go. "This Circling World" features lots of synths, vocals and drums. I like it. "Wash & Go" is mellow with reserved vocals. It licks in before 1 1/2 minutes. Contrasts continue. "Autumn Song" is mostly acoustic guitar and laid back vocals.

So a pretty good album but one I haven't taken to. Barely 3 stars.

Among the several gigs following their debut Chandelier found also time to write down the first ideas for an upcoming sophomore work.So the waiting lasted only two years, as the band entered the TRO-Studios in Dormagen to record ''Facing gravity'' with the help of Toni Moff Mollo of Grobschnitt fame on vocals and Masaru Kikawa on the narration of ''Itai''.The album was again released on Sisyphus Records.

This was another loyal effort to the likes of MARILLION 80's British Prog-related groups by Chandelier with their music being driven by the soaring keyboards, the effective guitars and the deep, lyrical moments.As with ''Pure'', there are lots of variations is the sound, ranging from rhythmic and bombastic tones to atmospheric, song-based material.Personality is still absent, but everything on this album is well-played with sheer passion for Neo Prog aesthetics, maybe the drums' recording is a negative factor, sounding very flat and sterile.The arrangements are nice with many ups and downs, characterized by the emphatic FISH-like vocals of Eden (although he stated CAT STEVENS as his main influence) and the combination of sharp, symphonic synthesizers and soaring electric guitars.Towards a less commercial style, Chandelier even included their first attempt on a long composition, the 15-min. ''Glimpse of home'', an amalgam of the band's approach with light piano, bombastic synths and melodic guitars in evidence along with a couple of grandiose orchestral runs.Overall Chandelier's atmosphere on ''Facing gravity'' alternates between romantic textures with vocals in the forefront and more intricate musicianship with symphonic moves around.

The album has a strong 80's/90's flavor and ends up to be a typical product of the time.Fans of Neo Prog and the more accesible side of Symphonic Rock are warmly encouraged to chase this work.Definitely interesting but rather unoriginal music.