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A COLLECTION OF WORLDS, PART I

Unicorn

Neo-Prog


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Unicorn A Collection of Worlds, Part I album cover
3.07 | 5 ratings | 2 reviews | 20% 5 stars

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Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 1988

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Luscinia Megarynchos 01:36
2. Times Of Change 05:23
3. Message From A Distant Sky 05:27
4. Dreamland 05:59
5. Mr K Just Left The Circus 04:34
6. Fly Eagle Fly 05:00
7. An Outroduction From A World Of Worlds 00:04

Line-up / Musicians

Anders Mareby - Guitars, Cello, Vocals
Peter Edwinzon - Keyboards, Vocals
Dan Swanö - Vocals, Drums, Session Bass, Session Saxophone
Per Runesson - Bass

Releases information

Demo, Self Released 1988

Thanks to J-Man for the addition
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UNICORN A Collection of Worlds, Part I ratings distribution


3.07
(5 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(20%)
20%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(20%)
20%
Good, but non-essential (60%)
60%
Collectors/fans only (0%)
0%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

UNICORN A Collection of Worlds, Part I reviews


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Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by J-Man
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars What A Great First Demo!

The first demo from Swedish neo-prog band Unicorn is some of the earliest music Dan Swanö has ever participated in, and even at this young age he managed to create some great music! The heart of Unicorn was always Dan Swanö, Peter Edwinzon, and Anders Mareby. Their bass player on this demo (I believe it's Per Runesson), was soon replaced by Dan's brother Tom Nouga (except on the After Before demo, where Peter Edwinzon played bass).

The music played on A Collection of Worlds, Part I is neo-prog in the vein of Marillion. While Unicorn's music never did anything to push the boundaries of progressive rock, I always find something about their music to be rather charming. Heartfelt and sincere music always comes from their demos and albums, and I think that's why I can often excuse the flaws in their releases. The production quality of this demo is rather poor, Dan's voice wasn't really perfected yet, and some of the arrangements aren't fully matured, but somehow none of those things ever severely affect my listening experiences with this demo.

Part of the reasons why this demo is so enjoyable is the high-quality musicianship. Peter Edwinzon is one great keyboard player, and he really delivers the music powerfully and dynamically. His playing isn't as great as it was on future releases, but he still shows his chops on this debut demo. Anders Mareby is also a very talented guitarist. His melodic playing style fits the neo-prog genre perfectly (similarly to Steve Rothery). Of course Dan Swanö also does a fantastic job, mostly through his compositional talents. His voice is a little underdeveloped in some parts, but he gets the job done.

A Collection of Worlds, Part I consists of 7 tracks, but only 6 can only really be called songs. The final track is a short, 4 second outro. My favorite song on the demo is the beautiful Dreamland. The keyboards and melodies are just wonderfully crafted. Times of Change is another favorite of mine, but a better version can be found on their debut album. Fly Eagle Fly is a great way to end the demo before the short outro. Every song is memorable though, and I have a tough time finding flaws from the compositional aspect of this demo.

Conclusion:

A Collection of Worlds, Part I is a really enjoyable, if flawed, debut demo from Unicorn. If you can look past the flaws in the production and arrangements of these pieces, you will find some really magical music. My rating will be 3 stars for this demo. After all, it can be found legally (from Dan Swanö) on a blog online for free, so there's no reason not to get it. I would suggest getting The Weirdest of Tales before this one, though. That's a really great demo. Still, this one comes recommended to any fan of quality neo-prog.

3 stars.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Cult progressive rock band from Örebro,Sweden, featuring a young Dan Swano,known for his works in the heavy/death metal field,most notably with Edge of Sanity and Nightingale.Swano along with guitarist Anders Mareby were in the band Ghost from mid-80's,joined later by bassist Per Runesson.With the addition of singer Björn Eriksson and keyboardist Peter Edwinzon they became Icarus,but soon Eriksson left due to style disagreements.The quartet was renamed to Unicorn by 1987 and released a cassette in 1988 entitled ''A Collection of Worlds'' with Swano on vocals and drums.

It is hard to believe that this is a dedicated metal-head like Dan guiding this band,as the sound is pretty easy-going Progressive Rock,based on elaborate melodies and deep atmospheres.The overall style is pretty much in the vein of the early-80's British prog bands,mainly I find similarities with TWELFTH NIGHT and COMEDY OF ERRORS.Swano's voice is actually quite good for the style,which is based on some careful and dreamy keyboard themes,the strong guitar work with the fine soloing throughout and the easily accesible song structures.A couple of the pieces presented have a strong yet well-hidden GENESIS influence like the fabulous, almost symphonic ''Times Of Change'' or the romantic ''Mr K Just Left The Circus'',while a few others contain signs of Melodic Rock/AOR,''Fly eagle fly'' being one of them and also count in the excellent ballad ''Dreamland''.The memorable choruses and well-crafted arrangements indicate that these teenagers had some great talent to present.

Some nice work by Swano and his fellows on this rare demo release.''A Collection of Worlds'' is on par with the most of the Neo Prog characteristics and fans of the style will find this effort trully attractive.But I would even recommend this work to die-hard metallers in order to seek Dan Swano's music roots.

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