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LAND OF GREEN AND GOLD

Karfagen

Symphonic Prog


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Karfagen Land of Green and Gold album cover
4.05 | 145 ratings | 13 reviews | 28% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 2022

Songs / Tracks Listing

- Chapter 1: Land of Green
1. Kingfisher and Dragonflies (Part 3) (2:11)
2. Land of Green (Part 1) (11:00)
3. Land of Green (Part 2) (3:30)
4. Solis Festum (1:39)
5. Land of Green (Part 3) (4:58)
6. Pastoral (1:34)

- Chapter 2: Land of Gold
7. Garden of Hope (Part 1) (7:49)
8. Land of Gold (13:20)
9. Garden of Hope (Part 2) (4:31)

- Chapter 3: Land of Jazz (bonus tracks)
10. Land of Jazz (6:37)
11. Land of Jazz (outro) (0:44)

Total Time 57:53


Bonus tracks on 2023 Re-Print edition:
12. Horizons (single version expanded) (7:20)
13. Shade of Green (3:00)
14. The Blossom (2:26)
15. Lunnar Trip (6:45)
16. Land of Green (3 Parts Consolidated) (19:25) *

* on digital version only

Line-up / Musicians

- Antony Kalugin / keyboards, vocals, vocoder, percussion

With:
- Alexandr Pavlov / electric, acoustic & nylon guitars (1-7,9)
- Max Velychko / acoustic & electric guitars (8,10)
- Yan Vedaman / tenor & soprano saxophones
- Konstantin Ionenko / bass & double bass
- Ivan Goritski / drums
- Sergii Kovalov / accordion (3,4)
- Elena Kushchii / flute (8)

Releases information

Label: Caerllysi Music
Format: CD, Digital
January 7, 2022

CD and Digital (October 6, 2023, Poland, re-print edition with bonus tracks)

Thanks to mbzr48 for the addition
and to Prog Network & NotAProghead for the last updates
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KARFAGEN Land of Green and Gold ratings distribution


4.05
(145 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(28%)
28%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(35%)
35%
Good, but non-essential (25%)
25%
Collectors/fans only (6%)
6%
Poor. Only for completionists (6%)
6%

KARFAGEN Land of Green and Gold reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Matti
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars This new offering from the very prolific Ukrainian prog maestro Antony Kalugin has already gained a lot of praise in this site, so it's a bit surprising to note that mine will the first collaborator review. I found KARFAGEN a few years back and was especially charmed by Echoes from Within Dragon Island (2019). My fondness for Kalugin's CAMEL- influenced, melodic mellow-symph style remained very strong for the subsequent albums, considering also Karfagen's Birds of Passage and his solo album Marshmallow Moondust (both released in 2020) five-star delights. Perhaps new albums kept coming in a slightly too fast pace, those albums being also relatively similar with each other, and eventually my "honeymoon" era as a listener of Kalugin's music was gradually left behind. I felt appropriate to start my review this off-topic way, revealing my overall background as a listener, because I find it difficult to decide whether to give Land of Green and Gold five stars simply because I consider it among Antony Kalugin's finest albums, or should my slightly reduced enthusiasm amidst the fast chain of albums reflect my rating and round 4½ down to four. At this very moment I frankly don't know -- so unfair that the rest of you reading this already know!

With his recent solo albums Antony Kalugin has proved very capable of performing his grand-scale symphonic prog entirely by himself. Returning now to the Karfagen camp he lets his wonderful fellow musicians play the guitars, basses, drums and reeds, concentrating on his main instrument, keyboards. Surely for example guitar solos are more gorgeous because of that collaboration. Antony does the few vocal parts here as well; I would have enjoyed some female vocals thrown in too, but that's not a big deal because this is an instrumentally oriented album. As for the instrumentation, there are saxophones much more than flute, whereas I personally would have preferred it to be the other way round. Also I'm not very fond of accordion in general, although its appearance on two tracks is a fine addition to the sonic palette.

I won't go through the tracks in detail since there are as many as eleven of them, as opposed to several recent albums consisting mainly of two epics. That's actually a positive thing here, and it doesn't prevent the album structure to feel very symphonic. The overall mood is happily dreamy, rather mellow and relaxed despite the child- like adventurous spirit. Some parts are pastoral in a lovely way. 'Pastoral' is a 1½-minute piece for acoustic guitar that may make one think of ANTHONY PHILLIPS. The two 'Garden of Hope' pieces featuring vocals are sandwiching the 13-minute album highlight 'Land of Gold' (thus forming Chapter 2 : Land of Gold). One reason for it being a highlight is the flute -- which unfortunately doesn't appear elsewhere on the album. But sadly the use of vocoder is a minus in this otherwise wonderful piece. A strong Camel vibe is heard in the soaring melodies.

Chapter 3 : Land of Jazz is marked as a bonus. Not surprisingly the flexible jazz/ fusion element often present on Kalugin's compositions is given here more space, and the tenor sax of Sergii Kovalov has a central role. The separate 44-second Outro is very delicate in mood. Now, after writing this review I am better equipped to decide on my rating. As I said, I'd like to give the same full rating as to three other albums, but let's be honest, that was then and this is now. By just a few things more up to my preferences (more flute, some female voice accompanying Antony's, and not that irritating vocoder) I'd give the five stars! In short, a wonderful and highly pleasant album for all fans of Antony Kalugin, and a perfect place to get into his melodic and easy-on-the-ears symphonic and fusion-flavored prog in the vein of CAMEL, FOCUS, HAPPY THE MAN and WILLOWGLASS if you're not yet familiar with it.

Review by BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars The first time Maestro Antony Kalugin has been able to work with his Karfagan collaborators in a couple years, they team up here to produce some top-level prog, mostly instrumental, and more jazz- and blues-influenced than we've heard in a while.

"Chapter 1: Land of Green" 1. "Kingfisher and Dragonflies (Part 3)" (2:11) beautiful instrumental with classical guitar and synths. Very ANTHONY PHILLIPS-like. Absolutely gorgeous melodies and themes. What a start! (5/5)

2. "Land of Green (Part 1)" (11:00) sounds/feels to me like a modernized, watered-down take on Miles Davis' Sketches from Spain--a SYNERGY, TONY BANKS, or Smooth Jazz approach to such a theme. (17/20)

3. "Land of Green (Part 2)" (3:30) instrumental jazz and blues prog. (8.75/10)

4. "Solis Festum" (1:39) Fender Rhodes play joined by others in the second half and then finishing with classical guitar and accordion-led European street feel. (4.25/5)

5. "Land of Green (Part 3)" (4:58) cheesy keys and jazz sound palate gives this one a rather dated, Adult Contemporary feel--until Alexander Pavlov's high class guitar solo in the second minute. Soprano and tenor sax solos in the third minute only add the Smooth Jazz feel. Alexander's next solo in the fifth minute brings us almost into the New Age jazz category. (8.25/10)

6. "Pastoral" (1:34) solo classical guitar. (4.25/5)

"Chapter 2: Land of Gold" 7."Garden of Hope (Part 1)" (7:49) Smooth Jazz artists like Joe Sample, Ronnie & Hubert Laws, and Najee/Kenny G come to mind as I listen to this--and then Spock's Beard as I hear the vocal section. (13/15)

8. "Land of Gold" (13:20) piano and electric guitar(s) open this one. I love the pace, the solos and sounds, the bass play, and even the vocoder. My favorite song on the album. (27/30)

9. "Garden of Hope" (Part 2) (4:31) sounds like the Devonshire Canterbury band MAGIC BUS. Like the fretless bass and peaceful, pastoral keyboard and electric guitar riffing. Nice song. (8.75/10)

Bonus tracks: Chapter 3: Land of Jazz (bonus tracks) 10. "Land of Jazz" (6:37) another venture into the proggy-fusion world of the late 70s jazz artists as listed above for the "Garden of Hope (Part 1)" song--especially Hubert Laws--with the addition of Narada Michael Walden and even some of the later RTF/Chick Corea stuff--which I loved. (9/10) 11. Land of Jazz (outro) (0:44)

Total Time 57:53

Other reviewers have mentioned a CAMEL-like sound or influence to the music here, I'm not as sold on that angle though I do hear it--I do get it--especially some of the guitar sounds chosen. There are just too many disjointed motifs present here for me to endorse that perspective. I really like the contributions of Antony's two guitarists--both with very distinctive styles--as well as his bass player. Nice work, guys!

B/solid four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.

Latest members reviews

4 stars I am familiar with the Ukrainian multi-instrumentalist Antony Kalugin and his musical project Karfagen (which means Carthago) from the very beginning, with their debut album entitled Continium, from 2006. I was delighted with the dual keyboard work. Since then Kalugin has turned into a very prol ... (read more)

Report this review (#2961478) | Posted by TenYearsAfter | Saturday, October 14, 2023 | Review Permanlink

5 stars The only thing I can complain is : how i wish to have this album and "Land of Green" bonus disk as a Double CD release. Land of Green and Gold reaches jazz rock bounderies so nice and organic that it makes me eager to listen to it again and again. Alex Pavlos guitar playing and sound (ala Allan ... (read more)

Report this review (#2882393) | Posted by MalenaRoss | Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Land of Green and Gold is the latest (13th) release by the Ukrainian band Karfagen. The music here is very positive and optimistic so this album is a real pleasure to listen to. This record is divided into three chapters, each chapter consists of tracks binded thematically. Each track flows natu ... (read more)

Report this review (#2871905) | Posted by sepia_blob | Friday, December 30, 2022 | Review Permanlink

4 stars I love the feel of this album. This is a type of music that is right up my alley. Karfagan produced an album that is mostly instrumental. Focusing on what you can do best is a choice I can respect. Often laid back, sometimes really jazzy. This album brings many great listening experiences. The ... (read more)

Report this review (#2769940) | Posted by WJA-K | Friday, June 10, 2022 | Review Permanlink

5 stars So, a new album has been released by Antony Kalugin and his project Karfagen at the very beginning of 2022. Listening or reviewing his albums always takes a while because of a huge quantity of different ideas, movements and themes that develop in a short time. Usually for Antony, he released a great ... (read more)

Report this review (#2690385) | Posted by GarfunkelSi | Monday, February 7, 2022 | Review Permanlink

5 stars What a fantastic way to start a new year - a new album by one of my favourite bands! With all that's happening in the world at the moment it is so refreshing to hear some beautiful music! Karfagen have released some amazing music the last few years and Land Of Green And Gold is no exception. Qui ... (read more)

Report this review (#2676826) | Posted by Yeshead58 | Thursday, January 27, 2022 | Review Permanlink

5 stars It has been 2 years since the last Karfagen album. Even though we have been fully entertained by Antony Kalugin's 3 solo albums, it is fantastic to see his new album under the Karfagen banner again. It is called The Land of Green and Gold. This time Antony has split the album into 3 chapters. The fi ... (read more)

Report this review (#2675275) | Posted by Drmick1971 | Saturday, January 22, 2022 | Review Permanlink

3 stars Antony Kalugin has released another studio album which, as often happens with other artists who release new releases very often, has led to an unfortunate - at least for me - tendency to repeat itself. If we review his discography both in his solo project and in his band Karfagen, we realize that he ... (read more)

Report this review (#2673297) | Posted by JohnProg | Monday, January 17, 2022 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Bright, fresh and New. As a big fan of Anton's music and knowing almost all his discography, I was really surprised and delighted by his latest release. "Land of Green and Gold" takes us to the territories of Jazz and very tasty fusion. Of course it has all Karfagen trademarks but this time Anto ... (read more)

Report this review (#2671361) | Posted by Trinity S | Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | Review Permanlink

5 stars It is hard to believe after working alongside Antony for over 15 years hearing the birth of every track he has ever recorded from continuum onwards, I bloody well still get hugely excited and spellbound by the working process from the initial demo to final masterpiece. Once again, like a classic ... (read more)

Report this review (#2668221) | Posted by CAERLLYSI | Monday, January 3, 2022 | Review Permanlink

4 stars KARFAGEN is the group of multi-instrumentalist Antony KALUGIN who releases albums under this name with two in 2020 and under his, the last in December of this year 2021! Prolific you will understand and their 13th to date. Initially it was stamped neo-prog with hints of MINIMUM VITAL, which is w ... (read more)

Report this review (#2655844) | Posted by alainPP | Monday, December 27, 2021 | Review Permanlink

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