SOUNDS OF PASSION

Holland's Coda made an impact with their debut album of 1986 'Sounds of Passion'. It was a year when prog was struggling so Coda defied critics by releasing a purely ambient album that is mostly instrumental. The epic title track is a 4 movement piece that begins with a daft narrative voice but then it moves into the beautiful emotional music. I am not really into ambient instrumental prog like this but it has its place. It reminds me of The Enid at times.

There is an emphasis on flute and keyboards. In places a vocalisation is heard that could have been left out. Singing is better than vocalising sounds I believe. It feels a bit dated these days but the music still is entrancing. The alto sax is wonderful and often the guitars are spacey. Vangelis springs to mind or Mike Oldfield occasionally.

Towards the last movement, the finale there is a deep resonating pipe organ giving a cathedral atmosphere. The monks chanting augment the effect of some religious ceremony. The guitars to follow sound out a repetitive motif and it eventually launches in to a Gilmour like solo and a blistering keyboard solo, the best part of the whole album. At the end there are effects of glass breaking, screams and voices. The other tracks are more of the same, melodic instrumentals with a focus on ambience and lengthy keyboard passages with layers of guitar. 'Sounds of Passion' is a good debut for sure, worth a listen.