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Edensong

Echoes of Edensong

Review by Gary Hill

I am further astonished by the quality of music being released in 2010. This album is another that could possibly make my list of best of the year. It’s got some pretty steep competition, though. Any other year, it would have been a shoe in. When you consider that this disc is essentially an extras album with some bonus tracks and live cuts put together, that’s really impressive. There’s not a weak track here. Everything is exceptional. I highly recommend it to anyone who got the first Edensong album, and I think this might even be a better introduction than that one. And, that says a lot.


This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2010  Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Beneath The Tide
Waves lead this off, in keeping with the title. Then acoustic guitar joins and the song gradually builds upward. A little before the one minute mark, it powers out into a killer prog rock jam. It gets a bit of a crunch before the vocals enter. I hear hints of Jethro Tull at times on this. At times I’m also reminded of Dream Theater. There’s a killer jam later that feels a bit like Hawkwind before it turns much more intricate and classical in orientation. It drops down later to a mellower motif that grows up gradually before powering out into something that’s rather akin to Dream Theater.  Overall, the cut works through a number of changes and alterations and really creates some exceptional progressive rock soundscapes. I like this a lot. Eventually the waves return to end the cut.
Lorelai
A short and rather balladic number, this does get quite involved and powerful as it continues.
To See But Not Believe
The first part of this is hard rocking and frantic. It moves out into a more balladic movement later that makes me think of Pentwater quite a bit. They take it out into harder territory from there and I still hear some Pentwater in the mix. The cut takes us on a real adventure moving through various sections and parts of it make me think of Yes, while other sections call to mind Dream Theater and others. 
The Reunion (Live in NC)
It’s good to know that Edensong can pull off complex arrangements and killer sounds in the live environment. This is a complicated and powerful cut that works through a lot of varying progressive rock textures. It’s really got a sound all its own and this live recording just plain rocks. There are some sections in this that make me think of Pentwater, though. 
Beneath The Tide (Live in PA)
Another live recording, this one powers out hard rocking. It’s got a great syncopation to it and at times feels a bit like Jethro Tull, but merged with something closer to Dream Theater. It gets pretty crunchy at times. It’s quite a diverse piece of music and very dramatic. This is another killer on a disc that has nothing but killers. I love the mellow section later in the piece. The smoking jam that follows it is also amazing. There is some silence and then a short, metallic jam before they announce, “that’s it.”
Bonus:The Sixth Day (Live in QC)
The recording on this isn’t quite as sharp as on the other live tracks. That said, those felt like studio recordings they were so good. The performance here is good and this is another exceptional piece of music closing an extremely strong CD.
 
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