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| Galahad - De-constructing Ghosts |
 Released: 1999 Label: Avalon Records Cat. No.: GECD1 Total Time: 71:12 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, August 1999 leave all your cynicism behind you." ("Ocean Blue - Following Ghosts") Indeed! Of course, "Why?" is the first question one might be ask upon finding out that this latest release from Galahad is an album of remixes, of "de-constructions", of tracks from last year's Following Ghosts. The explanation the band offers, in a fashion, is "...music in it's [sic] purest creative form [...] is all about self expression and stretching musical boundries which is something that De-constructing Ghosts has certainly done for Galahad, taking them in to hitherto uncharted sonic territories..." How very true. Of course, they aren't really the first to do it. Marillion did something similiar with tracks from their This Strange Engine album, working with The Positive Light. And, then, of course, Galahad experimented with the techno-ambient sound on Ghosts, with "Bug Eye" and "Ocean Blue" especially. What's different about this album isn't that they've taken Stuart Nicholson's vocals and put a new backing track behind them, but rather they have really crafted new songs out of the vocals and other bits. Though if you take the first track, "Dusty Rhodes," as an example, it is almost exactly that (same vox, new backing). Here, what was a very elegant, emotional tune ("A Short Reflection On Two Past Lives - Part Two") has taken on a whole cadence, a new rhythm. And, at least for me, it works. You'd never know that this wasn't how they original wrote the track. Less successful to me was "Imago Separation Mix" - really bits and pieces of various tracks throughout, but not enough to delinate. "Ocean Black" is peculiar, very weird...full of vocal and sound effects that would have you checking your sound system if they'd opened with this track. Quite hard to describe, actually. Where "Karma For One" had a Yes/Gabriel hybrid feel about it, the de-constructed version is far more percussive, and any resemblance to Yes, or anyone in particular for that matter, resides only in Nicholson's vocals. There is a very nice flute line here through the middle section. "The Bliss Police" takes elements from both "Bug Eyes" and "Ocean Blue" to concoct a track that isn't quite blissful, but does convey the sense of blissfulness. Figure that one out, eh? Of course, overall, this will play better if you don't try to spot where the sound bites, vocal bites, etc., come from on the album that spawned this and just listen to it an album of techno with vocals. What you end up doing is de-constructing the de-constructed tracks, which are meant to be heard as a whole. Imagine a movie without the soundtrack (not the music, the sound effects, etc) - you get only half the story. Imagine a soundtrack with out the movie? You get...well, I guess you'd get a radio drama, actually. The artists involved with this project, aside from Galahad members, are Dub Rumble, Phil Manley, James Barnard, and Scott Zuki, who all either wrote, produced, and arranged these tracks, contributed instrumentally, or both. This album provides for an interesting, intriquing listen, that should appeal to Galahad's fans, but will also appeal to those with techno-ambient inclinations as well. More about De-Constructing Ghosts: Track Listing: Dusty Rhodes (5:31) / Imago Separation Mix (6:15) / Cheese Roll Rozwell (6:56) / Ultra Shine (3:26) / Holy Curry Land (3:14) / Ocean Black (3:56) / Karma Divine (4:40) / The Bliss Police (6:41) / Myopic Distortion (4:15) / Stu Goes to Morocco (5:14) / Enshillar Surf Punk Mix (3:33) / Great Portland Bleats (5:44) / Blind (5:38) / Sludge Flute Landing Zone (4:16) / (We Will Always) Remember the Good Times... (4:33) Musicians: Contact: Website: www.galahadonline.co.uk or www.galahadonline.com Discography
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