SARABANDE

When I first listened to this album by Jon Lord, I was surprised with the fact that Jon made an album that was totally different in style and approach from whan I had known him couple of years before through his tenure with Deep Purple. By that time I was listening to albums like Led Zeppelin "Physical Graffiti", Deep Purple "Burn", "Made In Japan", "Machine Head", Jethro Tull "War Child" "Aqualung" and having "Sarabande" in one of the play list albums was a kind of break from normal undertaking on classic rock albums. Of course, by that time I also knew Depp Purple's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" but "Sarabande" for me was much more accessible musically - that's why I frequently spun the Perina cassette of "Sarabande" more than "Concerto for Group and Orchestra". I also love Jon's "Windows" album which local cassette maker in Bandung, Yess, labelled the cassette with "When Rock Meets Classic" - that might be my first introduction on the marriage of rock and classical music.

Knowing that this album was composed and scored by Jon Lord and was recorded in only couple of days that's enough to conclude that Jon Lord is really a very talented musician. I finally got the CD version in 2001 issued under license to Eagle. One of the things that I love is about the inclusion of a 12-page sleeve notes describing Jon Lord and Sarabande album. Through this album he successfully gathered professional musicians under Philharmonica Hungarica Orchestra (conducted by Eberhard Schoener), percussionist Mark Nauseff whom I knew contributed also to Ian Gillan Band's "Child In Time", guitarist Andy Summers whom later I knew as member of rock new wave trio The Police, and Pete York on drums. In fact, Eberhard Schoener solo albums were progressive in style and must be added into this site - one of them that I know quite well is "Bali Agung" which features "Kecak Rock". Kecak is a Balinese dance which is very famous in Bali, Indonesia.

Musically, this album is really heavy with classical music content while Jon had creatively inserted rock components into the music. The opening track "Fantasia" demonstrates clearly the classic symphony nature of the music where the track serves as an overture to the whole album. It is structured in three sections with grandiose orchestra. What follows is an attractive composition, the title track "Sarabande". I believe any human beings would love this song - whether he likes or not rock music or general music. It's simply composed in a way that melody and beats are combined beautifully in multi structure sections through out the song. Another great offering this album has is the fifth track "Bouree" which is similar in style with "Sarabande" i.e. in dance beats in eastern nuance. Through "Bouree" Jon combines the work of violin and keyboard / Hammond solo beautifully and all of them are laid down wonderfully in music structure that has a very nice flow. There are quite balance solos performed during this track. Other tracks are excellent as well like "Aria", "Gigue", "Pavane" etc. I think this album is the best out of all albums ever made by Jon Lord. For detailed analysis and review of each song, you can read completely in the CD sleeve notes, written by Vince Budd.

Overall, this is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED album for those who like Jon Lord and symphonic rock. I don't think it's wise owning legendary albums by legendary bands but missing this great album by Jon Lord. You definitely must have it. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

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