OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW

Written, performed and recorded entirely by Mr. Anderson, "Olias of Sunhillow" takes on a far more subdued approach to the Yes experience but it is still a great foray into Jon Anderson's fantasy world building. After all, Anderson was the world builder with Yes, often being the philosophical brainchild of the group's output. A concept album, I'm sure that you can read the synopsis in a number of other reviews. I will note that the album's story line is derived from a series of Roger Dean (who did not do the cover for "Olias", interestingly enough) paintings. Beginning with the back cover of "Fragile" and following through the stages of the four "Yessongs" paintings, "Olias" is a story of exodus, rebirth and forging new beginnings, and can make for a powerful spiritual experience to listen to.

As far as the music, it gives very "new age" vibes, with soft, lush synthesizers, plenty of acoustic guitar, and great falsetto vocal lines. It doesn't quite give the same drive or punch as Yes, but it has the same soul. In all, this is a good but non-essential album, warranting a 3 star rating. If you can find a vinyl copy, however, I'd bump the rating up to 4 stars, as it contains an incredible storybook-style multi-sided gatefold with beautiful illustrations and poetry describing the narrative. 3 stars overall.

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