OCEAN

"Ocean" is the most revered and famous album from Eloy and close to the best the band has produced, but for me the best album is "Floating" which is also a masterpiece of prog. "Ocean" is certainly an adventurous album with an over emphasis on Frank Bornemann's strained vocals and an over indulgence of the incoherent concept and narrations which is not necessarily a good thing, but it works for the most part. The band are at their best when they take off into full blown keyboard and guitar solos and there are plenty on offer here. This album relies heavily on atmospherics and symphonic soundscapes and is wonderful headphone music.

There are only 4 songs but they all feature incredible musicianship and a heavy concept that has something to do with the lost city of Atlantis and Poseidon's power with the divine Logos. The story focuses on the rise and fall of the great mythical city of Atlantis, depicting its creation and its destruction. It throws in the dawn of civilisation, and how it became corrupted by greed, power and lust and finally after the gods had taken all they could take, they proceed to destroy the city to rubble on June 5th 8498 at 13 pm.

"Atlantis was the island's name, greatest treasury of all times, human eyes didn't ever see the same, silver and gold, fertile hills, woodlands and plains, it was situated in front of the strait they call "The Columns of Herakles", Kleito was the daughter's name, a princely virgin of clearness and love, so Poseidon fell in love with her and built a shrine on the mountains above surrounded by a golden wall and inside he placed his holy law."

The first track is the wonderful 'Poseidon's Creation' that takes off immediately with the narrations and symphonic sounds. After a gentle intro the Hammond blasts in and a rhythm builds in to the main riff. Bornemann's guitar soloing is stellar and it is layered over with another solo blending together perfectly. The bassline is fabulous from Klaus-Peter Matziol and the keyboard skills of Detlev Schmidtchen are superb. The track really gets going at about 8 minutes when the band go into full flight in an instrumental of musical genius. This is an excellent uplifting start to this album.

"The act of uppermost magic has begun, Impulses working on and on, Movement here and there, Vibrations Move The Atmosphere! Transcendental forces penetrate The planet we call Earth, and all spheres of the universe All the elements burst!"

'Incarnation of the Logos' drifts in with effortless keyboarding from Schmidtchen and compelling musical textures helped by Matziol's bass and Jürgen Rosenthal's percussion. There are loads of spoken dialogue scattered on here but Bornemann sounds pleasant on vocals. The mellotron soaked background music builds eventually into some dynamic metrics, especially the bassline. At about 3:50 the rhythmic pulse quickens and it becomes majestic and I particularly like the melody line. This one grew on me over time and became another of my favourites. The next vocal section is a mediocre point of the album but the synth laden melody saves it.

"From the upper sea of the setting sun, you submit all mankind to toe the line, To toe your line, You commit your frightful arms against the palaces and treasures of our mind, Our innocent mind, That's why you should remember, The duty that's required by your life, Or is it true that you did surrender, Your only possibility to survive?"

My favourite track is 'Decay of Logos; with terrific singing and a powerful structure of melodic themes and soloing. The main melody is well executed and again grows on me with every listen. Indeed side 2 of the album is even better than the first side which is excellent in its own right.

"A mind power made the rocks sink, And by this power the mass of stones will surface again, Legends kept the secret of their wisdom, And soon it will all be revealed, soon it all will be revealed, 1983, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88."

'Atlantis' Agony At June 5th - 8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime' begins with a lengthy passage of 'tron and voice over and then a tolling bell that builds into a stormy spacescape. The band are at their most inventive here, and do not hold back on the atmospherics and effects. The synth dominates in the opening passage, until about 8 minutes when drums and Bornemann's vocals chime in. He sounds great here and the rhythm is steady with some inventive drumming patterns and pulsing bass. There is a divine twin keyboard solo that takes things to another level. The section at 13 minutes is fantastic music, with a spacey nuance and swathes of mellotron.

Overall this album is a magnificent slice of space rock featuring an awesome display of musicianship. I can see how the overbearing narrations and concept may not appeal to all, but for 1977 this one stands out well above the rest. It is definitely well worth checking out as an example of one of the best and proggiest from the amazing extensive discography of Eloy.

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