NIGHT DREAMS & WISHES

I have recently given a listen to this new album of "Modern Rock Ensemble". "Night Dreams and Wishes" is a complex, profound and diverse suite, which any other far more "greedy" composer might have split up in 3 to 5 independent albums. But Vladimir has decided to go his own way and make this epic, one of a kind suite, which, in my opinion, is an Essential masterpiece of progressive rock.

Below, let me share some of my impressions, even emotions, experienced while listening to every track of the "Night Dreams and Wishes", since every piece on this album is one of a kind and truly unique to be generalised.

Intro:

The album starts with this spacey, almost New Age piece. It is calm and soothing, but don't let it trick you: the all-surrounding sound prepares you to dive into something much more different and complex.

Ouverture:

The Ouverture starts by "keeping" the calmness of the Intro, but it quickly introduces you to more and more diverse moods you are about to encounter throughout the suite. The Ouverture is "trespassed" by complex pieces with switching time signatures; it teases you with guitar solos you hope to hear getting developed in the rest of the suite (and let me tell you that you Certainty get what you are looking for later on); it hints that there would be some dramatic, epic or sometimes even scary dreams; it also prepares you for some insomnia in between. Long story short, the goal of the Ouverture is achieved - it has introduced you to the musical variety you are about to encounter. The "curtain" opens - the show begins.

Night comes:

An acoustic guitar lures you to the upcoming dreamy adventures. The music is like a wing of the night, which covers you with its magic and sings you to sleep. What stands out for me in this piece is the above-mentioned acoustic guitar, profound and touching strings, nice vocals and, at the end, rhythmic and funky "closure".

Barocco Scherzo:

Nice polyphonic piece with cool flute and surprising ending.

Childhood & School Days:

I would call this part "a suite in a suite". It makes you time-travel from your young and carefree years to the increscent complexity of becoming a teen, making your first decisions, getting into your first fights, making first enemies and sometimes seeing your life fall apart for the first time. But then you are also reminded that there is nothing stronger, brighter nor more innocent than first love.

Insomnia:

This beautiful piece was hard to understand at first. But then I have looked at the name of it and it hit me: insomnia cannot be understood nor analysed. It is Experienced. This track brings that feeling of a hot summer night, when you are in between your dreams and reality, sometimes getting lost between the two, observing your brain creating absurd stories and, at the same time, knowing those whimsical images will bring you peace and sleep.

Dark Kingdom & The Evil King, Part 1:

I appreciate synthesisers in all of the Rise and Fall parts. This one in particular has a Medieval vibe to it, supported by Jethro Tull-like flute, epic organ and atmospheric vocals. The end of this part is balanced out by a hidden gem, a very gentle and beautiful piece I fell in love with.

Dark Kingdom & The Evil King, Part 2:

This part continues conveying the mood of doomed, dark and spooky Evil Kingdom. I love rhythm section of the piece, its guitar solos and, once again, the flute. The feeling of Evil spreading is supported by synthesisers, which add that extra layer of emotions.

Dark Kingdom & The Evil King, Part 3:

This is my favourite part of the "Rise and Fall" trilogy. It is rather pompous, which serves the purpose of showing tragedy and glory behind the world of nobles and fighters. I like the powerful vocals of the piece. Some parts are acted rather than sang, which gives that extra vision of the stage the gladiators are fighting on. This piece is dynamic and fierce. Also, Vladimir follows his already traditional approach of treating the listener with more than just one musical theme and adding something new at the end of the track. In this particular case, the piece is introducing us to a hymn, or even a prayer, which soothes out the drama experienced throughout the "Rise and Fall', which is then followed by cheerful celebration of gladiators.

Wake up:

It is a beautiful and dreamy piece with some nice vocals. It is weightless, though not simplistic at all, and it brings you the sweetest memories. This track is my favourite part of the suite.

Final/Outro:

At first, it continues to convey the mood set by "Wake up". I love oriental motives, achieved by the choice of instruments, as well as appreciate the tension created by the synths. Further in the piece beautiful piano sounds bring us to the final vocal part, which then is wrapped up by the spacey sounds we are familiar with since the Intro, thus, telling us the Dream is over.

Want some more:

This bonus track walks us through all of the emotions and events we were lucky to experience thanks to the composer of the suite. It is a dynamic and energising rock piece.

To briefly sum up, I genuinely loved this album. It was different. Different to the music there is today; different and diverse to itself; different to the previous album of MRE. And within this diversity is generous and emotional experience, granted by Vladimir Gorashchenko to his listeners.