SALOME

Salome is the Enid's third release after scaling down to a three-piece (not counting any of the remakes of older material) and is definitely one of their strangest and darkest creations. Apparently it's about Salome and John the Baptist, however, the lyrical connection is oblique to say the least. The thematic thread that runs through all of The Enid's albums is very much to the fore on this one.

The first track, 'O Salome' is a strange affair featuring Stephen Stewart singing in a distinctly moody 1980s-style voice. The ethereal keyboard sounds of Robert John Godfrey drift in and out creating beautiful and unusual textures above a repeated drum pattern taken from the 'Touch Me' album. For those of you who like to play "spot the thematic reference" have you notice the theme from 'Summer" from 'The Spell' , just before the chorus?

Track two opens with an impressionistic wash of keyboard textures and arpeggios that conjures up the worlds of Ravel and Satie. Apart from a typical Enid/Elgarian march , much of the music on this track is very suave and languid indeed, and just before the end there's a quote from 'Something wicked this way comes'.

The last three tracks form a continuous whole. The first section, called 'The Change' is really just the first track on the album stripped of its keyboard orchestrations so all that's left is the bare rhythm part, which gets more and more elaborate as the track develops. The album ends with one of the most beautiful things Robert John Godfrey's ever written, 'The Flames of Power'. This is highly developed and rarefied music; completely orchestral in timber --Godfrey's expertise in creating orchestral timers and dynamics from electronic keyboards is still unsurpassed. The music inhabits the twilight world of Mahler's unfinished 10th symphony. Indeed, the main theme has been lifted from it. Not only does this track show Godfrey's deep understanding of Mahler's music, it also shows his understanding of advanced harmony. This track alone justifies buying the album.

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