SILENT CRIES AND MIGHTY ECHOES

Having imploded after the "The power and the passion" to the point of virtual extinction, Eloy were picked up by de facto band leader Frank Bornemann, dusted off and re-born with a completely new line up. To his and their credit, the band continued the good progress which had been made, recording the fine albums "Dawn" and "Ocean". The line up remained together for this their third venture together, although "Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes" would be the last recording by this particular quartet. The album was released two years after "The ocean", a sizeable gap in the context of the prolific nature of Eloy's output.

"Silent cries and mighty echoes" (the title is taken from two separate tracks from the album) features just five tracks, and thus represents a brave stance by the band in the face of the changing music scene of the late 1970's and early 80's. While bands such as Yes and Genesis were exploring more commercial directions, it is to Eloy's credit that they continued to record genuine prog.

Listening to the opening bars of "Astral entrance", once could be forgiven for thinking you had mistakenly picked up Pink Floyd's "Wish you were here". The lush orchestral synth sounds and floating lead guitar are straight from "Shine on you crazy diamond". As we merge into "Masters of sensation", we move into "One of these days" with vocals. The sound though is quite sensational, and arguably Eloy's strongest statement to date. The track also features a fine synth solo.

The Floydian influences continue on the epic "The apocalypse", where fine female vocals offer a "Great gig in the sky", while the synth sound of "Crazy diamond" is clear elsewhere. The track is in three contiguous sections, running to 15 minutes in all. "Pilot to paradise" is very much a continuation of what has gone before, indeed the album flows with admirable ease throughout.

The latter part of the album is a bit weaker than the rest. "De Labore Solis" is a pleasant prog ballad, but it largely fails to excite. The closing "Mighty echoes" is the least Floydian of the tracks, taking the band back to their harder rock days.

In all though, a superb collection of tracks, and certainly one of Eloy's finest albums. The Pink Floyd influences are undeniable, and the band make no attempt to disguise them. There are though some majestic sounds and fine compositions here.

The remastered CD has two bonus tracks. "Child migration" is an early version of a track which made it onto the following "Colours" album. The version here has the sound of an advanced demo, and is somewhat shorter than the finalised recording; it includes some offbeat choir harmonics! "Let the sun rise in my brain" was never officially released, but is not particularly worth seeking out, save for some good flute work.

Footnote, beware of the "Copy controlled" CD re-release of this album, which may screw up your PC.

Share this ELOY review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Easy Livin
• Report this review (#296052)
• Buy ELOY music online with PA partners
• Show all ELOY MP3/Stream
• Go to ELOY page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for ELOY related discussions