ELOY LIVE

One of the best live albums I've ever heard. Eloy are right on top of their game with excellent versions of tracks from 'Ocean','Dawn' and 'Power and The Passion'.The production/sound quality is top notch.This is an excellent starting point if you are thinking of getting one of the recently released remasters from Eloy.

One of the hidden treasures from the Prog island, recorded in 1978 on tour, on the waves of unique and excellent "Ocean", it captured Eloy in a conceptual concert based on story of rise and fall of Atlantis, as a reminder of what could happen in the end to us all. Lineup that would make one more progressive gem, 1979 "Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes", have made an ethereal atmosphere, saved on this record. Spoken introductions, long instrumental passages based mostly on keyboard sound together with melodic bass lines and crying guitar solos, and simple but captivating singing with mystical and unreal lyrics, carries listener to voyage to outer space of mind.

In music of Eloy, all musicians and instruments have their leading and supporting roles. Even bass and drums are used not to be rhythm section, but to contribute in making a spacey atmosphere. Songs are interpreted close to studio versions, and I believe there are two main reasons for that. First is that studio versions are already long enough that there is no need to prolong it by unnecessary improvisations, and the second was intention that lineup that recorded studio version must be in position to play it live on scene, for it is one of the characteristics of progressive music. The only thing that may be under someone's expectations is singing in English with strong German accent, but that's how the story goes when someone sings in foreign language. Lineup present on this live record is one that is responsible for great studio issues in 1976-1979 period, with only guitar player left from past times and who would waves the Eloy flag to present times.

The record starts with first half of 1977 "Ocean" album. "Poseidon's Creation" opens with brief spoken prologue, not present on studio version, and after 5 minutes of instrumental introduction to song and 3 minutes of sung introduction to story, ends with 3 minutes guitar solo. "Incarnation of Legos" is introduced with 4 minutes of mutually sung and spoken words, and after 2 minutes keyboard solo, ends with 3 minutes keyboard and vocal part. Music continues with two tracks from 1976 "Dawn" album. Keyboard and bass dominated "The Sun-song" is prolonged 4 minutes with German spoken introduction, while "The Dance in Doubt and Fear" contains some fine guitar and keyboard soloing. The middle part ends with classic "Mutiny" track from 1975 "Power and the Passion" album, and with "Gliding into Light and Knowledge" keyboard and vocal song from "Dawn", flawlessly leading into more guitar soloing "Inside" from 1973 "Inside" album. Record concludes with last and longest track from "Ocean", "Atlantis' Agony" that starts with 10 minutes spacey keyboards intro interrupted occasionally with few spoken words, and after some fine bass supported chanting and keyboard soloing, ends with keyboards harmonies, guitar soloing, singing that once again reminds us that "we are particles in the ocean", and finally keyboard and guitar conclusion.

I must say that I had luck to met a friend at the start of 80's who introduced many German bands to me, like Eloy, Jane, Grobschnitt, Brainticket, Birth Control, Nektar, Epitaph, and to this very day, those music stayed as something special, quite good, and at the same moment quite different from other progressive groups. And among them, Eloy always had a special treatment. That's the reason why this review is somehow longer, for music absolutely deserves it.

I recommend this record to everyone who already likes 70's sounding Eloy, for it successfully captured band alive at the peak of creativity. For ones who are new to Eloy, first try albums from 1973-1979 period, and then if You like it, dig out this one.

This is one of my favorite 'Krautrock' albums, when I want to be submerged by 24 carat symphonic progrock, I play this one! OK, the vocals have a strong German accent and the lyrics are not really 'down to earth' but the music is so warm and compelling. This live record was the touring of the splendid Ocean album, perhaps their strongest effort and all tracks are on this live album, originally a double-LP. In the late Seventies I bought all the Eloy studio albums but I prefer this live registration because Eloy Live sound so more powerful: strong and flowing guitarwork, lush keyboards and great shifting moods, only the vocals will not be everybody's cup of tea but I love every inch of this album!

Eloy Live captures the band at the peak of their career. It features songs from some of their best albums,including Dawn and Ocean. Performances of most of the tracks from Ocean are included as this was the tour they were on. There is also a breathtaking version of The Sun Song from Dawn. I would recomend this recording to anyone who has only heard Eloy studio albums. The power of the band live cannot be compared to some of the more "quieter" studio releases.It also features drummer Jurgen Rosenthall who was in Ulrich Roth's original band called Dawn Road. He also appeared on one or two early Scorpions albums. His performance on this album is outstanding. In my opinion he can be compared and included with the greats like Palmer, Peart and Barriemore Barlow.

This live album is deeply "Ocean" oriented. And it is nothing but normal. It is one of their best album and this is the promotional tour. This live set only ignores "Decay of the Logos". Of course, the handicap of very average vocals is still very much present. But since they are not so many here, it is easier to forgive "Eloy".

Some very good space-rock is played. It reminds me the spirit of the live set available on "Ummagumma". Not that the numbers here can compete with "Careful", "ASOS", "STCOTHOTS" or the magnificent "Astronomy Domine". Of course not. But "Eloy" plays a very convincing live set. So, if you like the live sides of "Ummagumma" (the only ones which deserves a listen IMO), this album will be appealing to you.

I wouldn't say that "Atlantis Agony" is my fave. It was already lenghty in its studio version, and the five additional minutes here do not reallly add anything. The long German recitation is probably not what is needed during "The sung Song". I feel more comfortable once they have been evacuated. We are reverted to the beauty of the original song.

And some tracks will be better on this "Eloy Live" than on their original studio album. "The Dance in Doubt and Fear" is a perfect example. Stronger, harder keys attack. A very good interpretation. Almost a transformation.

Some old songs also are also played during this tour. "Inside" is just fantastic. A highlight. So dynamic, so powerful. Damned good guitar solo and great drumming. It is one of my favourite songs. But "Mutiny" from "Power & The Passion" is also pretty well achieved. The closing section is extremely good. What a great guitar solo ! Another highlight. As most of this live set actually.

If you would like to discover this band, I can only recommend this "Eloy Live". There will be also some very interesting compilations but this one fully reflects the spirit of the band.

Four stars.

Eloy Live is like a companion album to the first BJH Live effort. You might recall that mellotron was almost the only keyboard brandished by Woolly Wolstenholme on that 1974 disk, and whether or not the tron is used by Eloy, the keys have the same effect. It's a totally spacey live trip (as opposed to the studio material with is semi-spacey) through the early-mid period Eloy catalogue, mostly covering "Dawn" and "Ocean", but with very worthwhile snippets of "Power and the Passion" and "Inside". All the songs are well played with some exceeding the studio versions in power. Bornemann's vocal shortcomings become irrelevant in this setting. While not too much improvisation takes place, some tracks do appear somewhat lengthened, such as "Atlantis Agony", in which one can simply surrender to the droning instruments, be they keys or percussion. The sound quality is reasonable enough to get the point across, at least the audience gets it. It is a sure thing for fans and a mildly recommended introduction to the band. Given the paucity of Eloy live material, this one is a minor treasure.

Eloy's albums have some superb artwork which attracted me to this band. So I got their Ocean album and then this album. Their music is a highly original blend of space rock and symphonic prog. The vocals are strange, to say at least. But they fit the music perfectly. The average length of the songs are nine minutes and the sound quality is superb.

The music can best be described as spaced out symphonic prog. The opening track Poseidon's Creation is superb. It has some good grooves and melody lines. Unfortunate, the rest of the stuff is not in the same league. The album becomes a bit undistinguished after the first track. But this live album is a very good introduction to this great band.

3 stars

One of the best live albums of space rock, if not the best

Eloy was one of the few space rock bands from the original progressive rock wave that released a live album. If you count the space rock bands that released amazing albums such as this one back then, their numbers are even smaller. Indeed, this album is a gem among space rock for being one of the few very good space rock live albums from the 70's, together with Hawkwind's Space Ritual.

Probably this album is so great for 2 reasons: 1) it was recorded during the best part of the band's best period ever, which was between 76 and 79, when Eloy recorded their best and most famous albums, so both the musicians and the set-list were top-notch; 2) the band managed to gather the best songs from (almost) each album they did so far and play a better version of them live, what makes the album even more interesting, because the songs are not simply played as in the albums: the songs here are unique versions of the of the already great studio version (The Sun Song and The Dance of Doubt and Fear had their running time almost doubled and Atlantis' Agony At June 5th - 8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime had its running tim e increased by 5 minutes).

There is, however, one problem in this album. The song Incarnation of Logos has some cracks about halfway through the song and some considerable background hiss near the end. Though those problems are probably caused by some problem in the master tapes, they are considerably annoying.

One interesting feature of this live album is that Eloy's album Ocean is almost played in full, being only one song missing, called Decay of the Logos

Grade and Final Thoughts

What an astonishing release by Eloy. They managed to put their best in this release and the result is great. Also, this album is one of the few good live documents of the original big space rock bands that was actually released in the 70's. As any great album, it deserves to receive its fair grade and i think that Eloy's Live album truly deserves the masterpiece grade.

I had difficulty finding out much in the way of information about this live album from ELOY. It was released in 1978 and recorded during their "Ocean" tour but that's all I got. Haha. Lots of info in the liner notes but it's all written in German. What I can tell you is that the sound is crystal clear, very well recorded. In fact this is one of thoses albums that really does sound better with the volume turned way up. Spacey and powerful music.

This album opens and ends exactly like the "Ocean" album with "Poseidon's Creation" and "Incarnation Of Logos" starting things off before ending with "Atlantis Agony..." We also get three tracks from the previous album "Dawn". My favourite track though is the title track from the "Inside" album. This song is heavier with some fantastic guitar and organ. "Mutiny" is from the "Power And The Passion" record and also boasts some good guitar and organ late. Synths though rule this album especially on the "Ocean" tracks where we get lots of spacey soundscpaes.The opening track "Poseidon's Creation" is my second favourite on here. This sounds so amazing when the sound gets fuller before 2 minutes and the drumming is outstanding. Check out the guitar before 9 minutes as well.

In my opinion this is a "must have" for ELOY fans as this is really the only live album the band has put out. It sounds incredible !

Because a live album be considered masterpiece? Because when an album have this level of music...

Eloy is one of the best German Prog Rock bands and his style moved from Space Rock to Symphonic Prog. In 'Eloy Live' it is not easy to describe the exact genre, not only because this live present both Eloy's style but also because both styles present similar arrangements and melodies. In my opinion all the songs are great at the same level and, however, I think that this live is not totally perfect but only because the perfection don't exist!

I do not have a preferred songs but I think that synths, drums and voice are the backbone of emotions. Ok, also the guitar are good but I think that guitar is only the complement of backbone! Sure the Rock part is extreme great. So the songs are also Hard Rock feelings (see first two Judas Priest's albums or Saxon's debut, for examples) but only because very Rock. Also classic Music is a good component in Eloy's music. So Bach, Beethoven or Wagner are not extraneous in writing process. Also bands like Tangerine Dream enter in musical concept also if I think that this fact is normal for a Germanic Prog band.

The level of execution is too high, verging the perfection. Eloy's musicians are not machines but the level of technique in execution is extreme high. And this fact is pure emotion.

Believe me... If you search the last true 70's Prog album 'Eloy Live' is this album!

This is probably one of the best live Space Rock albums since Space Ritual by Hawkwind. The sound quality, let me say is excellent. Everything is very well heard, and when it comes to the rhythm section with the bass and drums, there is almost no better. The sound is very crisp and everyone has a chance to shine. The hammond organ has the nice deep rumble on this record. The version of "Atlantis' Agony At June 5th -8498,13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime" is extremely amazing. 20 minutes of pure space rock and prog rock combined, your brain with melt with how awesome it is. The setlist is really good overall, playing some excellent classics from Power and the Passion, Dawn, and Ocean. Everything is amazing on this one, and it's the only live album in Eloy's catalouge so far, but I hope that will change sometime soon. Anyways, you have to get this spaced out prog voyage, 5 stars definatly.

I would not call this one a flagship of space rock - nor any other album of the band (I know so far). Some significant characteristics are missing here although several songs definetely have a floating mood for example and they use some narrations as to notice on the epic Atlantis' Agony. There are way too much symphonic elements in their music on the other hand - Detlev Schmidtchen and Frank Bornemann have a taste of both styles half way through.

'Ocean' is their masterpiece which I like very much - and they play nearly the complete suite which saves the performance from ruin more or less. Despite some narration appearing when starting with Poseidon's Creation I cannot recognize significant differences to the album version. The song as such is a revelation and especially the last four grooving minutes are exciting. Incarnation Of Logos holding Camel traces is not more than a copy too.

What now follows is so-so, symphonic light tinged, sounding unisono - not a challenge really as for the compositional skills. The Sun-Song from the predecessor 'Dawn' album opens with narration again - this time in German. Inside from the eponymous 1973 album makes out a beneficial exception here with some heavier rocking moments.

At the end they open for the twentyone minutes lasting Atlantis' Agony - the ultimate spacey ELOY song - and it all takes a twist again. Track time is differing compared to the studio album on this occasion because enlarged with additional five minutes. A long synth intro takes you away to foreign oceans, later backed by an amazing bass line. A great floating tune with Pink Floyd leanings - definitely the highlight of the performance!

Knowing the studio album 'Ocean' I don't sense a proper reason to prefer the live recordings. What this doesn't make it better is that they don't modify the songs nearly all the way through - unlike other bands in the 70s. Finally the songs taken from the earlier albums can't really turn me on. Nevertheless this is a quite good live performance in its entirety - ELOY fans will be pleased.

Eloy - Live (1978)

This live album of German symphonic/space rock band Eloy has only one long track. On the four sides of this double lp are different versions of this one song...

hey wait a minute..

Those were different tracks? They all sound the same! The instrumentation is exactly the same, the atmospheres are identical and the over-simplistic use of harmonic clichés makes this a very unnecessary release. Also the use of long spoken word passages (some in German) aren't very interesting too. One would have expected some extra guitar solo's on these repetitive tracks, or maybe some development to heavy moments, but non of this happens. This is just a bath of symphonic sounds.

Though the sound of the band is very good, the recording is excellent (maybe even a good example!) and the package of the double lp nice, I couldn't find one reason to buy this record If you already own their well known album Oceans. Oceans is played completely (you'll find all it's tracks on side 1 and side 4).

Conclusion. I thought Oceans was a mediocre record (for one of such a reputation), Inside didn't sound very powerful or inventive too and my third Eloy record turns out to be a let down too. This was the last record of the band I'm going to try. This record might be nice for collectors of the genre or fans of the band, but the average prog listener will not find anything new but the drowsy sound of Eloy. Two stars.

'Eloy Live' is a magnificent live performance of one of my favourite bands that fits snugly onto one CD of almost 80 minutes. The musicians are Eloy in their prime; Klaus-Peter Matziol on bass, J'rgen Rosenthal on drums, Detlev Schmidtchen on keyboards, and the incomparable vocalist, guitarist extraordinaire Frank Bornemannn. The concert is dynamic and vibrant musically throughout and features some of their greatest triumphs beginning with the almighty epic 'Poseidon's Creation' and moving gradually to the classic 'Incarnation Of Logos' with that astonishing melody that locks in towards the mid section, both masterpieces from 'Ocean'. The vocals sound clear and unrestrained and the production is excellent on this 1978 live album.

The break gives Bornemann a chance to speak to his adoring audience in German, though for too long without a translation. This leads inexorably to 'The Sun-song' from 'Dawn' that is a popular song judging from the audience reaction. Immediately I remember the melody as it builds to the beautiful solo passage. Bornemann sounds so fresh and clear on vocals, as good as you would want in a live setting. 'The Dance In Doubt And Fear' follows also from 'Dawn', building with cymbal splashes and a heartbeat percussion that the crowd can clap to. The synths are tranquil golden swathes of beauty, along the waves of bass and guitar. Next is a longer track with 'Mutiny' at almost 10 minutes, a good choice from 'Power and the Passion'. I like the drums on this and the really powerful keyboards over the dreamy guitar phrases. After this the band launch into 'Gliding Into Light And Knowledge' that returns to 'Dawn'. This concert performance showcases how brilliant the musicians were, every track is spell binding virtuoso prog at the highest calibre.

'Inside' follows, the title track from one of their greatest masterpieces, and this is followed by the stunning beauty of 'Ocean''s 'Atlantis' Agony At June 5th - 8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime', that clocks a mammoth 20:54. It is an incredible finale and caps off one of the most treasured concerts from Eloy. I wish it had been filmed but listening to this is still a compelling experience. All of the gems are here and this setlist is outstanding. I loved this live album and have no problems awarding it 4 shining stars.

After the success of "Dawn" and especially "Ocean", ELOY is now popular enough to tour in Germany and to release their first live album, simply titled "Live". The track-list consists mainly of tracks of the two aforementioned opuses, with one song from "Inside" and "Power and the Passion". There is no material from their debut, as it is not really ELOY yet, and from "Floating", as its style has always been a bit apart in the Germans' discography. In fact, "Ocean" was initially entirely performed, but, due to technical issues, "Decay Of Logos" had to be removed from the recording.

The live renditions are overall faithful to their studio versions. Some passages have been made more theatrical and features spoken sentences in German. As there were no orchestra, the tracks from "Dawn" are lighter, but nonetheless very nice, even if I'm not a big fan of "The Sun Song" and "Gliding Into Light And Knowledge". "The Dance In Doubt And Fear" is in fact followed by "Lost!? (Introduction)". A powerful moment with a pretty guitar solo in the beginning. As they were not originally played by the "golden" line-up, "Mutiny" and "Inside"'s reinterpretation are quite bombastic. "Atlantis' Agony" has been stretched to 21 minutes. This rather useless and lengthy extension concerns the ambient spacey introduction and does neither really bring something interesting nor enhance the source composition.

For Bornemann and co.'s lovers, there will be no big surprises here, unlike GROBSCHNITT's "Solar Music Live" for example. However, this release is still very good, proving that the band could deliver a robust performance. At this period, during the punk explosion, there were not many live albums from progressive rock bands at this period.

Recommended to ELOY and space rock fans.