THE TIDES RETURN FOREVER

Despite its sterile computerised drumming and plastic samples, 1988's Ra represented a new start for Eloy and a new direction in high quality Proggish arena-rock. The Tides Return Forever continues largely in the same vein, though now with bassist Klaus-Peter Matziol permanently back on board and session drummer Nico Baretta spearheading a shift towards a much more organic sound, underpinning some excellent songwriting and superb musicianship from Bornemann and Gerlach and a cast of guests. I am not a fan of modern 'clipped' drum sounds, and I do find them a little intrusive on one or two tracks here, but otherwise the instrumentation is superb. Fortunately, those cheesy 80s keyboards and samples are consigned to the past!

The material can be divided into two groups. Three songs are 'jaunty', 'lively' arena-rockers - The Day Of Crimson Skies [nice harmonies but relentlessly bombastic], Generation Of Innocence [good guitar solo but you might have fallen asleep by then] and The Last In Line [erm .... ] are pleasant enough but ultimately somewhat superficial and tend to interrupt the flow of the rest of the album.

The remainder is top-drawer melodic-symphonic-Prog of the kind that Druid specialised in - solid songwriting with strong melodies that worm their way into the brain, inventive arrangements drenched in keyboard colours and exemplary performances. Listening to Bornemann singing these songs you realise just how far he has progressed - it is not necessarily that he is a better singer than before, but he has learnt to write good tunes and to present his voice with better use of studio tools. These songs sound as a proper band should with its textures - several different singers [including a 'big choir'], electric and acoustic guitars, and various retro analogue keyboards - all combining harmoniously to form a whole better than the sum of its parts.

Fatal Illusions begins a little uncertainly as a clone of Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond with guitar noodles over a synth drone, but soon evolves into an easy toe-tapping beat, a walking bassline and a memorable "here we are on the edge of time" refrain. It has satisfying light-and shade mood swings including a excellent quieter 'ambient' section followed by an up-tempo jam complete with synth solo and soaring atmospherics. By contrast, Childhood Memories is slow and dreamy, a big ballad with an emotive melody and understated guitars in a lush arrangement, bringing to mind The Moody Blues, or even Frankie Goes To Hollywood's The Power Of Love!

Title track The Tides Return Forever is introduced with Bornemann singing over acoustic guitars and pads in a pastoral setting building up to a big stately chorus with some nice chord changes along the way [pleasing rather than technically intricate]. Later, it switches into bombast mode with some uncomfortable wailing from a female singer. Final track Company Of Angels is an operatic Prog mini-epic about Jeanne D'Arc featuring vocal interchanges between Bornemann, a female singer and the dramatic 'big choir' interspersed with some lovely 1970s instrumental touches and a big synth solo.

Overall, it is an imperfect conjunction of differing styles, but removal of the three rockers would transform it into a fine example of melodic Prog, albeit a little on the short side. As it is, The Tides Return Forever is one of the best of Eloy's later catalogue, but be aware it is a far cry from their earlier spacey or harder rocking material.

"Eloy" was not really great since "Metromania" in 1984. Their production will also be rather discreet during all these years. Three studio effort and two (re-worked) compilation ones. The success of these compilations was maybe the kick to go on and release "The Tides Return Forever".

The band has almost turn their back on the synth-electro music and delivers here some better music. Only "Generations of Innoncence" will flirt with this genre and therefore I don't like it for most of its duration. Surprisingly enough, it will hold one of the best guitar break of the whole album. But the synth / pop "The Last in Line" is on par with their worse work. Skip it, by all means.

The title track (mostly due to the choirs) is fully Flodian. These vocals are the best moments of the song (don't worry, these are fully female ones, Bornemann does not interfere here : thank god)!

The best song is IMO, the long "Fatal Illusions". Very much "Floydian" oriented. The intro being some clone of the great "SOYCD". It has been quite some time that this major influence for "Eloy" has not been featured in one of their albums. The problem (as always I would say) are the terrible vocals. It is really a pity that during all these years, their leader Frank Bornemann didn't take some English lessons. This would have raised the quality of their work quite substantially.

We'll stay in the Floydian territories with the closing number "Company of Angles". When you listen to the chorus, they seem to come out some "The Wall" sessions. They are actually too much forced, exaggerated. And apart from this, the song is rather dull and flat. Uninspired and totally useless.

"The Tides Return Forever" is a pleasant trip back in the earlier "Eloy" discography. It does not compete with their best works of course ("Inside", " Ocean" and "Silent Cries & Mighty Echoes"). Still, it has been ages that the band didn't produce such an album. Three stars.

Yet another comeback for Bornemann and company, perhaps inspired by the success of the "Chronicles" CDs, and the reunion of some old buddies from earlier incarnations. The melodies are strong again, especially in "Fatal Illusion", the beautiful "Childhood Memories", the title cut with its acoustic guitars and dramatic chorus, and "Company of Angels" which is a far more successful paean to Joan of Arc than the effort on "Destination". Still, some of the other tracks remain mired in a certain atonal formula that was repeated endlessly on the preceding effort, but clearly "Tides Return Forever" marks a coming home of sorts for Eloy.

The Tides Return Forever was Eloy's comeback and partial return to their progressive roots. Although firmly rooted in the AOR that was so dominant on preceding albums, one can really sense a remarkable improvement in the Eloy sound. The spacey keyboards never really left Eloy, though they tended to play a more subdued role on Destination. Here on The Tides Return Forever, they are let loose from their cage in all their symphonic glory. Several of the songs were more exploratory approaching nearly 10 minutes in length for Fatal Illusions and Company of Angels.

Along with this change in musical direction, bassist Klaus-Peter Matziol returned as a full member of the band, making Eloy a trio. And even though Nico Baretta was simply considered a guest musician, his drumming is much appreciated over the programmed drums Eloy used not so long ago on the Ra album. Baretta was accompanied by a whole host of guest vocalists and musicians, a trend started when Eloy reformed as the duo of Frank Bornemann and Michael Gerlach back in the late 1980s.

Apparently this change of musical direction was inspired by the Chronicles project which brought former members of Eloy back together to re-record their classics. I guess enough so to have Matziol guest on Destination and return completely with The Tides Return Forever. Even the title of the album suggests the Eloy of old has returned.

Other than a couple better than average AOR-oriented songs, the rest of the tracks contain some of the best music Eloy had done in years, surely the best since Time to Turn. It sounds like a mixture of Ra (but with real drums), Time to Turn, and Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes. The best song on the album is the closer, Company of Angels. Bornemann must have been intrigued by the use of a choir on the song of Jeanne d'Arc off the Destination album. It clearly added a new dimension to Eloy's sound. So, he made another one, also a tribute to Jeanne d'Arc, but better. This is probably one of the best songs Eloy ever made. The choir sends shivers down my spine from its impact on the song. In fact, one of the guest vocalists on this song is the one and only Miriam Stockley, best known as a session vocalist and most famous for her beautiful voice (so much so that Yamaha used her voice in their Vocaloid vocal synthesis software released through Zero-G).

A long awaited return to form for Eloy. Clearly not as good as Time to Turn, Silent Cries and Might Echoes, or Ocean, but pretty close in my book. I would rate this about 3.5 stars, so I'm going to round it up to four since it has spent more time in my CD player than other three-star efforts. Highly recommended.

I have a strange chronological relationship with this band. Most fans/reviewers started the bands discography in the seventies, loved the band a lot for what they achieved in those days and from some point in the eighties started to dislike them for their change of sound and style and uttered that in the ratings. And also the nineties releases were less appreciated than the early work though recovery was noticeable. With me it all went differently, my first purchase was the 1976-79 compilation and after that the late eighties and nineties albums, that was all. More recently I also bought a few seventies albums so I more or less do things the reverse way. But now here's my point: because my introduction was actually in the latter part of their career I never really disliked those albums because I didn't know better. To me this was Eloy and what they did early on was for some other time to discover. So that explains my fairly merciful ratings for Destination and Ra (the albums I'm talking about). I thought they were good albums and their two nineties releases were even excellent albums to me. Today I know better, I know their peek was in the seventies and it changed my perception about the above mentioned albums. I still like them and I also still like this release, The Tides return forever as well as Ocean 2, the Answer which I will review after this.

I chose to do the explenation above because it's of importance for my feel about Eloy. I'm not a huge fan but I like them a lot. I will give short descriptions of the songs on this album and what they mean to me.

1. The Day of Crimson Skies. Now I hear this one more time I detect a lot of similarity with the style of the Destination album, not that strange since that is the predecessor of this album. Not an outstanding song but technically good. 3,25*

2. Fatal Illusions. With this second track we enter a slightly innovated Eloy because I can't imagine this one as a Destination track. Their spacy sound of the seventies seems to return much more here and it speaks for itself that also I love that Eloy more in the end than the more commercial sound of the late eighties/early nineties. This is a great song and composition, I always loved this one. 4,25*

3. Childhood memories. Where quality and impact is concerned this is of the same level as the opening song. A bit of a slow unimpressive song, probably the least of the album. At the end some nice keys. 3*

4. Generation of Innocence. This one is much more energetic but like the opener a bit more in the Destination style again. A pretty good song but not great. Some energetic keyboardplaying. 3,5*

5. The Tides return forever. Now we're talking again ! This is the fantastic title track I was always impressed by enormously. A majestic composition with some outstanding (female) vocals as highlight. Bit soft and slow in the beginning but notice the build up ! 4,5*

6. The Last in Line. Again some hints to the predecessing album. Somehow it must have been hard for them to say goodbye to that style. Could also be a few of the songs on this album were written in 1992/93 and the newer styled songs later on. But that's just a guess. 3* for this.

7. Company of Angels. Despite my huge praise over the title track, this is the absolute highlight. Mindblowing song also and several steps forward compared to the Destination standard. Talking about majestic, here's another. 4,75*

The ultimate score is somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. My feeling says 4 so that's what it will be and the reason is the big step forward they made compared to their two previous albums. Those two were good but this is a lot better, a true revival and that deserves a reward I think.

When I saw The Tides Return Forever on the stores I wasn´t exactly thrilled about it. After all, Eloy´s last two releases Ra and Destination were a bit too different from the sound i was used to from this german band. Too many modern synthesisers, too litle guitar, eletronic drums and Frank Bornemann. new found falsetto were not exactly what one would expect from Eloy, specially when you heard such excellent releases like Inside, Down and Ocean, among others. That´s maybe why it took so long for me to listen to it. But when I finally did I was impresssed.

Ok, the previous CDs style remains, with Michael Gerlach´s synths on the forefront, but the use of a ´real´ rhythm section (former Eloy bassist Klaus-Peter Matziol returning on a permanent basis and studio drummer Nico Barretta stepping in) made the sound much more dynamic and organic than before. The songwriting is also very good, with the band providing some of their most inspired stuff since Metromania (1984). The melodies are stronger, the arrangements are more ´human´ and much of the old times ´feeling´ is back. A good mix of their modern and old sound. I liked the CD as a whole but the excellent 9 minute epic company Of Angels (which seems to be a development of their Jeanne D´Arc, from Destination), Fatal Illusions and the title track are truly the album´s highlights. Childhood Memories is also one of their best ballads.

A very nice return to form from one of the pioneering and most important prog bands to emerge from Germany since the early 70´s. If you like their earlier stuff, give it a chance, you won´t regret it! Rating: four strong stars.

3.5 realy

A return to form for sure for master Eloy, after some deseppointing releases in the '80's, the head of the band Bornemann and team is back with a fairly great album and full of energy. Named Tides Return Forever issued in 1994 is diffrent from what they offered in last decade in a good way, is more spacey then before, like in the glory days, is progressive from all sides, the ideas are better puted together, what else a good release for sure. Former bassist Klaus-Peter Matziol is back and the overall sound is more dynamic , and brings some great bass lines here. Bornemann voice is in form delivering some great moments like on Fatal Illusions or Company of Angels. The tides return forever is abig step forward and one of the pleasent albums from their career, maybe not entirely awesome but for sure more greater then anything thye release since Planets. 3 rounded up to 3.5 , the musicians show that they want to continue to release good albums, with good apetite for progressive moves and turns and the result is quite obvious.

Having backslid into lazy arena rock in the mid-1980s, Eloy accomplished a partial return to form with this album, which combines poppy arena rock numbers with more progressive pieces reminiscent of Eloy's famed past. Although the production values at times are more reminiscent of Eloy's less successful albums - particularly the drums - this is at least more entertaining listening than Metromania or Ra, though I wouldn't say it compares to the band's classic era albums (from The Power and the Passion to Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes). Not a complete waste of time, but not something most listeners are likely to revisit frequently.

Eloy's huge comeback album sounds very similar to the comeback album of Yes' "Fly From Here" where symphonic prog meets AOR and for the most part it is a pleasant experience. The songs are surprisingly upbeat Arena rock for Eloy and there are some excellent tracks to make it worthwhile. Of course Eloy's peak was in the seventies but they are still able to generate some inspiring music on each of their more recent albums. "The Tides Return Forever" ranks as a good album for Eloy, but to call this a masterpiece is really taking things too far, it is far from it.

The album begins well enough with 'The Day of Crimson Skies', with tons of synths and a nice guitar sound. The vocals are crystal clear and have that unique accent of Bornemann that I have been accustomed to on all of Eloy's releases. It is a decent song but nothing incredible, and is driven with strong melody and bright, perky musicianship, sounding like Yes in all respects.

'Fatal Illusions' returns to the 70's spacey soundscapes with swathes of synth lines and interstellar atmospherics. The Pink Floydian intro works well along with the solid drumming that soon kicks in. The musicianship is astounding on this and the vocals are again very easy on the ears. The chorus reminds me of the sound of Mostly Autumn and the lyrics are similar to compositions by Ayreon; "Here we are on the edge of time, fatal illusions of flight". The bridge in the song is a nice variation and the more I hear this song the more it grows on me.

An 'Echoes' ping begins 'Childhood Memories' and the synth sound by Gerlach is again like Pink Floyd. This is a very slow dreamy song and I like the reverberated guitar phrases. The lyrics and overall sound are uplifting to the emotions. The lovely instrumental section is stirring and this all comes across as a pleasant diversion from the upbeat songs of the album.

'Generation Of Innocence' brings the album back to dynamic energy. It features a vibrant keyboard from Gerlach and some heavier guitar from Bornemann. The guitar riff is simple but effective, and there are Yes-like harmonies throughout. The spirited vocals and sound are typical of the 90s and this brings to mind 1983's 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' in many ways. The keyboards are the main drawcard though and again it is one of the highlights on this album.

'The Tides Return Forever' is another highlight, perhaps the best on the album. Eloy are more ambitious here even incorporating soulful female vocals from Jocelyn B. Smith, who belts out some beautiful high soprano intonations. There is a majestic feel on this with some awesome atmospherics on keyboard and guitar. It builds from a gentle opening with Bornemann's voice sounding more like vintage Eloy. There is a very pretty melody to latch onto. Once Smith begins crooning I am lost in the beauty of this outstanding track.

'The Last in Line' returns to the style of their early 90s albums that were not very successful. The sound on this is very outdated, like the worst of the manufactured poppy 90s, with perky synths and dreadful processed sterile soundbytes. Even the anthemic chorus is cheesy and to be honest I am glad the rest of the album was not like this.

'Company of Angels' closes this album with the most bombastic track of all; a veritable epic. I like the musicianship but could have done without those bombastic male chorus vocals that sound like Vikings singing valiantly on their way to battle; "we roar like thunder, skies torn asunder, we fight to end the torture, the iron hand of God". Sometimes these types of vocals work on albums but here it just sounded weirdly out of place to me. The rest of the song though is decent and especially the melodic verses and synth soaked instrumental. Miriam Stockley's vocals are exquisite and the song gets better as it goes. The ending is powerful and majestic. The choral work at the end is better than the bombast previously, and it tends to grow on me. The twin lead guitar solo is stunning and it is joined by Bornemann's thin vocals nicely complimenting Gerlach's piano work. A great adventurous way to end the album.

Overall this album is a leap forward from the disappointment of Eloy's previous releases. Eloy know how to construct a song and there are some outstanding compositions on this album. The good far outweighs the bad in this case and it is consistent quality that makes the difference.

As many of the listeners who loved albums like "Power and the Passion" and "Ocean", I'm not used to give a spin to the later Eloy's works, but this "The Tides Return Forever" is surely an improvement compared to "Destination". At least it seems that Bornemann has learned how to better use the 80s electronics, has also partially corrected his German accent, and most of all the music on this album is not too derivative. I have always seen Eloy as a very good band with the defect of trying to sound similar to somebody else. After about 25 years of activity we finally have a band which sound is not innovative but at least it's "original".

Apart of the opener, "The Day Of Crimson Skies", which still sounds like Trevor Rabin's YES with a touch of Alan Parsons Project, the following song is excellent. "Fatal Illusion" has strong melodies which I feel on the same line of KAYAK. The same for "Childhood Memories".

Then some 80s-like poppy-YES sounding song: "Generation Of Innocence seems coming from 90125. Well, that's an album that I like, so I can't say that it's a masterpiece, but it's not a song to skip. In its slower parts, when the 80 drones shut up, it's very nice.

"The Tides Return Forever" deserves to be the title track. Maybe a bit radio-friendly (but over 6 minutes long), has a strong melody even if it's based on very simple and common chords. I think that the female vocalists are a bit misplaced but they do an excellent work adding maybe a touch of ROGER WATERS to the sound. It's the year of Amused to Death but I think to Radio KAOS.

"The Last In Line" is in the wrong place. A pop song which may have been a commercial successf if launched 10 years before. It sounds like THE CARS of Candy-O. I confess that I like the Cars, too and I have also bought some Ric Ocasek's solo albums, but this is not what I expect from Eloy.

Finally the closer. "Company Of Angels" is luckily totally different from the previous song. This is the real highlight and one of the most "original" songs ever come out of Bornemann's pen. An album made of songs like this would have been a 5 stars one.

A good album with some highlights, not enough to consider it an "excellent addition",mainly because they are counterbalanced by some lowlights.

A honest three stars effort.

ELOY returns for good

After ten years of errance and unsuccessful experimentation in other genres, ELOY finally goes back to the style they're most talented for: fantasy / symphonic space rock. Only two years after their worst album, "Destination", the band deliver their best release since 1984's "Metromania".

"The Tides Return Forever" features a few changes showing Bornemann and co.'s will to recover the recipe that made their success. First, the classic ELOY logo is back. Second, Klaus-Peter Matziol, the bassist from ELOY's "golden age" definitely reintegrates the band. Third, the production and sound quality have greatly improved and have finally escaped the 80's. Nico Barretta's drumming is much less present and loud. Finally, and the most noticeable, the inspiration is present.

This can be heard from the first notes of "The Day Of Crimson Skies". An nice efficient opener inviting you to the journey. The first long piece, "Fatal Illusions", has a spacey intro with a gilmourian-guitar, as well as rhythms and ambiances changes. This 10 minutes composition looks a little flat compared to their previous middle-length compositions, but is nonetheless quite enjoyable. The slow "Childhood Memories" is not bad, although a bit soapy.

"Generation Of Innocence" sounds surprisingly 80's hard rock. In terms of sonorities and quality, this represents what you would have expected on the "Ra" album. A direct and pleasant song. The smooth and melancholic title track sounds sometimes a bit floyd-ish again with its female vocals. Despite being the shortest song, "The Last In Line" is my favorite of the record. A nice synth space rock tune with a catchy melody.

The 10 minutes "Company Of Angels" is the longest and heaviest composition of the disc. Like the corresponding ending track of "Destination", it is inspired by Jeanne d'Arc, however this time the song is much more listenable. Again, the mini epic sees the band venturing outside their usual musical territory, as it more resembles a symphonic metal song, with epic choirs and female singing. The final result is a little odd and out of place, but has its moments.

This second 90's effort from ELOY is encouraging and more convincing that the previous one. Despite its weaker passages, dated synthesizers and reduced risk-taking, this record possesses a good sound quality, a mastered balance and a recovered inspiration. While not essential, "The Tides Return Forever" is a pleasant and accessible fantasy space rock album, as well as a good entry point to discover the band.

ELOY is back in the game, and that's the most important.