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Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
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Points: 28270
Posted: July 27 2012 at 14:25
AtomicCrimsonRush wrote:
A review of "EVER"
*****
“Ever” has that iconic cover that I always seemed to correlate with the music of IQ; curvy blue radiance and a beautiful Romanian visage with cubist features. It is the radiant beauty and jagged edges that remind me of their music. The band revel in complex time changes and a heavy emphasis on virtuosic instrumentation. The vocals on this are wonderful from the same vocalist of IQ’s “The Wake” which was a mere sign of the master quality of “Ever”. The lead guitar expertise of Mike Holmes is always a delight, as are the wondrous keyboards of Martin Orford.
It begins with the epic sounds of ‘The Darkest Hour’ that has a delightful melody and very powerful guitars. The lead break at 5 and a half minutes in is excellent and it is followed by ribbons of synths. This interlude is neo prog at its best, and in fact the entire song is one of IQ’s finest compositions. The lyrics are transfixing; “out of the way of anyone, wilder than you are, anyone who ever had a heart, wouldn’t deny me, woe betied the one not to be undone, who will remember, start it again when does it end, I’m in there somewhere, nobody can carry me over.” The lead guitar solo follows and it culminates in a tranquil passage of ambience. The piano, guitar and synth pads generate a peaceful backdrop to Nicholl’s final thoughts; “if I should fall from your side, keep it in your mind, how I tried to keep it here, how I promised you’d be safe, and you never said a word, and you never cried.” One of the best IQ tracks in their long tenure in the neo prog scene.
After this glorious opening the next track is ‘Fading Senses’, that is in two sections, i. After All, ii. Fading Senses. This one has quiet, relaxing synths and vocals. It builds to a heavier beat and lead guitar solos that are very emotionally charged, and a time sig shift is augmented by heavier sounds, that merge seamlessly back to a spacey synth. The musicianship is mesmirising throughout and as good as it gets for prog in the early 90s, when prog was beginning to make a comeback. This is one of the best IQ tracks in their quitter repertoire.
‘Out Of Nowhere’ comes in with a syncopated guitar and drum rhythm, sounding like Genesis for a time. The distorted guitar riff chugs moderately as Nicholl’s crystal clear vocals speak of not giving in to doubt; “some are born into their lives, with a need to be destroyed, it’s the wrong thing on my mind, the only thing we can’t survive.” I love this song with its melodic upbeat style, and Nicholl’s inimitable vocals. It has a more straight forward commercial sound but it works well enough as a melodic break from the complexity previously.
‘Further Away’ is another lengthy track at 14:30, and begins with Marillion-style chiming synths that lock into a motif layer for the flute to float on. The vocals are lower register and very relaxed; “torn from my hand so heavy now you’re a world away, these little lies are grown so cold and will I see you when I turn around.” The flute embellishments are gorgeous, adding a haunting beauty. The heavier guitars and odd rhythms are strong and drive the track along on its journey. Along the way there are scintillating keyboard solos, spacey synthscapes and lead guitar solos emotionally pouring out like golden honey.
‘Leap Of Faith’ follows with passages of tranquillity leading to glorious synth and lead guitar trade offs. It segues directly into ‘Came Down’, with a steady beat and lead guitar melodies. The vocals are melancholy and subdued; “all the time we didn’t share, when we set adrift half forgotten lies, will the madness still be there, when you turn away, the distance in your eyes speaks the words that you won’t say.” The verses lead to an uplifting chorus with harmonies and the distinct feeling the album is drawing to a close. The final instrumentation gives us one more chance to hear Holmes’ lead soling, simply stunning in its execution.
“Ever” is a masterful symphonically-driven album, creatively rich and infused with soulful passion and dramatic energy. After 8 years absence from the band, Peter Nicholls returns and injects a refreshed enthusiasm and vibrancy to the band’s sound. Every track is delightful featuring some of the best neo-prog I have had the pleasure to hear. It is an absolute joy to listen to a band that does not shy away from complex musicianship and keeps everything upbeat and positive. At the end of the album I feel refreshed and I know I have heard something very, very special indeed. The album comes with a plethora of rave reviews, and has enthused lovers of prog over the years who hail it as a masterpiece. Often these albums are overhyped and do not live up to expectations but in this case, the hype is well deserved. “Ever” is a bonafide masterpiece and is one of the reasons the band are so well known and have garnered a massive following. With music this good, it is impossible to ignore IQ, and this album is one of the treasures of 1993, and indeed the 90s decade itself.
I think you are now tied with Maani as my favourite prog reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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Points: 5154
Posted: July 27 2012 at 14:46
Besides the DVDs mentioned before they have also the great double DVD called Stage featuring 2 shows both from the 2005 Dark Matter tour but different enough, one at Nearfest and the other an outdoors gig at Burg Herzeberg Festival in Germany, great.
And the special edition of the Frequency CD comes with a DVD of a 2007 show in Zoetermeer, Holland, which is also very good, already with Mark Westworth on the keyboards, while I miss Martin Orford a bit Mark does a good job too.
Subterranea is my second least favourite IQ album after Nomzamo.Its suffers the fate of many double albums , too much mediocre filler. However that said if you want a fully immersive experience with the headphones on then you can do a lot worse.
Not sure I'm with you on this one......Subterranea is IQ's (Tales from Tobys Graphic go-cart (Wakemans name for the track)) and you either love it or hate it....I LOVE IT.....and Sleepless incidental has one of my top 10 all time favourite instrumental breaks in it - hair-raising stuff indeed....
It has enough going on to take you right through the 100 or so minutes....
And IQ are about 1000 times better than Marillion...absolutely in a different class.....
Joined: February 10 2010
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Posted: July 27 2012 at 16:17
yam yam wrote:
Great track and fun seeing them with those new wave looks (I discovered them at that time but after so many years sometimes you forget how things were back then).
I obviosly kept someone hanging with my opinion about The seventh house. I think this is an often forgotten gem. Almost up there with Ever. Much lighter then the albums that comes before and after it. The title track is one of my fav IQ tracks.
Regarding IQ live. There is one thing you can make sure. Sometime during the evening Wiggle will raise it's ugly head =) Anyone else think they at least one tour should play Barbell is in ?
Joined: June 10 2011
Location: Colorado, USA
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Points: 4671
Posted: July 27 2012 at 22:03
Moths wrote:
Here I'm sitting in my IQ20 T-shirt that decided to celebrate Friday with =)
I'm both a bit envious and not of you people that discovered IQ after
Ever. Why do you ask yourself? Well for us that first came in contact
and started to love IQ back in the dark ages of the 1980's wept when
Peter decided to leave the band after The Wake.
I discovered IQ during the Menel years. Are you envious of me or not? Seriously, "Nostalgia/Falling Apart at the Seams" was my introduction to IQ. I got AYSC and I believe even Nomzamo before Ever came out and I really fell in love!
Joined: June 10 2011
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Points: 4671
Posted: July 27 2012 at 22:15
Gerinski wrote:
yam yam wrote:
Great track and fun seeing them with those new wave looks (I discovered them at that time but after so many years sometimes you forget how things were back then).
Lovely! Interesting to see some new wave punks play prog! That Peter can be one menacing looking dude!
Joined: December 13 2011
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Points: 2111
Posted: July 27 2012 at 22:18
M27Barney wrote:
[QUOTE=richardh]
And IQ are about 1000 times better than Marillion...absolutely in a different class.....
I'll definitely agree that IQ are more consistent, but I don't know if they are better. That's a pretty bold statement. I mean you don't think Misplaced Childhood or Clutching At Straws are progressive rock masterpieces? I personally think they are and can stand against any progressive rock recordings that came out around the same time. I will admit I have a strong dislike for Hogarth-era Marillion. I think he's sucked the f****** life out of this once great band! I don't think Hogarth or Fish have particularly strong voices, but Fish was a much better lyricist and he was a much better frontman. I mean Hogarth could never come up with lyrics like this:
Excerpt from Hotel Hobbies off Clutching At Straws (1987):
Hotel hobbies padding dawns hollow corridors Bell boys checking out the hookers in the bar Slug-like fingers trace the star-spangled clouds of cocaine on the mirror The short straw took its bow The tell tale tocking of the last cigarette Marking time in the packet as the whisky sweat Lies like discarded armour on an unmade bed And a familiar craving is crawling in his head
Edited by Mirror Image - July 27 2012 at 22:18
“Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov
Joined: December 13 2011
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Points: 2111
Posted: July 27 2012 at 22:30
infocat wrote:
]I discovered IQ during the Menel years. Are you envious of me or not? Seriously, "Nostalgia/Falling Apart at the Seams" was my introduction to IQ. I got AYSC and I believe even Nomzamo before Ever came out and I really fell in love!
I don't like Menel at all. He's just as wrong for IQ as Hogarth is for Marillion. Thank goodness Nicholls returned on Ever. I would have definitely had no interest in the band if Menel was their permanent vocalist. Nicholls, in addition to being a good vocalist, writes good lyrics.
Edited by Mirror Image - July 27 2012 at 23:10
“Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
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Points: 28270
Posted: July 28 2012 at 02:00
^Paul Menel did a good job in Peter's absence writing some great lyrics/songs for IQ even if his voice was not quite right as you say and left IQ stuck with an eighties pop sound during his duration. (btw its rumoured that Paul was the only one that attended the audition to replace Peter so if thats true IQ could have folded altogether without his involvement)
Totally disagree about Hogarth who is one of my favourite vocalists. Seasons End is my favourite Marillion album and the only one I believe to be a masterpeice in their catalogue. Fish was a great showman and magnificient live for sure but he never had the sort of career that say Gabriel had after Genesis so I am very sceptical about his supposed great talent. Fugazi was the peak of his era (imo) but even that is not as good as Seasons End in my book.
I think Paul did a fair job and it wasn't his fault the band slightly changed musical direction and production sound. Some of the stuff from that era still holds it's ground (Falling apart comes to mind) and some of Paul's lyrics are really really great. Paul was more direct and delt a lot with social and political stuff (Nomzamo, Common ground for example) while Pete is more poetic and sometimes make no sense at all LOL.
I will not even get into the Marillion debate beside air my utter disgust for Misplaced childhood
Back to topic: Infocat. I'm happy for you. You discovered a pretty good band that only got better if you went backwards or forwards .
Joined: December 13 2011
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Posted: July 28 2012 at 08:47
richardh wrote:
^Paul Menel did a good job in Peter's absence writing some great lyrics/songs for IQ even if his voice was not quite right as you say and left IQ stuck with an eighties pop sound during his duration. (btw its rumoured that Paul was the only one that attended the audition to replace Peter so if thats true IQ could have folded altogether without his involvement)
Totally disagree about Hogarth who is one of my favourite vocalists. Seasons End is my favourite Marillion album and the only one I believe to be a masterpeice in their catalogue. Fish was a great showman and magnificient live for sure but he never had the sort of career that say Gabriel had after Genesis so I am very sceptical about his supposed great talent. Fugazi was the peak of his era (imo) but even that is not as good as Seasons End in my book.
As I said, I don't think Fish was a strong vocalist either, but he is more unique than Hogarth who is just boring to me. The music also has suffered horribly under Hogarth. Season's End was good because a lot of the music came from writing sessions with Fish. Brave, however, is my favorite of the Hogarth years. It was also a much needed return to form for Marillion who, like IQ, were dwindling down a musical road I definitely had no interest in. I also think your comparison of Fish's solo career to Gabriel's was didn't make much sense. Both artists have tried to achieve different things with their own music. Fish may not have the same household name as Peter Gabriel does but neither does Marillion or IQ, so your argument there just doesn't hold water.
Getting back to IQ, what does everybody think about Frequency?
Edited by Mirror Image - July 28 2012 at 08:55
“Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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Points: 5154
Posted: July 28 2012 at 09:29
Mirror Image wrote:
Getting back to IQ, what does everybody think about Frequency?
Very good but nothing new under the sun, on par with previous albums, Westworth does a good job at replacing Martin Orford (although in the live DVD (which is included in the special edition) it becomes more noticeable than in studio that Orford was better).
Joined: December 13 2011
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Posted: July 28 2012 at 09:35
Gerinski wrote:
Mirror Image wrote:
Getting back to IQ, what does everybody think about Frequency?
Very good but nothing new under the sun, on par with previous albums, Westworth does a good job at replacing Martin Orford (although in the live DVD (which is included in the special edition) it becomes more noticeable than in studio that Orford was better).
Martin Orford is a great keyboardist. It is good to hear that Westworth's transition into the band was a smooth one.
Edited by Mirror Image - July 28 2012 at 09:35
“Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov
Joined: June 10 2011
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Status: Offline
Points: 4671
Posted: July 28 2012 at 10:30
Moths wrote:
I think Paul did a fair job and it wasn't his fault the band slightly changed musical direction and production sound. Some of the stuff from that era still holds it's ground (Falling apart comes to mind) and some of Paul's lyrics are really really great. Paul was more direct and delt a lot with social and political stuff (Nomzamo, Common ground for example) while Pete is more poetic and sometimes make no sense at all LOL.
I will not even get into the Marillion debate beside air my utter disgust for Misplaced childhood
Back to topic: Infocat. I'm happy for you. You discovered a pretty good band that only got better if you went backwards or forwards .
Heh, that's a good (very optimistic!) way of looking at it! And I did just that. I think I didn't get any more until Subterranea (though not for lack of trying!), and then finally got the first two. Can't recall for sure, though. I may have managed to get those two before that. Memory fuzzy...
While the Menel albums are still by least favorite by the band, I still have quite a few songs from them that I like.
I'm sad to say Frequency passed me by without making much impact. My hope is that Westworth's replacement Neil Durant will inject some fresh ideas into the band for the next album.
Joined: June 10 2011
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Posted: July 28 2012 at 10:34
I can't really put my finger on why, but Frequency is my favorite IQ album since Ever. Not that the others are not great as well, but Frequency just seems to have a bit more energy or something.
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