Power and the Passion

That I received in a timely manner and undamaged. Thank you Amazon I have 4 Eloy records now and only need 16 more. I'm very happy to see you have all of them available.

This is my second review on behalf of Eloy, a progressive rock band with eighteen studio albums, spanning three decades, from 1969 through 1998. In time I hope to do more Eloy reviews, though I doubt I'll get to all eighteen.Eloy (name taken from, though spelled differently, H G Well`s Time Machine label for childlike humans in the distant future - "Eloi") is a German Atmospheric, Progressive Rock that was formed way back in 1969. Power and the Passion, their fourth album, was released in 1975. Through the years the band has totally turned over in each position and some positions several times but the originator Frank Bornemann (guitars/vocals) has persevered, presiding over a three decade band that has turned out some of the best progressive rock music, I've had the fortune to discover.While I believe the two Ocean albums and Dawn (the continuation of Power and the Passion) to be their best, this is certainly a strong release with wide variances in sound and tempo throughout. The music tends to be mellow though there are some powerful parts as well.Power and the Passion is a concept album telling a whimsical story about a guy who time travels back to medieval Paris, introduces a girl to marijuana, spends time in jail and meets a magician who sends him back to his time.The timing of Power and the Passion coincides with the introduction of new instruments like synthesizers, mellotrons and the electric piano so those instruments, like much of the music in the seventies, are very evident. Also evident is a mild connection, to me anyway, with Uriah Heep as a couple tracks including "The Zany Magician", seem to replicate the well known Mick Box riffs, whom I probably don't need to tell you, recorded songs like "The Wizard" and "The Magicians Birthday."The majority of songs on Power and the Passion are psychedelic style, art rock, some would call space rock or atmospheric rock with strong keyboards and guitars with a minimum of vocals. Exceptions are "Daylight", "The Zany Magician", "Back to the Present" and "The Bells of Notre Dame". "Daylight" features a swirling melody and an interesting if not unique beat revolving around some of the better vocals on the album. "The Zany Magician" and the short lead up song "Thoughts of Home" have strong rock elements including the pounding guitar riffs reminiscent of "Uriah Heep's Mick Box". "Back to the Present" is an almost straight forward rock piece, with a medium fast tempo. "The Bells of Notre Dame" is 6 ½ minute bluesy maudlin number mostly instrumental featuring strong guitar soloing with a synth background.ConclusionI'll tell you right up front. You don't listen to Eloy for the vocals. First of all the vocals take up probably no more than a quarter of the album. Second the vocals seem to be minimized as though electronically altered to sound distant. Third, guitarist/singer Bornemann's voice, while adequate, is nothing to join a fan club over.What you do listen to Eloy for is the easy going sensation of continuously pleasing and seldom overpowering ambient music. Each Eloy album I have listened to so far has it's own distinct personality and the albums vary significantly not only from decade to decade but album to album.NoteThe Cd I bought and reviewed this album from contained four additional songs, called Chronicles Vol. 1 (Several members of Eloy re-formed in 1993 to re-record older tracks for Chronicles I, followed by Chronicles II the next year.). They are:11. The Bells of Notre Dame - remixed (11:31)12. Poseidon's Creation (11.05)13. The Apocalypse (3:11)14. Silhouette (6:10)All these songs appear on other Eloy albums

Gracias

Das 1975 erschienene "Power And The Passion" ist das erste Konzeptalbum der deutschen Prog Rock Legende Eloy.Eigentlich sollte es ein Doppelalbum werden, aber interne Querelen und ein Wechsel der Musiker verhinderte dies. Die nachfolgend erzählte Geschichte wird auf dem 1976 erschienen Album "Dawn" zu Ende erzählt.Auf beiden Alben gehen die Songs fließend ineinander über.Nun zur Musik (und Geschichte): Im Gegensatz zu den Vorgänger Alben "Inside" und "Floating" werden auf diesem Album erstmals Synthesizer verwendet.Nach einer instrumentalen Eröffnung fängt die Geschichte damit an, dass ein junger Mann im Labor seines Vaters eine zeitversetzende Droge konsumiert und sich im Jahr 1358 wiederfindet. Dort trifft er seine große Liebe, der er seine Geschichte erzählt und sie die ihrige. Er schließt sich ihr an, muss aber für ihren Vater (einen Fronherrn) gegen die meuternden Bauern kämpfen was damit endet, dass er im Gefängnis landet. Nach einiger Zeit wird er dann freigelassen und gelangt mit Hilfe eines Zauberers wieder in die Gegenwart, allerdings ohne seine Geliebte Jeanne.Die Sehnsucht nach ihr wird im abschließenden, tieftraurigen Song "The Bells Of Notre Dame" vertont, die ersten Minuten sind von erhabener Schönheit mit nahezu sakralen Orgelklängen, ehe der Song im weiteren Verlauf noch richtig rockig wird.Auch wenn man/frau das leider nur 42 Minuten lange Album wegen der dichten Atmosphäre am Stück hören sollte, möchte ich doch die zwei aufeinander folgenden Long Tracks "Love Over Six Centuries" (10:09) und "Mutiny" (9:08)hervorheben. Love Over Six Centuries hat einen langen spacigen Teil, ehe es in den letzten Minuten immer rockigerwird. "Mutiny" ist das abwechslungsreichste Stück des Albums und ungeheuer intensiv und besitzt einen tollen, langen Instrumentalteil.Als Bonus gibt es nur einen Remix von "The Bells Of Notre Dame". Wer das Ende der Geschichte erfahren will, sollte sich dann auch gleich "Dawn" kaufen, ebenfalls ein tolles Album, aber allein wegen der neuen Musiker auch deutlich anders (u.a. mit Orchester) als "Power And The Passion.

I really got hooked on this band several years ago and snapped up their albums obsessively it seemed. I think that it was the blending of Pink Floyd-like atmospherics and progressive rock that really drew me in, along with their generally "cosmic" aura. This 1975 album finds Eloy turning away from the hard edged psychedelic rock of Inside (1973) and Floating (1974) and moving towards their spacey, synthesizer heavy sound that was perfected on albums like Dawn (1976) and especially Ocean (1977).The lineup at this point included band leader Frank Bornemann (lead vocals; electric guitar); Manfred Weiczorke (Hammond organ; mini moog synthesizer; mellotron; electric piano; and grand piano); Detlev Schwaar (electric guitar); Luitjen Jansen (electric bass); and Fritz Randow (drums and percussion). The guys are all pretty good musicians and there is some decent playing throughout - especially by Fritz. Frank Bornemann sings in English but with a heavy German accent - it does not bother me in the least.The ten tracks on the album range in length from 1'05" to 10'09". The hard edged guitar work of earlier albums is present, but most noticeably, synthesizers are used all over the place, lending the music that spacey feel that drew me to band in the first place. Overall, I think it is a nice mix. There are some silly moments that detract a bit from the album (The Zany Magician for example) but these moments are far and few between so the listening experience is not completely ruined.This remastered album by EMI is just fantastic and boasts great sound quality, restored cover art, and loads of band photos with liner notes in German.All in all, this is a good album by Eloy that should be of interest to most prog fans. Recommended along with Dawn, Ocean, and Silent Cries, Mighty Echoes (1979).