S O N I C
O R I G A M I
Reviews. by the
H e e p s t e r s
o n
t h e
W e b
Rodrigo Werneck
I chose to make
comments about each song, individually, and at the end I'll
make some general comments about the album as a whole:
1. Between Two Worlds - after the success of "Against The
Odds", the opener
of the last album, among the fans, Heep has repeated the
formula. Not that
it's simply an imitation, but the same elements are there: with a
quiet
beginning, that turns into a fast tune, with absolutely fantastic
playing
and vocals. This is 90's Heep at its best ! The
lyrics are very
meaningful, dedicated to Gary Thain and David Byron. An
interesting part
of the lyrics is "We need to focus on the sleeping
generation", it sounds
to me like the actual desire of Heep nowadays: catch the
attention of the
new generation of rock fans, that don't even know about Heep's
existence.
You can see the "preocupation" of including some of the
usual "Heepish
ingredients", like the "aahhs..." choirs, and the
Hammond organ, superbly
played by Phil. A nice digital piano in the middle part, in
the same mould
as "Mistress Of All Times" or "Mister
Majestic". Bernie's vocals are
excellent, and he's at home when he sings the slower parts of
this kind of
song, and then goes back to the fast and heavier part, his scream
fits
brilliantly ! The rhythm section of Lee and Trevor is very
good, they have
achieved a great understanding with each other, something that
only time
can provide. Mick's solo is one of his best ever. The
"King Of Wah-Wah"
strikes again !! Very tasteful, only the necessary notes,
it could last
for more 2 minutes, and it wouldn't be too much, perhaps they
will extend
the song during gigs. This is surely one of my favourites,
and a good
choice for concert opener !
2. I Hear Voices - after the strong opener, a song like this is
perfect.
It starts immediately after the first song ends, and it's a very
catchy and
strong tune. The guitar riff reminds me of some Deep Purple
songs of the
80's, though it's not a copy. Another great choice to be
played live the
vocals are especially good on this song, with a great work by all
the
members. I can see the audience singing together with the
band: "I got my
hands in my pockets...". This lineup has developed its
own way to perform
outstanding vocals lines and choruses: "Run to be free, run
from the
heart". The lyrics are very interesting, a true story
about a crazy person
that Trevor saw inside a pub in the UK. This album shows
Trevor's
strongest songs ever, in my opinion, and this is an
example. Another
favourite !
3. Perfect Little Heart - the first time I listened to this song,
I didn't
like it. It sounded to me as one of those commercial songs
you tend to
forget after a couple of years. It's not exactly what a
typical Heepster
searchs, I don't like the beginning of the song, with its
electronic
percussion, and effect vocals, but then the organ comes, and the
acoustic
drum kit, so things get better. Interesting to see that the
guitar riffs
are not the leading force on this album. They fill the
songs, like they
ever did in Heep's early albums, but not in the same way as
"Abominog" and
"Different World". For my taste, this is good,
Mick is much better playing
like this ! Another nice moment of this song is in the
middle, when
there's a beautiful scale with midi strings that reminds me of
some Beatles
songs of late 60's, actually George Martin's influences on the
Beatles.
After listening to this song for 10 or more times, it grew on me,
and I can
see this song as a typical hit for the USA market. It has
the potential
for that, I can see it as a hit here in Brazil as well, at rock
stations
for teenagers. Great vocals and chorus (characteristic on
this album !)...
"Let my soul run free", I really like these vocals sang
by all the band !
4. Heartless Land - after 3 rockers, a ballad. Nice
surprise, it's in my
opinion the best ballad ever composed by this lineup ! I
understand why
this song was the first choice to be a single. It will be a
very beautiful
moment live, together or replacing "The Wizard".
The Hammond organ is very
important here, and builds a tasteful sonic tapestry in the
background,
very very suitable to the acoustic guitars played by Mick.
If this song
was played by another band, I could easily imagine a modern
digital
keyboard, with modern artificial sounds, and the song would be
completely
different ! Another favourite, I can imagine this song as a
huge hit
single here in Brazil, and not only at rock stations, it could
easily be
played as part of soap operas' soundtracks (which is similar here
as the
movies' soundtracks in the USA, for example)... if Heep
ever gets some
attention from the midia. This is exactly what Mick used to
say before the
album was released: "we want some more commercial tracks,
but keeping the
quality and the Heep ingredients you all are used to".
Another favourite
of mine !
5. Only The Young - another song that proves how inspired Trevor
was for
this album. I can see he was "at home" with the
style chosen for this
album. It starts as a nice song, with strong chorus and
great verses. The
lyrics are very "modern", talking about day-by-day
subjects and different
from Mick's & Phil's lyrics, which are more in the
traditional Heep style,
talking about the fundaments of life. Then, at the end, the
best for last
! A keyboard part sampling a MiniMoog announces the superb
duel of the
guitar and the organ, this is classic Heep ! Lee's drumming
is awesome
here ! Creative, inventive, but not in excess ! The
song fades out, and
this can also be extended if they choose to play this song live
(which they
should !).
6. In The Moment - if I have helped choosing the running order of
the songs
on this album, I would have chosen another place for this one,
because it
has a similar feeling as "Only The Young", it's a
"happy" song, with very
nice instrumental parts, not common for this kind of song (but
that's why
Heep exists, to make the unusual becomes usual ! :-).
Another catchy
chorus, I don't know how the band will choose the songs they will
play
live, this is a problem they surely like to deal with !
Another great
wah-wah solo at the end, while the rest of the band rocks !
I will stop to
name the songs as personal favourites, or I will sound too
repetitive !
7. Question - love at first sting ! Possibly the best
vocals by Bernie on
the entire CD, great acoustic guitar by Mick, nice
"strings" added by
Phil's keyboards, and also the aleatory piano fills... everything
sounds so
well put ! I can guess this is the kind of song that Pip
Williams is best
to produce, and to help being developed. Very interesting
lyrics, talking
about the internal force that makes us live... sometimes we can
feel it,
but usually we forget about it. Energy is the name, and
then the song
fades out, preparing the space for the next song...
8. Change - absolutely superb backing vocals on this one, the
best of the
pack ! Together with Mick's acoustic guitar and Phil's
keyboards, the
vocals fill every space available with this song. After
some minutes, the
song returns to the same melody of "Question", this was
a genious move !
These 2 songs are great separated, but they are even better when
heard
together, one complementing the other ! Not only the music,
but also the
lyrics. Of course what immediately comes to my mind is
"Paradise/The
Spell", but these new songs are completely different, only
the spirit is
similar. A mellow song turns into a (kind of) rocker, but
the acoustic
guitars are all around. Again very curious lyrics, saying
that we don't
know the answers, and we don't need to... we just need to live
our lives
the best way we can, and the power comes from the inside.
So that's why we
go back to "Question"...
9. Shelter From The Rain - a very nice ballad with some blues
elements, I
could easily imagine Gary Moore singing and playing guitar on
this one.
Another great Trevor composition, and a great choice for single
! Very
beautiful guitar solos by Mick. This is another example of
a commercial
song made with quality. Both a rock fan (not specifically a
Heep fan), and
a pop fan can appreciate this song. Possibly another choice
for a live
set. The end is great, with Mick's guitar together with the
chorus.
10. Everything In Life - rescued from the recent past of the
band, this
song is simple, heavy and fast ! Similar to other songs
recorded for
previous albums, it's placed here to cut the sequence of slower
tunes, and
it plays its role. It's not an outstanding song, but it's a
very good
rocker, with its short but killer wah-wah solo, and aggressive
vocals...
good to be played live, but not one of my personal favourites
here. It
would be one of the best songs if recorded for "Different
World" or
"Equator", for example, and so this shows how this new
album is strong. A
good song being one of the weakest is a good sign to my ears...
11. Across The Miles - analysing the meaning of the inclusion of
this song,
which was to provide an already known song for the North American
market, I
suppose they have achieved the target. It's a very good
version, with
improvements over the Survivor's original, especially the sound
of the
drums. The vocals are great, it's easy to notice how well
Bernie deals
with this kind of ballad. Mick's guitar is great at the end
of the song,
but I would have dropped the background vocals there (as it is on
the
original song)...
12. Feels Like - this song is probably a filler ("Fills
Like" ?), and
though it's not a bad song, it's not a very good one as
well. The chorus
suffered from some lack of inspiration, in my opinion, but the
verses, and
especially the guitar solos and fills, are great. Probably
the weakest
song of the bunch, followed by "Perfect Little Heart".
13. The Golden Palace - this is a special song for me.
Another song that I
loved at first listening, it starts with some orchestral
movements that
reminds me of some Russian composers, like the great
Prokofiev. Imponent
opening, it turns to a mellow tune, with great (again) acoustic
guitars and
vocals. Phil's keyboards together with the orchestra are
amazing !
Probably his best keyboards work, and arrangements, are here
! It reminded
me of Ken Hensley, especially the piano... sounds like ancient
Heep.
Though this is not a typical Heep song, I like it a lot, perhaps
it's my
favourite of the album, since I'm a classical music and
progressive rock
lover. I cannot imagine this song being played at regular
concerts, but it
would be an excellent choice for an eventual "acoustic
set" with a little
orchestra or string ensemble playing with the band. I
didn't get the
meaning of the lyrics, but they fit the melodies nicely. I
would consider
this song as a perfect one if they have added a heavier part at
its end,
with a "crescendo" that would take it to some slow
guitar and organ solos,
with a choir and orchestra, and the rest of the band, in the
background,
plus some piano fills... but this is too much to ask, the song is
brilliantly like it is ! There's one part of the lyrics
that I remember
whenever I think about this song: "Whenever I think of it, I
shiver to the
bone"
14. Sweet Pretender - the bonus tracks are usually songs that
were left out
of the album, and are used to give some added value to CD's
released in
some countries after the first release occured at other places,
so people
will wait for it... it usually happens this way in Japan,
specifically.
But this is not the case here. First, the song is great, a
killer tune,
with excellent playing and vocals, a catchy chorus, and another
quick and
destructive wah-wah solo by Mick ! Similar to
"Everything In Life", but
better... a great choice for the live concerts, not too hard to
imagine
Mick soloing while the others keep playing, at the end of the
show... I
would put this one as the show closer, before the encore.
This song could
be placed somewhere else on the CD, I consider "The Golden
Palace", the
best song to be the last, but since this one was chosen as a
bonus track...
General comments:
The cover art is good, but nothing special. Since the band
was looking
for some kind of symbol that people would easily recognize, and
refer to
Heep, the target was achieved, for sure. It's simple but
cool... and it
shows some "sound waves" propagating... and the shape
of a human face,
which is probably explained as being the moulding of the sound,
by man -
"Sonic Origami", as it was called by the band.
Interesting idea. I'd have
particularly prefered another Roger Dean image, but the band's
target with
this release is not exactly the usual Heep fan, who is satisfied
with the
final result of the album, and will follow the band once
again. They're
aiming a new market, and so this cover fits its purpose. The
packing is
great, very nice photos and lettering, and fortunately the lyrics
were
included (except by the bonus track, for obvious reasons).
The playing on the album is perfect. Everything is where it
should really
be, it's easy to see that it was an album carefully planned,
composed and
recorded, and you can feel the synergy between band and
producer. Pip
Williams did a great work on this album, and the final result
sounded less
heavy than "Sea Of Light", which was the band's
intention, for sure. Not
only the songs are mellower, but also the arrangements. I
particularly
prefer the kind of production made by Kalle Trap, but this work
has the
standard of quality that Uriah Heep was looking for.
Comparing this album with the last one is expected, as
always. I'm not
sure which album I like more, "Sonic Origami" or
"Sea Of Light", I prefer
to wait for one or two years before making my choice... but now I
consider
both great albums, more or less at the same level. Some
songs on SOL I
don't like too much, like "Sweet Sugar" and "Words
In The Distance", and
some are among the best produced by the current lineup:
"Against The Odds",
"Time Of Revelation", "Universal Wheels",
"Love In Silence", "Spirit Of
Freedom", "Fires Of Hell"... the ballads are
better than ever on SO, for
example I consider "Heartless Land" or
"Question" much better than "Dream On".
"Sonic Origami" is better than "Raging
Silence", for sure, and much better
than "Different World". It's great to see Heep
recording two albums in a
row with this level of quality, it seems that they have found
their
"formula", and I hope they'll keep things up !
Even the lyrics are much
better now than they have been in the 80's and the beginning of
the 90's.
Phil Lanzon is getting better and better, it's easy to notice
that his
evolution as a composer, performer and arranger was enormous
since he
joined the band, in 1986, and this is very good, we can expect
even better
works in the future ! Let alone his (definitve ?) option
for the Hammond
organ... Trevor Bolder is passing through his best phase as
a composer, in
my opinion, not to mention his bass playing, always outstanding,
melodical
and inventive. Lee's playing is much better on these last 2
albums, he's
not sounding like a drum machine, variation is the
key-word. Bernie also
is growing with the band, and his style of singing, nowadays, is
much more
suitable to the band that was when he joined... he's a great
singer, he
sings very well the classical material, but now he's at his peak
as a
performer, I suppose. I can list a few singers that sing
the way he does,
nowadays. Mick is Mick, the King of Wah-Wah ! No one
plays the guitar
with the wah-wah pedal the same way he does, with the same class,
and don't
talk to me about Jimi Hendrix or any other guitar player, live or
dead.
His composing skills have grown in a impressive way, and his
partnership
with Phil is providing better and better songs as time passes.
I can hardly wait to see this band playing such great songs
live... it
will be a hard task to choose which songs to play, and they'll
have to drop
some classic songs from their setlisting, I'm pretty sure !
