"Salvation"- super!!!
When I listen to "Inside out" I'm overcome by a feeling of deepth like
never before. A classical opener, great and seldom. It's a uniqe invitation
to dip into Alphavilles music, to drop oneself, simple trust in what Marians
voice promise (and his voice is brilliant for each song). To open soul.
mind and oneself and to follow a warm light into the darkness: dive under...
"Monkey in the moon" there is every indication for an ease of being , a
kind of curiosity overwhelms me. Imagine to walk over a flowering meadow,
rain, sun, wind, enjoy the nature, to discover the world like a child.
And a rainbow with it!... When I listen "Guardian Angel", I feel helplessness,
hope, yearning, the search for up to now unfulfilled things. About "Wishful
Thinking" I think of a person (deep hurted and fighting like an animal
against) who tries to free oneself from the own inner prison. The violins
sound like saws, at the end the flight from everything around. What am
I thinking about "Flame"? A fireside, a warm, restful fire, dissapeared
in the flames, to find oneself reflected there. A kind of illumination,
spellbound from the fire. If I listen to "Point of (k)no(w) return" I feel
like water, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, sometimes loud and sometimes
quite in a river on ist way to the sea. There are also obstacles to come
over for a waterfall. Arrived in the sea go lost in the depth as a low
ripple on the beach, arrived as a small wave. "Control" is one of my favourites,
simply a hammer! Imagine to be on a big free ground in a roller coaster
of life. A true intoxicating ride- buckle on! Go and shrieks! "Dangerous
places" - another of my favourites. Marians voice creates atmosphere, a
magically mood of darkness, gloominess, danger but also temptation- an
irresistible mixture. Call for dancing into pure danger. Like sirens, who
made seafarer mad and killed them. Sweet and bidder tastes extra good...
"Spirit of the age" reminds me to a musical clock. "Soul messiah" opens
the door into another world, I come in, it turnes around, it's an own dimension.
I'm in the middle of "The neverending Story". Surprised. Enraptured. Everytime
find something new. Experience some new adventures. At the end there's
a slowly closed door. I have to go through...out to my own world again-
even only fantasy? "New Horizons" ? That's difficult. I need to get used
to it. In my opinion it's too high for singing. I think it sounds better
a bit deeper. Sorry Marian. More depth would give some more warmth in my
opinion. Again and again I see a picture in my head of an starlit sky.
And there's a falling shooting star. Endless vastness. Oh this song! sobs,
cry..."Pandoras Lullaby". An isolated twosome is dancing in a hall. Find
together, go lost again, the dance of love, of longing, of fulfilment.
Insanity! All in all an excellent, intimate album. Matured, with a touch
to "Forever Young", lean against sooner Alphaville-times. Supreme stimulating
for the fantasy. Alphaville better than ever! Bärbel from Germany
"From Prostitute
to Salvation" so the saying goes..... and as a matter of fact, here i'm
in front of the new neon-logo casting glances from the new alphaville product,
that as usual here in Italy it was preceed from the most absolute silence
and media' indifference, too busy to pump the expected Eros Ramazzotti
and Laura Pausini or their depressing clones up (great, in this moment
I'm having many new friends... !), but long waited from Euphoric
people like us, who were yearning it with curiousity and hopes. There is
one thing that strikes me immediately: the cover design impact is pleasant
and the songtexts (lucky always included!) are readable without jeopardizing
a possible future use of the optic nerve of poor fellow fan, already tested
by the reading (?) of the songtexts of "Prostitutes." Surely who cared
about the design and the art direction has done a brilliant work; the photos
on the booklet overflow as usual with simbologie, to me, hardly decipherable,
and perhaps for this reason even more fascinating (does anyone is able
to explain to me, what a pile of dishes on an organ stand for??). I decide
to use a different method from the usual ones for the first "audition"
of the album: I will let chance decide, that is in the specific the RANDOM
function press buttom of my CD-player, in order to let the listening more
"impartial" and calm and I will carefully avoid to follow the songtexts
because what attracts me now, i must admit, are some probably new elements
in sonorities. RANDOM PLAY starts, and the roulette chooses the nr. 12,
the last track, and for me it is a surprise to feel a softly orchestral
background being part of a cd to be announced like predominantly electronic
music one (but this track will be, however, nearly the only example against
the general trend): a lullaby to all the intents and purposes, an episode
pervaded by tracery-works of "real" arcs and a nearly perfect vocal part,
with frequent changes of expression and a musical finale (a perfect contribution
also from Rainer Bloss, especially during the arrangement session, I suppose).I
don't have enough time to ask myself where artist's madness can lead, when
the cd-player jumps to the track nr. 7..... and there truth comes out!
A completely different track and completely out.....of Control! A track
that, to be honest, i have the feeling to have already listened somewhere,
and even if it is full of energy and vitality, in deep it disappointed
and it is indifferent to me (luckly it is the briefest episode of the album).
I also find this track a little bit boring, except in the brief instrumental
part, where phrasing keyboards let the waiting more pleasant. My mind,
disconcerted and disenchanted, wakened up again from one of the very best
tracks AV has realised in so many years and i suppose chosen as front-song:
Inside Out. The beginning remembers to me some dreaming Enya atmosphere
or something else from the new age music; this track is indeed magic, and
i'm angry it is not be chosen as single (such a genius melodic line and
such a superlative interpretation are surely deserved of credit). However
Euphorics will remember it (included me, without doubt!) as one amough
the very best alphavillians creations. I think that synth phrase leading
to the final passage has just a few comparison in the Avs discography.
It give you creeps! But let's go on: a known melody on which i had some
reserves, comes to my ears: it's the track nr. 4 (Wishful Thinking): my
hopes of a more soft version in compair to the one of the single are completely
faded away from the coming on to the stage of a powerful devasting resonance
chamber, but i appreciate the most carefull use of arcs that, as written
on the booklet, are "genuine" and also used in Flame, that will be the
next individualized track by the RANDOM buttom. The last thing i say about
about Wishful Thinking is that the end of the song has been badly faded
out (perhaps a longest period of fading out could be better) and in general
it is an occasional episode in the AV singles production. A celestial harmony
welcomes me suddenly in its arms..... To the production' point of view,
the track nr. 5 is well edit, despite the arrangment is more than elementary
and sometimes even discounted. Flame (track 5) is such a sweet song, the
refrain is even tear for fears, the backings vocals enphasize the sense
of absent intimacy in the heart of the protagonist. I would have prefered
a change of tonality well at the end of the song and a longest lasting
with more space to arcs and keyboards, but once cannot have everything…
We jump now to tha track nr. 8, that begins with mysterious atmosphere
and feelings of danger (Dangerous Places, note: it remembers me the style
of Yello - those of "The Race", to clear) and it has stabbing-lines, with
very "obstinate" keyboards (!) and a very "jungle" rhythmic section (the
legs can't stand still). Short and passing by moment New Horizons (track
nr. 11) it is the brit-pop parenthesis on the cd, perhaps hypnotic and
hallucinogenic, but pleasant, even if it is not what i would have exactly
expected on a cd announced like predominantly electronic (where do i have
already written this??!). A song that instead i would have dreamed not
only in this album, but in general is the track nr. 3; quickly reached
by the laser and stored from my neuronis in a flash: soft-techno sonoriy,
but mood and inspiration of back to the old years, turn of intuitive chords
and remindable, lyric one, but flowing songtext, splendid riff of synth
(some ingenues melodies of the The Twins!!! come to my mind) and good end
with stacco and refrain, with Marian respectable vocal interpretation.
Guardian Angel is surely one of top ingeniousness of this cd, also in its
disarming simplicity.I look at the cd-player display and I realize that
four songs are still there. The first to be announced to my ears is Soul
Messiah (track nr. 10), song mixed directly by AV: not bad, even if it
a little bit stifled by too much incessant and preponderant rhythm (I know
a perhaps better version exists…) But now strikes to our eyes and to our
heart Monkey In The Moon (track nr. 2), with a harp of keyboards that it
is chased from a channel to the other and a jungle rhythm that gradually
wins: nice, dancing, not annoyong at all. Interesting the choirs, soft
guitar, some changes rhythm, good edit in percussions On the same wave-lenght
it is the track nr. 9, Spirit Of The Age, that begins with notes of casual
synth, it differes for the use of the falsetto, but it never results carrying
away. The refrain is however of those that are not easily forgotten. Good
mark in favour of the final end Last track, Point Of Know Return, is an
attractive words-play and attractive passage, perhaps the sound remembers
too much Michael Cretu, but with a notable and deep intro, a not fast,
but powerful rhythmics thanks to the bass. It is one of my prefer songs
on the cd. Great atmosphere and involving: it is perhaps the track that
most approaches to "United" and it is whole particular vocal proof, but
broadly overcome. While the caddy cd-player gives "Salvation" back to its
owner, I think over what i was allowed to listen to and i can notice that
some of my expectations have not been satisfied: as few experimentation
as promotion for a cd that in conclusion is an enough commercial one. A
sign of life, even if i have noticed a few "courage" in some choises. All
these doubts are mitigated however from the fact that pearls like Inside
Out and Pandora's lullaby are worth in buying this cd. What a shame for
other episodes less dragging out… but in their way always "original".
Andrea Peluso - for
Euphoria fan club
Translation by Alessandra
Bertaggia
To call "Salvation"
compared to the other albums just as "different", is pretty close to the
truth, but finally it's a little bit unfair. "Different" means : not bad
but ordinary. Things are different if it's hard to say something about.
However, "Salvation" is full of wonderful and not at all of ordinary lyrics.
But in my opinion it's a pitty, they are packed up much too commercial.
Songs like "Guardian Angel", 2Wishful Thinking" and "Control" have suffered
most for example. That's why I don't like these songs so much. The melodies
are much to banal and I was soon bored from their monotony. I know for
many fans "Flame" is the absolutely highlight of "Salvation". And this
song is really a great ballad, but I miss the certain something, a kind
of highpoint through. Anyway I really like the lyrics of the song:
"...there were
times when I was down, there were times I felt so low, my whole life just
seemed to be a senseless quest of energy..."
Another of my personally
favourites is "Point of know return". The intro is marvellous and the atmosphere
of the song is dreamlike melancholy. Equal how often I already have heard
the song and will still do it, never it seems to loose only a spark of
its perfection.
My second favourite
of "Salvation" is "Dangerous places": a little bit bad, but wonderful electronic.
Simply great!
"Inside Out" compared
to 2Falme" is for me the better quite song of the album. With "Spirit of
the age" I like the chorus not so much. "Soul messiah" has a very pleasant
groove. It's never boring for me. And "New Horizons" is a little bit soppy.
The musically varied, completely riped and that's why the obvious best
song is "Pandora's Lullaby". I have no words to describe this song! So
I don't try it here.
All in all ther's
no reason for me to regret buying "Salvation" (Yvonne)
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