tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143621385723057155.post720259753469479743..comments2022-09-29T08:09:29.845-07:00Comments on A love of a musical journey : Fly From Here - YesMichelle Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544876508441166613noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143621385723057155.post-44981118538258825862011-07-14T07:07:05.233-07:002011-07-14T07:07:05.233-07:00Hi Keri,
I am delighted you get the essence of wh...Hi Keri,<br /><br />I am delighted you get the essence of what I am saying that this should be judged as a "pop" album or should I say CD. What makes it peerless is the craft that the core can bring to it. The 10 cc comparison is a good one they brought they same kind of intelligence to their music and the hooks and vocals were of the very highest quality. I think peerless in that sense would indeed be inaccurate sometimes it is to easy to offer a superlative without thinking whether the music justifies such a plaudit. Your observations are most intuitative (but that is entirely what I would expect of you!). You can sense my uncommitted feelings towards Chris's track which is a nice grove but I would have preferred Messrs Horn/Downes to remind the guys that Vermillion Sands was written for the band so perhaps we can include that to? <br /><br />Hour of Need reminds me that you never stop being connected to something you have been deeply connected to. Steve may not have had the rock and roll choir boy in mind but he might as well have.<br /><br />Lyrics<br /><br />Thank you for picking up on this the narrative is quite clear through the first two parts. I did not step into suggesting an allegorical bent and if I am wrong I apologise to Trevor but for me Madman assembled much later than the first two parts sounds like him contemplating his feelings in the wake of the tragic shooting of Jill. <br /><br />"Take a table .....Into this bad dream".<br /><br />Contemplating fate.<br /><br />"I hear the voices.. every song was singing in the rain" <br /><br />Looking back at fun and laughter.<br /><br />Then the remaining verses so much caution.<br /><br />"Sailor .. you must take care".<br /><br />But we never leave the image of the air traffic controller.<br /><br />"In the ceiling ... warning sounds somewhere".<br /><br />So the controller (producer) is there pondering fate and the consequences of actions.<br /><br />I have said in my review the lyrics of Part 1 resonate my first great love at school became ... an air traffic controller.<br /><br />You mention the clearer direction of the new romantics this is the welding together of a pop group with the core of a band who made some of the most visionary music of the seventies to be honest I expect a slightly more ambiguous outcome.<br /><br />What I do like about this CD though is the "new boys" have really been given a chance to breathe something neither Patrick or Billy were given and I am glad that they have been given a chance to Ride The Tiger In To The Storm. <br /><br />Thank you as always your contributions are peerless!!Michelle Johnstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08544876508441166613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143621385723057155.post-40028583617798537542011-07-14T04:06:41.886-07:002011-07-14T04:06:41.886-07:00Hi Michelle,
A good review, my physical copy is y...Hi Michelle,<br /><br />A good review, my physical copy is yet to arrive, I've been listening to it as mp3s. <br /><br />I recognise most of what you say although I feel less enthusiasm. Trevor is central to this album and the fortunes of the album really rest on the Fly from Here suite. <br /><br />I am glad you devote some attention to the lyrics, as this has been absent in nearly all the other reviews I have read. Yet I am still unable to get a focus of where the lyrics are going and what they are evoking. <br /><br />You say: "it is peerlessly crafted artful pop music created by seasoned musicians playing to their strengths"<br /><br />I agree it is artful pop, well constructed, and there is a real sense that this was a comfortable and pleasant album to make, so I am pleased they did. But I don't see it as peerless. When I think of comparisons I think of 10cc and I think they made more intelligent pop music, the lyrics have a greater sense of direction and focus, the music is more supple their instrumental performance does not match what Steve particularly can bring, but their vocal performance far outshines them.<br /><br />I also get a very strong sense of 1980 from the Yes Buggles combination, both this album and Drama, I feel the presence of the new romantics and I feel their competition Ultravox and OMD have so much clearer sense of direction. <br /><br />I actually wish Chris' track had been left off and another Horn Downes track had been used to give a greater sense of cohesion to the two halves. I love "Hour of Need" but feel that this would have been a lot better with Jon singing, Jon would have been able to project the meaning, this is the only song on the album that suggests Jon to me. <br /><br />Thank you very much for taking the time to write such an extensive review, I was thinking of writing one of my own and may do so but I prefer to write from a sense of joy rather than one of curiosity.Keri Fordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14386177565660630959noreply@blogger.com