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██▌ Artist...: Epidaurus ░▐██▌
░▐██ Album....: Earthly Paradise ░██▌░
▓▐██ Year.....: 1998 ▓▐██▓
▓▐██ Rel. Date: 2024-12-22 ░▐██▓
▐██ Genre....: Progressive Rock ██▌░
░ ██▌ Label....: Garden of Delights ██▌
▐██ Source...: CD ▐██
░▐██▌ Type.....: Reissue ▐██▌░
▓▄████ Quality..: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo ████▌░
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1. Actions and Reactions 7:01
2. Silas Marner 7:52
3. Wings of the Dove 5:07
4. Andas 6:20
5. Mitternachstraum 6:05
32:25
Another underrated gem from the '70s. The only complaint in this
wonderful album is the operatic (?) female voice, but it's only present
at the first two tracks. Music is amazing, keyboards driven with lots of
Mellotron and beautiful melodies. It remains GENESIS sometimes, and
there are some touches where the German essence is evident (sounds a la
ELOY i.e.), but the stuff is quite original and very well done. Highly
recommended.
---
Epidaurus' debut album enjoys a lost-gem minor classic reputation and it
is little wonder why, because this album represents a bit the later 70's
German take-over of symphonic rock, once most of the English bands had
completely run out of steam. This quintet (two keyboards, no guitar plus
a female singer) was taking much of the old recipes, and using what
seemed outmoded instruments, but this is one of the ingredients most
progheads will like. The album is clearly presented in two
phases/styles: the first side presenting a solid symphonic rock that is
reminiscent of Genesis or Yes, while the second side clearly ogles in
the Symphonic-era of Tangerine Dream. Both sides of the album have a
different drummers, but share the same relative weakness in the
songwriting department.
From the opening notes, you actually fear one of those late-70's
ultra-(overly)-symphonic album, but after the first minute is gone, you
should be completely reassured that you are indeed in a good tendency:
halfway between Genesis and Renaissance (and not just because of
Christine Wand's ultra-high vocals , which reminds of Haslam), the only
thing that is lacking here is a good guitar, but maybe I am a bit too
nit-picky. So the almost-7mins Actions And Reactions is a very enjoyable
ultra-symphonic rock that really buries many other similar albums, and
the second track, the almost 8-mins Silas Marner also gets some lovely
flute lines, but is a bit less involved. This (short) first side of the
vinyl is slightly hampered by the singing of Wand, because her vocals
are not to everyone's tastes.
The flipside opens with the perfect linking instrumental 5-mins Wing Of
The Dove , which announces a bit the second part of the album, but is
still well entrenched in the Genesis realm with loads of Mellotron and
some descending lines lifted from Cinema shows (short and not
scandalous), until the song shifts to an upper tempo to end the song
more fittingly. If Andas starts with a piano intro, the track clearly
veers electronics for the next minutes before settling in a superb (dare
I say grandiose?) Tangerine Dream-like groove (Stratosfear era) that
could even shame these last ones had they not invented the musical
universe. The 6-mins Andas also brinks along the dissonant (the flute
but also the early electronic interlude), but does really dare to.
Closing off the album is Mitternachtstraum (middle of night dream) in a
splendid full blown TD fashion, finally bringing the slow process of
morphing Renaissance into Tangerine Dream. Somehow, these unknown
realized a small tour de force.
Recorded as a private release (with a na∩ve B&W artwork), this album got
a first CD reissue in the early 90's on Pennar Records, than a second
one on the superb Garden Of Delight (Pennar's successor) in the mid
00's. Most likely, the GOD release is the better researched one and
probably contains bonus tracks. Epidaurus will release a second album in
the mid-90's, presenting re-recorded version of tracks that were written
for the second album. I never this album, but generally the album did
not get good reviews. In the meantime, this album is good enough to earn
its fourth star, while not being really essential. It is however much
worthy of your investigations and merits its reputation.
---
EPIDAURUS were a mid seventies German progressive outfit formed around
1976, and uniquely featured two keyboard players, Gunther Henne and Gerd
Linke, with vocalist Christiane Wand, bassist Heinz Kunert and drummers
Manfred Struck and Volker Oehmig. "Earthly Paradise" is definitely well
rooted in the 70's progressive style of YES, PINK FLOYD and fellow
German rockers, ELOY. Without a question this is an essential album to
own with 5 truly magical tunes. This symphonically keyboard driven album
is also supported by the angelic voice of Christiane Wand. EPIDAURUS
were an example of a rather obscure but extremely talented symphonic
rock act from Germany. Their style revolved around the incredible
virtuosity of keyboardists Gerd Linke and Gunther Henne, both of whom
will draw inevitable comparisons with the likes of WAKEMAN, MORAZ or
EMERSON. This album carries that vintage Germanic penchant for
transporting the listener into the outer reaches of the cosmos. Although
no where near Schulze and Co., "Earthly Paradise" maintains steady and
propulsive undulations of bass and sympathetic, massed keyboards making
a wide use of structure and space. Without a question this album is a
70's analog vintage keyboardist wet dream with tons of mellotron,
mini-moog, Hammond and piano. A beautiful album and a real gem of 70's
Progressive Rock.
---
The present album is characterized by a couple of immediate mini-suites
and other interesting tracks, with hints of floydian excursions and a
space athmosphere in the vein of Eloy as well!! The first track is not
always derivative, the analogical keyboards are pretty, even though
there are not any bombastic solos... the second one is a bit weak but
the music is compact ad the melodic lines convincing;nevertheless the
female voice is not always inspiring, sometimes reducing her voice range
and excursion too, during her acute passages, but it never minds as it
seems a mixture between the style of Pink Floyd ("Meddle"-Era) and the
early German space rock albums, with a few harmonic solutions, despite
of being enriched with some direct guitar effects (always talking about
their floydian excursions)...but of course it depends on my personal
tastes, above all considering the style of the female singer, because
for instance I prefer the symphonic passages by Annie Haslam much more,
within album such as "Novella" or "Scheherazade", than any other style
inside such German space rock...anyway this album has become a cult
concept in the recent years.
---
This album really took me by surprise, given it was originally released
privately, and worth tons of money if you're to seek out the original
LP. Anyway, EPIDAURUS was in a long list of German symph bands (that
included ELOY, GROBSCHNITT, NOVALIS, RAMSES, SFF, etc.), who released
this album, "Earthly Paradise" in 1977 (they would later reunite in 1994
and released "Endangered", which is allegedly crap). This band, for the
most part circled around the duo keyboards of Gⁿnther Henne and Gerd
Linke, with Heinz Kenert on bass, and Moog Taurus bass pedals, and
Manfred Struck handling the drums on side two (the last three cuts), and
Volker Oehmig handling the drums on the first side (first two cuts).
Often I've seen this album compared to GENSIS, but to me, they actually
remind me more of RAMSES, but with much better production, and the music
is better than RAMSES, in my book. The synth work is simply
unbelievable, and same goes to the Mellotron, this is everything that I
enjoy of the late '70s prog scene (an era where the prog rock scene was
dying elsewhere, especially in England, but still seemed to be going
strong in Germany at this point). The biggest problem I have of this
album is female vocalist Christiane Wand, who sings on the first two
cuts only ("Actions and Reactions" and "Silas Marner", the rest is
instrumental). The problem is her squeaky voice that many might find
grating (I got used to her voice, imagine if Annie Haslam sung an octave
higher, you get Christiane Wand). The last two cuts, "Andas" and
"Mitternachstraum" are a bit more original, "Andas" being a somewhat
fusion influenced piece, with some killer Moog solos, and
"Mitternachstraum" is basically Gⁿnther Henne and Gerd Linke's time to
shine, as this is a largely synth and Mellotron-dominated piece.
Despite the minor flaw of including Wand on two of the cuts, this album
is truly amazing, and the production is top rate (something I don't
usually expect from privately released albums). And a label called
Pennar Records (later called Garden of Delights) had reissued this on
CD, so you don't have to pay big money for the original LP. So if you're
an analog synth freak, love the sound of Mellotron, and like German
symphonic prog, you can't go without this album.
---
From the very first moment you are flooded by waves of majestic
choir-Mellotron and Minimoog runs, at some moments pleasantly boosted by
Moog Taurus bass pedals, all guided by a celestial female voice. Other
fine moments contain twanging 12-string guitar and spacey synthesizer
flights or accelerations featuring the powerful Hammond organ. The
second part of this CD showcases more electronic inspired music but also
the use of the swinging Hohner D6 clavinet and some acoustic piano play.
The five songs on this album sound simple but are very compelling if you
like the typical Seventies keyboards sound.
---
Epidaurus released in 1977 a symphonic prog album that is usually highly
celebrated by prog collectors worldwide. Epidaurus had two keyboardists
- Gunther Henne and Gerd Linke - as leaders: they wrote almost the
entire material and their immense arsenal (pianos, organ, clavinet, lots
and lots of synths and mellotron) is highly featured in the mix, since
both were in charge of the soloing, the orchestrations and the basic
harmonic stuff. Major influences seem to be Eloy, Camel and Novalis,
with a bit of the most tender side of classic Genesis. The band actually
had to go through a weird, long recording process for their debut album
"Earthly Paradise", which actually was their sole prog offering during
their 70s period. Side 1 (tracks 1-2) was recorded under a quintet
format, with mezzo-soprano Christiana Wand assuming the lead singer's
role; side 2 (tracks 3-5) finds the band having undergone a crucial
line-up change, as an exclusively instrumental quartet and with a
different drummer in the fold. The first two tracks are the most overtly
symphonic, based on clever arrangements of nice melodies and a slightly
pompous use of keyboard layers and ornaments in order to spice things
up. Wand's vocal timber can be found celestial by some and annoying by
others: I personally stand somewhere in between, since I feel that
sometimes she strains her vocal range, which stops her from delivering a
cleaner performance, but I also find her tone somewhat majestic, and
that helps the music to keep its intended orchestral appeal. The
addition of 12-string acoustic guitar (by Henne) and flute (by guest
Peter Meier) gives 'Silas Marner' an enhanced sonic spectrum,
particularly during the bucolic parts: this is the most accomplished of
the first two tracks. But the best from Epidaurus is yet to come, since
the all-instrumental second half contains a more solid material, as well
as a more cohesive global performance. Newcomer Manfred Struck on drums
provides a bigger dose of strength and versatility to the rhythm
section: his jazz-tinged style helps the band to enhance its intended
air of sophistication and ride out the material's complexity more
fluidly. You can tell that bass player Heinz Kunert feels more
confident, and also that the keyboard parts sound stronger, at times
even more aggressive. 'Wings of the Dove' and 'Andas' are outstanding
examples of Epidaurus' prog vibe exquisitely executed with an added
touch of excitement. The former is structured according the usual "mood
and tempo shift" prog ideology, while the latter is more clearly rooted
in a sort of jazz jam, with the synths providing a cosmic ambience -
'Andas' sounds to me like an encounter of earth (the solid conjunction
laid by the rhythm section and the electric piano-and-organ) and air
(the ethereal string synth and mellotron layers, the touches of Moog,
the amazing flute solo by guest Meier, again). Tracks 3 & 4 are, IMHO,
the most amazing numbers of this album. Finally, 'Mitternachtstraum'
closes it down: this is another jam, this time consisting of a
synth-centered krautrock main motif that goes on recurrently with slight
variations occurring along the way. It reminds me of what TD were doing
in parallel for their 'Stratosfear' and 'Encore' albums. The very bright
moments that "Earthly Paradise" contains cannot hide the fact that this
album is somewhat inconsistent, so I am inclined to think that labeling
it as a master opus or even excellent would be an overstatement: I would
label it as good, but also essential to a certain degree.
---
The first time I heard this record I have to admit I was taken aback by
the high pitched female vocals, they really caught me off guard. After a
few listens though they actually grew on me to the point I feel they fit
the music perfectly.This is mostly instrumental anyway. EPIDAURUS were a
German band who came on the Prog scene a little late, releasing this
album in 1977. Regardless of their timing they recall the great
symphonic bands of the early seventies. Those vintage keyboards
(especially the mellotron) make this a joy to listen to.This release is
a mellotron monster, with two keyboardists and both of them playing
mellotron and Hammond organ. And hey they're on the "Garden Of Delights"
label, what more could you want ?
I really like the first song "Action And Reaction" a mellotron laden,
keyboard led beauty. The drumming is very prominant as well. Mellotron,
drums and synths lead early. You can hear Christiane come in with vocal
melodies before 2 1/2 minutes then Hammond follows before she starts to
sing after 3 minutes. Nice. Gorgeous track. "Silas Marner" opens with
spacey winds before the 12 string acoustic guitar joins in then
flute-like sounds. Synths and drums before 2 minutes, mellotron
follows.The song does speed up as vocals and drums arrive 3 minutes in.
It settles again after 5 minutes as the 12 string returns with mellotron
and spacey winds.There's that flute again. Beautiful.
"Wings Of The Dove" is another favourite of mine.There is some good
keyboard and drum interplay in this uptempo intro.This is an
instrumental that will also boast mellotron, synths and electric piano
before it's over. "Andas" opens with piano before it kicks into a higher
gear. An uptempo instrumental with some nice bass and better mellotron
floods. And the final song "Mitternachtstraum" is a page right out of
TANGERINE DREAM. Check out the moog ! If I didn't know better i'd think
it was them.
I really feel this album is a unique piece of work, with the vocals (on
two tracks) and the beautiful waves of mellotron standing out. It is
essential for all progheads to experience EPIDAURUS. An absolutely
gorgeous album.
---
After being gifted a couple of years ago with a copy of EPIDAURUS'
"Earthly Paradise" I could finally solve a mystery that haunted me since
the late 70s: those heavenly mellotron tunes and marvelous vocals heard
in 'Actions and reactions', the opening track for this timeless gem.
Now, I'm quite sure that one of my long life problems has been solved
and I may rest in peace, well, not too soon; I still want to hear this
song many times more.
I know little about EPIDAURUS: only the album itself, the bio herein and
some clearing reviews, but the main perception comes from their quaint
symphonic sound. Their music alternates cool and peaceful parts with
others full of vigor and splendor: catchy, nice, and beautiful. Eager to
have in hands their second album, released a decade and a half later to
check if they kept this incredible atmosphere.
Apart from the song mentioned above, one of my favorites in the
progressive scenario, "Earthly Paradise" offers still another jewel, the
surprising 'Silas Marner', this time plenty of flutes and acoustic
guitars sounds, interchanging with dream-like vocals.
'Wings of the dove' is quite hearable even not being original for
bringing a typical British prog sound of early 70s, most noticeable from
bands like CAMEL or YES. 'Andas' blends symphonic and jazz, making the
band looks like its contemporary krautrock acts, although a bit
disappointing. 'Mitternachtstraum', the ending track, is nice and weird,
with many pleasant touches of space-rock and experimentalism, even with
dull and repetitive passages.
A fine output, doubtless, where the first two tracks overtop in a way
that the entire album is honestly an excellent addition to any prog
collection.
---
Epidaurus is in fact a legendary band that came into scene of
progressive rock in mid seventies, quite late as compared to the
pioneers like King Crimson, ELP, Yes, Genesis or Pink Floyd who started
their career around end of 60's. It was basically the duo keyboardists
Gⁿnther Henne and Gerd Linke that made up the band and you can guess
that the music is truly a keyboard-drenched style with many multi-layer
sounds. The moogs, mellotrons, organs and pianos are key elements of
their music. Those of you who like Tangerine Dream, Eloy, Symphonic Slam
and in some way Triumvirat, might be able to digest and enjoy the music.
In addition to keyboards, the bass guitar and drums are also used,
strengthened by great vocal work by Christiane Ward whom the singing
style is like a blend of Annie Haslam (Renaissance) and Jenny Kaagman
(Earth & Fire).
This "Earthly Paradise" was recorded in mid 1977 and was considered as a
studio project only. AS the sleeve mentions, the recording took two
days: 25 and 26 June, 1977 and the mixing was done next day 27 June
1977, recorded at Hermes-Tons studio, West Germany. The music is a
classic in terms of symphonic prog territory, where it had dynamic
musical progressions and fine arrangements. In general, the album
featured a beautiful, and sometimes it seems pretentious, with catchy
melody, long sustain keyboard work that creates "symphonic" nature.
I am sure you will be amazed hearing the first track "Actions And
Reactions (7:01) where a blast of long sustain keyboards work dominate
the music overlaid by ambient female vocal. It's hard to deny that
symphonic prog do not like this track. The next track is in fact much
more ambient with intricate and atmospheric keyboard work augmented
beautifully by flute-work, played by Peter Maer. "Silas Marner" (7:50)
brings us to an upbeat symphonic music with stunning keyboard rhythms
section and solo. It reminds me to band like Pulsar. What really impress
me is when the album reaches track 4 "Andas" (6:15) where I can find the
style of Ozric Tentacles is very obvious.
I highly recommend you to have this album, especially if you favor
symphonic prog, it's a MUST have for you. The recording quality is also
great.
---
Very, very interesting album done by this obscure band project from the
late 70┤s. A kind of mix together Genesis, Eloy and Tangerine Dream. Of
course it is mostly keyboard-driven, the band had two keyboardists, but
they also had a fine rhythm section and an added guest on flute on a
couple of tunes. I liked the female Annie Haslam-like vocalise on the
first two tracks, and the nice acoustic guitars on Silas Marner. It all
help to enhance the music, but the keyboards sound are really the stars:
tasteful, great timbres and very well played.
Production is very good and clear, the arrangements are excellent and
the melodies are catchy. It has no fillers anywhere, and the only bad
part of it is the short running time (a little over 30 minutes). Unlike
many 70┤s instrumental works, this one has no self indulgence or any
excess: the music is always captivating and grabs you from the very
start.
A very nice surprise. Thanks to Gatot, for his review sparkled my
interest. Every symphonic prog fan should listen to this album. Highly
recommended.
---
Nice symphonic-psych album from a German band!
This is another of those hidden gems that we find all of a sudden,
that's the precious thing about progressive rock, it does not have
limits, and there is plenty of music to discover. So with this album, I,
once again, found interesting and well composed music from a band that I
didn't know anything. The name of this, their debut album is "Earthly
Paradise" and it is the only of theirs I know, but I have read that
their second album lacks of creativity and challenging moments, so I
believe with this record is enough.
A relatively short album reaching 32 minutes, with only 5 songs
oscillating between 5-7 minutes, making a total time of 32.
It kicks off with "Actions and Reactions", and since the very first note
we can imagine the music's destiny, I mean, it goes towards the
symphonic realm, which is very clear when you listen to that amazing
keyboard sound, of course I must mention that I has mellotron, so that
gives an extra point. Later female vocals appear, with a unique style,
and a minute later the keyboards return faster and challenging, really
interesting mix of Eloy and Genesis. Then vocals appear again and the
song calms down a little bit, the textures created as background are
also well placed, an excellent song.
"Silas Marner" is the longest track and starts very different from the
previous one, this time with some wind sound, a soft acoustic guitar and
a delicate flute sound. A minute later synths appear with a different
sound, but keeping the same atmosphere until minute 3 when drums enter
and the song turns faster and a bit psychedelic. Vocals enter (good, but
not my favorite vocals), mellotron prevails and a symphonic oriented
sound shows the road to delight. The last part is the same as it began,
wind effects, acoustic guitar and flute, pretty cool.
"Wings of the Dove" is another keyboard oriented track, but this time
the mood is a bit nervous like a movie scene, you don't know what's
happening and what's next, this song is great because it maintains you
there expecting the next offer, there are several mini changes within
this instrumental song, the drums are always great very well placed and
the keyboards make it extraordinary.
"Andas" begins with some piano and all of a sudden a weird synth sound
which turns spacey and even weirder, making the sound of a robot or
something. Later the song changes and makes a rockier sound with
guitars, nice bass sound and constant great drumming, but this is just
in order to change again and due to the synth sound reminding again to
some space or psychedelic act, such as Eloy. The drums are excellent,
and the flute addition helps the track getting a new identity, great
instrumental song without a doubt.
And last but not least, we have "Mitternachstraum" which supports the
idea of labeling this album as a symphonic-psychedelic; you will notice
it clearly in this song due to the synth elements, which provoke some
great background effects that will be perfectly listened with god
headphones, here, we can understand they were also influenced by some
krautrock pioneers such as Tangerine Dream, great way of ending an
album.
This is an excellent album, as I said, another hidden gem worth
discovering, and absolutely recommendable!
---
Epipdaurus's debut is a keyboard-dominated one- expect little in the way
of guitars here. That said, the band accomplished a brief but admirable
album near the twilight of progressive rock's glory days. To my ear,
Christine Wand sounds quite similar to Becky Stark (who played Margaret
in The Decemeberist's 2009 masterpiece The Hazards of Love), but my only
complaint is that she's not always on top of her notes and occasionally
sounds flat. The music itself teeters on generic and minimalistic for
symphonic rock, but I still find it a pleasure to hear nonetheless.
"Actions and Reactions" The album wastes no time launching directly into
phenomenal symphonic rock waters. Various keyboards provide a smooth
ride buoyed by a capable rhythm section. Over sparse instrumentation,
the operatic female vocal enters. The synthesizer solo is accomplished
though repetitive.
"Silas Marner" Wind and twelve-string guitar, soon joined by a lonely
flute, create a mythical piece of music. The synthesizer is a fantastic
addition. It picks up tempo and changes face, introducing organ,
strings, and those operatic vocals. Stark Mellotron returns to listener
to the bleak, windy twelve-string opening with flute flourishes.
"Wings of the Dove" Dirty, clicking organ in 15/8 gives way to
Mellotron-drenched piano. Various keyboards take turns in the fore,
including Mellotron, organ, piano, and a wicked synthesizer. The
rhythmic changes keep the piece fresh.
"Andas" Austere piano opens the fourth track as experimental synthetic
sounds take over abruptly. It leaps into a style and sound similar to
early Yes, augmented by Mellotron, wild synthesizer, and flute. The
piece takes discordant excursions I don't particularly care for, but
otherwise, it is a very strong example of symphonic rock.
"Mitternachtstraum" The final piece maintains a steady bass line in 5/4
time with various keyboards swirling around it. For the most part, I am
reminded of Camel.
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