Alive Again

Nightingale

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 28, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: The End Records
• ASIN: B00007MB82
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,428 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Subtitled - The Breathing Shadow Part IV. 2002 album from Dan Swano and team, graced with an amazing production the highly anticipated album offers some magical tunes for fans of hard rock and melodic metal. The End Records.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nightingale's best release to date, June 2, 2004

By	llooc "llooc" (CT, USA) - See all my reviews

You're not going to find metal here. This is moody hard rock and roll without being too brooding, and plenty of hooks to make it immediately accessible.

Dan Swano once again produces his smooth mid-deep delivery, 180 degrees from the deathy vox you'll hear on his other projects. Don't be expecting any Edge-of-Sanity-like music here. (But if harsh vocals don't bother you, and you also like a keyboard-laden prog sound, you HAVE to give his solo "Moontower" album a try).

If you've heard the other Nightingale releases, you'll be happy to hear that the mix here is the best of the lot. All of the instruments are clear and distinct. Swano finally got himself a real drummer on this one - and the drums' sound is infinitely better than on the previous three discs. Lots of keyboards continue to set the mood. The guitar is tastefully done with virtually no noodling wankery (I love wheedly stuff, but it has its place, and that place isn't here). The bass could maybe be a little more prominent, but that's a minor nitpick.

The songs here are fantastic! Melodies are instantly absorbed in the system, and it's almost a crime that you won't hear this on your local airwaves. A large chunk of this album wouldn't be out of place on the radio. (Although my favorite Nightingale song is still "Steal The Moon", out of place on the "Closing Chronicles" album). "Recollections" starts the album with a gloomy atmospheric intro that goes right into two upbeat sounding tracks "Shadowman" and "The Glory Days" followed by the ballad "Falling", which would've undoubtedly been an MTV staple had it been released in 1987.

One way to judge an album is by its staying power in your listening rotation, and I find myself picking Alive Again more often than a lot of other stuff I've bought in the past 18 months. If you haven't picked up a Nightingale album yet, here's where you should start.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What SHOULD be on the radio, November 26, 2003

By	"aiylyn" (Washington, Mi United States) - See all my reviews

This is one of those CDs that makes me depressed...when I see it in a used shop. I always stop and wonder, why didn't it sit with the original buyer? Why didn't he or she like it? Because I think - and this is coming from someone who has never heard the other Nightingale material - that this album is perfect. Dan Swano has to be one of the most profilic musicians in Sweden; he definitely shows wide variety in music since he can reconcile Bloodbath with this.

When I first listened to this, the thing that jumped out at me most immediately - and this is a rare occurence - was the singing. Most bands, you catch on to the guitar, or the drumming, or the keyboards, but with this band, it was the singing that did it. Swano's low-pitched, mellow, expressive tenor voice is addictive in a good way. He never shouts or screams but takes you on a gentle ride through the land of rock that is at once full of depth and meaning but is also catchy and easy to sing along to (which is a surefire winner in my book!). All of the songs here contain at least one hook that should grab the listener (that's why I mentioned radio in the subject line) but it is plainly obvious that a lot of brainpower went into the construction.

This should have appeal to old-school progressive rock fans and metal fans who want the occasional breath of fresh air from all the hard and heavy stuff.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The IVth and last album of the concept, December 4, 2003

By	Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Nightingale's Alive Again is the fourth and last album of their everlasting concept storyline. Released in random order, Alive Again is both chronologically and storywise the last album of the series that seals the end of this amazing piece of work. Dan Swano will now work on a new album that has different motives lyrically.

Nightingale is an incredible band. It started out as Dan Swano's solo project after the break-up of Unicorn and gradually began to develop with the addition of Dan's older brother, Tom Nouga, and eventually a new bassist and drummer too. The first album was completely Dan Swano, the second one was Dan and his brother, the third one showed signs of promise and the Swano brothers toured and played several gigs. And now Alive Again has turned into a completely different entity with the inclusion of bassist Erik Oskarsson (Godsend) and drummer Tom Bjorn. Erik and Dan also played in the amazing doom metal band Godsend together and they certainly have a great chemistry between them. Tom Bjorn on the other hand is simply a fantastic drummer and a well needed breath of fresh air. He plays tastefully, enters the songs with beautiful (but modest) fills and rolls. Considering that the debut Nightingale had a drum machine and the other two featured Dan Swano himself on the drums, Bjorn's addition to the band has brought a new vibe, which I really dig.

Tom Nouga is a very 80's inspired guitar player and Alive Again is the first album that gave him the opportunity to play those 70's-like riffs in a more 80's style. Excellent. I'm not saying that AA is my favourite Nightingale album but I know that Dan Swano has managed to put out four albums under this moniker, all of which are different from each other. Isn't that what prog music is about? The Closing Chronicles was a monumental CD in (dark) prog rock as was I with a more concise sound. Alive Again, on the other hand, goes for a more lively sound, more energetic, more exciting. The sound on the previous CD was a bit dry; it's a great album and I love it, but AA definitely has a more fresh tone overall. Maybe it's the hard rock vibe, maybe it's the heavier 80's sound rather than the 70's, I don't know. It's really hard to put your finger on it. The songs are still progressive all the way; Dan would never make sacrifices in that aspect. But the writing is more forthright. The choruses are more central and focal. The writing is sort of more cohesive and controlled. Maybe it's because Part IV was the first and only Nightingale album Dan Swano took a whole year to write, record, and mix.

This album displays a more carefully planned sound, both sonically and stylistically. Therefore you may think that the previous Nightingale CDs The Closing Chronicles and I were more written in free form, pushing the limits of art. AA is different. It's not meant to be a groundbreaking effort; it's not meant to start a new era in prog music. So don't expect anything over the top. But this is not a weak point. Dan and his brother apparently wanted to explore in the 80's ground a bit more this time, and they were never afraid to mention their influences, so it's all there. Alive Again is a perfect trip back to the early 80's with all the synths, proggy driven guitar tones, nicely mixed drumming, the not too ornate bass lines. A very well rounded album to say the least. Dan has expressed his wish to go for a more 70's style on the next album already.

While all the songs are good in their own way, I feel "Eternal" deserves a special mention. Over 12 minutes, this is the longest Nightingale song ever with its minimal yet deep composition. Dan absolutely entered a new path with this one hinting that his new project Second Sky is quite going to be in this vein. I look forward to that already. Excellent stuff. The slow opening "Recollections" is a pleasant surprise with Dan's tender vocals. "Shadowman" is possibly another highpoint of the CD, especially the unexpected guitar solo is mighty! Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) has also contributed to this beautiful album with a nice guitar solo. Top notch musicianship. Dan Swano, as always, sings with invaluable emotion. His dark vocals are one of a kind. He is needless to say a brilliant musician. Few others are as gifted as he is. So the result is an album that has numerous textures. Anyone into good prog mixed with melodic hard rock will find elements that attract them to this type of music. Super!