Customer Reviews

Archives of Ages to Come

5 star:		(5)
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If Emerald Rose "bent tradition" in their aptly named 2000 release, now at last they've broken it open like an egg. And a sound lustrous and wonderful has emerged.

This is a polished, multi-threaded collection that combines Celtic and World influences with stunning Rock. The tracks merge lyric penny whistle with harmonious voices, throbbing drums with kick-ass guitar. But most remarkable is the vision presented by these songs--a blend of magic and science, Goddess-consciousness and humor, politics and myth. This is song-writing so good it will break your heart one moment, make it soar the next.

In a lesser work, the title might be prententious. Instead it perfectly expresses an artistry that reveres the past but is savy to the present and peers resolutely at the future. Listen to this CD and, to borrow a phrase from one of the songs, you just might "evolve a bigger mind."

Archives is ER's best effort to date. The opening strains of "Come to the Dance" invite the listener to journey with the band through an album that is diverse yet perfectly blended. Combining blues, rock and Celtic music to form what is truly the Emerald Rose sound, Archives delights the senses and emotions. The delicate music and theme of "Before the Twilight Falls" gives way to devotion to beauty in "Queen of Argyll" concluding with the driving political stance of "We Come From Monkeys." It is a CD that will make you want to rejoice, tap your foot and dance.

I have been listening to Emerald Rose for years, have been to many so their concerts, and own most of their CDs. I have to say that Archives of Ages to Come is the best one yet. They have truly grown into their own with this one. If you've never listened to any of their music, I highly suggest you buy this CD, it is the true peak of their musical talents. Blending traditonal with modern, and throwing a bit of humor into the mix gives you a feeling of harmony that no other band could ever achieve.
I love you guys!!!
Barbara

Five stars doesn't do this album justice, so I'm amplifying the rating by a few orders of magnitude.

All of the musical threads that ER have been spinning since the beginning are woven together in this album: Pagan anthems ("Come to the Dance" is MY song, but I'll let you listen to it if you promise to dance), updated Celtic song, the Bardic tradition, and uber-geek humor.

They even cover the Silly Wizard classic, "Queen of Argyll." Talk about cheeky!

That should NOT work. Definitely one of those things "you can't do." In that sense, this album shows just how far behind dedication and talent can leave conventional wisdom.

Five of the songs on this album can be found on other ER releases, although that counts four from the limited edition "Songs from the Night Sky." I believe those four are essentially or exactly the same recordings, whereas the version of "Dagger of the Moon" on Archives is a complete remake.

The production values, arrangements, and execution on Archives are stellar. There are so many pinpoint details of phrasing and ornamentation sparkling through this album that one really needs to sit down and listen to it (for many of the cuts, this will likely only happen when you tire of dancing around like Puck on Starbucks).

The vocals are astounding on this album. "Dagger of the Moon," for example, is light-years beyond the version previously recorded. The sequence of "Four Jacks" to "Irish Heartbeat," had me in tears by the end of Heartbeat. For the record, that's not easy. The last time music made me cry just for sheer beauty, it was a masterful performance of a song of Guillaume de Machaut that did it, which puts ER in exalted company indeed.

I don't know if anyone is put off by the explicit Paganism of many of the songs. I would say they needn't be: this isn't shrill, teenage-angst, moaning-about-the-Burning-Times fluff here; this is a mature, intelligent, fully-fledged worldview that the Emperor Julian would be proud to acknowledge.

The album ends with a supernova of silliness, in the form of the new fairy-tale-cum-pizza-nightmare "Dance of the Rats" and the Professor Boggs (Larry) special, "We Come from Monkeys," an irreverent, arrogant, and completely correct flip-off of the anti-Darwin crowd. The comic relief is a good way to wind this down, because the other songs have carried us to such heights and depths that we're likely exhausted and in need of a laugh.

With every new album, Emerald Rose keeps getting better and better. I'm not just referring to the enthusiasm of a fan here, though certainly there is plenty of that; the quality of musicianship, which was never bad, has increased exponentially for this recording.

The very first song, Come to the Dance, pulls the listener in immediately and definitely makes it difficult NOT to dance or at least move around a bit.

Before the Twilight Falls is one of my new Emerald Rose favorites. This haunting love song is full of longing and in-between spaces akin to Ladyhawke, and some of the harmonies just reach in and tug at the heart in ways that really enhance the song.

Three More Drops makes reference to Taliesin and Cerridwyn without specifically mentioning their names and incorporates the shapeshifting inherent in that legend. It's fun and thought-provoking at the same time.

Gwydion's Song to Lleu has a more mellow pace, but I still find myself humming it at the strangest times; I'd probably be singing it, but I don't know a bit of Welsh!

Four Jacks is not a song about a particularly nice poker hand, but rather about celebrating the divine masculine throughout the seasons. It provides some nice balance to the lovely songs Emerald Rose sings celebrating the divine feminine, such as Urania Sings.

Irish Heartbeat is one I particularly enjoy, extolling the virtue of spending time with one's cherished family and friends, reminding the listener that there is where one may find the care and support each of us need.

The new version of Dagger of the Moon is leaps and bounds above the previous version. Though the tune is the same, the music enhances the lyrics much better in this new version and really contributes to the feeling of mysticism the song conveys. There are even a couple of places in the song where the listener can easily be convinced that they are howling at the moon, though done in a way that has plenty of plausible deniability.

Whistler's Farewell is another pleasant surprise; I was sure that it must be a traditional song they'd come across, but the lyrics and music were written by Emerald Rose's Arthur Hinds. What an amazingly authentic Celtic feel!

Dance of the Rats makes me smile every time I hear it; is it a dream sequence, or isn't it? This song and We Come From Monkeys provide a bit of lightheartedness after the emotional and mystical journey through which the band has taken the listener through the rest of the album, giving a satisfying finish.

Archives is truly the best release yet by Emerald Rose, with superior quality of vocals and instrumentation and a definite sense that they have connected with the meanings behind their lyrics in much more than a superficial way. I can't rate this album highly enough!