Customer Reviews

Children of the Sun

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have had this album (along with others of Thorpe's) since it came out on vinyl on Capricorn Records. I was both excited and dismayed when "Children of the Sun Revisited" was released a couple of years ago, since it didn't include Side 1 and they messed with the title track. I hate that.

So when this release was imported, I got excited all over again. The sound quality, while normal for a straight reissue of master tapes from this era, is not quite as good as "Revisited". This release is probably a very faithful reproduction of the original masters without any modern-day remastering wizardry. What makes this worth having, however, is the packaging.

This release is the entire album, including Side One, in its' original form. The original artwork is included (the cover artwork is sharp, clear, and very color-saturated) as are the lyrics. It's good to hear the songs from Side One as well as the "Children of the Sun" cycle songs.

All in all, done very nicely by a country who really appreciates Thorpe's talent. If you need to replace your aging vinyl or have only heard "COTS" on the radio and want to hear more, this is a definite 'must-have'.

Now, all we need is "21st Century Man" and "East of Eden's Gate."

I have had this album (along with others of Thorpe's) since it came out on vinyl on Capricorn Records. I was both excited and dismayed when "Children of the Sun Revisited" was released a couple of years ago, since it didn't include Side 1 and they messed with the title track. I hate that.

So when this release was imported, I got excited all over again. The sound quality, while normal for a straight reissue of master tapes from this era, is not quite as good as "Revisited". This release is probably a very faithful reproduction of the original masters without any modern-day remastering wizardry. What makes this worth having, however, is the packaging.

This release is the entire album, including Side One, in its' original form. The original artwork is included (the cover artwork is sharp, clear, and very color-saturated) as are the lyrics. It's good to hear the songs from Side One as well as the "Children of the Sun" cycle songs.

All in all, done very nicely by a country who really appreciates Thorpe's talent. If you need to replace your aging vinyl or have only heard "COTS" on the radio and want to hear more, this is a definite 'must-have'.

One of the more under-rated rock albums. Mix is not the greatest- mushy compared to the original, possibly due to digital re-mastering, but still retains most of the feeling and intensity of the original. Plays well in a dark room, like most Floyd tunes. Excellent listening.

Amazon has the wrong title for this release - it is not a new 2008 re-release of the original. This is Children of The Sun (revisited).

Maybe someday someone somewhere will re-release all of the Billy Thorpe catalogue but today is not that day. Sorry I had my hopes up.

I have seen a copy of the Festival 1993 release from Australia, what I was sent and the seller refuses to acknowledge that they sent me the wrong
disc is not the listed Feb 2008 release.

What I was sent is a 1987 special markets best of release with the word
revisited on the end of the title.

Amazon needs to make sure it's sellers know to sell their revisited under the revisited title page only and stop giving Thorpe fans false hope of a cheap price Children of the Sun disc.

Be careful buying this one, I have a feeling that all those listed here for around $11.00 are the revisited version of this, which contains a shortened version of the COTS . Good luck finding the original version and if you do it won't be for $11.00 .

I had listened to children of the sun for years on the radio, but never heard the whole album. If your and avid fan of classic rock you will enjoy. I'm surprised that Billy Thorpe did not have a bigger career.

For the ole man, he has the orginal album,so I got him the CD. He loves it.

So here is my answer to the question, is there a COTS 3? Everyone knows that the last five on COTS is part 1, and 21st century man is part 2 (- the song "in my room" that closes it which is a about a boy in his room.) but is the last 4 on COTS revisited really part 3? let's take a look. East of edens gate is the title track from that album and never intended as part of COTS story , "earth calling" is basically saying we should wake up and do something before we destroy our planet. stretching things a bit it could be seen as a reprise to the story. doesnt strike me as part of it though. "turn it into love" is about a couple in a room tryin to do just that and "free enterprise" is about money,business and free enterpise. so how in the world could they be the "completion" of the story? there is nothing science fictional about any of them. I think they were just new studio tracks from billy. (also revisited strikes me as remastered,not remixed. I dont know. I have carefully compared the tracks and they seem to be original recordings remastered ,as a remix usually changes something fundamental to the sound, and these tracks seem identical but clearer,which is the point of a remaster) I'm sorry but Billy never completed the trilogy and if you must have one here it is: the last five on children of the sun = p.1, the first 3 on 21st century man = p.2 and finally tracks 4-6 on 21st century man is part 3 with rise completing the trilogy with wind noises the way it started. "In my room" (the last song) is not part of it (and I read something where billy says it is not.) this all kind of makes sense. think about it. the first part is ONE SIDE of a RECORD so couldn't the next 2 parts be also? side 1 (part 2) and then most of side 2 (part 3) of 21st century man. they were records back then and thats how you have to think about it. hope that might clear things up a bit ;-)

I bought this CD for the excellent, but somewhat silly, title track. That song rocks! Some of the other songs on the CD are okay, but it always seemed like Billy Thorpe wrote only half of a concept album about the children of the sun, that is until I realized the first half of the album has a story to tell as well. Here's my take on the whole thing:

There's an elfin troubadour who sings in such an over-the-top manner, that his girlfriend has literally chained him to a pool table and left him at the bar where he occasionally gigs playing bad blues rock (Wrapped in the Chains of Your Love). The barmaid, a nymph the locals call `Dreammaker', slips something in his drink to shut him up. While he's conked out, the troubadour has the most intense dream about light, night, ships, and time (Dreammaker). He wakes up 24 hours later, and starts pleading "give me a ship of light", but because he is still reeling from the effects of the drug, his slurring makes it sound like he's saying "give me a simple life" (Simple Life). The barmaid picks him up off the floor and shows him the door. She shoves him so hard that he hits the pavement, but the deluded loser can't feel a thing and mistakenly thinks he has somehow scored the nymph. He snaps out of it to find himself alone outside staring at the night sky (Goddess of the Night). The elfin-one soon sees in the distance, spaceships shaped like Camaros, coming one-by-one. The ships are emitting not only light, but also a fine style of rock music he only wishes he could have come close to creating back at the bar. (Children of the Sun). The ships try to quickly leave when they see the mass of blond chest hair protruding from the elf's green lace-up shirt (We're Leaving) but the elf tries to entice them to stay by playing some more bad blues/boogie with his trusty guitar (We Welcome You...) Having had about enough, countless sound engineers and guest musicians pour out of the ships and compose a one minute synthesizer ditty to show the gold-medallion-wearing elf how it's done (Solar Anthem). Feeling sorry for the little troubadour, who obviously couldn't make a decent song without lots of help, the space-producers and space-guest-musicians take our anti-hero back to the planet of feathered hair where he can jump start his career (The Beginning).

Well, anyway, that's what I could make out from the lyrics. Buy this CD for the song COTS alone so you can turn it up really loud in your car while driving with the windows down, but give the rest and chance, and maybe you'll see the big picture.