Customer Reviews

Earth Mother Earth

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

 

 

I gotta set the record straight on this album - it's one of Jon's three finest solo recordings, along with "Olias of Sunhillow" (by far his best) and "Toltec".

There's not much to say in this review, because the album is quite simple: it's Jon singing with acoustic guitar, and Jon singing with harp. Like Olias, it's (mostly) Jon solo, with (almost) no accompanying musicians. And like Olias, the album has a very serendipitous, interconnected feeling to it.

Is it flawed? Sure. On a couple tracks, Jon's wife Jane recites poetry or says "here kitty kitty." Faux pas. We all know rock stars should never, ever let their wives 'join the band,' but anyone who has seen a Yes concert in recent years knows Jon ADORES Jane, so let's cut Jon some slack. Plus with your cd player or ipod, it's easy to avoid the tracks with Yoko Ono, whoops I mean Jane.

If you admire Jon's singing, and admire the wonderful, celestial musical atmospheres he creates, and admire his wonderfully positive vibe, do yourself a favor and check out this album, because it's great!

Earth Mother Earth provides Yes fans with a glimpse of very unrefined Jon Anderson sounds. This album reminds me of Pete Townshends 1972 lp entitled "Who Came First" which showed Who fans what Pete was like sans the Who. It's as if Anderson is just sitting on your front porch singing away while strumming away at a variety of stringed instruments. There are songs about cats, whales, trees, the wind and of course, love and light. It took me several listens to get used to Townshends "Who Came First" with it's countrified sounds and basic backbeats back in 72'. Now 26 years later I found myself wondering what to make of Andersons simplified sounds on "Earth Mother Earth". After all, this is the same man who concieved "Tales from Topographic Oceans" et al. But before I knew it, I found myself enjoying the various melodies with all their catch phrases and harmonies. Anderson's voice is in great form and quite pleasant in this home-brewed style. His wife and soul mate Jane along with daughter Deborah chip in with various backing vocals. Chirping cardinals, clicking whales and whisping winds also add to the overall melodies. This cd should be required listening for Yes fans the same way Who fans needed to hear "Who Came First" all those many years ago. (sorry Jon, I couldn't resist).

This is classic Jon Anderson album in that he partially revisits some of his earlier sounds in Yes. However this album differs from others in that this is more improvisational, more acoutic and very much an inspiration of the heart. The lyrics and the music are uplifting and re-affirm living a life of love and joy in a way that washes over you. Though I enjoy many songs on the album, my personal favorites are Earthmotherearth, Take a Little Time Out, and Treehugging. Its a great album.

this album strips away the sometimes over indulgent aspects of Yes, and focuses more on the songs themselves which tend to do quite well stripped down. Never thought I would incorporate the term lo-fi into a Jon Anderson review but it works quite well. Very personable and warm album.

In EME, Jon has joined his musical talents and dreams with his new love, Jane. Here they explore a musical presentation of simple production and style, combining Jon's unique voice and joy with elements of nature. The simplicity comes through in the music, yet unfortunately also in the recording (which could use a little help). But the music and emotions are very Jon.

My personal favorite, the title song "Earth Mother Earth" has some incredible lyrics evoking our spiritual connection with nature. One of the best songs for "simply" experiencing Jon's message.

This album is really not much more than some home-recorded tracks and thrown-together songs. Fortunately, Anderson is talented enough to make even a low-production-value album sound good.

This CD is a Master Piece!

As always, You will always find a message. This piece, in my opinion explains how we need change oursleves before we are able to help change our world/enviroment.. HOPE!

If you haven't bought this cd yet- Get it!

Nature Sounds were recorded from the outside of his home while he was inside playing. These NATURE sounds- were his background vocals ON THE CD! So you can imagine what you get when you put nature, Jons Lyrics, voice, and an acoustic guitar together!! MAGICAL! INSPIRATIONAL!!! Genuis!!!!!

Rainie Frog

Which is interesting becasue I am a Jon (and YES) maniac!

However this solo release by Jon is just plain boring. It's a very nice idea & I have to give Jon credit - it's him in his garden (complete with birds a chirpin', bees a buzzin' and cats a meowin') singing with an acoustic guitar (or his treasured harp - oh yes! Jon & his harp) with other sparse instrumentation doing some very new age tunes.

Don't get me wrong, there are some nice selections but some things are beat to death - like the Harptree and Concerto tunes -there is a lack of ideas here. You need to expand more on the theme to make it more interesting. And Jon singing about his cats! Well... maybe he & his wife should have kept that one at home.

I applaud Jon because in his solo projects he tries something different each time - celtic (the promise ring), spanish (deso), american indian (toltec) and so on. However EARTHMOTHEREARTH is a bit "too granola" for me. However his pseudo-new age Olias of Sunhillow is great!

But if you enjoy something soothing or just for background ambiance it may be your cup of tea! It's not bad music but just not what I'm looking for from Jon.

I'd long wanted to hear Jon Anderson do an acoustic album, one free of the complexities of Yes, and the keyboards of Vangelis. So when I came across this CD I was pretty exited, but after listening to it several times I found it to be pretty dissapointing. While there are a couple of good songs,there's also a lot of filler material that just don't hold up to repeated listening.

Earthmotherearth is an album I've heard at a friend's place first. As usual, Jon Anderson's experimenting with sounds, themes, melodies is as tiresome at times as always. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy and I endorse his message of a better place here on Earth, but he is prone to taking liberties in experimenting at your expense. I wish that he would release less songs and instead sit on the rest until they mature, or else. Many of his offerings in the past would serve him well to be performed amongst friends, perhaps sitting by the Fire, etc., but seem to be less suited for one's home stereo. Nevertheless, there are a couple of tunes on this album that made me want to have it and it took me a while to track it down. I live in Australia and availability of "obscure" stuff is not great. The songs that caught my attention are "Time has come" and "Whalewatching". Both of these represent an extremely sharp and effective, yet simple acoustic guitar work, along with an elevating message and dedication second to none. For these two tunes alone this album is well worth having. I am sorry to say, the rest doesn't do anything for me and I ended up looping the above two songs for my car stereo, ignoring the rest altogether. Some tunes tend to grow on you over time, I am afraid, I see the rest of the album as indulgent, filler material. They refuse to grow on me! Jon gets it right at times in his offerings, they are few and far between, but stay tuned for the odd jem! I have been for the last 25 years....For "Time has come" and "Whalewatching" this album would deserve more than 5 stars, pity that the rest takes much of the shine away.