Erpland [Original recording remastered]

Ozric Tentacles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 25, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Original Masters UK
• ASIN: B00000AOSS
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,116 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Eternal Wheel

2. Toltec Spring

3. Tidal Convergence

4. Sunscape

5. Mysticum Arabicola

6. Crackerblocks

7. The Throbbe

8. Erpland

9. Valley Of A Thousand Thoughts

10. Snakepit

11. Iscence

12. A Gift Of Wings

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A vision of our blue world and all the colors of sunlight.., July 11, 2002

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Erpland (Audio CD)

It always seems to be an exercise in frustration trying to comment on an Ozric album. Not because there's little to say, you understand, but because their music is very difficult for my meager writing skill to describe. It's earthy and ethnic, it's psychedelic techno, it's ambient, it's groove-based and melodic at the same time, it's spacey and otherworldly.. it's just plain weird. The group consists of the elements of a conventional rock band but take everything into a bizarre trippy outer-space groove that any plain rock band wouldn't dream of, augmented along the way by a variety of flutes, reeds and whistles. The percussion is rooted by simple drums and enhanced with an exotic array of congas, tablas and I don't even know what else. Synths are used liberally, but they create a background atmosphere rather than a chief melody. There are no lyrics present (or needed) apart from an occasional stray word floating in the ether. The music is enough to make pictures in the air all by itself; I imagine tropical beaches, hidden jungle valleys, birds soaring across sunlit mountains, and the vastness of deep space.

The group interaction over the course of this disc belies the fact that it was their second official release; that's because they'd already been together for five years and put out six self-financed releases before their 'debut' Pungent Effulgent came into being. As Ozric fare goes this is the finest I've heard.. the main other recommendation I could make is the more space-alien-dominated Hidden Step, but that's a different review. Practically all their early albums have the same vibe, group chemistry and mystical quality, but for some reason Erpland stands a head above the others. I can't describe why any more easily than I could describe their sound to begin with. I just know that this is the OT album I've never gotten tired of playing, the one I reach for most often when I want a happy, enchanting listening experience. It seems I've run out of adjectives. I don't know how coherent these couple paragraphs must seem; the best way to understand what I mean is to hear it for yourself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect musical escapism, February 24, 2002

By 

Ryan (Somerville, MA, United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Erpland (Audio CD)

I first heard a couple of Ozric Tentacles' songs a few months ago on a prog rock streaming music channel. All I can say is, wow, it's not often that I hear a band that I like so much that I buy up all their CDs in a few weeks. I'm a big fan of complex rock music (like Rush); I also like ambient "electronic" music (Global Communication, Peter Gabriel's 'Passion' CD). Ozric Tentacles bridges the gap between the two worlds perfectly.

The sound is airy, swirling, colorful, and spacey. There are a lot of keyboard and synthesizer jams, the guitar solos are reminiscent of Pink Floyd. Sometimes the music rocks out, sometimes it wanders down more ethereal pathways. Wonderful stuff for sitting back and dreaming to. Of course, it's (nearly) all instrumental, as vocals would just be an unnecessary distraction.

I recommend Erpland as the band's "showcase" CD, a great sampler of all their styles. You get driving rock (Eternal Wheel), melodic hooks (Sunscape), Middle Eastern (Mysticum Arabicola), reggae (Iscense), ambient (Crackerblocks), New Age (Toltec Spring), and Pink Floyd-esque space-out (A Gift of Wings). Most of the songs are great, very little filler.

The biggest criticism I've heard of Ozric Tentacles is that all their albums sound alike. Well, I wouldn't say ALIKE, but you could make a mix tape and easily forget which songs came from which CD. However, I don't consider this a bad thing, since their sound is so unique and so good. If you are interesting in picking up more of their CDs, I also really enjoy "Pungent Effulgent", "Sliding Gliding Worlds", "There is Nothing", and "Waterfall Cities".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the First Line-Up, February 28, 2003

By 

Carl Johnson "budbear_5000" (Detroit, MI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Erpland (Audio CD)

Ozric T are excellect musicians. This record over all has the best material that the original line up has written. To be honest, the band is CLEARLY influenced by Daevid Allen's Gong- in particular- the albums You and Angel's Egg. But these guys took it that step further, which only a fresh band could do. The guitarist and both keyboardist can REALLY play. They create ambient psychodelic moods and grooves that are simply fantastic, if you are into it. You can feel the synergy of the band at this time in their careers. It all comes together here, on Erpland, for the inception of the band. Just a note: The record was recorded in 1987. Enough said. Ingenious spin!