Customer Reviews

Erpland

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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.

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".

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!

This is essentially the first Ozric Tentacles album. Although "Pungent Effulgent" was supposedly recorded first, it's my understanding that "Erpland" was released before it (they are practically "sister" albums). I also understand that there were six other recordings prior to this one (in the late 1980s), which, in the beginning, were only available as rare imports in the U.S., and were only available on cassette tape (from what I've been told). I gather that those first six recordings have since been re-released and compiled into two-disc box sets (see, for example, "Tantric Obstacles/Erpsongs").

"Erpland" is the first Ozric Tentacles album I purchased, along with "Jurassic Shift," in 1993. It remains one of my favorites - however, I must admit that the band has become much more techinically sophisticated since this album was first released in 1990.

Ozric Tentacles, in my opinion, is best categorized as a "rave" band - however, they don't fit neatly into that categorization. Although the band's music is mostly influenced by 1970s progressive rock and "space rock" (such as "Hawkwind" or "Tangerine Dream"), it also draws heavily on reggae, new age, ambient and world music as well. The result is truly amazing, mind-blowing instrumental rock - the kind of stuff you'll probably want to listen to on headphones, for the most part. There is a heavy emphasis on technical playing ability - mainly on guitar, keyboards and drums. In many respects, it is similar to the virtuoso playing which prevailed on many of the classic progressive rock albums of the 1970s (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd, etc.). If you love blistering guitar and keyboard solos and a heavy electronic sound, you will probably love this stuff.

This disc is great place to start exploring Ozric Tentacles' music. I must caution anyone who is just getting started, however, that most of the band's recordings sound the same. As another reviewer pointed out, you could make a compilation album out of all of the band's recordings and, after you recorded it, not know which track came from which album. I would recommend buying two or three of their albums, and then be cautious about any subsequent ones you pick (don't go nuts).

My favorite albums by the band so far are "Erpland," "Pungent Effulgent," "Become the Other," "Jurassic Shift," "Arborescence," "Curious Korn" and "Waterfall Cities." If you want a great compilation album, get "Live Under Slunky," "Afterswish," or "Spice Doubt." I have not heard the band's three most recent releases.

Although this is really great music, I have a few criticisms of Ozric Tentacles in general. Although I love the band's progressively-inclined tracks (some are more progressive than others), they sometimes tend to go overboard on their ambient- or world music-influenced tracks. A good example of this is the track "Mysticum Arabicola" from "Erpland." This track, which makes use of eastern (myxolidian?) scales, is simply too long and repetitive for my taste. Occasionally, Ozric Tentacles will take an interesting groove (i.e. drum beat or bass line) and run way too far with it. They need to make some of their less-structured tracks much, much shorter. The same holds true for some of the band's reggae-influenced tracks.

My favorite tracks on this disc are "Eternal Wheel," "Erpland," "Toltec Spring," "Iscense" and "Valley of a Thousand Thoughts." Basically, I love all of it except for "Mysticum Arabicola." Some of their more recent releases, such as "Curious Korn," have three or four repetitive tracks which I don't like - but perhaps even better progressive-influenced tracks. Ed Wynne's guitar and keyboard playing are phenomenol. Although the band has always had a keyboard player, don't be too fooled - Wynne plays many of the keyboard parts himself.

Overall this is great stuff. Very heady - and very trippy. Also, "Erpland" stands the test of time - I've never grown tired of it.

One other minor complaint about Ozric's first several albums: The drums are mixed too loud - too bright. They finally fixed this by the time they got to "Arborescence," which might very well be my favorite Ozric Tentacles album.

Erpland was originally released in 1990 on Dovetail, their first album on that label (the Dovetail version of Pungent Effulgent was actually a reissue released shortly after Erpland). If you thought Pungent Effulgent was great, you hadn't heard nothing until you hear Erpland. The quality of music really has improved even more. The band really set their ambitions high, so much that it was released as a double album set on the LP version (but it was able to fit on one CD). The music is by far their most ethnic sounding album, at least until The Hidden Step ten years later (2000). The album starts with a vastly improved version of There is Nothing's "Eternal Wheel", this time with lots of great guitar and real drums (the original is very drum machine happy and very unrecognizable to the better known version on Erpland). "Mysticum Arabicola" is a great Middle Eastern sounding number, while "Crackerblocks" is a great ambient number that sounds like a precursor to one of my other favorite Ozric CDs: Arborescence. "The Throbbe" seems to be the most mediocre cut as there is little else than a bass pattern and heavy drums (the live version on Strangeitude, called "Live Throbbe" is quite an improvement over the original). "Iscence" is their last serious excursion in to reggae, and just like "Dissolution" from their previous effort, is one of the rare times that vocals ever appeared on an Ozric CD (and it was John who did the vocals). The lineup of the Ozrics at this time consisted of Ed Wynne, his brother Roly Wynne, Joie Hinton, Merv Pepler, John Egan, and Paul Hankin. Guests included Marcus "Carcus", Tom Brookes, "Generator" John, and Steve Everett. "Snakepit" is another great Middle Eastern influenced number. The album ends with the lengthy "A Gift of Wings" which is quite diverse from ambient to aggressive guitar driven parts. Erpland is well deserved as one of Ozrics greats, not to mention it features one of my favorite covers from Blim. The Snapper CD reissue has no bonus cuts, unlike the Snapper reissues of Strangeitude and Pungent Effulgent, simply because there is enough material as is. So if you're new to Ozrics, this CD is an excellent place to start.

Be prepared to be transported to another time and place. These guys are super-technical musicians, and all masters at their craft.

Start at the beginning, "Eternal Wheel", close your eyes, tilt your head slightly backward to properly align it with the celestial plane (not too far) and loosen your jaw a bit. Yeah, now you're there. Just let the music flow in, dig the rhythm and notes that contain knowledge beyond human comprehension.

Ed Wynne & crew just tear it up on these tracks. This is an Ozric Tentacles masterpiece, flowing smoothly from beginning to ending.

Ed just wails on guitar, backed up by first-rate synth, bass, & drum work. One of the most underrated guitarists of our time, believe me. Ed is a gift, too bad most say, "Ed who?" Maybe it is better that his energy isn't mainstream.

When I hear this album, I smile wider than my mouth can go. I know that sounds weird until you step outside your bodily shell and let this beautiful music bathe you in its multicolor & timeless light.

I'm so happy I found this band. This is what I was listening to before I was born, I'm certain of it, and now it has made it to this Earthly plane too. I feel at home and you will too.

If you really want to have some fun at the end of your day, turn off all your lights, grab some headphones, and put Erpland on your music player of choice. The music is so colorful and interesting, your mind will drift away to places you will recall from somewhere in the past. Overall this album has a joyous 60's/70's vibe to it, but the playing is very contemporary and fresh. The guitars are brilliant, the bass is all over the place, and the keys and synths wash everything with just the right textures and ambience, and the percussion is tight locking all of these dynamic parts into place.

This collection is full of varied pieces that flow well from one song to the next. The opener is a great track, possibly the best so they come out of the gate very strong. Tidal Convergence and Mysticum Arabicola are currently battling for my favorite cut, but the whole album is really enjoyable.

I like their use of different instruments, which are combined with the core to create a really unique convergence of sounds. Nice use of special effects such as "water", "space", and "steam" to connect with your other senses. This music might not be for everyone, but there is something here for everyone (if that makes sense?).

I've listened to a number of their other releases and I enjoy them too, but Eprland is my favorite by far. If you would like to experience something different from the norm, why not give this a try? You won't be sorry!

Good,outstanding and solid 1990 classic release from these neo-progressive space rockers. Known to us common folks as Ozric Tentacles. I've heard several long time Ozric fan(s) mention that 'Erpland' is one of the best pieces of work they've ever put out. I sort of tend to agree with that. Tunes here that's almost sure to pull your senses RIGHT in are the awesome opener "Eternal Wheel"(believe they still play this song on tour, even to this day), "Sunscape", title track "Erpland" and "Valley Of A Thousand Thoughts". I realize there are SO many Ozric CD titles to choose from. If you happen to be a new/er fan, 'Erpland' would be a nice place to start,then work your way from there. Recommended.

At first I felt this album was disappointingly light on the warm, thick grooves found on some later releases. Very little seemed to jump to the foreground. Sticking with it nevertheless, listening to the work repeatedly, I soon discovered a very satisfying dynamic and tribal meatiness in these tracks. Amongst the late-1980s weave of instrumental threads, the biggest surprises come perhaps in the more reserved cuts, trading funky groove pockets for exquisite satin robes flowing in a magical breeze or floating tetrahedrons tumbling across crystalline horizons.

I own most of the Ozrics collection, and Erpland is one of my personal favorites. There should be many more albums like it. It could be the greatest album the Ozrics have ever made.
Truely, every track on the album is high in quality to the same degree, suprising as Ed cannot write music. However, I like Eternal Wheel the most. It takes one on a dark, strange journey. The Throbbe is an incredible track as well, seeming to extend beyond the misty musical horizon of its own sound. Crackerblocks is a quaint favorite, and Mysticum Arabicola could recall Ed's own journeys to the orient (it was Ed, wasn't it?) A Gift of Wings is the perfect ending for any cd.
Iscence might be a weak point. Apparently dissatisfied with the sound quality of the track, Iscence has the sole lyrics of any Ozrics album. Good, and short, and excellent lyrics they are, but still the weak point of the album.
all in all a good cd, Erpland showcases the pleasure powers of both synths and good electric guitar playing.