Faerie Symphony and Other Stories [Import, Original recording remastered]

Tom Newman (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 31, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Esoteric
• ASIN: B001PMRKFA
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,411 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Woods of...

2. Fordin Searchran

3. Little Voices of the Tarans

4. The Fluter

5. The Seelie Court

6. The Spell Breaks

7. The Fairy Song

8. Dance of Daoine Sidhe

9. Memories of Cúichulainn

10. Aillen Mac Midna

11. The Unseelie Court

12. The Woods of...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief but elegant prog gem from Mike Oldfield cohort, February 6, 2012

By 

Gareth Davies-Morris "dodgem-dude" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faerie Symphony and Other Stories (Audio CD)

After a stint in the early psych group July with future Jade Warrior members Tony Duhig and Jon Field, Tom Newman found his true calling in 1972 as house engineer for the Manor, the legendary studio where Richard Branson and Mike Oldfield would launch their respective careers. Having helped birth Tubular Bells, the hugely successful inaugural release by Virgin Records, as well as Oldfield's follow-up, Hergest Ridge, Newman appears to have spent the rest of the Seventies reading Tolkien and watching A Midsummer Night's Dream, with such elvish imagery permeating both the resulting Fairie Symphony and its frankly quaint artwork. Released by Decca in 1977, the whole project was as far from the musical spirit of that watershed year as one could get and soon fell out of print. Featuring substantial contributions from old mate Jon Field, the newly reissued instrumental suite is exactly the sum of its parts, recalling those first Oldfield works and later Jade Warrior releases like Kites or Way of the Sun and displaying the same effortless ability to shift between ambience and electric ferocity. Field's flute delivers most of the melodies, floating above the mix while Newman's electric guitars mimic Oldfield's distinct tone, especially on the stirring "Dance of the Daoine Sidhe." The cheery chanting of "The Fluter" and "Fairy Song" sounds too much like a gang of hobbits enjoying their second breakfast, but "The Seelie Court" is stately and grandiose, a national anthem for a magical land. In turn, its intense counterpart "The Unseelie Court" (it's elves vs. orcs here, kids) is animated by a jarring guitar duel between Newman and guest Tom Nordon, as if Hendrix were resurrected as a zombie soloist and Jimmy Page truly practiced Black Magick. It's too bad Esoteric couldn't unearth some outtakes or pair this with another of Newman's solo albums; at a mere 32 minutes, the CD is woefully short. But Fairie Symphony makes a gorgeous listening experience, building seamlessly from delicate acoustic passages to jazzy hard rock before stealing away into dreamland.