Customer Reviews

The Garden

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was the first CD I have purchased from Unitopia, I will be going back to get their first. This is one of the finest progressive rock CDs I have heard for a long time. The album features exceptional musicians and songwriters. The tracks flow seemlessly from one to the other introducing symphonic, jazz and hard rock elements that would normally seem incongruous, but here .... seem perfectly harmonious with each other. The vocals are wonderful and complement the instruments as one.

Look at the album cover artwork and imagine what something that looks like that artwork might sound like, and ..... that's it.

People often try to compare bands with each other. In this case, that would be rather hard to do because of the various elements at play here. You could expect to find some similarities to IQ (John Wetton), and maybe the jazz passages can be compared to Gong (Steve Hillage), but putting it all together so seemlessly is truely an accomplishment.

This is a beautiful album that easily paints a garden with it's lush melodies and harmonies, but can also kick some butt. If you're into Progressive rock, this would be a welcome addition to your collection. I've really enjoyed this and look forward to whatever may come from this band in the future.

This is probably up there with the best top 10 prog rock albums ever written.
I call it adult as it is orchestrated with mainly real instruments.
A flute is really a flute, the cello's are real and so on and so on.
The vocals are excellent, and the production value is crystal clear.
You have to hear this album to believe it!

This is another really top notch new group that is very worthwhile. Their style is progressive rock and demonstrates excellent song-writing and musicianmanship.

There is not a bad song out of the entire 2 CD set and I find that I can listen to the entire set and enjoy it all. I suppose as a comparison, I would say they are a bit like The Flower Kings, perhaps IQ, or maybe the group Mirage.

This is their second release and I got it, unhesitatingly, since I thought so highly of their first album. So, needless to say, I recommend it too!

Unitopia - The Garden - Review

UNITOPIA - (yu-nih-to-pi-E): meaning living together as one in a place of ideal perfection especially in law, government and social conditions.

"You may say that I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one..."

How many bands these days make double albums? Only the Maestro, Arjen Luccasen does it consistently!

How many make one in their sophomore effort? I can't remember one... Until now.

Why take out all of the best china...unless you know that you have even more epics in the works. Why shoot for the top of one of prog's highest peaks (Supper's Ready)...when you are just getting started?

Lots of questions...and here are the answers...

One Day - One day everyone will hear this CD set! "I hope that all those that are dear to me, know of all that wasn't clear to me...one day." Very nice start to the journey.

The Garden - I have been waiting a very long time for someone to find the most important part of Supper's Ready. It's the ending, not Willow Farm or the other bits. It's the new beginning, written in the ending of the song. This band has captured the essence here, "Free... Never alone..., turn my face to the rising sun. Joyful tears, no more fears, and my mind is finally clear. Ooh, it's good to be back home." A whopping, over 22 minute quantum leap!

Angeliqua - This band's Kaleigh! The one that got away! Great guitar work, drums, rhythm, maracas, and a repeating theme throughout this CD set...the lyrics, just brilliant!

Here I Am - Some of us have been looking and waiting a long time for someone to carry on the traditional theme of Mr. Gabriel. Welcome Mr. Trueack, the stage is yours! "Hoping, this precious gift will last!"
Amelia's Dream/I Wish I Could Fly - I am not a big fan of sampled voice clips interlaced with the music. But this band does it effectively here, choosing a female hero to capture the historic nature of flight. The song captures the feeling more effectively IMHO than many of the Pink Floyd versions. "Over the mountain tops. Over the ocean, spray on your wings. You flew like the eagle so wild and free."

Inside the Power - Yes, there is so much power on this album. The drums, really bring out that power. Having someone like Mr. Ruggiero, who has recorded in the rare air of Abbey Road, cannot hurt! Then there are those incredible lyrics: "Inside the power, inside of me. Rushing deeper than the deep blue sea. I can know what it truly means to be taken higher than the sky. Higher than the sky."

Wow! That's CD 1 and you are wondering if you will ever have enough time to enjoy all of it. But wait, there is more...

Journey's Friend - This masterpiece clocks in at 16:30. One epic is usually all you get, even with the best bands. This one is still giving the title track a run for its money for me. Part IV, The Main Attraction and Part V, the Path are especially powerful to me. I see some similarities to some of my favorite prog songs of all time, here. Maybe the goal was to conquer allot of ground in a hurry. If so, mission accomplished!

Give and Take - This song is ready for prime time! The beautiful orchestrated opening of this song took me away, immediately. One of the best on the set, besides the epics of course. Lyrics are great, but the music makes this one special. "Our world was being torn apart, I was in two minds. Everything was going wrong, time to believe. And could we find a way out of this mess we're in?"

When I'm Down - I know the first song I will run for when things are not going my way in the future. This song has one purpose and thank you for it. "When I'm down, down can I call on you? When I'm down, down can you help me through?" Oh yeah, and then there is the Tony Banks- like keyboards....wow!

This Life - Lyrics, lyrics, lyrics...the mantra of good music! "This Life. Our Life. Make it what you desire! This Life, Our Life. It's a gateway to the other side." Wow!

Love Never Ends - Those strings and that acoustic guitar. Your favorite lady will love this one. Wonderful duet. "Eyes shining like the sunlight with that smile she sends to me. She is my future, and my friend, we are ever meant to be."

So Far Away - Beautiful instrumental track to follow up the love song. That piano and orchestra...yeah Days of Future Passed revisited.

Don't Give Up Love - The instrumental blends into this powerful ELO, One Summer Dream - sounding homage to the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. The title says it all!

321 - A wonderful tribute to the miners in Australia trapped for 321 hours. The band's involvement with that incident and its survivors is worth a listen and a read.

Vocals, lyrics, very powerful percussion, keys, orchestras and more. Hard to find anything missing here. When you put this much into an album, the future is very, very bright! But what a mountain to try to surpass! I have a good feeling they already have that planned out....

Grabbing for the brass ring in your sophomore attempt! Now that takes guts! It should be rewarded!

Australia is definitely on the map of prog with this CD set!

Wonderful to be at the start of something new! Waiting and listening to watch the story unfold!

This is such a wonderful CD. I listen to it often and highly recommend it. Everything about it, from the artwork to the vocal, lyrics and instrumentation is just unbelievably well done.

This is quite a refreshing and well produced cd,,very talented musicians,great sound,with mellow sounds and power and punch too..quite inmpressive! The vocals are clean and well sung with emotion and excitement.Excellent job by these Aussies.It has a bit of Gong({Pierre Moerlen's Gong),Genesis,Marillion with a ungiue sound all their own,,one of best new bands i've heard in a long time.For prog lovers buy this cd.It is a wonderful tour through a garden of lush,sonic and moving musical sounds!The title song The Garden is Fantastic,22 minutes of of pure enjoyment,powerful and emotional,the ending section reminds me of the ending section of Supper's Ready and will almost bring tears to your eyes,,its that good.Very highly recommended!I'm looking forward from more from this band with anticipation.

This 2008 release by Australian outfit Unitopia is very nice, and though there are some proggy bits here and there, The Garden is a bit too far on the "pop" side for my taste. This not to diminish the high level of craft that went into this album though - the playing and song-writing are top notch and lets face it, sweet melodies are nice to have around.

Disc 1 (approx. 49 minutes) and Disc 2 (approx. 51 minutes) each contain one long composition (16-23 minutes) and several shorter pieces (2-4 minutes). At roughly ten minutes, Angeliqua is the one exception to this. The influences are varied and range from the heavier moments of Porcupine Tree to Marillion and pop groups like Coldplay and the Dave Matthews Band. There is also a smattering of styles including world music, British symphonic pop, the singer-songwriter approach, neo-progressive, jazz, hard rock and even some classical. This is a diverse album to say the least.

I especially enjoyed the two suites and the shorter atmospheric tracks. The heavier, harder-rocking Porcupine Tree-esque moments were also very exciting and provide a nice dynamic contrast. The vocalist is very good and has a style that is fairly close to recent Peter Gabriel. Speaking of which, there was one tune on Disc 1 that sounded an awful lot like Peter's track from the animated film WALL-E. I also appreciated the keyboard playing - warm synthesizer tone colors are favored and the rapid right hand arpeggios made me think I was listening to my old Genesis records all over again. The bassist is also impressive and has a very Porcupine Tree-like sound.

The production quality on this album is nothing short of breathtaking. The artwork is also very nice and the CD comes with a glossy booklet that features pictures of the group, lyrics and production credits.

All in all, while The Garden did not bowl me completely over, there is some very good music here. I did feel however, that the band was not quite sure whether they wanted to travel down the progressive rock or the pop rock path and that The Garden is comprised of two very different albums. Specifically, this two CD set could have been whittled down to 50-60 minutes of either solid neo-prog or sophisticated pop rock. Recommended to those prog fans that do not mind a more straightforward approach to composition.

Unitopia lists their among their influences as: Yes, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Spock's Beard, Neal Morse, Transatlantic, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons, Fish, Marillion, Steve Hackett, Steve Howe, Asia, Kansas, Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz, Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Aaron Copland, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Alan White, The Beatles, Tony Kaye, Trevor Rabin, Trevor Horn, The Buggles, Mike and the Mechanics, Mike Rutherford, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Eric Woolfson, Pilot, Al Stewart, James Taylor, Thomas Dolby, Tears For Fears, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Keith Emerson, Asia, John Wetton, King Crimson, Bill Bruford, Iona, Frost.

All of the above are represented my CD collection, so it is not surprising that I like this Australian band. If you enjoy those artists, then you should really not miss out on this album! It is hard to put this CD into a specific genre; in fact one of the outstanding attributes of The Garden is how well this band manages to incorporate disparate styles of music together, often in the same song! Another notable attribute of The Garden is the production value and sound quality is absolutely top notch. A common lament upon audiophiles is that the best production studios are those used for commercial applications, and many music artists cannot afford access to them. Sean Timms of Unitopia owns and operates Timms Tunes, one of Australia's largest audio/music post production facilities. I used to work in the hifi industry, and this is the kind of disc that is worthy of using as demo material on high-end equipment.

Track by Track:
CD 1
1) One Day (2:27) - Basically an introduction to the title track. Mostly vocals with piano and backing strings. Helps to set the mood for what's to come.
2) The Garden (22:35) - Starts off gently with vibraphone then kick drums come in to set a tribal beat. Then organ and guitar kick in and a soprano sax plays a funky little bit which segues into the first vocals. It is difficult to some up this opus in a few sentences. It takes one on a sonic journey that is over before one know it. The 22 mins goes by quickly. If you are not sure whether or not to get this CD, I recommend purchasing the download for this track, and the next one which is:
3)Angelica (9:50) - Mixes middle-eastern type sounds with heavy metal, and a flamenco interlude. Along with a catchy chorus that will stick with you. Perhaps my favorite track.
4) Here I Am (3:19) - A perfect little pop song. Perhaps the most straight-forward song on the album. Also with a great chorus.
5) Amelia's Dream (3:22) - Acoustic guitar and flute over a lush background of strings. A lilting instrumental which serves as an intro to the next track.
6) I Wish I Could Fly (3:27) - One of the slower paced songs on the album. Captures the mood of soaring over a rolling landscape.
7) Inside the Power (4:31) - Guitar riff merges with powerful strings to start this energetic closer to the first CD. A counterpoint to the slower numbers that preceded it.
CD 2
1) Journey's Friend (16:28) - The other epic track. A musical journey that encompasses hard rock, with numerous jazz influences creeping in as well, including a jazzy sax solo several minutes in, which is followed by a section which goes back and forth between hard rock and quieter vocal sections. Again another masterful mixing of diverse styles. One would think it wouldn't work, but it does.
2) Give and Take (5:09) - One of the slower songs on the disc. It has a tribal vibe, mainly due to the congas and bongos that provide the underlying rhythm. Nice orchestral arrangements and lovely harmonies are the other features of this track. A very relaxing song.
3) When I'm Down (5:41) - Another relatively (compared to the rest of the songs) straight-forward pop number with a great hook.
4) This Life (4:47) - A rock song, done Unitopia-style is about the best way I can describe this.
5) Love Never Ends (3:48) - A gentle love ballad. Perhaps my least favorite song on the disc, however it is a nice change of pace at this point in the album.
6) So Far Away (2:11) - A pretty instrumental to the next track which is:
7) Don't Give Up Love (7:49) - If one were to mix the Beach Boys together with 90125-era Yes, this might be the result!
8) 321 (5:31) - A tribute to the Beaconsfield miners who spent 321 hours in a collapsed mine before being rescued.

Their upcoming CD Artificial [Limited Edition] is now my most eagerly anticipated CD release for the year. If it is even half as good as "The Garden", it will be a must-have!

What an incredible double-disc set this is! Fans of Yes, Genesis, Spocks Beard, IQ and more shouldn't even hesitate -- get this masterpiece now! Musicianship, composition, voice, lyrics, it's all here. The other reviews here give great synopsis of the songs. The title track EPIC and Angeliqua are my favorites, though there is SO much to love here, it's nearly overwhelming. Flawlessly produced, too!

Do yourself a favor and get this CD immediately, then see them at Rosfest in PA, USA, next May, 2010!

Acually the label of a "Crossover-Band" is the right definition for these Australian guys, who are able to make a combination of such "Retro-70's prog- rock" with some elements of jazz, as well as a mix of pop progressive in the vein of "The Ladder" by Yes...ok the musicianship and the songwriting are very interesting (without forgetting their good composition), but unfortunately the music is also quite "derivative"within a lot of music passages- and such feature can disturb us just a little bit, at the end!!

In fact, after listening to it for a couple of times, I've found the same defects inside the present album that I recognized in the works by Nightwatch/The Watch, a band from Milan I know well. So, also in this case and by regarding it as a typical feature of so many modern prog bands all over the world, which can fall "victims" of some common places in the progressive music nowadays, UNITOPIA doesn't make any exception!!

Nevertheless, the sweet melodies are not bad and their playing is often a top notch, even though in the second part (especially inside disc 2) their resemblance between them and for instance Porcupine Tree (in the vein of Pink Floyd) or some other British pop bands like Coldplay, doesn't make me feel so thrilled, but nevermind...the present work- dated 2008- is probably their best album, being quite worth to be checked out at least, above all when They abandon a pop style and play a sort of hard rock; but it's not a problem after all!!