Customer Reviews

October Project

5 star:		(127)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Too often, it seems, truly talented groups are no longer given a chance to make interesting, challenging, heart-stopping music. If a "Top Forty" hit doesn't result from a CD, then the group or musician is summarily dropped from the record label. Such is the fate of October Project--two CD's on Epic, then dropped. From there, they disbanded--and it is our loss. This is an amazing group that I fell into purely by accident. Mary Fahl's vocals mesmerized me from the opening song, and I was hooked. Trying to describe this CD and its sound is not easy. But every track and all the lyrics are brimming over with talent and insight. This is a CD that never makes it very far from the CD player. Listen to "Eyes of Mercy" or "Wall of Silence." The lyrics speak to something in each one of us. Julie Flanders" lyrics are universal in their ability to move the heart and soul. I mourn the fact that there will be no new October Project releases--they are far too talented for the fate that befell them. To listen to their music is to become a fan forever.

It is a great tragedy that business and commercial "play lists" too often govern which artistic voices are heard and which, often more deserving, are silenced. This CD, and its successor -- Falling Farther In -- are incredibly worthy of a broader public. The superb orchestrations complement intelligent lyrics that touch the mind and soul. From the first track (Bury My Lovely) you will be absolutely taken by the deep, mature, haunting voice of Mary Fahl who, in my opinion, is without peer in this genre. I echo the sentiments of an earlier reviewer touched by "Where You Are." For me, "Wall of Silence" brought tears of a severed relationship some ten years prior: "I moved ahead / Thinking you'd be there / But it changed / And now we're strangers to our past / How did I lose you along the way."

There is something for everyone on this CD... thoughtful lyrics run the full range of human emotion, some uplifting, others calming, a few melancholy. After listening to this album I also purchased "Falling Farther In" and my opinion was sealed. As a 50-years-old, it is not often that dad recommends music to his 21- old college son. In this case I made an exception, putting him on to October Project. He actually called home to thank me and relay how impressed he was with the group. October Project is music for all seasons.

I discovered October Project three years ago while on a business trip in--of all places--Walla Walla, Washington. Driving around town while trying to kill a layover day, I twirled the radio dial absently until it landed on the frequency of a local college station. The haunting strains of "Return to Me" stopped me in my tracks and forced me to pull over to a payphone, call the station and demand "Who IS this?" Thank God for college radio!!! At home I searched for this CD in vain for weeks, finally locating a used--yes, used--copy at a little hole-in-the-wall independent music store. It has since become one of my most prized CDs. Like everyone else, I find it impossible to categorize October Project's music. It is equal parts pop, folk, new age, celtic and rock--and yet it is none of these things. It is soothing, uplifiting and spiritual and takes me on flights of imagination every time I listen. The closest thing that it resembles--in my music collection anyhow--is early Clannad. Yes, it is a shame that this group is gone and no, there is no justice in the money-grubbing, garbage-spewing machine that is the music industry in the '90s. Then again, perhaps that is why this CD is so special. October Project is like some rare tropical butterfly that is exquisitely, hauntingly beautiful but lives for only the briefest time. . .okay, enough overflowing praise! JUST BUY THIS CD...YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

This album and its follow up, "Falling Farther In" are the finest examples of failure that I have ever been exposed to in all my years of listening to music. Failure not on the part of October Project, but on their record company. They failed to promote and appreciate the value of the combined talent of these artists and understand their potential. From Mary Fahl who is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and unique female vocalists ever to touch this soul, to the profound and beautiful lyrical talents of Julie Flanders and Emil Adler and the combined artistry of all the other members.

Thanks to Amazon I first discovered this group about six months ago. It is hard to believe that ten years has passed since this albums debut. I have been forced to reexamine my past, how did I miss this? I wasn't living in a cave. I feel cheated out of the musical joy this would have given me then, missing them perform live and all the other excitement that comes with discovering an outstanding new musical group.

I find it amazing that ten years later this music is still relevant, maybe more so today.
Buy this album before it disappears and treasure it, better yet buy two and archive one.

I made the mistake of listening to October Project (the band, and the album) for the first time while driving. I was forced to pull off the road -- because, for a moment, there was simply no way to reconcile Mary Fahl's unearthly, gorgeous voice with such mundane necessities as keeping my car within the lines.

Draw all the comparisons you like to Loreena McKennitt, Bel Canto, Enya, et al. (who are all gifted), but nobody else sounds like this. Nobody. This album will rip your heart out through your throat, do magical things with it, and somehow put you back together again better than you were.

Here it is seven years after the release of this most beautiful CD, and I am still as entranced as ever..with each listening(and that is almost weekly),I become more and more saddened that the idiots who run the music industry could not recognize what a beautiful jewel they had in October Project. That a group with such incredible voices, lyrics, music and musicians could be treated with such disregard is most disheartening. What were they thinking? Did they actually LISTEN to the music OP had created? How could anyone with a heart not understand that a voice like Mary Fahl's comes along once in a million years? And the lyrics..so romantic and heart-breaking..but how good you feel when you listen.I cannot get through "Where You Are" without a little lump in my throat..such memories.That's the way the entire CD is: evocative,lush,hypnotic.I don't think the proper adjective has been invented yet that fully describes the beauty of this CD. Buy it. Don't be left out of the all-too-brief world of OP.

Once upon a time there was a band called October Project that was destroyed because of money and politics with record executives. Given a chance, ten years later we would have been able to continue to experience this group with mary fahl, but alas, they parted and maybe for the best. Emil, Julie and Maria now are getting ready to release a new October Project, and the time could not be better. I connected with this CD, exactly one year after my grandfather died, this tower of strength that seemed to be a constant until the day he died. I was driving home to visit my grandmother to mark his anniversary to be with my family and remember. I heard Where You Are while driving and I just started to sob. I felt like he was right there with me, "where you are, do you know I think of you?.....knowing it goes on forever, far beyond us, far behind." It was the most beautiful calming feeling I've ever felt on this crisp April evening. I was the only one on the road. It was at that moment I thought, God is in this music. Not being a religious man, I found a sense of incredible comfort in that though. This chapter of the October Project is closed, but at least we have two amazing cd's to mark thier existance; echo's of the past binding us in amazement. I only am giving four stars because I know how amazing the second album is. They are both filled with stories of life, spirituality and absolute beauty. I hope to be getting the new OP cd when it is released soon, and I hope it is magical and amazing, just like the original, but different to grow and change with these turbulent times.

It's amazing that this band never became popular. Good music is defined by the mix of profound lyrics, haunting melodies, beautiful harmonies, and sonorous voices. October Project possesses all of these characteristics. Mary Fahl has a soothing, almost ethereal voice. And Marina Belica, the backup singer, could front almost any other band, with the exception of Clannad. This is especially evident on song number 8, "Take Me As I Am" where both voices are showcased. Julie Flander's lyrics are pure poetry and Emil Adler's musical and harmonial constructions, especially on "Always" are amazing. Rarely has a band been able to achieve perfection on an album. October Project has on their debut. The only song that is not on par with the rest of the album is the last, "Be My Hero," and even then, it could be a hit single for anyone else. It is such a shame that this band was dropped from their label and subesquently broke. Musical talent such as October Project's will never be recreated.

It has been quite a few years now since I witnessed October Project make their 'Bury My Lovely' video in the loft of a friend's barn in Carnation, WA. They worked tirelessly until around midnight in the darkness with limited lighting from the spots on the set and from the kleigs outside the barn windows illuminating smoke effects generated from a tiny box. It was the first time I had heard the group, and the music was completely spellbinding to me....even after multiple takes to try to achieve just the desired effect. Finally, the group wrapped up the evening and preceded them down the dark barn stairs. I was afraid some of them might fall, so I offered my hand to lead the way. Mary Fahl took my hand, and we descended the stairs of the 100-year-old barn together. The spell that she cast on me then continues to this day. Her incredible haunting contralto voice, her presence in the black trenchcoat and (then) dark hair, her ability to transform the lyrics of Julie and Emil into music magic, and that moment when I actually touched her hand....all of it is embedded in my soul. The other reviews here are absolutely correct about the poignancy of this group's first album. Whatever caused the dissolution of this group, it is a shame and a heartache for the rest of us. One can only hope they will reunite.

I purchased this CD after hearing the track "Bury My Lovely" at my gym in Utah. All I can say is that this album is in my hall of fame as far as CD's go. There really is nothing quite like the sound of October Project. Lyrically, Julie Flanders is a poetic powerhouse. Musically, Emil Adler is a genius. Vocally, Marina and Mary are stunning. The other musicians in the band are also exceptionally talented. Sony Music made an especially idiotic decision when it decided to drop OP. It is rare that a group of individuals with such unique talents are able to come together to create something this special.

The melodies generated by OP are haunting and poignant. I also found their follow up album to be amazing too. Check out November Project (the newest creation of Julie and Emil) if you can get your hands on their EP. Although November Project parted ways, Julie and Emil are working with Marina Belica again, so the results should be wonderful. Also, Julie and Emil worked with Sylvia Tosun on her EP. She is another amazing singer who writes beautiful music.