Customer Reviews

This Timeless Turning

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

SCM is an underrated band that deserved a lot more attention than they ever got. Anisa Romero has possibly the best voice in the business - haunting, ethereal, and with a range that puts Whitney "Crack Is Whack" Houston to shame.

The music is free flowing, and there is no particular style that gets more attention than any other. They do what they feel, and they have the musicianship to pull it off. Lyrically, they are intelligent and fascinating whether they are singing about global warming, space aliens, or twisted love.

I ordered this album a long time ago through one of those rip-off music clubs, having never heard of this Seattle based band before. I didn't listen to it for a few months until I just got a wild hair up my bum to hear something new. I was hooked ever since.

Originality is the key here. This is why they never got much airplay, and this is why they have a "cult" following. They are too good for mainstream radio that feeds us nothing but more of the same. They are too talented to be appreciated by those looking for one genre or another and are unwilling to expand their horizons. From moody and soft to hard driving and loud, this band covers it all, and they do it better than most artists out there.

My jaw about hit the floor when I heard this disc. Sky Cries Mary (SCM) is obviously influenced by Pink Floyd (in terms of 8+ minute psychedelic jams)... and this one album I daresay matches some of the Floyd's best in terms of beauty and production. The last 2 instrumental tracks are just astonishing, and the vocal arrangements in all the other tracks are brilliant. This ranks as probably one of my top 20 albums of the 20th century.

What else can I say?

If you are into bands like Porcupine tree, and Pink Floyd you don't want to miss out on this band.

For any mood, "This Timeless Turning" travels from trippy, to mellow, to screaming loud, and then back again. The dreamy instramentals at the end of this cd are a fantastic touch.

They are back together, and are working on a live album and a new studio album. See what they are up to now at skycriesmary.com

Somewhat heavily plucked and nearly percolating, Juano Davidson's bassline anchors "Shipwrecked", the first cut from "This Timeless Turning", with guitarist Michael Cozzi alternating between clean, crisply-toned phrasing and coaxing intriguing textures from his effects pedals. Drummer Ben Ireland's lively timekeeping provides a danceable rhythm, and keyboardist Gordon Raphael slipstreams an intermixture of melodic, synthesized textures to create a lockstep groove for Roderick Wolgammott Romero and Anissa Romero to unleash their haunting, expressive vocals.

Somewhat psychedelic and highly atmospheric, the rest of Sky Cries Mary's '94 release requires a long list of adjectives to do it any sort of justice, as it truly is a heavy broth of a mixture that can sound (in no particular order) explosively sustained, baroque, tribalistic, hypnotic, ethereal, evocative, wistful, and haunting. There is no exclusive constant that can be pointed to as a signature sound for this band, as one track can be driven by a sound derived from electronica ("Every Iceberg is Afire"), another by snippets of dialogue overlaying a ghostly, rippling wash of synthesizer ("Objects in the Mirror") another by a warm, fluidic, levitational chordal progression ("Walk of Nothingness",coupled with a dreamy vocal refrain) and the last I'll mention here, the refined, heavily ornate texture of "These Old Bones".

What's most striking about this CD is how easily these songs must have translated when played live and heavily amplified. In fact, they sound as if they were meant to be played live-and loudly-, and this essence just happened to be captured during the process of recording. I'm sorry that I never had the opportunity to watch them perform live. This is the third time I've replaced this CD since 1994, and it's still as intense now as it was when it was released 17 years ago. Definitely a keeper if you're a fan of psychedelic music.

I'm sure you may have a good picture of what this album is like ... (amazing) from the other reviews. I only have a few little tidbits to add ...

Even among people who enjoy and love music - this album can be a hard sell - because it doesn't have the common pop elements that confine it to a specific genre - and that - rather than the abject failure of mainstream radio - is the reason for this band's relative anonymity. For instance, I've never convinced any of my friends this band is worth a listen. More difficult yet, there is no obvious "single" to get someone hooked.

But once you are hooked, that's all she wrote.

If you love everything from Cocteau Twins to the Stones' Goat Head Soup ... think that 2112 was a masterpiece ... enjoy anything from Projekt Records ... then you may love this album. But it is a love-it-or-hate-it band. Fabulously talented musically, fascinating sonically ... but doesn't conform to any specific genre or style - except awesome.

This album is a bit more palatable than "Return to the Inner Experience" for a starter album ... but you should definitely check out the new single "Small Town" which maintains much of the trademark Sky Cries Mary stylings, but in a much smaller, more easy-to-digest package.

Inner Experience/Timeless Turning ... they never make it into the "Top 10 Best albums of all time" list ... but Sky Cries Mary frequently does go into the "Top 10 bands I would need to hear if I was trapped on a desert island" list.

'This Timeless Turning' is probably the finest example of this band's work. Carefully mixing their penchant for the otherworldly with their distinctive rock roots, they achieve a near seamless blend of energy and spirituality. Full of songs that you can rock out to and calm down during. This is a must for anyone who thinks that they might just maybe like this band.

Good music gets overlooked so often in favor of the latest [stuff]. This album, and the follow up ``Moonbathing . . .'' are essential disks, one of the best two album combinations by anyone, ever. The group hit a real peak at the time this music was put down, and the CD's shine with evident genius and polished muscianship. They no longer exist, so this is it. These CD's belong in any serious music lover's collection.

Simply put, when you die and see God, his/her voice will sound like Sky Cries Mary. There is nothing like this band anywhere. Timeless Turning is, in my opinion the definitive SCM cd. It was the first I ever heard and remains my favorite. If the opportunity ever arises to see them live, do it! It cannot be described with words.

"This Timeless Turning" affects the mind of the listener with its calming and surreal sounds that swirl around the air and head directly for the conscience. It is the definition of true art. With depressing beauty in "4:00 a.m.," and simple reality in "Scapegoat," SCM's addictive natural high will make you scream for more.

This is just a beautiful, perfect, intense musical experience. Haunting, mysterious, glorious music. I wish I had seen SCM live, but I seem to stumble upon bands after they have disbanded now that I'm an old man of 56. My sons turned me on to SCM, bless them! Buy this cd!