Customer Reviews

Toltec

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album was clearly a huge endeavor - high effort on musicianship, orchestration, and imagination - on the level of Anderson's early masterpiece "Olias of Sunhillow". However, unlike Olias, Toltec was not a solo effort and involved a small "orchestra" of classical and electronic instruments and players...

The project, originally recorded in 1992 and entitled "The Power of Silence", was not to be released by Geffen Records, and sat on the shelf until finally released in 1996 by High Street, a division of Windham Hill. Having heard the original "POS" recording, I much prefer it to the Toltec version. A track-by-track analysis of both recordings is not really needed as they are very similar, however the haunting spoken word voice-over from Longwalker is much more present on Toltec, to the point of getting in the way of the music. It is still unclear whether the music was re-recorded for Toltec or if the original "POS" tracks were just remixed.

There are many parallels between Toltec/POS, The Lost Tapes of Opio (1996?), Angels Embrace (1995), and even A Requiem for the Americas (1989).

Clearly inspired by the book "The Power of Silence" by Carlos Castenada, Jon Anderson transports the listener - just as Don Juan's Yaqui shaman transported him - to a parallel reality. Seeming sometimes like a quasi-mystical British explorer, Anderson's quest for spirituality through native cultures and world music still continues and we always expect the unexpected with each release.

This is JA's best album in my opinion (beside from his work with Vangelis, which surpasses Yes in, inevitably, my opinion). Whereas his previous solo efforts seemed to waver between Yes-style (Olias of Sunhillow), Vangelis-style (Song Of Seven, Animation), I-don't-know-what-but-lets-try-it-anyway-style (Three Ships, In The City Of Angels, Deseo, Change We Must, Angels Embrace, The More We Know), and I'm-a-short-hippy-with-all-my-own-hair-style (Earth Mother Earth), Toltec stands out as the best combination of all Jon's musical leanings. From Rock to Pop to Prog to New Age, this is the best summary of Jon's diversity, and a good starting point for anyone curious about his (VERY curious) work.

Having been a huge YES fan since 1971, I highly reccomend this album for all lovers of music that transends the norm. In my opinion this is one of Jon's best, if not my all time favorite, from among his solo efforts. As is usually the case with YES music and Jon Anderson's individual work , this album is extreamly complex, detailed and beautiful.

If your looking for another Olias of Sunhillow, Song of Seven, or Animation, this is definitely not it. I've loved Jon for many years but was disappointed with this. There's an old man who talks about Indian rituals through the whole thing with Indian flute music and harp accompaniment. Jon adds some of his own vocals every now and then but quickly yields to the old man's jargon and the background music. I give it 2 stars; one for Jon's voice which I love so much and the other for his harp playing which reminded of when he played harp on some of his earlier work with Yes.

This is vintage Jon. Soaring vocal harmonies (Quick Words/Talk Talk), very ethnic and introspective (Good Day Morning), and the absolute best hymn song Jon has ever sung (Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart). Listen to this song 2 times in a row in the quiet of the night by yourself and you will 1. Cry and 2. Play it again.

As a whole it could have been slightly better by eliminating some (although not much) filler and getting a more organic production. But definately step up to the plate and purchase this one before it is discontinued.

Bought this when it came out, still love it to life. Would be in my top ten albums of all times list. The shaman who speaks in some songs is amazing. Simple, right to the point spiritual teachings, speaking of the path of love. I learn a lot everytime I hear his words. And then there's Jon the mystic, who I suspect was a great mystical poet in a previous lifetime( Rabindranath Tagore, Kabir, Rumi and Hafiz come to mind). He writes the most mystical lyrics, period. The path he describes is deep, close to the earth and everloving. He's given me so much good vibes through time, I really respect him. He's definitely a very high being, one of my blessed guides. On this album he's quite articulate. I love the sentence " but when the fear subsides I take a chance and leap into the unconceivable" gives me goose bumps when I hear it. This is a very appropriate music to start an inner journey. There is a couple of very beautiful native songs, I am super fond of " maazo, maazo"; there's a sweetness in that song I rarely encouter. The" ave verum" is brilliant, the lyrics Jon wrote for this match the quality of this magnifiscent Mozart composition, and that's quite a challenge. Great job Jon, thank you for your help in these dark times. Highly advised.

This is not a Yes album.

That being said, it does resemble the more recent sides of Yes, as is evidenced in the keyboards on track #6. Overall there's some great percussion on this as well, although a lot of it is synthesized.

We are seeing, once again, the thoughtful side of Jon Anderson. The melodic harmonies are ever present. The reviewer who spoke about the indian rambling on must have only listened once. Actually he only has about 4 minutes of vocal time on the whole album. The main vocals are quite abundant, and sound quite crisp, although I think Jon may have allowed the engineer to "spice" it up a little too much.

If you're building your Jon Anderson / Yes collection, this is one you need to have. I have seen this album displayed in the new age section, but it is definitely not that!!! Clearly the ambience of the record is familiar to Anderson fans, but this has got quite a mix of textures. You won't be disappointed, especially when you listen to it the second and third time.

--was the original name of this project, but it was released only on cassette then shelved by the distribution co. My facts may be a bit off... Anyway, in the original it was a really very nice, sublime work. Then for this release, Jon added stuff, took other stuff away, and this is the result. Still good, but not AS good. It's idealogically somewhere between the Castaneda book (The Power...) and Native American themes. It hopefully still ends with an excerpt from Handel w/ Jon's vocals in a lovely song. There's also good percussion and choral voices.

As a spiritually defunct, Howard Stern listening sarcastic product of the baby boom generation, it is hard to reach me on the level that this work reached me. There is something in this CD that resonated - from the spoken word teachings of the old Indian (American Indian) who urged the children that (in my minds' eye) I saw at his feet, listening in rapt wonder - to the haunting song that ends this piece. It really brought tears to my eyes.

The arrangements and orchestrations are lush, and if you believe - let the music transport you to a different place. The last song, without knowing what it was or what it meant, sounded like the friend of a teacher, relaying the importance of the man to his son after the man's death.

I know, I'm whacked...but, with all great art, the power of interpretation and meaning makes it relevant.

Just remember to clean up your back yard, 4 times...then invite your friends over. Play Toltec when they get there.

This music is for those of you who don't mind a little Native-American twist in your music. This music is strikingly earthy, and seems to encourage listeners to consider the grand scheme of things and how we and the universe are all tied together.