Customer Reviews

Waves

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Waves was the album that I was most impressed with back in the 1970ies. It used to be my preferred listening during lonely summer nights, when the twilight lingers on for hours in my country, as dusk transforms to dawn.

But I was a teenager then, my horizon somehow limited. Many albums of that period, I have later revisited, suddenly asking myself how I could be so fascinated then. The music hasn't changed, but I have, and what used to sound new and fresh, feels worn-out 30 years later.

So now, after learning that Waves was reissued, I have been curious to find out if it has faded, too, or how much, during the more than 25 years that have passed since I last time heard it.

I am happily surprised! I don't think it has faded even a bit.

But I owe to inform you that I listen mostly to classical music now, so I am not the best to know about the present state of this kind of musical art. In 1975, this album was at least state of the art when it came to engineering and the making of soundscapes. It don't think, say Pink Floyd, is any better, although of another idiom. Jade Warrior never became a commercial success, for reasons I don't understand. The tunes don't lack sweetness, so much is sure. The music is very pleasant, though perhaps too introvert to appeal to a broader public? The mix of romantic film music, progrock, jazz, dreamy ambient music, even some simple polyphony, a wide range of etnic influences, African, South American and Oriental, a unique blend, made it difficult to label. Jade Warrior made crossover, fusion, world music, new age... A fascinating aspect of Jade Warrior is how some voices are distant and other closeups, making a deep and wide soundscape, multiinstrumental, although lots of flutes, guitars and percussion dominates.

Brian Eno acclaimed Jade Warrior's former album Floating World; well, I think Waves is as sophisticated, if not more. Waves features Steve Winwood and some other guests, but the duo Tony Duhig and Jon Field was Jade Warrior at that time.

As the title suggests, Waves is a conceptual album. It is a vision of the sea. Most of it is very romantic, rather sweet, not avantgarde or any thing like that, anyway more skillfully put together than I can suggest here. From the notes we read things like "7 half speed flutes", "backwards piano", etc. Layers of sound are put on other layers, creating an orchestral impression. Or as Jon Field said it 20 years later, in 1995, speaking with the BBC: «We had tunes, but tunes were always easy, tunes aren't it. It's the atmosphere, it's always atmosphere. It doesn't matter how wonderful a tune is, if there's no atmosphere there - it won't work. You know, you can get an ice-cream band to go in and play a sequence of notes, which is what a tune is - but if there's no atmosphere there, it doesn't mean anything.» And about dynamics: «I think it's on Waves where we got it about as far back as you could go, to have it worthwhile to have it - which makes the BANG really loud. As you know, black and white - your blackest black and your whitest white, that's what you're dealing with, that's what we're dealing with in our records. Dynamics are extremely important. The loudest moment you can get, is only loud by dint of the quietest moment you can get. If it's all loud, then it's all normal.»

Part 1. To some faraway music, a huge whale rises to the surface - it sounds like an enormous wave is crushed at a shore. The next section is quite dreamy, with a distant electric guitar solo on layers of accoustic guitars, a the piano enters, quite sunny, jazz-like before everythings fades away. Then more dynamic jazzlike music, some kind of jazzy Cuban fusion perhaps, but by all means, it is composed, put together with great care, concluding in one more of these apparently simple melodies, before the piano jazzes it all over again, then the electric guitar, the flutes tema returning and everything concludes with the meditative silence transforming to another theme, beautiful layers of polyphony, simple counterpoint, but still... It is difficult to tag this music as jazz, ambient music, etnic, because the crossover is original, don't forget this is 1975! Part one ends with a simple rythmic melody, but so artfully put together, this is pop music, and how I love it!

Part 2. Rain forrest, rain, exotic birds, jungle, drums, congas, how Jade Warrior here makes the birds collaborate with the music, being a part of ut. An alarming tune of electric guitar, fading into the dreamy japanese zen-garden atmosphere so often encountered by Jade Warrior, a garden made of flutes. Meditation-like repetitions, inconclusive. Then a longer section, named Groover, where the music is taken to a rougher level, the most groovy, jazzrock-like section of Waves, sustained by electric guitar and moog. Then a short section of very peaceful music, idyll, all those flutes speaking together! After this sweet soundscape of sunset over the ocean, we end up by the whales, communicating to each other. (This is only a rough outline of about 45 min. of music.)

It is increcible what Jade Warrior managed to create more than 30 years ago, with no computers, no samplers. This CD is obligatory to anybody interested in so called progrock from the 1970ies, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Brian Eno. The question is if Waves doesn't deserve a wider audience.

The remastering is good. The only thing I dislike about this reissue is that Waves is divided in only two tracks on the CD, Waves part one and two, whereas at least part one on the original LP was divided into several tracks.

In my opinion, Waves is the most sophisticated Jade Warrior album. The very charming Floating World from the previous year (1974) was as original as Waves, but not so advanced, a rougher charm, featuring more progrock; I rate it almost as high as Waves however. After Waves, they made Kites (1976) which I find less substancial, though it is Jade Warrior's most oriental album to date; I will not exclude that I buy that one too, if not for other reasons, so for my personal nostalgia... Many consider Way of the Sun (1978) Jade Warrior's best album, but as it never appealed to me, I don't think it will do today either, so I leave it there.

This is the ONLY Jade Warrior album I don't particularly like. It's because there's a noticeable absence of songwriting on Waves, whereas on all the previous Jade Warrior albums you were treated to some truly beautifully-performed and *interesting* instrumental jams which was combined with some magnificent songwriting.

Where's the songwriting on Waves? Where's the captivating instrumental playing?

For the most part, the guitars and flutes are played so quietly, unmelodically, and created with the intention of making you feel like you're mellowing out at the beach somewhere, that it ends up sounding better than it actually is. SOUNDS pleasant, but the songwriting isn't good enough to save it I'm afraid.

The praise this album receives is somewhat of a mystery to me. The instrumental playing misses the mark on Waves I'm afraid, but rest assured- Jade Warrior is STILL a really good band. Just pick up one of their albums released before this one to see the bands greatness unfold in all its magnificent beauty.

I just wish the band didn't rely so much on soundtrack atmosphere and would have focused on writing really memorable songs instead. Putting these instrumentals on the same level as something a band such as Camel would create just doesn't make sense in my world.

The album gets a few points because I DO really like the guitar playing. Even when I have trouble getting into the notes that are playing, just the SOUND of the electric guitar the band is going for here is bizarre and fascinating, and reminds me of early King Crimson.

I also have a fascination with Asian culture, and Jade Warrior has a VERY good talent making me feel like I'm somewhere in Asia, and absorbing the beauty and atmosphere of the continent.

I don't know, maybe the album will get better over time. Now is not that time however... at least, not yet. We'll see in the future.

Update- one day later.

Haha, the album HAS grown on me a little bit more! So I think I'm going to raise the album rating from a 3 to a 4. The second half of the album features some gorgeous flute playing, and some instrumental jamming that DOES sound a bit more melodic than I gave it credit for last night. Some of the instrumental arrangements are truly moving, and I feel as if I'm starting to get into them more with each repeated listen.

Ethereal yet electric. Waves is Jade Warrior doing ambient; it's open and cool, with jazz and world influences and jungle (literally, bird sounds and distant jungle drums) and whales. It's slight, but not in a bad way, as their's always enough detail and changes to keep it moving and involving.

I'd not listened to this(on vinyl)for over 15 years and remembered only one tune. But slipping the remaster on now, I hear it like never before and it sparkles.

Beautiful.

Among the most neglected bands in history, and during the brief ISLAND record label years, one of the most progressive for their time...

FLOATING WORLD, WAVES, KITES and WAY OF THE SUN..... I used to listen to these 4 albums (the pinnacle of Jade Warrior production) But in the 70's the LP pressings were not ideal, even the expensive imports had noisy grooves. Recently I discovered these unique treasures were remastered by ECLECTIC. They have all the full sound and separation of those originals -- sans snap, crackle and pop. Thank God.

Good liner notes as well.

For the newcomer, here's who they are...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Warrior_(band)

The early years of this unique band are often refered to as the vertigo period [1970 to 1973]. For some reason that label were unable to successfully market the band's work & cancelled their contract. Steve Winwood from "Traffic" convinced the Island label to take them on in 1974 & with the departure of vocalist & bass player Glynn Harvard the band went largely instrumental at a time when instrumental theme albums were having some chart-busting successes.

"Waves" released in 1975 was engineered with support from many of the same people who helped Mike Oldfield rise to worldwide acclaim with "Tubular Bells". Somehow Jade Warrior's "Waves" escaped most recognition.

The sleeve notes for this CD provide a detailed account of all these preceedings & more, including a complete history of the band going back to origins in the sixties.

So the two earliest founding members Jon Field & Tony Duhig combined with Steve Winwood [on piano & moog] & a few guest musicians to produce a largely unrecognised masterpiece of an album - "Waves". At times this music achieves almost orchestral proportions & yet there is something in it for nearly everybody.

The experience begins with a simulation of a large whale rising from the deep & breaching the surface, but it could equally be interpreted as a huge wave gaining in strength until it breaks & subsides. We then drift into deep sea dreaming with flute, piano, & a distant sounding electric guitar in Tony Duhig's familiar "oriental" style. The music then seems to carry us closer to a shore with modern jazz influences, provided by 12 string acoustic guitar,jazz bass,& multi- tracked flutes. One doesn't normally think of jazz in relation to the ocean,but this is cool ambient jazz & it fits the theme nicely.

The second part of this album makes a brief excursion into a rain forest complete with bird calls, a rain shower,& the sounds of distant tribal drums. A return to the ocean follows with more flutes,harp-like acoustic guitar,& the quaint use of a bell tree. Then just when the listeners are completely engrossed in musical tranquility they are stunned by the guitar solo of Dave Duhig [Tony Duhig's brother],a short blast of electric rock which reminds us that nothing in Jade Warrior's music is predictable.

There is a somewhat funky saxophone jam before a final beautiful flute piece which always seems to me like the whale's lament. The album ends with the subsonic sounds that whales make,[an idea that has been copied a lot more recently] and a fitting end to this soaring musical experience.

Very highly recommended.

The albums that Jade Warrior released during the 1974-1978 timeframe are just wonderful. The music is a nice spacey mixture of ambient, cool jazz and world music (mostly Chinese), with just a tiny bit of prog thrown in for good measure. Although some of the prog influences had been toned down following the Floating World album (1974), Waves (1975) still has a bit of an edge to it, although it is still pretty laid back. I personally find this music to be very meditative and reflective - a nice reprieve from the rigors of 21st century living. In fact, it has been said that this music anticipates a lot of New Age, although this music is infinitely more interesting than most New Age of the 1980s.

Waves itself is comprised of two instrumental movements (Part I = 19'14"; and Part II = 23'32"), with Part I being a lot more mellow than Part II. Part I consists of subdued acoustic piano (Steve Winwood solos on this instrument), acoustic and (soft) electric guitar, percussion, and various woodwinds (mostly flute). Although there is a drummer, the music on Part I is predominantly acoustic and not heavily rocking or "electric" in any way. Part II starts off very quietly in a similar manner to Part I, but the tempo picks up and there is some explosive electric guitar playing, drumming, bass playing, and Steve Winwood's mini-moog solos in the middle of the piece. However, the "storm" passes and Part II moves back into the tranquil territory of Part I. Overall, this presents a very nice mixture of dynamics.

The co-leaders of the band (Tony Duhig and Jon Field) play all of the instruments on this album, apart from the drums and synthesizer. They are very accomplished musicians, yet they utilize space very effectively rather than filling everything up with solos left and right. In fact, they were quoted as saying, "one chord, if it's beautiful, will last us all day". I think that sentiment sums this album up nicely. Highly recommended along with Floating World; Kites (1976); and Way of the Sun (1978).

Jade Warrior albums were recorded with the most sophisticated and up to date technology available at the time. Reprogramming this material has been a difficult task. They have succeeded on the reproduction, but here is where the problem lies. These albums were recorded too good to transfer over to 2008 technology. The dynamic ranges are so divided and pristine that the average listener's equipment has trouble seperating the the varied levels of volume. The listener ends up adjusting the volume more than he does enjoying the music.

Long ago I bought this on vinyl. At that time new age, smooth jazz and jazz fusion weren't part of the vernacular. In the 70's this kind of music was new, different, cool, and interesting. I absolutely love this disc. By far my favorite of the Waves, Kites, & Floating World discs. For those of you who are Vollenweider fans (who would probably like this disc), Waves is to Kites and Floating World what Caverna Magica is to White Winds and Down to the Moon.

It is wonderful that this album is now available remastered, cleaned up, and on CD. It's huge dynamic range was not catered for well by the poor quality of oil-crisis era vinyl, which may be why "Waves" never became the breakthrough album that it should have been.

No vocals, no abruptly loud happy/manic bits, but loads of intricate layers of guitar, flute, percussion (including temple bells, etc), in a continuous instrumental piece inspired by the ocean. No formal track divisions other than those corresponding to the two sides of the original record, but the detailed inlay card breaks each half down into sub-sections with titles that evoke specific images.

Jade Warrior's very best album, and one of the best ambient CD's ever. Way ahead of its time.