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Great albums in your life
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Hi Jurgen, I like it, the song is catchy. It has a bit of that Enigma feel to it too that I like. There are some electronic sounds I enjoy. One song that come to mind is Peter Schilling “Major Tom” for example. My younger sister was a huge Depeche Mode fan, and I thought their stuff sounded cool.
Here is another from that first Enigma album. Love the sound of the flute.
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Hi Jung,
I really like the Enigma songs “Sadeness” and “The Rivers of Belief”. Groovy. Yes, it’s probably pretty cool to drive through the countryside in a convertible and listen to this music. I haven’t really got to grips with this group yet, although Sadeness were also represented in the charts here. When I saw now the video for “The Rivers of Belief”, I almost fell off my chair. The man with the curly hair and the glasses is Michael Cretu. A veteran of the German music scene: a great producer and musician. I have researched: Enigma is his current project. He actually wanted his name to remain unrecognized as a producer, that’s why on the album “Curly M.C.” is named as producer (“Locke Michael Cretu“). He also produced „Moti Special“ and the singer „Sandra“.
Michael Cretu, by the way, is a native Romanian. His affinity for monks and possibly also Prince Vlad III Draculea does not surprise me that much. I find this monk singing, which is to be heard in “Sadeness”, has but also sometimes something slightly eerie. I had already told you that I regularly went on vacation with my parents and my sister to Bavaria and Austria when I was a child. There are still many old monasteries that we have visited. I was always very fascinated by the atmosphere of these monasteries, but I must add that we have always visited this locations only in the summer time and in good weather conditions. The sun was shining, in the vegetable and herb gardens of the monasteries the bees were buzzing and the birds were chirping. If I imagine a monastery then in autumn or winter, these dark little cells in which the monks lived, by candlelight or torchlight, the narrow cloisters in the church, outside howl the werewolves, pardon howls the wind, the rain whips against the old walls and then sounds this singing of the monks: Creepy. Then it’s much better to cruise through summery Canada with the roof wide opened.
If you like this kind of music, then you will like the music of „Schiller“. Do you actually know „Schiller“ (no, no not the writer)? This is the stage name of a German musician who composes and produces instrumental music. Since he doesn’t sing himself, he enlists very different singers, similar to what Alan Parson did. Very varied music and fantastic sounds.
PS: I must apologize for the first version of this text: Frank Farian produced Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. He was the fudge, not Michael Cretu. That’s how rumors get started. Now the text is correct.
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Hi Jurgen.
I never knew about Michael Cretu and his link to the German music scene. Thanks for the insight into that. The mysterious and occasionally eerie feel of Enigma music appealed to me, and the music and instrumentation is just great with the Gregorian Chant kind of parts and the lovely flute. The feelings and emotions this music evokes is I guess what I was going through at the time. Things you feel traveling through the desert late at night. Michael Cretu has created I think a thematic arc across the entire album, and I think across all the Enigma albums including Enigma 2 and 3, this idea of you can’t know or appreciate real joy and good until you’ve experienced sadness and the bad, that the universe inevitably has 2 sides of the coin as does humans. One doesn’t exist without the other. There is a musical arc also that carries through and evolves across all the albums too.
Schiller is nice, I like that video and his sound. I am not familiar with him or his music, but will check it out. Those places in Bavaria and Austria with the monasteries sound enchanting, and you paint a nice vivid eerie feel of what it must be like in the darker winters. Maybe after the Christmas season, a good modern Dracula movie to see, if you are into horror classics is a 2014 film “Dracula Untold”. Your vivid description reminds me of the scenes from that movie.
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In keeping with the theme of monasteries and monk chanting, here are some impressions of a monastery from a neighbouring town. It was founded around 1123 and is by far not as huge and impressive as the monasteries in Bavaria, but also not as oppressive as other buildings of its kind. For me, it is a place of peace, tranquillity and reflection.
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Thanks Jurgen for sharing those pictures of monasteries, they are beautiful and elegant. I would enjoy visiting Europe and it’s many castles, monasteries and historic places. In North America, especially where I am, we just don’t have the long history and everything is relatively new. We don’t have the enchanting buildings like you have in Europe.
Near where I Iive there is a monastery called “Westminster Abbey” run by Benedictine monks. I don’t know if they still do it, but in the past they use to invite the public and opened the monastery like a retreat. You could stay a few days or weeks in a spartan room and take part in the spiritual activities and basically live like a monk, meditating. The place is situated up in a private mountain top. I’ve never done it, but it sounds interesting, and perhaps now if given and opportunity I wouldn’t mind trying. I think it would be incredibly peaceful in such a beautiful, serene, and friendly setting. I’m always into trying new things, at least once.
I can Imagine a week there to ground myself with nothing but my MLT CDs, headphones, journal and fountain pen, books, Swiss Army Knife to whittle, and a camera to snap pictures of the starry night sky. It would be like a spiritual cruise.
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Another album from my many road trips in the 90s is this one that left a mark on me. The album brings back feelings of freedom and exploring small towns, seeing mountains and rolling hills.
U2 – Joshua Tree. What a gem.
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And this one opened the door for me to those great electric guitar songs. I could see why my brother loved Jimi Hendricks too.
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here album. It was my brothers vinyl, and my dad’s powerful stereo system.
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That’s quite a soothing song Jurgen, and I liked the time aspect of it.
Here is another one you mentioned earlier in your post I also like in the same realm. A kind of like the Enigma “Eyes of Truth”.
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This one always floats my spirit away into the heavens in the same vein.
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My musical journey started in 1971/72 when the Beatles had just disbanded but a whole raft of great artists where coming to the fore. Names like T.Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Elton John and Rod Sterwart. As I got older my ears become attuned to the more heavier sounds of Zeppelin and Floyd and through Americas west coast to the british folk artists I am discovering today. Some favourites of mine:
T.Rex Electric Warrior
David Bowie Hunky Dory
Led Zeppelin 1
Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here
Crosby Stills and Nash
Fleetwood Mac Tusk
Neil Young Decade
Beatles Rubber Soul
Grateful Dead American Beauty
Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks
The Clash London Calling
Wishbone Ash Argus
David Crosby If I Could Only Remember My Name
Lady Maisery Cycle
The last one isn’t an household name by any stretch and I would be impressed if anyone else on here has even heard of them but my word are they brilliant. A female folk trio delivering harmonies at the highest level, and just one example of many talented and inventive folk artists on todays scene
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Hi Graham, thanks for sharing your list important albums. What a great variety of music you enjoy. I know at least 2 of the albums very well, Rubber Soul and Wish You Were Here. I had a listen to some songs by Lady Maisery and their harmonies are very impressive. They have a nice Celtic sound that I like.
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Ah, yes “Sailing ” , by Christopher Cross, I’ve always loved that song … well, in high school, I sort of had a a boyfriend, never lasted as he wanted to go further, and I didn’t, that ended that…. but “Hotel California ” , you could say was “our song ” … lol
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Hi Jacki. Yeah Hotel California was a big song I remember when it first came out. Love how MLT brought it back to life for me in recent years. It’s amazing how these albums and music takes us back and let’s us remember fond moments and time in our lives.
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The John Lennon Ultimate Mixes is turning out to be like hearing new songs with familiar voices.
I decided to get the bundled version of Ultimate Mixes after hearing Eric Clapton’s original lead guitar work on Cold Turkey. It’s almost like a totally different song in its first take. They are all studio takes, some studios are better than others and some studios are probably mobile setups. To date, no one has been able to pin down the exact date of when John wrote that song, but I think I’ve pegged it as the evening of August 11, 1969 right after he moved in to Tittenhurst Park.
What interests me most is how and why, exactly, it was not a Beatles song. I suspect that it really is, and deliberately mis-credited per agreement among band members.
There are some commentaries that probe various bits of information but never enough to pinpoint the date on a timeline or what drove the decision making process for release as a new band. The Beatles were still mixing down the Abbey Road recordings when Lennon superimposes Cold Turkey. A dedicated assembly of research and artifacts should be able to turn up more certainty on what is going on with that song. You have to discount Lennon as untruthful. In one interview he says it’s about the pain of heroin withdrawal. In another interview, John says he was recalling the extreme illness caused by eating a leftover turkey dinner. So, which one is it? I don’t see how both accounts could be right.
Take 1 of the Cold Turkey song and many others appearing on Ultimate Mixes in their raw state will have me studying the construction of various Lennon tunes during and after The Beatles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0447WSUg7U0
Maybe we can get Mona to sing the ending of Cold Turkey in solo vocal.
Mike
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What a wild song Mike! I can recognize John Lennon right away. The guitar work is awesome here! It’s too bad it was not released earlier as a Beatles or Lennon solo song.
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Music is such a wonderful thing! It makes you feel passion, makes you feel alive!
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Hi Jung,
I did some research once and if I understood it correctly, Enigma released 8 albums. Which of them could you recommend to me as a start? -
Hi Jurgen, the first three albums are the best, starting with their very first must have one MCMXC AD. I have 7 of those 8 albums.
1990 – MCMXC AD
1994 – The Cross of Changes
1996 – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi
Their 4th one from 2001 called Love, Sensuality, and Devotion is nice too, a large album with 18 tracks. It has a mix of the best from the first 3 albums plus new ones.
Here is a track from the 2nd album I like, “The Eyes of Truth” is watching you. In this video it seems like the innocent children and animals have the eyes of truth.
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Several times I was able to experience this song live at the presentation “Night of the Proms”. Each time newly arranged and each time differently presented. But the goosebump feeling was always there: Music
Experiencing music with all your senses is something unforgettable and something wonderful.
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Hi Jurgen, that is a very moving performance, and what a light show. You know a lot of gems! Thanks for sharing it.
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Yellow Submarine played start to finish had a definite feel to it despite the song appearing on Revolver, you get some new songs, like “Only a Northern Song” was something new. “All Together Now” has a new sounding appeal to it even though it goes back to basic acoustic guitar.
The orchestration is interesting but repetitive in a few places, or too many measures were included, but it’s a full accounting for all musical sounds in the cartoon/movie.
Years later, I thought the song, “Yellow Submarine Sandwich” was simply one of the Beatles reworking previous material, but as it turns out, it was a parody group that wasn’t all too bad.
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Hi Mike, although it’s a parody it’s musically quite good! I think Yellow Submarine, while not considered by most Beatles fans as one of their better songs, it’s one that defied all odds and went up to #1 in the charts for a long time. Paul apparently wrote it for a children’s album, but it ended up becoming one of their most successful hits. I think in the tradition of Beatles genius it appeals to peoples subconscious child side. That’s how Beatlemania hit me through this song on a school bus when I was a young teen. Another Beatles song I think has a similar vibe to Yellow Submarine is this one.
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A little fun trivia. Do you know how the Beatles phenomenon got coined “Beatlemania”? There was a great virtuoso Hungarian classical pianist named Franz Liszt who predates the Fab 4 by a century. The ladies use to faint when Liszt performed on his piano. They called it “Lisztomania”
“But the actual first printed use of the word seems have appeared instead in The Daily Mail, which on October 21 ran a feature by Vincent Mulchrone under the headline “This Beatlemania.” The Mail may have heard the term elsewhere—Andi Lothian, who booked the Beatles in concert, claims that he coined the term speaking to a reporter in Scotland a couple weeks earlier. Or the writers and editors may have been thinking of “Lisztomania,” the phenomenon first noted by poet and critic Heinrich Heine, which described similar behavior among fans of the 19th century pianist Franz Liszt. (“How convulsively his mere appearance affected them!” Heine wrote. “How boisterous was the applause which rang to meet him! … A veritable insanity, one unheard of in the annals of furore!”)”
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Same here, Jung. You’re exactly right. It was a happy sound that had a youthful appeal to it. It lifted your mood to hear it. The subject matter in the lyrics wasn’t real complicated, and there was always a melody line present. Even now, their recordings sound fresh. Toward the end, that cheery outlook changed a little, but as for the music, I’m glad they held together as long as they did. Later, all of them absolutely regretted parting ways. Ringo was eventually pretty torn up about it. In one interview, he looked almost despondent, unhappily remarking, “It’s not like we knew the exact point; it wasn’t like, ‘Hey, fellas, Last Album…Last Song…Last Take'”.
As I recall that interview was part of the Anthology series. Ringo took it hard. As you know, you can see him bringing his song, “Octopus’s Garden” into the studio, and Harrison taking immediate interest in Ringo’s piano playing. I also liked his rendition of “Going to Carolina”. I hadn’t heard that before and it was sounding good in the rehearsals from the Get Back movie.
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