[ SHORT REVIEWS | DETAILED REVIEWS
[ SHORT REVIEWS | DETAILED REVIEWS
|
 (140:17 2CD, Metal Mind Records)   Prolusion. CAAMORA is an international project consisting of English musician and composer Clive Nolan and Polish vocalist Agnieszka Swita who started working together in 2005. After the release of one EP in 2006 and two more in 2007, they released "She" in March 2008, a lavish rock opera that was issued as a double CD as well as a live DVD, to favorable critical acclaim. At the tail end of 2008 "Journey's End: An Acoustic Anthology" became the third production released with ties to their rock opera project, a double CD consisting of stripped down and acoustic live versions of songs from this production, some demo recordings and outtakes, and some songs without any ties to the production at all that had either been incorporated into the stripped down live sets or previously unreleased studio recordings.
Disc 1 (63:45)
TRACK LIST: 1. Journeys End 4:10 2. So the Music Stops 2:35 3. Sacrifice 4:46 4. Covenant of Faith 3:40 5. Embrace 3:24 6. Shadows of Fate 4:44 7. The Bonding 4:30 8. Mea Culpa 3:40 9. Horizons In Your Eyes 5:07 10. The Eleventh Hour 4:48 11. Judgement 5:15 12. Murder 4:10 13. Resting Place 6:12 14. Invisible 3:47 15. Closer 2:57 LINEUP: Agnieszka Swita vocals Clive Nolan piano; vocals With: Christina Booth vocals (5 to 7) Mark Westwood guitars (5 to 7) Myung Jung guitar (12, 13) Gonzales Paz guitar (12, 13) Jose Luis Ramos bass (8 to 11) Claudio Momberg keyboards (8 to 11)
Analysis.
The title track for this production, Journey's End, opens the first of these two CD's. An acoustic track featuring Clive's piano and Agnieszka's vocals in an atmospheric, intense composition with Clive joining in on vocals for the chorus parts, this song pretty much sets the standard for the rest of the content of this whole creation: a distinct focus on Agnieszka's vocals in particular and the basic melodies and themes in general, highlighting the strengths of both with few or no extra instruments and arrangements utilized to strengthen the mood or atmosphere. And Ms. Swita does have an intriguing voice: melodramatic in delivery, and at least partially operatic in style at times, she comes across as a singer with powerful, restrained vocals with a wildness to it that always seems to threaten to come out and engulf everything, but which never actually does so. Nolan is well known as a skilled composer and performer, and with a pretty decent voice, too, when he joins in on the duet parts and the few solo spots he gets as a singer himself. And I have to admit that it was something of a revelation to experience the compositions from "She" in these stripped down, basic versions. With few or no additional instruments, the at times overly dramatic and pompous leanings of the rock opera didn't distract from the strengths of the basic songs and the main performances in them and the sheer intensity of the vocals in particular are breathtaking at their best. The first two songs following the opening track, both of them from Clive's extensive back catalogue, are among the weakest songs on this first CD; a bit of an anticlimax after the brilliant opening tune. The songs as such are nice enough, but don't seem to be ideally suited to Agnieszka's vocals nor to the stripped down, acoustic setting in which they were performed. Covenant of Faith from "She" is though, in this version an enthralling, highly emotional duet with excellent performance and delivery - just as breathtaking as the title track that opens this recording. The following eleven compositions mostly follow this pattern, where Clive's old compositions in general seem to work out less successfully than the songs composed for "She". A few variations are at hand in the various live recordings on this disc. Tracks 2 to 4 are acoustic only recordings from Poland, while for the following three songs, recorded in England, Mark Westwood and Christina Booth make guest appearances on guitar and vocals, respectively. From these takes an intriguing detail to note is the difference between Christina's carefully controlled, sensual vocals and the more untamed yet restrained emotional delivery of Agnieszka: a charming and effective contrast in styles that adds tension to these takes to an even larger degree than in the original production featuring both vocalists. Four tracks recorded in Chile follow, where Momberg and Ramos make guest appearances on keyboards and bass. These recordings are more fleshed out in sound and style, but still more simplistic in arrangement than on the studio and live DVD versions. Yet again the stripped down versions have a strong appeal, and The Eleventh Hour in particular is a prime example of a composition excelling in this arrangement. The four songs that end this first CD didn't impress me as much as the previous ones did, and especially the two cuts taped in Germany in 2006 seem to be somewhat lacking in nerve and atmosphere. I would guess that this may partially be because "She" was still in a developing stage at that point in time, and that neither Nolan nor Agnieszka were as familiar with the story in general and the emotions they felt like conveying in particular as they would be later on.
Disc 2 (76:32)
Analysis.
The second disc of production continues with live recordings from various parts of the world, first a trio of songs recorded in Belgium in 2006 and then four songs recorded in Argentina a year and a half later. And as was the case with the four tunes ending Disc 1, the songs recorded in 2008 sound better and more compelling than the ones recorded some 18 months previously and for much the same reasons I believe. The recordings from 2008 showcase performers who know the songs and story by heart, who have worked with the material for a long time and have fine-tuned, even minor, details in their delivery. Three demos from "She" follow: The Storm, Vigil and The Hermit. The latter two of these will not be included in future performances of the rock opera the booklet informs, which is sad, as both these compositions contain strong, highly emotional themes and performances. Three bonus tracks are up next; the brilliant choir-dominated In Aeternum the first of these, with Latin lyrics and a distinct religious feel to it. Originally intended for "She", but dropped due to not fitting into the sound and style of the concept, it's a marvelous piece of work, arguably the best on this production overall. Grunwald is a composition by Miss Swita, a nice mournful ballad with piano and violin, while Father is an old composition by Clive featuring mellow, layered guitars. None of them are outstanding in any way, but pleasant acquaintances nonetheless. A thirteen minute long interview with Clive and Agnieszka follows, and then we're served a hidden bonus track, an energetic rich-sounding Christmas song named The Gift. Not a future classic in the genre by any means, but a well-crafted and well-performed composition that conveys a strong Christmas mood, and much more so than the standard seasonal songs played to death by radio and television at that time of year.
Conclusion.
"Journey's End" doesn't quite live up to its full title, as there are quite a few tracks here which really aren't acoustic. Still, it was a pleasant surprise to experience how well many of the compositions for "She" came across in these more basic arrangements and how compelling the moods and atmospheres explored became when vocals and piano are the sole or dominant providers of tension and melody. Fans of the rock opera will probably have this creation on their shopping list already, but also those who really didn't fancy it might find this album interesting, and in particular those who thought that the original production was too melodramatic and pompous. This is an album that should have a distinct mainstream appeal as well. Emotional songs featuring vocals and piano have always been popular with the mainstream audience, even if many of these compositions are more advanced than the standard radio fodder people are used to these days.
OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: February 1 & 2, 2009
Related Links:
|
[ SHORT REVIEWS | DETAILED REVIEWS - LIST | BANDLISTS ]