FOX, ROBERT
740078
CD
UNDERWORLD (2002 ALBUM)
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CHORAL/SYMPHONIC (SYNTH)The 7th album was released towards the end of 2002, and again, there is an impressive development to the sound of Robert’s music. With a generous playing time of just over sixty-seven minutes and 13 tracks, the opening three tracks provide a simply divine thirteen minutes of absolute genius and the rest of the album is pretty damn goods too. Throughout the entire set you will find plenty of the familiar big sounding, melodic choral and string combination themes you are used to with this musicians work, but his further venturing into the worlds of rhythms, spacey textures and sound sampling have expanded the range of styles and atmospheres that are delivered in abundance on this album. This is a musical experience you won’t forget in a hurry because of the range of moods it can provoke – It’s beautiful themes will give rise to strong emotional response and it’s chilling atmospheres will evoke real feelings of trepidation – It is music for the mind at it’s best, portraying startling images of serene beauty one minute then chilling you to the bone with dark atmospheres the next. Click on the ‘More Product Information’ link for an extended review with a track-by-track description.
Tracks 1, 2 & 3 take up the fist thirteen minutes, and this is some of the finest music we’ve heard from Robert Fox in years as a solo artist. ‘Portent’ opens the album with a tolling bell then moves into a hail of atmospheric industrially cosmic Klaus Schulze styled synth effects that take you deep into a tunnel that transports you down into the imaginary ‘Underworld’ that Robert Fox is about to create for you. As the trademark choir passage starts creating a most magical atmosphere, ‘Mephistopheles’ starts with a host of deep, dark rumbling synth bass sounds, then a percussive rhythm runs alongside with layered synth melodies joining at various stages. The piece builds and develops slowly over its eight-minute duration and it gradually starts to catch fire as a massive crunchy rhythm emerges and heralds the arrival of a most glorious string synth line surrounded by swirling keyboard textures. A huge, panoramic musical landscape then begins to unfold with slowly rumbling electro-percussive rhythms, and it is just sensational listening, making the hairs stand up on the back of your neck as you experience the ethereal Gregorian choirs and the climaxing sweeping synths together, and then bringing tears to your eyes as the emotional atmosphere is stylishly layered and concluded to maximum effect. And It doesn’t stop there – ‘Link 1’ delivers a short atmospheric passage of velvet space music textures that are haunting and heavenly. The title track is 4th on the play list and it features a gorgeous piano lead melody rippling away on top of whispered effects and distant twittering rhythms in the background. Other assorted effects add to the peaceful atmosphere of the piece, until a lead synth melody that is very Vangelis-styled in its sound and approach comes in to carry the track towards its near seven minute conclusion, where finally it immaculately dies away to leave the foreground full of the wondrous choir and the slowly dying rhythms. Another seven-minute track follows – It’s the rather unfortunately named ‘Hot Whore’, a lightweight, romantic track that again echoes Vangelis in its early stages with that synth trumpet patch that became associated with many of his past albums and film scores. From there, rippling piano melodies, symphonic synths, electronic drums and big atmospheric backdrops all form the main body of a near eight minute track that most Fox fans will love. After another short atmospheric link track in the shape of ‘Link 2’, the 7th track: ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ starts out as an atmospheric piece of space music with spurting bursts of ghostly choir effects then builds for a while only to retreat into a passage of delicate piano and string synths, before heading out into choppy seas as strange rhythms and swirling melodies conjure eerie landscapes that veer back and forth between light and darkness - All in all, this quite an adventurous track. Without a break it’s into: ‘Angel’ and this continues where the first three tracks left off, with swathes of melodic string synths flowing over lurching, rolling slowly developing rhythmic foundations. Heavenly wordless female vocals that are barely present hang in the air, while rumbling bass undercurrents move in the depths as cloud-like layers of drifting synths fill the soundscape with more choirs and echoed backdrops, all adding to the glorious effect the music is creating. Another shorter atmospheric piece come with ‘Link 3’, but this one is nearly three minutes of distant rippling piano and echoed, full-sounding cosmic space synth textures and gentle eerie effects. Then it’s on to the near seven minute ‘Helen Of Troy’, a melodic, reflective track that follows a typically flowing Fox theme and covers a range of emotions. It also continues the rhythmic pattern of some of the earlier tracks, only slower this time and he introduces a set of lead layers on top that are not a mile away from the latest Andy Pickford album ‘Lughnasad’ style of things, with string synths, choral voices, swooshing electronics and emotive melodies completing a slowly unfolding picture. Moe of the Fox bells introduce ‘Link 3’ for another three minutes of drifting, but tuneful Vangelis style space music, then its into the nine-minute ‘Anthem’ which has a central core of sampled African chants, around which the has assembled an array of developing synth/piano leads and melodies that are addictive and inspired, with gentle percussive rhythms and assorted layers slowly travelling and building as the go. Finally the album ends with ‘Redemption’, a gentle and relaxing three minutes of reflective piano playing with and the sparsest of synth/percussive accompaniment and cascading chime effects, bringing a truly excellent album to a quiet and beautiful conclusion.
Weight: 150.00 g
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