Iona's New Box Set: Music with No Beginning and No End
Oct 16 '02 (Updated Jan 17 '03)
The Bottom Line A great resource for the devoted Iona fan who didn't get the old albums when they were still in print, or for curious (and patient) newcomers to the band's work.
I think all true music lovers have at least one band that they are totally fanatical about. You know the type of behavior Going to great lengths (and often spending lots of money) to get your hands on every recorded track the band has ever put out. Driving endless hours (and even paying exorbitant amounts of money for flights) to see the band on tour when they don't tour in your immediate geographical area. Threatening to boycott record labels that let the band go due to poor album sales when in fact it's the label's fault for not promoting them well at all. Breaking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend because he or she can't understand the innate beauty of the band's music.
Okay, so I'm not that extreme about any band. Music is music, after all, and though it may be a big part of my life, music is not life in and of itself. However, I do have to admit that my level of excitement about Iona stops just short of fanaticism. That's saying a lot, given that I don't even consider them my all-time favorite band - that honor still goes to Jars of Clay. Iona just happens to be the band that moves me the most - the band that ignites certain unnamable passions deep inside of me. They're also not nearly as widely known as a lot of the other bands at the top of my list, and that will always kindle a passion within me to tell everyone I know about the band. In a perfect world, I'd be able to convert everyone into a massive horde of Iona fans. (I'd like to think I've already made a pretty good dent.) But then, would I be as excited about Iona? Maybe not. I think part of my fanaticism is due to the feeling that I have a wonderful secret.
For those who have no idea what I'm rambling about (I.e. you haven't read any of my previous ramblings about the band), Iona is a five-piece British band, a musical tour de force bringing together elements of progressive rock, jazz, Celtic, and sometimes even classical music, to create album after album of breathtaking, thematic compositions. Many of these compositions are inspired by the history of Christianity in Celtic culture, but are given enough modern sensibility to make their meaning accessible to savvy listeners. The band has been around for over 12 years now, albeit with a rather fluid lineup and even less stable backing from the record labels they've been signed to over the years. Though all of the band's albums (save their debut) were released in the U.S. through ForeFront Records, a big name Christian rock label, it was more than clear that ForeFront's target audience just didn't get Iona, and after many years of minimal success in the States, ForeFront finally let the band go in 2001. The band has since ventured out on their own, creating the moniker "Open Sky Records" for all forthcoming releases.
Having recently regained the rights (and original master tapes) for their first three albums, the band has decided to give loyal fans a huge gift as the first release on Open Sky Records - a box set entirely comprised of out of print and unreleased material. Entitled The River Flows, the four discs enclosed within are a true testament to how the band's vision has evolved over the years. I was ecstatic when I heard this thing was coming out, even though I already owned all of the band's albums so far and thought I'd have to pay a good sum to get my hands on it, as it was only available online. But I plunked down $40 or so (not bad for a four-disc set!), and eagerly awaited the arrival of my package from overseas, and let me tell you, it's been worth the wait. Not only did the band remaster their first three albums, but they also re-recorded a number of the tracks on their first disc (likely due to the poor quality of the aging master tapes), and threw in an hour's worth of bonus material - bits and pieces that fans knew existed in recorded studio versions somewhere, but had never seen the light of day. And of course, anyone who's hardcore enough to buy a band's box set will tell you that it wouldn't be complete without some interesting reading material.. Iona has definitely outdone themselves with that part of the equation!
Now, I'm going to break out of my usual method and avoid boring you with a blow-by-blow of all 55 tracks on this project. I may be long-winded and fanatical, but I'm not crazy. I'll try to hit the highlights (especially regarding the first and fourth discs and the booklet), and hopefully by the end I'll have you at least intrigued enough to check out one of the band's albums (and if you already like them, intrigued enough to get your hands on this collection while you still can).
Disc One: Iona (originally released 1990)
1. Turning Tide *
2. Flight of the Wild Goose *
3. The Island
4. White Sands *
5. Dancing on the Wall
6. A'Mhachair (The Plain) *
7. Vision of Naran *
8. Beijing *
9. Iona
10. Trilogy *
11. Here I Stand
12. Columcille *
(Note: The starred tracks are instrumental - Iona did a lot of that in the early days.)
Iona's self-titled debut is certainly an interesting work to go back and examine, knowing what the band's capable of now. In those early days, Iona seemed to be more of a one-off studio project - a collaboration between lead singer Joanne Hogg and instrumental whiz-kids Dave Bainbridge and David Fitzgerald. Several other instrumentalists, some of which would later join the band, were brought on board to fill out the sound, but overall, the band's first album is traditionally their most difficult one to get into. It's their shortest (which is saying a lot at just under an hour), and their least thematically cohesive. Many of the tracks are now "classics" - pieces that describe the band's island namesake and its history, as well as the spiritual energy that drives their songwriting.
For this edition, eight of the twelve tracks (all but "White Sands," "Beijing," "Here I Stand" and "Columcille") were re-recorded, which generally helps to make the album flow more consistently, since some of the original recordings did sound a little thin at times (especially those that were later captured on the band's live albums). It does take a little getting used to, since this approach is somewhat like colorizing that old black and white movie that the family watches together every Christmas, but ultimately, it was a good move, and most of the songs weren't changed too drastically. The Enya-like intro, "Turning Tide," now comes crashing into "Flight of the Wild Goose" just the way it was meant to instead of fading out, and on the aforementioned instrumental classic, that wild goose (a symbol for the Holy Spirit) seems to soar higher than ever before, even though the song's melody and structure are left exactly as they originally were. A similar approach is taken when Joanne first takes the mic for "The Island," a prayer for freedom over an enslaved land - her vocals seem untouched, but Dave's guitars have a little more of the intended rock edge, making the highs and lows of the song more noticeable.
Also mostly unchanged despite the re-recording are "Trilogy," the eight-minute instrumental history lesson that would set the bar for Iona's later epics, and "Dancing on the Wall," which is more or less still as upbeat, and awkwardly radio-friendly as it always was. It's helpful that the lyric book gives us some insight on what has always struck me as an out of place song on the album - it was written in response to the joy of watching the Berlin Wall collapse. I guess that doesn't seem like so long ago to many Iona fans (who are admittedly older and less into "trendy" modern music than I tend to be), but man, I was twelve when that happened. Another piece of contemporary history is captured in "Beijing," which has always been one of my favorites due to the lovely Chinese flute - it's the only time I can think of that Iona's ever brought in any Asian influence, and that'll always make me drool. Miraculously left in its original form (despite the fact that the master tape actually snapped right in the middle of the original recording), the haunting 5/4 rhythm, driven by the flute and metallic-sounding, Eastern-inspired percussion stand as a solemn monument to the students who were killed in Tianamen Square in 1989.
The most drastic changes were made to tracks six and seven - "A'Mhachair" and "Vision of Naran". The first has always been a highlight for me, utilizing more metallic percussion, moody synthesizers, and a searing sax solo in what can definitely be considered one of the band's more jazz-influenced pieces. Named for the Gaelic word meaning "plain", this track gives the sense of running frantically across a barren, rocky landscape - it would actually make a good addition to a video game soundtrack (I believe Joanne was later tapped to work on the music for Xenogears, but that's another story). The original, which kind of remains in a holding pattern for five minutes or so, is revamped here, with a haunting flute intro added and a fiery guitar solo near the end to complement the sax. As for "Vision", the intensity level seems to have been cranked up quite a bit, making Joanne's dream and subsequent contemplation of the mystery of God while visiting Ireland's Western coast that much more convincing. She really has a way with words, and when Iona is doing one of these "location" songs, you'll end up feeling attachments to places you've probably never been. Overall, I haven't decided whether the new versions of these two tracks are better than the old ones, but it's entertaining to hear the full band give them the treatment they were probably originally intended to have but couldn't due to a smaller budget.
The title track, "Iona," is still mostly a slow, keyboard-driven ballad, though some of the middle sections of the first song Joanne wrote for the band are enhanced with a flute, pipe, etc., which helps, because I have to admit this song always did seem a little sleepy to me. Appropriately, Joanne wrote it after receiving a postcard from one of the guys who was visiting the island of Iona - her explanation of the dream in the booklet is taken word-for-word from her speech about it on the Heaven's Bright Sun live album. This was the song that started it all, so I have deep respect for it even if it isn't one of my favorites. The album concludes with two more classics in their original form - the slow, haunting ballad "Here I Stand" and the traditional instrumental (complete with a the faint voice of a choirboy in the background) known as "Columcille."
Disc Two: The Book of Kells (originally released 1992)
1. Kells Opening Theme
2. Revelation
3. Matthew - The Man
4. Chi-Rho
5. Mark - The Lion *
6. The River Flows
7. Luke - The Calf *
8. Virgin and Child *
9. Temptation *
10. The Arrest - Gethsemane *
11. Trinity - The Godhead *
12. John - The Eagle *
13. Kells
14. Eternity - No Beginning, No End *
You'll notice a lot of stars by those last few tracks - The Book of Kells is rather heavy on the instrumental sections. While Iona's second album upped the ante in terms of production values and thematic composition, it's my personal least favorite. I should point out that there's no such thing as a bad Iona album - but for those who think of lively music when they hear the words "Celtic" or "jazz", there's a very long section on this album that will challenge your patience. It's actually got the least "Celtic" influence of any Iona album, in my opinion, due to the dominance of the sax on many of the latter tracks. The front end of the album is a little more lively, showing off new members Terl Bryant (drums, percussion) and Nick Beggs (bass, Chapman stick) on quite a few tracks. While the sound is note for note the same as the original recording, the remastering certainly helps the softer moments to be a little more audible (while the quieter moments can certainly remind one of a classical recording, it was a pain with the original version to have to turn up the stereo and then get blasted awake by the drums later in the album).
The theme of this album should be obvious - the famous manuscript with its dazzlingly intricate illustrations, many of which led to specific songs on the album. (Makes for a much better book tie-in than My Utmost for His Highest or all this Jabez stuff going around lately, in my opinion.) You'll find four very distinct tracks dedicated to the four Gospels, as well as a mini suite attempting to set to music different aspects of the life of Jesus Christ. Out of all the band's recordings, Kells is the most "explicitly Christian", which is interesting when juxtaposed with their musical approach, which is very "new age" (for lack of a better term).
Joanne opens the album single-handedly with her soft keyboard tones and lilting voice, slowly singing the Kells theme, which will later resurface in its full glory with the entire band behind it. You can tell the band has a sense of purpose that trickles into every note of every composition as this song leads into "Revelation", a tasty, thundering rocker drawn from a time of prayer over which direction this album should take. I love the little bit where that song pauses and then comes thundering back to life near the end! It's also an excellent example of how Iona can make something truly gorgeous out of a very simple chord structure - a lot of C's, D's and G's in this one. And Terl just tears it apart on this one!
The first two tracks dedicated to the Gospels, "Matthew" and "Mark," also make good use of Terl's ferocious attack, especially on the latter where he doubles up with Frank Van Essen (who is now the band's full-time drummer) to create an aural thunderstorm heralding the arrival of the Good news - the "voice crying in the wilderness". "Matthew - The Man" (later known as simply "Man") is an entirely different beast, starting and ending with a frantic sequence of drum, bass, and bells, and dissolving through several misty layers to a quiet guitar interlude in the middle, over which Joanne sings about the frailty of man and the peace he longs to find, before the band progresses back through the layers, complex time signatures and all, until the final fadeout. The song clocks in at over eleven minutes, and I have to admit, it can be exhausting so early in the album. A lot of Iona fans see it as a classic - I tend to see it as a further experiment with the "Trilogy" format that would later result in such fine works as "Encircling" and "Castlerigg".
The other two Gospels, which appear later in the album, take a much softer approach. "Luke - The Calf" is a calming flute melody set against the sound of waves crashing on a beach - a piece that certainly gives the "new age" naysayers a bit of ammo, but it's beautiful calming, and healing in its wordless depiction of Jesus as a sacrifice for the restoration of mankind. "John - The Eagle" shows up during the album's long instrumental section - a quiet, free-flowing saxophone melody soaring above a tinkling piano. Not sure why John is so far removed from the other three Gospels - though it is interesting to note that the book of John was written much later than the other three, and it tends to discuss the supernatural aspects of Jesus Christ more blatantly than the other three, so I guess that's all part of Iona's master plan.
A few more classics show up in the first half of the album - "Chi-Rho" uses a bright bed of acoustic guitars and vivid language that rivals Petra's classic "Coloring Song" in describing Christ - the character denoted by the Greek letters X (chi) and P (rho). (It's interesting to note that the friend who played a big role in making me the Iona fanatic I am today was named "Kairos" - I now think of him whenever I hear this one.) "The River Flows," a mid-tempo number that for some reason always makes me picture an ancient, even prehistoric setting due to its hand drums and lyrics that speak of the timelessness of God's Word, nicely sums up the theme of this album - and in many ways, the spirit of Iona's approach to how they make music, "timelessness" being the goal they seem to strive for.
The other instrumentals that make up the middle portion of the album are fine pieces as well, but they seem focused more around the talents of individual players than the band as a whole, and taken out of context, they might seem a bit random. "Virgin and Child" features some lovely harp playing by Fiona Davidson (a guest who would resurface again on the next album), "Temptation" is based around a throbbing attack of drum and synth which symbolizes Satan's repeated temptation of Jesus In the wilderness, and "The Arrest - Gethsemane" uses little other than a slowly repeating sequence of descending keyboard notes to relate the tension and anxiety Jesus felt when praying in the garden before being betrayed by Jesus and hauled away to receive His death sentence. Interestingly, there is no track dedicated to the actual crucifixion - an omission which has always baffled me. The next thing we know, a soft, free piece called "Trinity - The Godhead" creeps in, taking us off into another world completely. It's a tough track to even describe - it's angelic without being sappy, but it doesn't quite leave the impression I wish it did. The idea here was to capture the mystery of God. The soft sounds of rain as the unidentifiable "heavenly" sound drifts away is what helps tie my memory of this album to a place and time - I first bought this record during an El Niņo year, and so I always think of Kells as a good "rainy day" album.
If you started to drift off during that instrumental section, the ending is sure to wake you up. The syncopated drumming of the second "Kells" theme hearkens back to "Revelation" and "Mark," and as Joanne sings the most unabashedly Christian lyrics she's penned yet - "A time will come, and truth reveal/The glory of eternal God/Jesus the Messiah, the living Word" - the whole band kicks into an upbeat celebration of that truth. This is the one point where Iona's Christianity may be off-putting to fans who just like the music and aren't necessarily Christians - especially since this song comes thundering in out of nowhere - but it's not offensive, hellfire-and-brimstone language; it's confident and joyous. This song fades into the finale, "Eternity - No Beginning, No End" (man, these two part song titles are exhausting!), which is another experimentation with the idea of what Heaven might sound like. This one nails it a bit more memorably, with the most intense sax playing on the record, a host of regal drums and keyboard sounds keeping time, and a choir of foreign voices breaking in at the end over a lively guitar strum, symbolizing the worship of all tribes and tongues. It's a trip to take in at first - the latter half of this album would be great to fall asleep to if not for the interruption of Kells (which is a great song, just a bit misplaced).
Disc Three: Beyond These Shores (originally released 1993)
1. Prayer on the Mountain *
2. Treasure
3. Brendan's Voyage (Navigato)
4. Edge of the World
5. Today
6. View of the Islands *
7. Bird of Heaven
8. Murlough Bay
9. Burning Like Fire
10. Adrift *
11. Beachy Head
12. Machrie Moor *
13. Healing
14. Brendan's Return *
15. Beyond These Shores
I've already reviewed Iona's third disc, and it's either sum it up briefly and point you to what I've already written, or ramble on for endless pages, because this is the best album in the Iona catalogue (in my not-so-humble opinion), and it's hard for me to remain emotionally balanced when speaking about it. The brief explanation is that it loosely follows the story of St. Brendan, who reportedly sailed to America centuries before Columbus, and the Spiritual truths he discovered along this journey. Iona brings the Celtic influences and the acoustics to the forefront on this one, creating a lot of highs and lows that are paced better than they were on Kells. The band scored a few radio hits on this one with the folksy, Corrs-like "Treasure" and the joyful tribal dance of "Today," while showing us their clever knack for theme and variation with the instrumental "Brendan's Theme," a melody written by Dave Bainbridge's wife Debbie that floats to the surface many times earlier in the album. Also included are the massive "Bird of Heaven" (which blows the doors off of any of Iona's previous three-part suites), the tearful prayer based on Brendan's final words before his journey began as he looks out over the "Edge of the World," and my very favorite Iona song, one that brings together the most romantic and spiritual yearnings inside my soul to meet in a lovely place on Ireland's north shore called "Murlough Bay." This record is just fantastic - perfect for relaxing after a stressful day, or listening to with a loved one while driving through a tranquil, snowy landscape.
(Click here for my full review of this album.)
I must say, reading the liner notes that describe the recording process for this album was a treat. The band makes subtle use of so many sounds, even the creaking noise as their bass player rocked back and forth in front of the mic (this was used to simulate a creaking boat), or the sound created by hitting cymbals and then dipping them in buckets of water. Terl Bryant has the most unwieldy drum kit imaginable (if you've ever seen the "Treasure" video, you'll know what I mean), and reading the various objects he bangs on or otherwise derives sound from over the course of this album is enough to make you dizzy - the rest of the band aren't slouches in the area of multi-instrumentalism either. (It should be noted that the remaster doesn't change things much here; the original recording quality was pretty decent, but like Kells, it probably does help for the songs to have more of a "rock mix" than a "classical mix", if you know what I mean.)
Disc Four: Dunes (new and previously unreleased)
Snowdonia:
1. Realm of the Ravens *
2. Dunes *
3. Macha *
4. Dome of Harlech *
5. Above the Clouds *
6. Song of the Waves *
7. Moondawn *
8. Winter *
9. Jigs *
10. Hearthquake *
11. Castlerigg/Reels *
12. I Will Give My Love an Apple
13. Song of the Waves (Reprise)
14. The Final Journey *
Disc four is a lot like the usual "B-sides" collection an established artist will put out from time to time - random songs that didn't fit on albums, or demo versions of songs that might be of some interest to those who liked the album versions, or whatever. There's nothing terribly cohesive about it, but it's a nice addition for fans who want to get their hands on everything the group has ever done. In Iona's case, even "B-side" material shows amazing instrumental prowess, but much like some of the tracks on Kells, it loses some of its luster when taken out of context. It's best not to think of Dunes as an album - it's a supplemental resource that will be most appreciated by diehard fans like me.
The first 8 tracks (ha ha, "8 tracks", I'm barely old enough to remember those!) are an instrumental suite based on some soundtrack work the band did for a BBC documentary entitled "Snowdonia - Realm of the Ravens". I have no idea what that documentary was about - likely nature - but the image of the quiet, snowy landscape it paints is enough to tempt me to leave sunny California in search of it. The band's approach is very pristine, and other than a little bit of vocal ambience from Joanne and what sounds like a Latin chant in the background of "Song of the Waves," the human voice isn't really part of this equation. Oddly, this mini-suite passes by in just over twenty minutes, with four of its tracks clocking in at somewhere around two minutes - very unusual for Iona. Those four really serve as bridges leading in and out of the other four, which are fine works even if they don't make you stand up and take notice as immediately as some of Iona's more structured material that has lyrics. "Dunes" makes good use of a repeating flute call, while "Dome of Harlech" uses tribal-sounding percussion that sounds like a slower version of something lifted from the soundtrack to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It gets harder to pinpoint the breaks between the last few tracks, but it's all very lovely. You can hear bits and pieces of what would eventually become the "Songs of Ascent" trilogy from the Open Sky album, which is fitting, since "Song of the Waves" was originally intended for that album.
Tracks 9 through 12 are studio demos that were recorded just for fun - songs that had become part of the band's live repertoire but weren't part of their albums. There's a set of "Jigs" that sounds more like Ceili Rain than Iona at first, but soon becomes unmistakable, a retooled version of a sprightly six-minute jam called "Hearthquake" (originally by flute/pipe player Troy Donockley's old band, You Slosh), and a version of Open Sky's "Castlerigg" with the "Reels" from one of the band's live albums tacked onto the end (the two always reminded me of each other anyway). That version is slightly disappointing because Joanne's quiet guitar and vocal interlude is cut out of the middle - apparently she was away on holiday when these tracks were recorded.
Joanne reappears for the legendary studio version of "I Will Give My Love an Apple," which was apparently recorded for a progressive rock compilation disc a few years back after the live version made its debut on Heaven's Bright Sun. It's basically a traditional folk tune that Joanne used to hear her sisters singing when she was a child, and the band decided to add some gratuitous acoustic guitar noodling and a very Celtic flute solo in the middle. I still think the live version's better (it's longer), but if you need a non-live version, well then here you go.
The last two tracks are a reprise of "Song of the Waves" (which is a little too fluffy for my tastes due to Joanne's spoken vocals atop the original melody - for some reason it sounds like something from Touched by an Angel), and a long-lost track entitled "The Final Journey," which was originally supposed to be the last track on Beyond These Shores. It's yet another variation on "Brendan's Theme," this time utilizing a low whistle - it actually sounds a lot like "The Search" from the 1995 album Journey into the Morn. I think it was a good choice to ditch that one for BTS's title track - it would have been too repetitive of an ending. Still, it's a pretty composition and it's nice to finally be able to hear it.
Well, there you have it. I've said enough about Iona to last me a lifetime or at least the amount of time in between this and the band's next album, which will probably be a while, since Joanne had a baby earlier this year and all. This collection is so worth owning if you're an Iona fan - they knocked themselves out to give us quality and variety both in the music and in the packaging (the booklet - which actually holds the CD's on the inside of either cover - is laid out so nicely, I'm surprised I got away with the price I did). If you haven't gotten into the band yet, I suggest you cruise on over and read my review of Journey into the Morn.
Go ahead and give that album a spin before taking on some of the more advanced and complex stuff found here. I'll admit, The River Flows may be a bit too much Iona for some people to handle - but for some of us, that river's never gonna run dry.
Iona: 4.5
The Book of Kells: 4.0
Beyond These Shores: 5.0
Dunes: 3.5
Project Overall: 4.5
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Epinions.com ID:
divad23
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Member: David Martin
Location: Pasadena, CA
Reviews written: 554
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About Me:
Just add an implicit "in my humble opinion" to every sentence I write.
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