Pros: Iona songs both old and new woven together with a lovely orchestra.
Cons: There are a few slow, airy sections that some listeners may get bored with.
The Bottom Line: An exquisite recording - it's probably best to listen to Iona's other albums first in order to fully appreciate the part the orchestra plays on this recording.
divad23's Full Review: Woven Cord by Iona/The All Souls Orchestra
Okay, so what's with this Iona band that divad23 keeps writing about? I mean, hardly anybody seems to know who they are... aren't they some sort of a Christian Celtic rock band or something? I mean, okay, that's kinda cool, but the whole Celtic trend died a few years ago. And hardly anybody actually makes it to this section of the site to read the band's reviews... what gives?
I'll tell you what gives. I love Iona, and I'm not alone. Largely undiscovered in America, this British progressive rock band has slowly built a loyal following in their native England, fusing together elements of rock, jazz, and Celtic music (which they were doing before the resurgence of the trend) into a blend of music that is truly their own. Are they a Christian band? Definitely. They are one of the most deeply religious bands out there. But as I find out more and more about some of their other fans, I find that more and more of them are not Christians, yet remain truly captivated by Iona.
How can that be? Doesn't the preaching and stuff get on their nerves?
Iona doesn't preach Christianity so much as simply living and breathing it, and combining ancient writings of Celtic saints with their own musical poetry to create a truly transcendent musical experience. And this is exactly what they've done with their second live album in a row, teaming up with the All Souls Orchestra to bring even more life to a collection of many of their older songs and a few new tracks as well.
Two live albums in a row? People lose interest when bands do that. And didn't Metallica try that whole orchestra thing?
Yeah, I know about Metallica, and I seem to recall Dave Matthews putting out two live albums in a row, but trust me, this is good, and definitely worth putting out on CD without having to wait for another studio album from the band. Much of Iona's composition is very classical in nature. Throwing an orchestra into the mix - and allowing that orchestra to help rework some of the band's older material - was practically a no-brainer. Besides, they're not a huge smash hit pop band. So they can do whatever they want without millions of fans complaining.
Okay, enough with the sarcastic naysayer voice. I don't care if hardly anyone reads this. If I can expose two or three more people to the band, I'll be more than happy. So what lies in store for you if you can find your way off the beaten path to listen to this album? I'll tell you...
The album starts with a quiet Overture played entirely by the orchestra, and composed by Troy Donockley, the band's purveyor of whistles, pipes, and anything else you might blow air through. This track is said to contain melodic fragments from four or five of their previous songs, like a collection of faint memories, which was fitting, given that this concert marked the band's tenth anniversary and their return from a one-year hiatus. So far, I've only found two of those melodies - those rascals have tricked me into listening to their CD over and over and over!
Bi-Se I Mo Shuil follows next - this being the first of two Gaelic interpretations of "Be Thou My Vision" from their Journey into the Morn album. The mood here is slow and swirling - just lead singer Joanne Hogg's voice backed some airy keyboards and the orchestra. It serves mainly as a call into the wonderful landscape of music that you are about to experience.
Man gets things going in fine fashion, letting you know that the band has a powerful, majestic rock element to their music, but they won't bow to traditional notions of how a song should be built. It starts out with a pounding, desperate rhythm, accented by the winds and strings and brass and everything else from the orchestra just to add to the urgency of the music until it finally diminishes into an airy bridge into the a lighter section backed by a whistle and acoustic guitar, where Joanne provides us with a lyrical meditation on Matthew (this track originally came from their Book of Kells album). The song continues for about thirteen minutes (!), transitioning into a syncopated, pounding rhythm, then backing off into another lyrical section, then finishing in fine form with the beginning theme. It's almost as if this song digs deeper and deeper into the pounding heart of a man who trembles before God, but pauses momentarily at a "place of peace". As with many of Iona's songs, you will probably come up with an equally compelling interpretation. A song of this length seems a bit formidable so early in the record, but it is definitely a fan favorite.
White Sands continues things on a quieter note, the strings embellishing a simple instrumental track from the band's very first album. The flute evokes a mournful Irish feel on this one, creating a simple and repetitive but beautiful melody.
Murlough Bay is our next stop along the beach (clever that these two tracks were placed together), and here, one of their more obscure songs (and incidentally my favorite) from their fine album Beyond These Shores is accented nicely by the power of the orchestra. Beginning quietly with Joanne's keyboards and her intimate lyrics describing a peaceful retreat with an intimate lover (human or God; it works either way), it eventually soars with an amazing power during the bridge as Joanne sings some of the most compelling lyrics I've ever heard. You just have to hear this one. It's that beautiful.
Dancing on the Wall is up next - one of the first songs that Joanne wrote for the band. It was never one of my favorites on the first album - it seemed like they were trying too hard to sound like a normal pop/rock band (think some of The Corrs' more recent, non-Irish sounding work and you'll get the idea). However, here it is given a completely different musical backdrop, provided mostly by some beautifully strummed acoustic guitars, and giving Joanne's lyrics a chance to shine in a more intimate setting. I believe this song was initially written when the Berlin Wall was taken apart, and its celebrative mood is captured wonderfully at the end of the song when Troy's pipes join in for a lively Irish jig. It's always interesting to hear a band completely rework one of their own songs in concert, and this is one of the best examples I've ever heard.
Encircling is another fan favorite - a three-part epic from Journey into the Morn. Here is perhaps where the contribution of the orchestra is noticed the most, taking over for a few instrumental passages that were performed by band members in the original version. They really wanted the orchestra to be an active part of the music, woven together with the band (if you will) instead of being relegated to the background. The main layout of the songs is as follows - first section is a simple spell-like invocation in which Joanne puts on a sort of spiritual armor with a semi-tribal percussive backdrop behind her, then that rhythm fades, and the keyboard tones and strings sweep around for a while before congealing into a quick acoustic guitar rhythm, which builds with the electric guitar and wind instruments soaring above it, until that too collapses before rising again into a thundering guitar solo from Dave Bainbridge, and Joanne eventually rejoins the entire mix, singing part of the first section over again to a completely different rhythm. This finally gives way to the third section, a soothing, flue-laden passage in which the song's title is found: "The mighty three, my protection be/Encircling me, You are around/My life, my all, encircling me/Oh sacred three, the mighty three." It may sound like something out of Dungeons & Dragons, but this all comes from ancient Celtic writings, and is a definite reference to the Trinity. This is a prime example of breathing God moreso than preaching God, as I mentioned earlier.
Lindisfarne, another of my favorites from Journey into the Morn, is up next, though it takes a while to get going due to the very quiet sounds of the orchestra warming up. (There may have been an intermission before this song; I'm not sure.) Kudos to the orchestra again - they do a phenomenal job of replicating the seagull-like sounds that were likely performed by real seagulls on the album version, and adding a riveting undercurrent to this jazzy but prayerful song (if you've heard "The Stone" by the Dave Matthews Band, it's a similar effect.) The entire composition floats along quite comfortably; you can almost see those birds gliding over the water and feel the holiness and rich history behind the mystical place the band is describing.
Revelation is another tune that has undergone a bit of surgery - it was a force to be reckoned with on The Book of Kells, but since that album had quite a bit of saxophone on it, and sax player Mike Haughton is no longer with the band, the jazzy element has been replaced with a more orchestral majesty to accompany Dave Bainbridge's amazing guitar work and Frank Van Essen's pounding drums. It may not sound as tight as the original version, but it's wonderful to see it revived here nonetheless. This is one of their more spiritually direct songs, especially with lines like "Power on Earth to stand in the face of hell", but it carries a message of joy surrounding Christ's return and not the usual doom you see associated with the book of Revelation. Instead of keeping the sharp, sudden ending found on the album, this song fades off in a furious cloud of electric guitar and symphonic beauty, though sometimes these long sections without much of a rhythmic backing can make my attention wander.
Woven Cord is the other of the two new compositions on this record, living up to its name by providing one last chance for the orchestra to fuse itself together with the band. It takes a little while to get going, but eventually Frank jumps in with a strangely syncopated method of pounding out your basic 4/4 (or is it 8/8? Someone help me here), occasionally dropping an eighth note between different sections of the song just to see if you're paying attention. The track is entirely instrumental, but mostly fast-paced, slowing down a bit in the middle to give Mr. Bainbridge one last chance to soar on that electric guitar of his. Put quite simple, it's awesome, and when Iona put out on their studio album Open Sky in mid-2000 (which has yet to be released in the States), it was a bit weird to hear a studio version of this song without the orchestra!
Beyond These Shores is another one of those that has become a fan favorite (mostly for how neatly it sums up the theme from the album of the same name), but was too slow and sparse to really get my attention. That's changed here. Frank Van Essen, who had left the band before the original recording of BTS, and later rejoined, has a hidden talent: he also plays the violin. Here he provides a beautiful intro and outro that adds a wonderful aura of abandon to the song as Joanne sings to God, assured that He will be close to her no matter where she goes. As I mentioned in my review of BTS, this song has become deeply significant to me in the midst of a difficult time of spiritual crisis, and will always have a special place in my heart, so it's great to have such an awesome live version of it committed to compact disc.
An interesting that struck me about this album is that the audience is rather quiet - they cheer and clap in between songs, and applaud respectfully after the final ballad is finished, but they don't hoot and holler in the middle of songs (some other live albums get really annoying due to that), and Iona doesn't pull stunts to milk them for attention. Joanne Hogg is a confident frontwoman, but not overbearing - I don't think she speaks at all between the songs here, because the flow of the music is simply too awesome to be interrupted. Frankly, I wish more bands would follow that lead in their live shows, thinking more carefully about the flow of the music and how certain delays and general fooling around will be received by an audience who mainly came to hear their music. In any case, Iona is nothing short of amazing as a live band, and though I may never get to see them live for myself, this gets me pretty darn close! I would recommend it to anyone who feels the need for some epic, soundtrack-style music and doesn't need it to be fast and furious most of the way through. Fans of Michael W. Smith's recent instrumental album will find a lot to like here as well.
So why isn't it a double CD like their last live album?
That, my friend, is an excellent question.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: Murlough Bay, Beyond These Shores, Dancing on the Wall, Encircling, Lindisfarne
Good: Overture, Man, White Sands, Revelation, Woven Cord
Decent: Bi-Se I Mo Shuil Part 1
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
Band Members:
Joanne Hogg: Lead vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar
Dave Bainbridge: Electric/acoustic guitars, keyboards, bouzouki (!)
Troy Donockley: Uillean Pipes, whistles, cittern (?), electric & acoustic guitar, vocals
Phil Barker: Bass guitar
Frank Van Essen: Drums, percussion, violin, vocals
Special Guests:
Nick Beggs: Chapman stick
Tim Harries: Double bass
Marlou Van Essen: Backing vocals
Noel Tredinnick: Conductor of the All Souls Orchestra
Website: http://www.iona.uk.com
Great Music to Play While: Contemplating moving to England
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