Label: Virgin Records (Europe), CDVR2135 00946 373459 24
Style: Space Rock, Pop Rock, New Wave
Country: Chingford, London, England (2 August 1951)
Time: 79:43
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 522 Mb
Open had to contend with Green as a previous comparison and whilst totally different in terms of direction it does ROCK in places. ' Day after Day' is one helluva rocker to start your day with. Hillage then shows what punk rock or new wave is all about with ' Getting in tune'. I think he was basically sticking his tongue out at the whole new genre hitting the world at the time. Afterall he had been playing stuff like that years before. The title track is also a great song bringing you back to a sense of reality. There are a couple of weaker moments like ' Don't dither do it' and another punklike effort in ' Definte activity' but Open steps up a gear with the wonderful ' The fire inside' and ' Earthrise'. Maybe Green was his peak but Open was not far off it either.
(http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=4069#reviews) by Chris S
I suppose at this point, in 1979, most prog musicians were having a difficult time releasing good prog albums. What with the press ignoring the genre, except to occasionally put it down, most prog bands were going commercial (with a dismal effect), and even Robert Fripp was calling prog band "dinosaurs", it's no surprise that Hillage waters his sound down here.
I have the CD version, with all those extra songs, but I don't feel any richer for it. Sure, Hillage can still play some great guitar solos, but except for a couple of good tracks, the music is a mix of electronica (mostly sounds that Tangerine Dream had already worn out), new wave, white funk, and even disco. For the most part, the songwriting is bland and tired.
The only real prog points are Earthrise (the only song that sounds like it would fit on one of Hillage's early albums), and The fire inside and fusiony song, that has some nice synth work by Miquette Giraudy. Two good songs don't make up for the rest of the drivel here.
(http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=4069#reviews) by Evolver
01. Talking To The Sun (06:00)
02. 1988 Aktivator (02:28)
03. New Age Synthesis (Unzipping The Zype) (08:52)
04. Healing Feeling (06:07)
05. Earthrise (08:35)
06. Open (05:17)
07. Definite Activity (04:43)
08. Getting Better (02:59)
09. Day After Day (06:19)
10. Getting In Tune (03:15)
11. Don't Dither Do It (05:05)
12. The Fire Inside (06:18)
13. Don't Dither Do It (1974 'Power Trio' Backing Track) (04:46)
14. Four Ever Rainbow (Part 3 Alternative Mix) (08:55)
No comments:
Post a Comment