Colours

Artist: Eloy
Label: EMI
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 724356377523
EAN: 0724356377523
ASIN: B00070FZL2

Release Date: 2005-02-24

Colours

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Tracks:

Horizons
Illuminations
Giant
Impressions
Child Migration
Gallery
Silhouette
Sunset

Similar Items:

Planets
Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes
Ocean
Time to Turn
Dawn

Album Description

Remastered reissue of the Prog band's 1980 album includes 2 bonus tracks 'Wings Of Vision' & 'Silhouette' (single edit). EMI. 2005.

Customer Reviews:

Fasten your Safety Belts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-01-25

If you don't take off of the ground when listening to "Illuminations" then you should listen again. (Good Headphone, dark ambiance and some relaxation helps)
The magic of the music takes you right away on a journey you have never experienced before and as a musician I have to admit that it is done superbly.
The taste of intruments, techniques and effects used in this album are beyond the limits of good sound engineering and modeling.
I do have a great respect for the incredible synth solo that makes any Guitar sound inferior.
As always, Eloy has demonstrated exceptional music taste and incredible ability to take the lsitener on a wave to another planet.

Also try "Horizon" and see how you feel.

Happy Take Off!!!!

Eloy changes a little, but it still remains excellent.......2006-02-01

This is the first Eloy album with new line up and it shows. Songs are shorter, it is not a concept album, the direction in the music changes somewhat, but the compositions are still excellent.

Horizons is something new for Eloy, after Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes, this should have come as a surprise to many fans. Atmospheric with an almost electronic rhythm section. Strange, but after some spins one realizes Eloy is changing.

Second track Illuminations is more classic Eloy in style. The main guitar riif is very heavy, almost judas Priest like. Drumming is quite dynamic though a bit simple. Bass playing is superb (as usual). Halfway through there is a section that features a great synth work that really projects the song into new heights. The band repeats the theme from the beginning before Hannes Folberth delivers one of the best and more agressive synth solos I've ever heard. Classic Eloy!!!

Giant is another great track. The synth at the beginning of the song is just great. Though the mid tempo is maintained, the changes in mood show a very well craftd song where Frank's vocals deliver strong lines here and there.

Impressions is a beautiful track featuring a lovely synth and acoustic guitars. The dynamics between drums and bass are very well worked out. And the flute solo in the middle is also very nice. Pity Jim Mcgillivray left after Planets as his drumming was really unique.

Child Migration is the classic Eloy epic of the album. The synths introduction is awesome featuring some lyrics taken from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet. The heavy riff is just great and shows Eloy influence in many metal bands that came out in the early eighties. The song development follows a logical path (which doesn't mean is boring, far from it). The end of the song is awesome, though. Atmospheric keyboards and slide guitars. Eloy trademark all over!

Gallery is a difficult track to get into as it almost breaks the flow of the album. It features some strange vocal melodies for Eloy standards and its atmosphere hasn't anything to do with the general atmosphere of the album. That said, and once you're used to it, it is a great track, especially instrumentally.

Silhouette is the other epic (over 8 minutes). However, I find Child Migration to be a superior track. Silhouette starts off with a beautiful piano section then the band kicks in in typical mid-tempo Eloy fashion. The verses and the chorus repeat twice and here is where the song lacks a bit of originality. However, excellent guitar riffs and energetic playing turn the song into a great track.

Last, but not least, Sunset is a short track with acoustic guitar and synth solo. As simple as it may sound, it is ravishingly beautiful. One of the most beautiful tunes Eloy has ever written.

Colours might not be as epic in scope as Ocean or Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes as it represents a change in line up and a consequent change in style. However, the essence and spirit of Eloy are present in every single second of the record, both thematically and musically.

My bit of criticism, it is too short an album. And it is a pity as most Eloy albums clock under 50 minutes. Only Destination, Ocean 2 and the Chronicles cds clock over 50 minutes. A box set consisting of rare/unreleased tracks would not be a bad idea after all.

Eighties Progressive Rock.......2005-10-15

It took me thirty years to discover this band but I'm making up for it now, I have purchased eight of their sizable catalogue in the six weeks and one more in route.

Eloy (name taken from H G Well`s Time Machine) is a German Atmospheric, Progressive Art Rock band that was formed way back in 1969. Colours, their eighth album, was released in 1980, the tenth anniversary of their first self titled album. The web site doesn't show it but the album cover is a rather colorful painting depicting the back of a clothes less fairy.

Colours is considered one of Eloy's most accessible, mainstream albums. True enough, it does have lot of pop/rock elements which should have a broader appeal than previous and subsequent releases but I still feel strong Progressive vibes. All the songs on Colours range from slow medium to medium in tempo. There is a fairly good variety, with songs like the opening track, "Horizons" featuring a couple lady singers and a new age, Adiemus feel, while the fifth track "Child Migration" has a strong hard rock feel. Tracks two and three "Illuminations" and "Giant" have a spacey psychedelic ambiance with the later being somewhat Pink Floydian. All the singing by Bornemann while not bad seems to be somewhat suppressed, like he's singing from a well. Whether this is done purposeful or not I have no idea but it's very evident on Silhouette, which coincidently receives my vote for the best song. Track four, "Impressions" emphasizes some flute playing and "Sunset," the last track, sounds like a spacey pan flute, though it's probably a synth. In fact a synthesizer or keyboards is a prime instrument used throughout on this and many other Eloy albums

What I Like

~ Brings back some of the great seventies and eighties sounds.
~ Simple unpretentious melodies.
~ Compelling arrangements. Nice use of instruments.
~ Like a mellow Hawkwind on some songs.
~ Music doesn't try to overpower you.
~ Nice variety in song selections.

What I don`t Like

~ *39 minutes - too short!

* Several Eloy albums were shorter that forty minutes and can now be purchased with bonus tracks of two albums combined.

Conclusion

One of the interesting things about Eloy is that their music spans almost three decades and the changes from album to album are palpable. It doesn't seem so much like they were evolving, more like they were adapting. Eloy's music isn't like that of most other bands, which have high, highs and low, lows. It's very even keel, it's more like their music is created, not to captivate or repulse you but to pleasure you.

I now have eight Eloy albums each with it's own personality, none with any songs that I obsess over and have to play over and over but I have been keeping four, out of five, cds on my player for weeks, so I guess you might say that I'm consumed with the overall effect of the albums rather than individual songs.

One of the good things about Eloy is that the music is so damned enjoyable. It does very nicely as background music. It can be unobtrusive but it has enough character to be a focal point, something you could sit down with headphones and listen to for enjoyment. That is one of the reasons I can't seem to get them out of my cd player. They're not distracting and they're not boring. The strength of Eloy lies not so much in the individual songs but the whole album as a unit.

Final rating 4.25 stars

Discography
1970, Eloy
1973, Inside
1974, Floating
1975, Power and the Passion
1976, Dawn
1977, Ocean
1977, Wings of Vision
1978, Live
1978, Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes
1980, Colours
1982, Planets
1983, Performance
1983, Time to turn
1984, Metromania
1985, Codename Wildgeese
1988, Ra
1992, Destination
1994, The Tides Return Forever
1998, Ocean 2

Music Album:

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MPS Piano Highlights ~ Various Artists

To Bird with Love: Live at the Blue Note ~ Dizzy Gillespie

Key of Love ~ Calsten Campbell

Kelly Blue ~ Wynton Kelly Trio & Sextet

Angel Tiger ~ June Tabor

Os Sucessos Que O Rei Cantou ~ Various Artists

Basement Rocker: the Best of ~ Strummers

Cocoroni Utawo: Works from TV ~ Toshiro Nakagawa

Colecao - O Forro Bom Demais ~ Pedro Sertanejo