Imaginary albums was one of the topics for many years in the blog before the re-start early 2022. It was based on the "Debut album game" that was making its rounds around bulletin boards and blogs over ten years ago. The idea was to create an album cover for a fictional band (anything that came up in the random Wikipage generator) with a fictional title (the last four words of the very last quote of the page generated at the Random quotations site) and a cover image found by searching for a random Flickr Explore photograph. I have been trying to find out who had the original idea, but so far no success.
I made a few changes to this procedure: I opted to take any four words (although preferably the final ones) of a random quotation to give me the album title. Moreover, also because of copyright constraints, I decided to choose suitable images from my own Flickr streams for the cover. Finally, to spice things up a bit, I added a fictional review for these fictional albums.
I have decided to post all of the album covers I made this way since 2009 (and maybe add new ones later) in groups of twelve in chronological order. Here is the fourth batch (the image above is made via
Photofunia).
With Our Eyes Open
Sweden's newest sensation Boccanegra clearly takes the example of their compatriots Opeth to heart - even to the extent of almost copying the style of the band logo. However, instead of combining death metal with progressive rock, they opted to combine it with psychedelic rock - think sixties' style Pink Floyd with typical death metal grunts and riffs. It should not work - yet, it does. Fascinating and unique, and highly recommended.
Quote by Jawaharlal Nehru: There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
A Rainy Sunday afternoon
One of my main discoveries of the year: soft jazz on the marimba and xylophone by Japan's virtuoso Kiyozo Kazama. Hauntingly atmospheric renditions of such timeless classics as
Where or when,
Somewhere over the rainbow, and
Cry me a river, sensibly interspersed with his take on a number of Japanese folk melodies. This CD is not easy to find, but is well worth searching for on the internet.
Quote by Susan Ertz: Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
In Silent Unspeakable Memories
Treading on the treacherous crossroads of minimalist classical music, soft jazz, and new age - and managing to come up with a masterpiece against all odds. Gilgamesh, an octet from Vienna, have seen themselves catapulted to the #1 spot in the album charts in Austria and Germany with their very first CD, and the rest of the world will undoubtedly follow. Their music is ingenious yet accessible, with a high emotional content that really strikes a chord with many listeners.
Quote by George Eliot: What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined... to strengthen each other... to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.
Permanently Self-enlarging Experience
When I saw the title of this album, the Steve Wilson project Incredible Expanding Mindfuck immediately came to mind - and it was not a surprise when the first sounds came from my speakers that this debut album by Townsend Thunderbird is in the same electronic vein. Soundscapes ranging from ambient to dance floor drones and back and forth - it has all been done before, and to be honest, it has all been done better. Give this one a pass.
Quote by M. Scott Peck: Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience.
Trying To Please Everybody
The second album of the British neo new wave band Shakespeare's Landlord has been released last week, and the title illustrates a keen sense of humour of the five members.
Trying to please everybody was exactly the gist of the criticism they got for their debut album last year. The general reaction was that
Submerged was a promising release, but that the band was striving too hard to get appreciated by too many different listeners. Their second release shows a lot more consistency in their approach, and is a clear step up from an artistic point of view. Recommended.
Quote by Bill Cosby: I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
The Termites Of Relationships
The album cover says it all: Ireland's number one singer/songwriter Connie Murphy has taken her dog and is walking away into a new life, abandoning yet another relationship. This is an album that will probably appeal more to her female fans due to the general theme, but the music is as strong and unique as in the two predecessors, which sold well for an independent label. And you just have to love the image invoked by the title song. Strongly recommended, no matter what gender you happen to be.
Quote by Henry Winkler: Assumptions are the termites of relationships.
The Sun Is Shining
The German all-girl pop quartet Boxmaya have scored nine gigantic hits in the charts over the past three years. The accompanying three albums sold well too. Surprisingly, they changed their formula with their latest release. The album
The sun is shining is a themed cover album: all songs are from the sixties, seventies, and eighties, and all have to do with that summer feeling. There are predictable choices (Lovin' Spoonful's
Summer in the city, Donovan's
Sunshine superman), and more surprising ones, such as First Class'
Beach Baby, with lyrics re-written to reflect the girl's point of view. The first single release from this album is currently climbing up the charts in spite of the rainy weather, and is quite representative for the album: their version of
Cruel Summer does not surpass the original by Bananarama but is still well worth hearing. Recommended, except for purists.
Quote by John F. Kennedy: The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
The Portals Of Discovery
This is one of the rarest of Krautrock albums, with original LP's easily fetching 500 euro on the second hand market. Entschenkopf only made this one album in 1974 before their break-up, and no more than 1000 pieces were pressed. It did not stop the rumours going throughout the seventies that this was an absolute gem of a record, one of the best in the genre. Well, last year the long lost master tapes were discovered in the archives of the record company, and with this CD release, we can finally judge for ourselves. You know what? It
is a masterpiece. The original A-side has three excellent songs, each lasting around 6 minutes, with a more psychedelic sound than most of their Krautrock contemporaries. The B-side contained the 20 minutes title track, an incredible space jam interspersed with beautiful melodic vocal lines. An essential addition to any rock collection.
Quote by James Joyce: Mistakes are the portals of discovery.
A Miracle And Mystery
This disc has got to be on your Christmas wish list this year. The Italian neo-classical formation Connexon from Naples have taken twenty Ambrosian and Gregorian chants, and transformed them to instrumentals of stunning and consistent high quality. Bassoons, oboes and flutes take over the major vocal lines, with the three violins, viola and cello providing a suitable aural backdrop. Original and fascinating. And essential.
Quote by H.G. Wells: We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.
Delight Of The Blood
The relatively new genre of Blood Metal, which combines death metal sounds with stage acts full of gore and blood, is definitely not everyone's taste. The dubious stage antics aside, one can judge the CD's issued by Blood Metal groups only on their musical merit of course. And it must be said that Temple Beth El from Stockholm have a lot to offer in this respect. Their third album,
Delight of the blood, is positively different, showing considerable influences of progressive metal bands like their compatriots Opeth, in particular in the 12 minutes title track. Other outstanding tracks are their covers of songs originally by proto-BM heroes such as Alice Cooper (
Raped and freezing) and Black Sabbath (
Solitude). Recommended if you like death metal with a prog influence.
Quote by George Santayana: To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight of the blood.
Bitter Lessons From The Past
It took the French neo-prog band Authon three years to come up with a follow-up album of their highly acclaimed debut,
Parisian Affairs. Their sophomore release's title hints at the underlying causes, which were explained in detail in a recent interview at Innervisions with their lead singer Daniel Dagorn. To make a long story short, the unexpected success went to the heads of several band members, resulting in endless discussions on what direction to take and little or no actual music. On several occasions, the temptation to pull the plug on the band was difficult to overcome, and only the departure of two of the five original members last year made it possible to have a fresh start.
Bitter lessons from the past is a strong second album, in a similar new-prog style as their debut, but with longer and better developed songs, and a further improvement in melodic quality. The French accent of Dagorn is still clear, and may or may not work for you. But do give them a try if you like bands such as IQ, Arena and Quidam.
Quote by Sidney J. Harris: A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future..
Into A Full And Clear Light
Chances are that you are really not interested in new age music - apart from a select group of lovers of this genre, a lot of people can't stand it. Chances are that you are really not interested in Christian pop music - apart from a select group of lovers of this genre, a lot of people can't stand it. Well, enter The Missionary from Double Springs, Alabama. This new band combines the two genres in a unique way: soothing string sounds, supported by the occasional flute and harp, are used in combination with singing Christian lyrics in a style that may be best described as Enya on Ritalin. Not my cup of tea.
Quote by Isaac Newton: I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a full and clear light.
Copyright statement: all imaginary album covers are based on my own photographs. Copyright Hennie Schaper.
