divad23's Full Review: Heaven's Bright Sun by Iona
I have to be careful reviewing a project like this. I'm not exactly an expert on Progressive Rock. Or Celtic music. Or anything remotely resembling Jazz. But I know Christian music. Don't let the ForeFront label deceive you if you're not a big fan of most Christian rock. Iona is completely different from anything the Christian market has heard - possibly one of the best kept secrets of the industry, largely because the band operates outside of that industry. I hardly know how to classify them, except to say that this fine ensemble crafts some of the most transcendently gorgeous music this side of Heaven. And when they want to, they ROCK. Not in a grinding, hardcore sort of way, but in a solid, sophisticated and yet spontaneous sort of way. It's unlike anything else in my CD collection. And that's why I treasure it so much (no song title pun intended).
For those unfamiliar with Iona, this 2-disc set was captured from a few of their live shows while touring for their Journey into the Morn album. I hesitate to say that it's a collection of their best songs - all of these songs are great, but you can barely hope to scratch the surface of their fine catalogue of studio albums. Rather, this disc is a collage of fan favorites both old and new, and the old songs from around the turn of the decade have had new life breathed into them by a fuller band (many of the current members had not signed on back in 1990 when visionaries Dave Bainbridge and David Fitzgerald teamed up with vocalist/songwriter Joanne Hogg for a bit of an experiment in fusing jazz with Celtic music). Most of these songs are either from their very first disc, and the most recent Journey into the Morn, with a few tracks thrown in from The Book of Kells and what I think is their finest work to date, Beyond These Shores. I bought this album after being very impressed with the Journey album, and it definitely piqued my curiosity until I just had to get my hands on all of their older material as well. I don't normally buy live albums, especially by bands whose work I am not intimately familiar with, but I had heard such rave reviews of their concerts that I just had to check this one out. I wish now that I could go back in time and experience the show first-hand. It's that good.
DISC ONE
Turning Tide takes fans back to the very beginning - a short, Enya-like intro that segues cleverly into Treasure (and with great response from the polite but excited British audience). This has probably been their biggest hit in terms of radio play (the majority of Iona's compositions are wonderfully defiant of the normal pop/rock song structure, and many can reach up to 8 or 10 minutes in length), and the performance here is arguably stronger than on Beyond These Shores. Troy Donockley and Mike Haughton get in some nice solos on the flute and saxophone, respectively, adding a beautiful backdrop to this meditation on the words of Christ from Matthew: "If a son asks his father on Earth/For fish or for bread/Who among you would give him a snake or a stone?/How much more does the Father above have a heart full of love/For the children that He calls His own?/And where your treasure is, there is your heart."
Flight of the Wild Goose makes its appearance next, which is drastically beefed up from its original appearance on their first album, thanks in part to Terl Bryant's solid drum work. The goose is said to represent the Holy Spirit in Celtic culture, and the instrumental duet between Bainbridge's guitar and Haughton's sax depict that goose circling in the air in a way that lyrics might not have been able to. This is one of my favorite Iona tracks of all time.
Today is up next, a song which has also received some radio play, though it's not as easily recognizable here! On Beyond These Shores, it was a light-hearted, Celtic flavored dance number - here, it is an all out jam session. Bryant nails this one with a solid rhythm as Joanne smoothly sings about the harmony of nature and how it joins with the movement of the human body to offer praise to God. This song was apparently inspired after she was in a car accident a number of years ago - it's funny how a brush with death makes you notice the intricate details in life. My only regret after hearing this track is that it's the last you'll hear from the Shores album on this collection.
Irish Day follows next - it's one of their newer songs from Journey, but it has a lot of history, metaphorically depicting the lives of Celtic saints from centuries ago as Mr. Troy Donockley provides some nice whistles to give the song that jubilant Irish feel. If St. Patrick's Day had a soundtrack, this would have to be the lead single.
Luke - The Calf slows things down for a moodier instrumental - it seems a bit out of place in the first half of the performance, but it is still quite beautiful. Originally one of the four tracks from Kells composed to represent the four gospels, it's mainly a pipe solo by Troy depicting a peaceful animal that represents healing. You might not automatically get that if you didn't know the title of the composition, but then again, every listener seems to get a different picture in their head when spinning an Iona CD anyhow. I was impressed that they could reproduce the sound of waves crashing on the beach in the live version. Nice touch.
Inside My Heart follows next - one of my favorite tracks from Journey. This one gives you an idea of just how intricate Iona's compositions can get - it begins with a simple acoustic tapestry of an acoustic guitars and a shaker to keep the 5/8 beat. Joanne begins to sing a poem written by Cindy Spear-Polley (a friend of the band) which seems to be about the event of salvation taking place in a person's heart (most Iona songs have deeply Christian theme, and yet the majority of their fans come from outside of the Christian subculture). The imagery is quite vivid and beautiful, using lines such as "looking through stained windows", "thorns that draw blood from Your face", "a rose on the wall", and so forth to allow the listener inside the intimate experience. The tempo changes to 6/8 for the prayerful chorus and back again, and when the final chorus seems to be fading out, suddenly Terl and Dave sneak back in, unleashing a powerhouse jam that proves that this band can rock. You just never know when they're gonna let it out - and here it works perfectly, as if celebrating the final result of the quiet prayer.
Trilogy, as Joanne takes a moment to explain (this is one of few times you hear her speak other than to say "Thank you" as the audience applauds), is a song from "the beginning days of Iona". As its title implies, this began Iona's long-standing tradition of epic, three-part musical compositions that far exceed your typical four-minute pop song. This particular piece is dominated by mournful saxophone playing by Mike Haughton, as it depicts the birth, destruction and rebirth of the isle of Iona (according to the liner notes in the CD jacket). The middle section, with its pounding drums, makes you feel like you are watching some sort of an execution scene in the movie Braveheart, and then things fall apart and come back together as the opening theme repeats itself in a more resolved, celebrative mood as the song comes to a close. A beautiful reinterpretation of the work of the original members of the band.
I Will Give My Love an Apple is a treat - a traditional folk love song redone with a spiritual interpretation and a long, lilting acoustic guitar solo in the middle, accompanied by some more of that sweet whistle work we've come to expect from Troy. This is enough to leave the audience (both real and virtual) begging for more as disc 1 closes and the band takes an intermission. This is one of two "new" tracks on the album; the band has not previously recorded it, though I hear there is a rare studio version floating around somewhere!
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY (Disc One) Excellent: Today, Flight of the Wild Goose, Treasure, Inside My Heart, I Will Give My Love an Apple
Good: Turning Tide, Irish Day, Luke, Trilogy
Decent: NONE
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
DISC TWO
The Island brings the band back out onto the floor in fine form, with yet another historical tale of the band's namesake island from back in their early days. It is a message of freedom, initially applied to the people on the island itself, but the implication is much broader: "Break the chains on this land/Free the spirit of man". The keyboards (played by Joanne, I believe) and the sax intertwine beautifully in between the verses of this song.
Iona is a slow, atmospheric ballad depicting a dream Joanne once had after receiving a postcard from a friend who had been to the island - she takes time to tell the story before performing the song. It is a beautiful tale, though I admit this may be a song I sometimes get board with - it is mostly slowly played chords on the keyboard and Joanne's vocals, though a nice whistle solo from Troy gets added, which lifts this version above the original. Even if it's one of my least favorite tracks, its inclusion is a necessity because it allows insight into the history of the band.
Columcille, the third track in a row from the band's first album, follows next, a simple instrumental in which Troy whistles a haunting melody which is then repeated by Mike (I believe; I could be wrong). I actually like the flute-laden album version better - it has some eerie boys' choir type vocals in the background. However, it does a nice job of wrapping up the "historical" section of the album before we venture back into some more upbeat, newer stuff.
Heaven's Bright Sun, the album's namesake is up next, and believe me, this is a captivatingly gorgeous tune. Joanne takes a few more moments to explain its origin (from a line of the hymn "Be Thou My Vision") before the song begins. Three powerful, sparkling blasts of energy kick off this composition, followed by a quiet but sweeping section of flute and ethereal keyboard, after which Terl creeps in with a catchy rhythm that builds and builds until the rest of the band joins in for an almost tribal jam session that would make a good soundtrack for a ride through a hot jungle at breakneck speed. Through the entire song, you can envision the different phases of the sun rising - the initial rays breaking out over the water, then a cloud cover shielding you from the full glory of the great ball of fire, then those clouds gradually burning away, giving way to the full, intense heat of the day as the children celebrate the sun's maker. It carries on for about seven and a half minute, and is well done here, though I think Terl's drumming is a little more intricate on the album version.
Chi-Rho, apparently another fan favorite from the Kells album, follows next, with a rich acoustic intro similar to "Inside My Heart". Joanne paints a picture of a kaleidoscope of colors that represent different facets of who Christ is - the language is at once groundbreaking and deeply traditional. It takes on the format of a more traditional rock song, and Mike Haughton finishes it off with another great sax solo. The song title is derived from the Greek letters that represent the name of Christ.
Bi-Se I Mo Shuil continues the upbeat, lively momentum with the band's interpretation of "Be Thou My Vision" before it was translated out of the original Gaelic. (Apparently, when recording this tune initially, Joanne had a bit of Gaelic coaching from Clannad's Maire Brennan). It picks up the tribal feel of "Heaven's Bright Sun" once again before abruptly breaking into an even more complex section played in 11/8 time (true musicians can probably identify it more accurately, but it seems to be alternating 6 and 5), and it will likely make your jaw drop when you realize how difficult it is for a six-member band to maintain such an off-kilter beat! Though it would be hard to dance to, you can almost imagine a lively Irish jig going on that would put Riverdance to shame. They did a nice job of figuring out how to end this one when playing it live (it fades out on the album version).
Kells (you can probably guess which album this is from) finishes the main portion of the concert off, heralding the good news of the Gospel in true Iona fashion. These may be some of Iona's most blatantly Christian lyrics; they hold a lot of power, and the drumming here is quite powerful to match. You can hear the audience going wild as the song comes to a finish, and they organize to clap in rhythm as a way of inviting the band back out for an encore. And the band doesn't disappoint!
Reels is the first of two LONG encore tracks, the other "new tune" on this album. It's basically a set of Irish reels, played in fine fashion by Troy, accompanied by solid drumming (do I have to keep pointing this out when it's obvious?) by Terl, who shifts his pattern with each new reel to accentuate the changing dynamic of the song. I hope this one got the stiffest of the Englishmen present to dance!
When I Survey is a logical closer, being that it was the last track on Journey. It's Iona's meditative interpretation of a traditional hymn (which I believe Joanne later re-recorded on her solo hymns album). Instead of traditional drums, some bongo-type percussion is used here, and it's a little more assertive than on the album, especially punctuating the third verse, where the rest of the band bows out and it is simply vocals and percussion. Dave Bainbridge opens and closes the song with an airy, dreamy guitar solo, and then the band finishes their set with a spontaneous (if somewhat non-sequitur) jam session that makes this track clock in at about 14 minutes. Definitely not for the faint of heart - you can't help but be a bit disappointed as the last strains of music fade out - no applause, just some quiet chimes courtesy of Terl's arsenal of percussion equipment, as if to imply that Iona's music isn't meant to have an end. perhaps they continued playing for a little longer but only so much would fit on one CD. I'm not sure.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: Bi-Se I Mo Shuil Pt. 2, Reels
Good: Heaven's Bright Sun, The Island, Columcille, Chi-Rho, Kells, When I Survey
Decent: Iona
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
As you can probably guess, I think this is an awesome double CD, and one of Iona's finest albums (I dare say, their live show is even better than a lot of their fine studio work). It's admittedly not for everybody - harder rock fans are only gonna get a few chances here and there to rock out, and then it's often to a confusing rhythm. But when you manage to nail all of these elements down in your head, you really get swept up in the superb musicianship of this band - you just have to not mind that they're gonna go with the flow for as long as they deem necessary, not bowing to the imposed constraints for radio play. While some feel that this may hurt the band's ability to reach a broader audience, they've got quite a few diehard fans on both sides of the Atlantic, and I consider myself one of them. I recommend this CD to anyone who ever wished Enya rocked more, or the Corrs could be less poppy but still as melodic. Christians who consider themselves to be fans of "progressive rock" music (i.e. bands that are notorious for eschewing the rules and structure of typical modern rock, extending songs to much longer than five minutes, often with long instrumental sections, and often avoiding the usual song structure of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus) owe it to themselves to check this band out - and this is a great place to start!
Band Members:
Joanne Hogg: Vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar
Dave Bainbridge: Acoustic & electric guitars
Troy Donockley: Flutes, whistles, pipes, etc.
Mike Haughton: Saxophone (has since left the band)
Phil Barker: Bass
Terl Bryant: Drums & a myriad of other percussion (has since left the band)
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