| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Taking The Veil | | | | | |
| 2. Laughter And Forgetting | | | | | |
| 3. Before The Bullfight | | | | | |
| 4. Gone To Earth | | | | | |
| 5. Wave | | | | | |
| 6. River Man | | | | | |
| 7. Silver Moon | | | | | |
| 8. The Healing Place | | | | | |
| 9. Answered Prayers | | | | | |
| 10. Where The Railroad Meets The Sea | | | | | |
| 11. The Wooden Cross | | | | | |
| 12. Home | | | | | |
| 13. Upon This Earth | | | | | |
David Sylvian is something of an anomaly, in that his music actually improved during the mid-1980s.
1986, of course, was not the best of all possible years for musicians with "progressive" or "art rock" tendencies. With the singles charts increasingly determining the success or failure of various acts, many talented musicians curtailed their more adventurous projects in favour of streamlined pop/AOR numbers. Yet Gone To Earth shows evidence of an artist ignoring this trend entirely.
Sylvian first came into the public eye in the mid-to-late 1970s as the frontman for Japan. Their earliest works are generally regarded as disposable glam-rock; their later works show signs of expanded musical horizons (and cultural horizons, for that matter). After Japan's fragmentation, Sylvian went even further in exploring extended song forms, using various jazz and art-rock techniques on his first solo album, Brilliant Trees.
On Gone To Earth, he goes even further in this direction. Many of the songs on this release are best defined as extended art songs, and the second half is primarily devoted to a series of sparse instrumentals. The album also benefits from the presence of Robert Fripp, who is given a leading role on many of the tracks -- those who liked the more recent Sylvian/Fripp releases will probably find much to appreciate here as well.
Sylvian's primary songwriting ability is his skill at descriptive lyrics, simultaneously conveying stark images and general mental states (that he became increasingly interested in Chinese and Japanese culture during the 1980s is probably not coincidental.) Although his lyrics often contain quasi-Taoist depictions of mental quietism and/or passivity which I find somewhat questionable, his skill at conveying the moods in question is undeniable.
Much of the album focuses on themes of personal liberty and harmony. I've commented in the past (see the Tentative Review for Toyah's Prostitute) that these themes seem to be deliberately "male-oriented" in terms of the mindsets which they describe (which is not the same as suggesting that the album was targeted to a male demographic). As such, "Taking The Veil" is a somewhat atypical number here, focusing on a young girl's childhood dreams of joining a spiritual order (with more serious decisions implied via metaphor, of course). From a music standpoint, the song is fairly spacious without being terribly long -- the musical development through the piece generally doesn't intrude upon the mood, and Fripp's solo in the middle section is quite notable. Similarities to the Fripp/Summers album I Advance Masked can probably be found without too much difficulty. This isn't a landmark piece for Sylvian (whose voice sounds extremely like Bryan Ferry's here), but it's a decent start for the album.
The brief "Laughter And Forgetting" sets the tone for the rest of the album. Sylvian's lyrics speak of concrete images (ie. horses, ground, rain) used in describing a particular mental state -- this isn't quite they most profound section on the album, but its quite good nevertheless. The brass accompaniment works well with the sparse nature of the piece. This tracks then segues into the extremely impressive "Before The Bullfight", a number devoted to the meditations of the romantic gladiator prior to his performance; whatever one may think of the theme itself, Sylvian's depiction of the character's mental isolation is done amazingly well. Fripp's guitar line uses much the same tone as the previous brass presence. This is an epic work, and a very substantial one as well -- it may be the best number on the album.
"Gone To Earth" continues the theme of mental discipline for specific purposes -- this lyric mentions martial skills in conjunction with the complete immersion of the individual into a specific "inner peace". Fripp's unaccompanied guitar line is amazingly harsh here, as per the nature of the discipline in question (could this be indicative of his subsequent teaching methods in the League of Crafty Guitarists, one wonders?). The fairly brief track ends with a "solo" from Fripp, with emphasis on the abrasive ambience of the tones.
Following this, Sylvian provides another extended track. "Wave" begins with a guitar solo over a musical backing rather akin to that of the opening track. The lyrics here are extremely impressive -- Sylvian is one of the few individuals who can take cliche-sounding phrases ("I'll run to you", etc) and give them some degree of meaning within a greater context; as such, this "love" song doesn't come off as at all trite or frivolous. Collins and Fripp share the same tonal ground again, although not at the same time; Fripp's solo at the end of the track is quite developed and impressive (and the allusion to Frippertronics at the very end is a nice touch). Another easy highlight.
"River Man" isn't quite as good, but it comes close. The track begins with a stronger bass presence than before, oddly similar to "Walking On The Moon", by The Police, at that. The lyrics are again impressive, focusing on strong water imagery and a powerful sense of union with the river in question (shades of Siddhartha?). Fripp again has a strong presence, spinning out gorgeous tones in the space provided. An instrumental section follows the lyrical climax.
The album takes a minor step downwards with "Silver Moon", a track which seems to have been intended as the "pop single" of the album. This lament for lost freedom is less successful at transforming its rather general lyrics into a more appropriate context, and the song suffers accordingly; the music too, even with Fripp, isn't a highlight of the release.
Perhaps symbolic of the need for Sylvian to seek a purified state after this obvious compromise, the album then turns to a number of sparse, instrumental tracks. "The Healing Place" begins with a vocal sample regarding the functioning of systems within society (perhaps the strongest evidence of some contribution by Fripp in the general theme of the work, even though he may not be on this particular track). The instruments on this track seem to exist primarily for the purpose of sonic texturing. The end result is not lulling, but purifying nevertheless.
The next two tracks are shorter works, never quite developing to the same extent as those works surrounding it. "Answered Prayers" is another work based on minimalist tone colouring, with a somewhat developed guitar line appearing in stark contrast to the rest of the work. "Where The Railroad Meets The Sea" is a gentler piece, despite its utter lack of reliance on synthesized atmospherics. The sense of discovery inherent in the title is relayed in the music as well. A piano adds a few dissonant moments.
"The Wooden Cross" sees the return of synthesized backing tracks, with sustained tones providing the better part of the thematic development. This track also seems to incorporate a few repeated loop techniques, though, again, Fripp doesn't seem to be on this particular number. This is an extremely stark track, and successful as such.
"Home" begins with another guitar line similar to those used on I Advance Masked. This work also features a more developed melodic basis than the others in this ambient series, with Eastern themes entering on various occasions. The presence of flugelhorns at the end of the track seems more than a bit odd in the context of the track; perhaps they represent the return of the music to "familiar", earthly realms. One way or the other, though, it works fairly well.
The album then ends with "Upon This Earth", beginning with another vocal sample (of an out-of-body experience, this time). After another musical passage similar to the earlier Fripp/Summers works, Fripp provides one final guitar solo prior to the conclusion of the track (and a rather impressive solo at that). Ending with a lamentation of sorts, the album concludes on a fairly strong note.
This is unquestionably a significant album for fans of both David Sylvian and Robert Fripp, and is strongly recommended to those with an interest in either artist. Listening to this album, one is tempted to ask whether or not Sylvian would have made a better front-man for the present version of King Crimson than Adrian Belew -- my own feeling is that he probably would have, although this would seem to be immaterial at the moment (especially with the division of KC into various sub-projects).
In any event, Gone To Earth remains strongly recommended.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 27 March 1998)