Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Eloy
Label: Soulfood
Release: 2014
Duration: 2:17:26
Rating: 5/5
»Reincarnation On Stage«, the double live album from German prog rock legends Eloy, is only their second live release ever, after »Live« all the way back in 1978, which feels almost unbelievable for a band that’s been around for more than forty years. Another live recording, »Live Impressions«, did come out in 2013, but only as a DVD, whereas »Reincarnation On Stage« is available in both formats, meaning two CDs and a DVD. A ton of new material has piled up since the late seventies, the lineup has changed more than once, and the band even broke up and got back together along the way. In 2009 they quite unexpectedly dropped the solid studio album »Visionary«, and two years later the Eloy lineup shifted again. The crew of top-notch musicians led by cult guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer Frank Bornemann (some of you may remember his production work with the cult German metallers Heavens Gate), the only original member, was joined by rhythm guitarist Steve Mann, so for the first time since 1984 Eloy have two guitarists again. Mann’s status is still unclear, since he isn’t listed as an official member in the »Reincarnation On Stage« booklet, but he’s been backing the band at live shows since 2011.
The new Eloy lineup recorded »Reincarnation On Stage« during the 2012/13 tour of Germany and Switzerland, a double live feast packed with some of the best songs from nearly every chapter of their sprawling career. Contrary to popular belief, Eloy were never part of the German krautrock scene. They had far more in common with British space rock (in the early days) and later, especially, with symphonic prog rock, which comes through in every track on »Reincarnation On Stage«. Across the performances captured for this live release, Eloy are in truly top form, and at times you almost forget the respectable age of most of the members of this cult band. Bornemann remains a fantastic guitarist, one of the best on the German rock scene. Plenty of people used to call him the ‘German answer to David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)’, but over the decades he’s developed a pretty distinctive guitar style, and he can still surprise with the odd guitar phrase that’s closer to hard rock than to traditional symphonic prog.
Frank’s trademark German accent has improved a lot over the last two decades, so his vocals now sound almost better than ever, while Eloy wouldn’t be Eloy without three female vocalists on stage, whose harmonies make up the lion’s share of the mighty, epic atmosphere that takes over most of the performances. The excellent lead singer Alexandra Seubert often takes over from Bornemann when the demanding high parts come around, while she gets fantastic company from backing vocalists Tina Lux and Anke Renner, and all three of them deserve a deep bow. Long before Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon) decided to make space rock operas with a rotating cast of female singers, Eloy had already created numerous studio masterpieces together with guest vocalists.
Another trademark and special strength of modern Eloy is the pair of keyboards played by two longtime keyboardists, Michael Gerlach (a member since the late eighties) and Hannes Folberth (who worked with them already in the first half of the eighties), who complement each other beautifully when laying down synthesizer textures from different eras of Eloy history. Bassist Klaus-Peter Matziol is, alongside Bornemann, the oldest member of the band and the only one who played on the classic Eloy albums of the seventies like »Dawn« (1976), »Ocean« (1977) and »Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes« (1979). His melodic bass lines keep company with the complex drum fills of Bodo Schopf, who has been in the band since 1998.
It all kicks off with a short ambient, space rock piece called »Namaste« (the title is a South Asian form of greeting or farewell), a deeply spiritual moment for the band, especially for Bornemann, who has been through all the ups and downs of this legendary group, as it tries to touch the souls of the audience right at the start of the show. Then comes the transition into »Child Migration«, an unforgettable Eloy evergreen from the album »Colours« (1980). Thanks to Frank’s guitar phrases, Eloy show a bit of hard rock bite here, but otherwise it’s an authentic symphonic prog classic where both keyboardists get plenty of room to lay down synthesizer textures.
With a superb version of the standard »Paralysed Civilisation« from »Ocean 2: The Answer« (1998), the band proves that their newer material is every bit as good as the long-standing classics, while the guest singers dazzle for the first time with backing harmonies that deepen the mighty, ethereal atmosphere. With »Mysterious Monolith« they head back to the eighties, specifically the classic album »Planets« (1981), and play one of the best songs of their career in an incredibly dynamic way. After all these years it finally gets an official live interpretation, for everyone who never got the chance to see Eloy ‘up close’ in the eighties.
»Age of Insanity«, where the singers once again get to shine on the main chorus, is one of the best tracks on »Visionary«, which was a rather average effort by their usual standards but still held quite a few lovely surprises. The keyboard improvisations between the two guitarists are so exquisite that plenty of longtime fans might well get misty-eyed at all this instrumental (and vocal) brilliance, because Eloy classics haven’t sounded this good live in ages. The »Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes« evergreen »The Apocalypse«, with its gradual, dynamic build-up of tense atmosphere, especially when Bornemann really cuts loose with a heart-wrenching guitar solo and Seubert pulls off a proper vocal opera, is one of the many highlights of this live recording. »Silhouette«, another classic from the excellent album »Colours«, from which Eloy played a good number of songs that night, is the moment when the ‘retro’ synthesizer textures of the eighties take over. Here Eloy once again show how good they are at tighter, more compact symphonic epics too.
The epic treat »Poseidon’s Creation«, yet another highlight of the night, takes them back to »Ocean«, the legendary concept album about the rise and fall of Atlantis, which many Eloy fans still consider their best. »Time To Turn«, an unforgettable atmospheric trip through distant galaxies from the album of the same name (1982), once again gives all three guest singers a great chance to show what they can do, while Frank shines with his melancholic guitar passages. With a gorgeous performance of the ethereal odyssey »The Sun-Song«, where stunningly lavish symphonic arrangements flow into each other, Eloy also remember the masterpiece »Dawn«, on which Bornemann and Matziol first joined forces in 1976. The band glides brilliantly between material from three different eras. On the »Colours« opener evergreen »Horizons«, with its almost iconoclastic guitar phrase, the guest vocalists take the lead role again. During the epic, punchy »Colours« classic »Illuminations«, dominated by mighty mini moog passages, band leader Bornemann is back in the spotlight with an extremely energetic vocal performance and a hard rock approach to picking the guitar strings.
The second disc is just as stuffed with lovely surprises, starting with the opener, the »Metromania« (1984) standard »Follow the Light«. This is the moment when, amid waves of symphonic sound and moving guitar passages, Bornemann and Seubert trade off the lead vocals in a phenomenal way and create an unforgettable atmosphere, which you could call yet another highlight of »Reincarnation On Stage«. »Ocean 2: The Answer«, the sequel to the cult masterpiece »Ocean«, is an album Eloy love to look back on, so it’s no surprise they play the epic »Awakening of Consciousness« from it, proving why they’re still among the most beloved German prog rock heroes today. They would have played on American soil for the first time in 2012 (at the North East art rock festival) if an injury hadn’t unexpectedly stopped Frank.
»The Tides Return Forever«, the title track of the 1994 album of the same name, is another of the ambient triumphs of this double live recording, as all three singers, led by Seubert, whose divine vocal performance here almost eclipses Pink Floyd’s famous collaborator Clare Torry, conjure up an unforgettable atmosphere. It sounds like it’s not from this world. This phenomenal rendition of the most vocally demanding song in Eloy history alone earns this live document a special place in the collection of every fan of classic progressive rock.
The band then goes digging again for thousand-year-old secrets buried under the Egyptian sands, through an outrageously good version of the mystical masterpiece »Ro Setau«, which first appeared on »Ocean 2: The Answer«. The three vocalists once again create a unique ‘cosmic’ atmosphere, while the melancholic harmonies between synths and guitar deepen the all-pervading ancient mystery even further. You can feel the great vibe between band and audience in almost every song, and it’s nice to hear that the individual performances haven’t been given any overly obvious studio polishing. »Mystery«, from their latest studio effort »Visionary«, sounds no worse live than the longtime evergreens, while the »Ocean« standard »Decay of Logos« is a reminder of the era when Eloy enjoyed their greatest recognition and set numerous standards for concept albums.
Still, an Eloy show wouldn’t be complete without the legendary, (post)apocalyptic epic treat »Atlantis Agony At June 5th 8498, 13 PM Gregorian Earth Time«, which of course also comes from the album »Ocean« and carries a warning to future generations (including ours) about what happens when people start acting like gods in their arrogance. This is another of the ambient peaks of this live recording, which also includes one »The Power and the Passion« (1975) classic, namely »The Bells of Notre Dame«, the closing chapter of that epic concept about a scientist’s son traveling through time to the Middle Ages (and back to the present). With the short »Visionary« anthem »Thoughts«, Eloy triumphantly close their live set, on which they sound reborn the whole way through, if not like a much younger band than they really are.
»Reincarnation On Stage« is practically a landmark live document for the German progressive rock scene, performed by the most important German band in the whole movement. It seems somewhat ironic that this double live masterpiece, one of the best achievements of their rich and varied career, came out at a time when many had once again written them off too quickly and weren’t seriously counting on them anymore, even though with »Visionary« they made it clear they were back. Eloy may have gotten a bit ‘rusty’ in the studio, but that’s exactly why they’re more convincing ‘live’ than ever before.
Lineup
Frank Bornemann – guitar, vocals
Michael Gerlach – keyboards
Hannes Folberth – keyboards
Klaus-Peter Matziol – bass
Bodo Schopf – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Steve Mann – guitar
Alexandra Seubert – vocals
Tina Lux – backing vocals
Anke Renner – backing vocals
Production
Frank Bornemann
Tracklist
CD1:
1. Namaste (2:49)
2. Child Migration (5:26)
3. Paralized Civilization (7:56)
4. Mysterious Monolith (6:40)
5. Age Of Insanity (7:12)
6. The Apocalypse (11:09)
7. Silhouette (3:58)
8. Poseidon’s Creation (11:24)
9. Time To Turn (4:20)
10. The Sun-Song (5:11)
11. Horizons (4:09)
12. Illuminations (6:30)
CD2:
1. Follow The Light (8:00)
2. Awakening Of Consciousness (5:55)
3. The Tides Return Forever (7:03)
4. Ro Setau (7:02)
5. Mystery (8:58)
6. Decay Of Logos (8:20)
7. Atlantis’ Agony At June 5th 8498,13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime (7:55)
8. The Bells Of Notre Dame (5:49)
9. Thoughts (1:40)
