There are good albums, and there are bad albums. There are great albums and there are awful albums. All four of these are, in some cases unfortunately, not in short supply. But occasionally you come across an album that just almost defies rating. These albums --- and they are very few and far between, as you might expect --- stand out from the crowd. They're perfectly produced. They have no bad tracks. They flow perfectly. The singing is pristine or at least perfect according to the genre of the music. They never get old and we never get tired of hearing them. Some are classics, but many are not. Many, in fact, are undiscovered gems, unearthed either by pure chance or on the strength of a recommendation, and we thank our music gods that we did discover them.
They are flawless, impossible to criticise, pure, uncut diamonds in what is often a sea of costume jewellery, or at least relatively inexpensive Argos style accoutrements. They come, as I say, but seldom and when they do they are the more appreciated for it. They take our breath away, make us want to share them with everyone who would appreciate such music, and bring a shaft of light into a boring, dull day, making us see with new eyes and hear with new ears. And suddenly the world is young again, and so are we. If we've spent our hard-earned on these albums we are glad to have done so, to have received not only value for money but a virtual steal. And if we get them for free, then the pleasure is multiplied exponentially. These albums become the cream of our collection, taking the top spot often from older, more listened-to albums, demanding and earning their place at the top of the tree, because they are all, each and every one
Don't expect this section to be too regular. As I already pointed out, these sort of flawless albums come along far too seldom, and I think I can count the Perfect Tens I have heard on the fingers of one, maybe two hands. Even my close-to-favourite album ever, Marillion's “Script for a jester's tear”, though I love it, does not qualify, because there is one track I'm not totally crazy about. It's very hard for an album to achieve this status: it literally has to be perfect in every way, and so few are.
But this one is.
Epicloud --- Devin Townsend Project --- 2012 (HevyDevy)
I should really never have heard this album, so maybe it's fate that I had bought it as a bit of a dig out for Ki, and then some time later noticed it on my hard drive and thought I wonder what all the fuss is about? To be honest, the cover was intriguing anyway so I put it on, expecting to either love or hate it, but thinking I'll give it a few tracks and we'll see how we go. I knew nothing of Devin Townsend prior to this, bar one novelty cover of “New York, New York” which he wrote for the covers/tribute album “Sin-Atra!” which I reviewed some time ago. I had not been impressed, and so was really not expecting that much, but Ki was so adamant about how great this album was, and he's usually on the money.
I find that, personally, with albums --- particularly those from artistes from which I have never heard anything --- that it takes a track or two before I either get into it or give it up as a bad job. If I'm reviewing of course I seldom if ever stop the album, even if I think it is terrible. I like to give a proper review, quality of the music or its effect on me notwithstanding. So there's a warm-up period, where I'm either impressed by the opener, then let down by the second track, album recovers at the third and so on, or it can be that it starts badly but rallies. Of course, the tracks can go all over the place: one good, one bad, next one bad, next one worse, then a good one and so on. I eventually make my decision, and my impression is formed on the basis of how either the bad outweighs the good, or vice versa.
Imagine, then, my surprise when this album kicked off as it meant to go on, with a brilliant opening, as “Effervescent” comes in with an
acapella gospel choir, then kicks right into “True north”, a big guitar and a female vocal before the percussion thunders in on the back of mounting roaring guitar then a stupendous double vocal as Devin joins guest vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen, known to fans of Within Temptation among others. The song segues in completely seamlessly from the opening I guess introduction and it's --- yes get used to the word cause I'm going to be using it a lot here --- perfect. Keys from Devin then joins the song as it goes into a sort of progressive vein in the final minute before finishing on a choral reprise of “Effervescent”, making I guess the two tracks kind of one.
A hard, punching rock guitar and striding percussion with touches of post-punk pulls in “Lucky animals”, with a sort of shouted chorus, a vocal from Devin which puts me in mind of the very best of Meat Loaf. When I listened to the album the first time I told myself this is a standout. Little was I to know that this is basically an album of standouts, that each track improves on the next. It's quite amazing really. It piles into “Liberation”, a fast, heads-down rocker with a sense both of Slade and Bowie about it, the former in the vocal and the latter in the guitar riffs. Excellent drumming from Peter Van Poederooyen carries the song along with great energy and purpose, so that when Townsend sings
”Let's rock!” in the chorus, the only real response you can give is “
Fuck yeah!” Very Steinmaneaque backing vocals here, and they really complement the overall sound.
Townsend has used a full gospel choir, string section and horn section on this album, and it really shows in the thick, rich, full sound that every track seems to have. I'd almost describe it as a twenty-first century equivalent of the famous Phil Spector Wall of Sound. It just makes you feel like you're at a gig, in a cathedral or something. But then Devin does a total about-face and takes out the acoustic guitar for a soft, gentle ballad as “Where we belong” takes the stage. Utterly incredible that even now, with the tempo right down and the direction so changed that Devin fails to put even a toe wrong, never mind a foot. A powerful, emotional electric guitar takes the chorus as Van Poederooyen crashes in with the percussion, Devin's voice remaining relaxed and soulful as he sings
”I know what it's there for/ I know what it's worth.”
A soul-shredding guitar solo that almost sounds like a mandolin, but surely cannot be, as the song heads towards its passionate conclusion, and the wheel turns again, as “Save our now” kicks up the tempo and plunges us directly into a screeching guitar riff which then pulls in strong percussion and bass as Devin goes all pop, but somehow it's okay. You could really hear this playing on the radio, it's just that good. Van Giersbergen is back to lend her voice to proceedings, then the choir are in full flow for the chorus, and Anneke's contributions really help to make the song.
We're over halfway through the album now, so where's the tipping point? Most albums have a track at which the record peaks, and the next is not so good as the quality begins to deteriorate. Some rally at the end, some don't, plunging the album into a disappointing ending and making us wish it could all be like the ones before. But this one has no tipping point. There is not one single bad track on it, and as I listened, rapt and in disbelief, the first time, I kept expecting to hear the “downer” track, the one that would make me think okay, that was not so great but the rest has been brilliant up to now so I can forgive him one slip. No forgiveness is required. Devin keeps the quality at the very highest level right to the final note, and that's a rare thing. “Kingdom” rides on a heavy, machinegun guitar and pounding drumwork, with a growled vocal from Devin and a melody that so closely mirrors “Save our now” in ways that it's hard to realise we have passed from one track to the next. Seamless is definitely high in Devin Townsend's vocabulary.
The choir takes the song in the third minute --- it runs for just over five --- but Devin comes back, more powerful and passionate as the track begins to wind up. Is there time to catch your breath? There is. A spacey, rolling synth presages soft acoustic guitar as “Divine” gives us the album's second, but not last ballad, Devin knocking it right back down with a gentle vocal and a simple tune that somehow just fits in here perfectly. I would say “Grace” is a standout, but as I said they're all standouts. A simple acoustic guitar and a lovely vocal from Anneke soon develops into a full-blown effort from the choir, backing the band as the track, masquerading for a minute or so as a ballad, shows its true colours and pounds out of the traps, a rolling, thundering drumbeat and shattering guitar work metamorphosing it into a heavy tough rocker with an amazing chorus. It's also the longest track here, at just over six minutes.
The power and passion in this song simply has to be heard to be believed; it's almost epiphanic, and Van Giersbergen turns in a star performance on the vocals. There's not a whole lot in the lyric, to be fair, but even at that the song does not sound one second overstretched. The acoustic guitar returns in the last minute, to lead the song into its thundering conclusion. And you're just getting over the power of that when you're hit by the out-and-out thrash metal of “More!” It's almost like a different album, but it seems Townsend can turn his hand to anything, and this is fast and loud and frantic and as heavy as any metal band you care to name. A fast delivery on the chorus sets up a fist-pumping, chest-thumping shout of the title. You can feel the sweat rolling off, and indeed Devin is right:
”We want more!”
And we get it. “Lessons” is a short track, just barely over a minute, but employs some truly beautiful classical guitar and spacey floating synthwork to create a song that needs to be longer, but of necessity isn't, as we slide into “Hold on”, another soft ballad that develops the themes touched upon in “Lessons”, then powers up on heavy guitar with lovely keyboard arpeggios, tinkly piano and strings. Finally, breathless and exhausted, we arrive at the closer. Deep organ skirls and sweeps us into “Angel”, again carrying on the main melody of the previous track, so that it, and “Lessons” all sort of merge together as a closing trilogy. Another powerhouse performance from the choir, with every bandmember giving their all, not least of which is Devin, who also brings in a reprise of “Save our now” and carries this basic melody through six glorious closing minutes, in a fashion that in lesser artistes might be seen as a ploy, covering up for inadequacies in the song, but here it's just perfect. Although every song on this album deserves that honour, this strikes me as the only way to end this phenomenal juggernaut that pretends to be an album, but is so very much more. There's an unexpected
acapella by the gospel choir --- well, it's accompanied by a solo piano and I think bass but it's almost
acapella, and it, believe it or not, reprises “Effervescent” and brings down the curtain in the very finest style possible.
TRACKLISTING
1. Effervescent!
2. True north
3. Lucky animals
4. Liberation
5. Where we belong
6. Save our now
7. Kingdom
8. Divine
9. Grace
10. More
11. Lessons
12. Hold on
13. Angel
You know something? I never ever do this, but there's a special edition of the album that contains --- wait for it --- almost a whole other album. Another ten songs, and they are as good as the thirteen I've just reviewed. So in a break with tradition I'm going to review that album too, sort of separate but still a part of this review.
All of these tracks are shown as being demos, and the first one, “Believe” does sound slightly unfinished, though less so than some demos I've heard. It's an acoustic (at the moment) slow ballad with a low vocal , nice trickling percussion and great backing vocals, stripped down compared to a lot of the main album but still with its own character and definitely its own power. In the hands of another artiste, a song like “Happy birthday” would be a cause for worry, but not here. Like King Midas of myth, seems everything the T-man touches turns to pure gold, and again we have a superbly crafted mid-paced rock/pop song with Anneke taking the main vocal while Devin delivers some fine guitar to accompany her.
“Quietus” then channels The Cars at their best, with a lowdown, dirty guitar groove and a dark, menacing vocal that's almost muttered. Some great basswork here and some freaky synth too, gets very funky in places. A mix of uptempo blues and rockabilly starts off “Heatwave” with what sounds like upright bass and a kind of metallised vocal, reminds me of Elvis or Duane Eddie. “Love tonight” is another track that would be well at home on the radio, even in the charts, and yet retains for all its poppiness its sense of heavy, thanks to the amazing guitar sound. Vocal's a little muddy but then these are demo versions so you have to forgive that.
Really though, if these are just demos you have to wonder what the final product would/will sound like when finished. Few if any of these need any polishing up as far as I can hear, and could be slapped on an album of their own as they are. “The mind wasp” is a bit strange, sort of a tribal thing going on and a vocal that is very hard to make out but still interesting, while “Woah no!” fires everything off on all cylinders with a nasty violent guitar and an almost death metal vocal from Devin --- guess this is what he sounded like with Strapping Young Lad, eh? --- which then brings in lush keyboards and a great anthemic chorus. “Love and marriage” streamlines things a little after that, with another rocker but more restrained this time, a softer more manageable vocal with the song mostly driven on guitar, and the longest song on the extra disc --- longest overall really --- at over seven minutes blasts a killer guitar riff alongside a vocal that's fairly close to the one in “Grace” as “Socilaization” almost ends the second disc, breaking down into a kind of arabic theme with some gorgeous piano in the last two minutes.
And the album closes on “Little pig”, with a soft quiet walking bass, jazzy drums and a slow piano that reveals itself as a sort of folk/Country hybrid with a gentle vocal, a final contribution from Annele van Giersbergen. A sort of Pink Floyd vocal choir as in the likes of “Dark side” and “The Wall”, and we're out, leaving me for the second time somewhat speechless. These were supposed to be bonus tracks, which are usually not often of the highest calibre, but I could have listened to this as a separate album in its own right and still come away praising it to the heavens.
TRACKLISTING
1. Believe
2. Happy birthday
3. Quietus
4. Heatwave
5. Love tonight
6. The mind wasp
7. Woah no!
8. Love and marriage
9. Socialization
10. Little pig
It's pretty amazing how even a disc of extra tracks just adds to, rather than endangers, this album's rating of ten out out ten. There's still nothing I would rate as even approaching weak, and far from annoy me as bonus tracks do, this disc just made me want more. Since listening to this the first time I've downloaded all Devin Townsend's discography (though of course as usual I have yet to listen to any of it) and bought his new albums. He's definitely made a convert of me, and a fan.
Thanks again to Ki for the introduction; fate can move in mysterious ways certainly, and I'm glad that this particular path drove me towards this incredible album, and showed me that sometimes, if you're very lucky, perfection can be achieved.
As I said at the beginning, a totally flawless album. A true perfect ten.