Esoteric (label)
31 May 2017 (released)
08 July 2017
This is the latest of Esoteric’s reissues of Tim Blake’s catalogue of releases and definitely in line with his previous issues.
The album was originally released in 2000, combining new-age elements and strands of Prog, and is clearly a conception rather than part of a ‘career development’.
It should be pointed out that this album was released 9 years after his last – ‘Magick’ - and which was released over 8 years from the one before that – not that he had hidden away in all that time.
He had been playing live across Europe, guesting with many other bands and picking up a rich wealth of musical experiences along the way. Add to that his previous history with Hawkwind and Gong and you are clearly looking at a man with different and free-thinking talents.
As to the album itself, he opens with the faintly eerie ‘Nature L’ with mechanized voice over strong electro beat and with skittering synths in the back. That leads into the title track with a piano lead and the elements gradually building behind it – when the vocals come in the themes are almost all set but they are needed to give a focus to the music rather than the other way around. The sense of the track developing in phases is almost symphonic in nature.
Blake proves that he can write a song to tug at the heartstrings on ‘St Dolay’ which has echoes of Chris De Burgh (when he was any good) in the start & stop of the vocals. It is a beautiful song and a wonderful proof that Blake is about more than synths and beats.
Frankly, every track has charms aplenty including the brilliant ‘Byzantium Dancing’ – a mesmeric dance piece that draws the listener in and sends them dancing around the room – but to be honest I kept being drawn back to ‘St Dolay’ for its emotional impact and beauty.
A masterpiece by a man whose talents are many and whose voice is little heard. A must-have for music-lovers of the period.
