TRACK LIST:
Disc 1: Main program (100 min)
1. Woven Cord
2. Wave After Wave
3. Inside My Heart
4. Wind Off The Lake
5. A Dhia Ghleigil
6. Factory Of Magnificent Souls
7. Encircling
8. Strength
9. Treasure
10. Castlerigg / Reels
11. Irish Day
12. Bi-Se I mo Shuil-2
13. Flight Of The Wild Goose
14. Murlough Bay
Disc 2: Acoustic set (30 min)
1. Chi-Rho
2. Greenfields Of Canada
3. Edge Of The World
4. Jigs
5. Today
+ Interviews (with each member, 30 min)
LINEUP:
Dave Bainbridge - el. & ac. guitars, bouzouki; keyboards; programming
Troy Donockley - Uilleann pipes, whistles; bouzouki, ac. guitar; vocals
Joanne Hogg - lead vocals; keyboards; ac. guitar; shaker
Frank Van Essen - drums, percussion; violin
Phil Barker - bass
Prolusion.
You may laugh, but this DVD, "Live in London", is my first encounter with the living Folk Rock legend from England, IONA, although I have heard and reviewed Dave Bainbridge's solo album, "Veil of Gossamer", as well as his joint effort with Troy Donockley, "From Silence".
Disc 1
Analysis.
The DVD was filmed and recorded on November 18, 2004, at The University of
London, and the welcome Iona received there was surprisingly highly
enthusiastic. The performance took place in a small cozy music hall to a sold
out crowd, the audience (of no less than 250, I think) applauding most of the
songs, though at times their cheers are positively loud. Twice, after the
tenth and the twelfth numbers, the people gave the band a standing ovation,
so the last four of the fourteen pieces from the main program were played as
encores. The sound quality, the picture and the visual are excellent
throughout the DVD, though I don't remember the last time I had any complaints
about such productions, save for some of the 'festival' DVD releases. The
group's performance is truly artistic, highly spectacular, simply breathing a
living energy. With the exception of bassist Phil Barker, all the band members
appear to be veritable multi-instrumentalists, masterfully wielding all their
instruments (see lineup above, and please note that drummer Frank Van Essen
plays also a violin), Dave Bainbridge and Troy Donockley often alternating
theirs with each other during the same song. Joan Hogg is more than merely a
gifted vocalist. It's amazing to see and hear how free-'n'-easily she sings
on stage, taking pitches as high as A-flat without any strain. Most of all
however, I am impressed with the performance of the two central soloing voices
in this show, Troy and Dave, especially the latter, who is undoubtedly the
main purveyor of progressiveness for the group's sound. The interplay between
Dave and Troy (especially when they play electric guitar and Uilleann pipes
respectively) is always highly impressive, but since the Celtic tunes that
Iona use as a basis for many of their songs are primarily repetitive, it always
works to the best progressive effect when Dave leaves Troy providing central
storylines to do improvisations on them. No matter that these are rock
improvisations, not jazz - it's breathtaking to follow the flight of Dave's
fantasy in such situations. I only regret that he starts his free flight on
not all the songs, and not as frequently as I would like him to, playing as
he does more often in unison with Troy. I clearly understand that Iona's
audience would have noticeably decreased had Dave improvised ceaselessly,
but this is what my prog-tuned head computer:-) is eager for. In short, some
of the songs in the set reveal many distinct progressive elements, and some
are Prog-tinged at best, which however doesn't diminish their pan-musical
value. But having said all this, I must make one reservation: I am far from
thinking of foisting my tastes on anyone, especially in such cases as this -
when the music is so unique and mesmerizing that it's irresistible in almost
any of its manifestations. So I'd better comment only on those songs that suit
my personal likes better than the others. The two instrumentals,
Woven Cord and Flight Of The Wild Goose, and the four songs,
Wave After Wave, Wind Off The Lake, Encircling and Bi-Se I mo
Shuil-2 (all featuring large instrumental sections) are definitely
progressive without being cerebral, remaining highly attractive even at their
most atmospheric, ambient and ballad-like moments. Encircling has a
sense of Japanese music in places, perhaps because some of the sounds Dave
elicits from his synthesizer resemble those of Koto. Inside My Heart
is also a highlight, although different, acoustically symphonic, with plenty
of unique pizzicatos elicited by both Troy and Dave from their acoustic guitars.
Treasure finds Joan singing and playing acoustic guitar simultaneously.
While being vocal-heavy, with a relatively simple basic theme, this creation
has a very saturated instrumental background, the players weaving a really
intricate web of patterns throughout.
Prolusion.
IONA has been together since 1989. Over the course of the band's career, they have produced five studio albums, two live, and have a new studio album, "The Circling Hour", due to be released later this year. Their music is a blend of Celtic, folk, ambient and progressive rock. They take their name for a small island off the coast of Scotland; an island which played a pivotal role in Celtic Christianity's influence in Britain during the middle ages.
Disc 1
Analysis.
Admittedly an unabashed fan of Iona, when I heard there was going to be a live concert DVD, I was eager for its release. Living in the heartland of the USA, as I do, this is most likely the closest I'll have to joining the crowd at one of their gigs. The DVD does not disappoint. The sound quality is excellent and the camera work provides plenty of closeups of the band, frequently focusing on the instruments, as well as the players. It's a joy to see them they play. One of the beauties of viewing a concert in DVD format could be compared to watching a sporting event with all the closeup cameras and various angles, details that would be missed sitting way back in a crowd. Woven Cord takes off full throttle, demonstrating Iona's ability to shift tempos and their prowess and finese at the blending of Celtic elements with driving rock. Phil's acoustic is gone and a solid body is laying down the bass line now (see Disk 2 info, as the sets are presented in reverse from the concert) and Frank is well ensconsed in his drumset. One of Iona's trademarks is the use of Troy's Uillean pipes played opposite Dave's electric, as some bands might utilize double lead guitars. Dave's guitar tone fits perfectly in tandem with the pipes. Wave After Wave, the second from "Open Sky", is introduced by a very pretty violin line. Joanne is the sole lead vocalist. Her strong, clear voice rings out in this song, another hallmark of the Iona sound. Wave After Wave begins quietly, contemplatively, soothingly, but grows and builds through the song. There are so many little nuances that add so much character to this song. Joanne's gentle phrasings early on, then a little bass line flourish, some bouzouki comes through, more vocals, the guitar building steadily with Joanne's vocals to the end. Before Inside My Heart, the crowd is warned that Dave may self combust by song's end. This song also begins gently, the vocals encircled by double acoustic guitars, but midway the firey electric guitar solo cranks the temperature way up, but fortunately does not also spontaneously set Mr. Bainbridge ablaze. At this point the band introduces three tunes from the upcoming studio release, "The Circling Hour". Wind off the Lake begins with Uillean pipes taking the lead in a strong Celtic direction, but suddenly the mood shifts with the introduction of a world beat rhythm and Troy and Joanne sharing vocals transiting to a guitar solo, echoing the original melody established by the pipes. All the time, Phil and Frank's rhythm work dances beneath the melodies. A Dhia Ghleigil provides a bit of rest, a beautiful low whistle solo over synth backing. Factory of Magnificent Souls is a tribute to Nelson Mandela and the island prison where he lived out 28 years of his life, based on a poem which gives the song its title. Musically, it is upbeat, with an underlying rhythm sounding like hammered dulcimer. Lyrically, it tells of the beauty of the island given a cruel purpose, but there is a place that produced "magnificent souls". Encircling provides a great example of how Iona continues to allow songs to evolve from their original recordings, not slaves to the original studio recordings, yet retaining the essence of the original. Again, at this point I marvel at the clarity of the audio! The various elements are so crisp and true, yet the sound is warm, never harsh in its clarity. Encircling is Iona at their progressive best, shifting and sliding effortlessly from section to section, mood to contrasting mood and it runs the gamut from ethereal to powerful rock. Strength is the third and final song from the new. It sings of various strengths found in nature and in relationships. Wind off the Lake and Factory of Magnificent Souls & Strength are appetizers for the upcoming album. Treasure is a lively light rock song. Joanne joins Dave in the guitar work, stepping from her keyboard for the first time in the show. "Where your treasure is, there is your heart". The set winds down with the lively Castlerigg and Reels, traditionally styled Celtic instrumentals. Did I say wind down? Hardly. This is high stepping, fast and furious Irish dance music, the sort of music that gets the blood pumping and the crowd fired up, which it does. The audience manages to bring the band out for the first encore, consisting of Irish Day and Be-Se I Part 2. This is a strong prog number with a haunting melody sung in Gaelic. The tempo and complexity increases as the instrumental section takes over, with exchanges between Donockley's low whistle and Bainbridge's guitar work all the way to the final chord. After bows and waves and thrown kisses, the band leaves the stage, only to be called back yet again for a final encore. Upon their return, Joanne says in her lovely Irish brogue, "it's time for bed". Flight of the Wild Goose and Murlough Bay complete disk one.
