Ocean (Eloy album)
Occupation
- Vocals, Electric Guitar: Frank Bornemann
- Keyboard, vocals Detlev Schmidtchen
- E- Bass, Vocals: Klaus -Peter Matziol
- Drums, Vocals: Jürgen Rosenthal
Ocean is the sixth and most commercially successful album of the band Eloy. It represents a concept album about the mythical city of Atlantis and its demise, intended as a hint to the threatening situation of all mankind.
Formation
The music emerged in many parts of the former rehearsal room the band, a bunker from the Second World War. Due to increasing business commitments Frank Bornemann, however, did not participate in the usual amount of the samples. Some ideas such as the chorus at the end of Poseidon's Creation were first born in the studio; the first half of Atlantis Agony ... should have Detlev Schmidtchen composed in a single morning.
For the substantive statements can be attacked again back to Jürgen Rosenthal, who had already brought the album title into play. Rosenthal worked with great effort in his desire theme, but said nothing to the other band members persistently over from. You let him, with the result that at the beginning of the studio work yet there were no texts. The writing of the texts was thus reserved nightly overtime, placing in the quasi finished instrumental recordings found with the proverbial hot needle instead of (quote Frank Bornemann: " No sooner had the ink dried, I had to sing ").
The album was recorded in Cologne in September and October of 1977 in Sound Studio N. Again Georgi Nedeltschev worked as a sound engineer for the band. He contributed a lot of creative ideas to sound effects and intense and very friendly co-operation is also referred to as the fifth member of that cast for you.
Speaker roles for the songs " Incarnation of Logos" and " Atlantis ' Agony at June 5th - 8498, 13 pm Gregorian Earth Time" were taken over by Detlev Schmidtchen and Jürgen Rosenthal.
The album was released in December 1977 on LP and compact cassette in 1988 on CD. 2004, a remastered CD reissue was released.
Furthermore, in 1998, appeared under the title "Ocean II - The Answer " is an album of the band, which has the character of a sequel to the concept of the album.
Cover
The album cover is from a painting by the Polish artist Wojtek Siudmak entitled " The Tempest " (after the eponymous play by William Shakespeare).
It shows a muscular male torso, which is wearing a chlamys and carrying a scepter with a skull at the top. Neck and head can not be seen, instead, decomposes the body of the neck in small tiles, accept their fragments in the form of a floating body on the spiral galaxy. In the background, the atmosphere of a planet can be seen with clouds. The figure perched gigantic on a rocky island in the middle of the sea, at a sailing ship was shipwrecked.
Klaus -Peter Matziol and Jürgen Rosenthal discovered the painting in an art book, and smote it because of the obvious proximity of motif and album concept as a cover before.
It was also for the subsequent compilation " Wings of vision" (EMI Canada ST- 6482, 1980) used as cover. Also in "Ocean II - The Answer" a painting by Wojtek Siudmak was used for the cover, this time a 1974 painted picture, entitled " Amour éternel ".
Title list
The music was composed by all band members, all texts were written by Jürgen Rosenthal. But there is also the indication that Frank Bornemann has compositionally significant exposure to only the first and third tracks ( the previously mentioned frequent business obligations due ).
Poseidon's Creation is considered the Eloy - time classic and was founded in 1993 for the compilation " Chronicles I" re-recorded (but without Rosenthal / Schmidtchen ).
Concept
Jürgen Rosenthal has explained his concept in a specially written prologue. Shortened Stark, one could say that the inhabitants of Atlantis were doomed despite the very best conditions, as selfishness and greed began to dominate their lives more and more and that all of humanity is precisely on the best ways to suffer this fate again. The belief in the approaching end of the world ( still own lifetime ) is also expressed later times, most recently in the booklet of the compilation " Timeless Passages " from the year 2003.
In the booklet of the CD reissue of 2004, Jürgen Rosenthal, quoted on the concept of the album as follows:
" For me it was primarily concerned to draw a comparison between Atlantis [ ... ] and the present time. There is so much inexplicable and undiscovered. [ ... ] With "Ocean" I also wanted to say that the origin of all life comes from water, Atlantis, however, is lost in the sea. "
The concept is also reflected in the caption of the extended record cover, which reads:
" Prologue worlds atomize and oceans evaporate into eternity! it erects out of the darkness, laughs into the glimmering light and Disappears ... "
" prologue Worlds disintegrate into atoms and oceans evaporate into eternity! The man rises from the darkness, laughs in the glimmering light and disappears ... "
The text of the opening song " Poseidon's Creation" adheres to the traditional Plato Atlantis texts and describes after a long instrumental opening of the nature of Atlantis, as the sea god Poseidon in the living there Virgin Kleito love and testifies ten children with her, he makes them rulers over the people of Atlantis.
The following " Incarnation of Logos" depicts the corresponding arrival and spread of humans on the continents of the earth, which shows that people can withstand only in groups of hostile environment. This coexistence describes the text as a cause for the development of relations of domination and oppression. The name "Logos " is the Greek word for reason.
" Decay of Logos" is then held a rocking song in the text of an unspecified ruler is accused by his subjects as a selfish, power-hungry and fraudulent.
" Atlantis ' Agony at June 5th - 8498, 13 pm Gregorian Earth Time" opens with a spoken intro, in which the decision of the gods will be carried forward to punish the people who live now without reason and to destroy. Then follows a long, worn by spherical keyboard sounds section in which it is reported that " divine missile " had been sent on their way. Subsequently, the people's perspective is shown, which have no memories of their transgressions, but watch the "liquid fire " destroyed their world in the sky. The following is a note that the rocks of Atlantis had fallen by the action of man, but could rise again by human power, and soon all such secrets would be revealed. Finally, it is commented that humanity is like a particle in the ocean and had to show mercy.
Criticism and reception
Immediately after release of the album the band for " Ocean" has received numerous bad reviews from the local trade press, while the reactions from abroad failed relaxed. Commercially, the album was very successful and was twice as often sold according to the band in the first few months after the release of approximately 200,000 copies as its predecessor. In the album charts, it reached a maximum of 28 course and was in this respect, only surpassed by his successor " Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes", which reached number 17.
In April 1995, Eloy received a gold record for Ocean. The number of discs sold is said to have then already be over 300,000 copies.
The website of the " German -speaking [n ] Prog encyclopedia " Baby Blue Pages album as part of a "Guide " was on " German prog of the 70s " highlighted as a defining work, but also controversial in hindsight.
In most cases, the strong German accent of Bornemann and Rosenthal in the sung or spoken in English texts has been criticized. It was also the long, reminiscent of Pink Floyd Introduction to " Atlantis ' Agony at June 5th - 8498, 13 pm Gregorian Earth Time" criticized:
" Perhaps the only downside is the over long lead-in to" Atlantis ' Agony .... " "
" Perhaps the only weak point is the long introduction to " Atlantis ' Agony .... " "
All in all, the album is very appreciated by critics today:
" This is one of the two or three" must have " Eloy albums. Overall Rating: Excellent "
"This is one of the two or three Eloy albums that you absolutely need. Rating: Excellent "
In addition, the album peaked on the website Prog Archives at 103 ratings an average rating of 4.33 out of a possible 5, which represents the best average rating of an album of the band.
Trivia
" Poseidon's Creation" excerpts are used in the Tatort episode " Downhill Racer " (1980).
" Decay of Logos" introduced the band in the ZDF program " Rockpop " before (March 4, 1978 only playback ).