Veil of Gossamer [Import]

1. Chanting Waves

2. Over The Waters

3. Veil Of Gossamer

4. Seen And The Unseen

5. Everlasting Hills (Part 1)

6. Everlasting Hills (Part 2)

7. Everlasting Hills (Part 3)

8. Everlasting Hills (Part 4)

9. Everlasting Hills (Part 5)

10. Seahouses

11. Until The Tide Turns

12. Homeward Race

13. Star-Filled Skies (Part 1)

14. Star-Filled Skies (Part 2)

15. Star-Filled Skies (Part 3)

16. Star-Filled Skies (Part 4)

Tracks:

Chanting Waves
Over The Waters
Veil Of Gossamer
The Seen And The Unseen
The Everlasting Hills: Part 1
The Everlasting Hills: Part 2
The Everlasting Hills: Part 3
The Everlasting Hills: Part 4
The Everlasting Hills: Part 5
Sea Houses
Until The Tide Turns
The Homeward Race
Star-Filled Skies: Part 1
Star-Filled Skies: Part 2
Star-Filled Skies: Part 3
Star-Filled Skies: Part 4

Product Description

1. Chanting Waves
2. Over The Waters
3. Veil Of Gossamer
4. The Seen And The Unseen
5. The Everlasting Hills Part One
6. The Everlasting Hills Part Two
7. The Everlasting Hills Part Three
8. The Everlasting Hills Part Four
9. The Everlasting Hills Part Five
10. Seahouses
11. Until The Tide Turns
12. The Homeward Race
13. Star-Filled Skies Part One
14. Star-Filled Skies Part Two
15. Star-Filled Skies Part Three
16. Star-Filled Skies Part Four

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Dave Bainbridge is a modern day genius........2005-09-29

I have been anticipating this album by Dave Bainbridge ever since I heard that he was working on it on the Iona website(...). I have been a huge fan a IONA for years now, of which Dave has been a large portion of the bands success. Dave's guitar playing is flawless. He can shred with the best of them, yet even in his times of super fast speed runs, his note selection is always unique yet perfect. His acoustic playing is totally innovative, and mindboggling. His synthetic patches are better than any I have ever heard. I actually hated synth, and still do most of it, but Dave has made synth sounds that are not cheezy like the norm, but earthy and natural, yet he speaks through them of the supernatural like no other. As a composer and writer he is a modern day genius. I absolutley love the history of the celtic christianity that is always included in his(and IONA's) work. Dave is a true artist, and craftsmen who speaks of the mysteries of God's kingdom, and inspires the heart like none other. Let no hesitation stop you from buying this album, or any of the IONA albums that Dave has been a mastermind behind.

Passionate Perfection.......2005-07-13

This is the best recording I have listened to in years, and I will never get tired of it. It is a classic in all respects. Not only does it include all my favorite styles of music-- Celtic, rock, classical, worship-- but it enlists my entire being to take it all in. Genius of composition and virtuousity of performance come together to express a wide range of thoughts and moods in what is a musical experience that is rare indeed. Layers of beautiful instrumentation, fascinating rhythmical textures, angelic voices and mystical lyrics all fabulously work together to showcase what I consider the best feature of all: Bainbridge's soaring electric guitar work. No one sings as he does. "Veil of Gossamer" is a masterpiece.

Average customer rating:

A Look Inside the Soul Of A Brilliant Guitarist
Passionate Perfection
A Musical Banquet
Imaginative Solo Effort and a Work of Beauty (4.5 stars)

Veil of Gossamer
Dave Bainbridge
Manufacturer: Vivid Sound
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0002O09PA

Tracks:

Chanting Waves
Over the Waters
Veil of Gossamer
Seen and the Unseen
Everlasting Hills, Pt.1
Everlasting Hills, Pt.2
Everlasting Hills, Pt.3
Everlasting Hills, Pt.4
Everlasting Hills, Pt.5
Seahouses
Until the Tide Turns
Homeward Race
Star-Filled Skies, Pt.1
Star-Filled Skies, Pt.2
Star-Filled Skies, Pt.3
Star-Filled Skies, Pt.4

Customer Reviews:

A Look Inside the Soul Of A Brilliant Guitarist.......2005-07-15

Dave Bainbridge has been around since the 80s and is probably more associated with Iona than anything else he has done. The reason is because I think Dave will always have a kinship to Iona. Having said that, he is one of most creative English guitarist around. I think he's as great as other English virtuoso guitarists like John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, and Steve Howe to name a few. He's definitely as talented as any of them.

"Veil of Gossamer" is a concept album. The music is very much a cross between progressive rock, Celtic folk, Gospel, and classical styles. This music is very flowing and much of it is very hymn-like with its varying moods and subtle nature. Dave has mastered all of these styles and found someway to combine them and make into something accessible. The playing is world-class. He is an incredible guitar player, but he's also very good keyboardist as well. I was amazed when I heard the songs "Over the Waters," "The Everlasting Hills, Part 1," and "The Homeward Race," which at times sounds like something Allan Holdsworth might play. One ripping lead line after another. This will definitely delight guitar players. I don't think Iona fans have heard him cut loose like this before. There are alot of quiet moments on this album, which will require your full attention, because you may miss something if you don't pay attention. "Veil of Gossamer" is by far one of the greatest things Dave Bainbridge has done.

Guest musicians:

Mae McKenna - vocals
Chris Hale - vocals
Rachel Jones - vocals
Joanne Hogg - vocals
Peter Fairclough - cymbal, gongs
Frank van Essen - drums, fiddle
William Schofield - solo cello
Nick Beggs - chapman stick, bass guitar
Tim Harries - bass and fretless bass guitars
Peter Whitfield Strings - violins, violas
Tom Donockley - uileann pipes, low whistle, tin whistle

Other recommended listening:

Iona - Beyond These Shores
Book of Kells
Open Sky

To all reading, buy this album now! You will not be sorry!

Passionate Perfection.......2005-07-11

A Musical Banquet.......2004-11-23

Everything that applies to the group Iona - Celtic, spiritual, folk-rock, crossover, retro-progressive - also applies to the new solo album of Iona co-founder Dave Bainbridge. It's a clear demonstration of one of the chief sources of that group's creative drive. Bainbridge is a musical polymath. He wrote, arranged and recorded everything, and played some 20 instruments on this feast of an album. That's not to deny the brilliant guests he brought to the table, including Iona friends like vocalist Joanne Hogg, multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley (especially on pipes and whistles), drummer Frank van Essen and bassist Nick Beggs.

There are some very tasty entrees and side-salads, such as solo guitar pieces "The Seen & the Unseen" and "Seahouses", and the ensemble hymn-like "Until the Tide Turns". But it's the substantial works, "The Everlasting Hills" (20 minutes) and "Star-Filled Skies" (15 minutes), that showcase the breadth of Bainbridge's musical palate. The former is a work of Celtic Christian spirituality written by David Adam and set to music by Bainbridge. At once intensely earthy and yet tingling with otherworldliness, it veers from plain chant to intricate 80s style electric guitar, and baroque church music to rousing symphonic rock. It is a masterful musical exploration of the seasons of the soul.

The concluding suite, "Star-Filled Skies", includes a wonderful Celtic knees-up, with drummer van Essen playing folk fiddle, Donockley on uilleann pipes and whistle, and Bainbridge swapping from bouzouki and mandolin to soaring electric guitar - Celtic folk-rock at its best. After this brief if breathtaking interlude the piece ends on the same contemplative note on which it began, with some heavenly Gaelic singing from Mae McKenna.

To some this album may appear to be a smorgasbord of disparate musical dishes just tossed together for mere entertainment. To me it is more like a carefully planned banquet: coherent, challenging and enormously nourishing.

Imaginative Solo Effort and a Work of Beauty (4.5 stars).......2004-07-25

Dave Bainbridge, ringleader of the vastly underappreciated Celtic Christian band Iona, has finally released his first solo album, and it's a gem. (If you know of Bainbridge's work, did you expect anything else?) Veil of Gossamer is well worth the money you pay for it.

All of the creativity and imagination displayed in Iona's works are in evidence here:

*We get a wide variety of musical styles, from progressive rock to classically-inspired pieces to calm, soothing melodies.

*We get the privilege of listening to musical virtuoso Bainbridge. (What instrument doesn't he play, and play superbly at that? There aren't many, seemingly.) Additionally, we get stellar work from immensely talented current and former members of Iona, and additional musicians as well.

*We get two epic multi-part compositions, each one roughly 20 minutes in length.

*We get mystical lyrics, most of which are vocalized in Gaelic (although "Until the Tide Turns" is an English piece, and "Chanting Waves" features some Spanish vocalizations) by the beautiful voices of Mae McKenna, Rachel Jones, and Iona chanteuse Joanne Hogg. These three vocalists also give us the "ethereal voices" (as the liner notes put it; there really is no better description for it)heard throughout the album.

The album opens with the hauntingly mystical "Chanting Waves," in which we hear a sea of voices (both Gaelic and Spanish) against a keyboard-driven background. The quietness of this piece is suddenly broken by the driving force of "Over the Waters" in a segue that is worth the price of the album alone. This progressive rock track has more than a few similarities musically to "Flight of the Wild Goose" from Iona's self-titled debut (1990). There appears to be a thematic connection as well, as the title evokes images of the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters of creation.

Next, we get the title track, "Veil of Gossamer." This piece is currently my favorite on the album, being a very mystical, contemplative work with wonderful instrumentation all around. (The title refers to the "thin space" between this world and Heaven.) "The Seen and the Unseen" is a brief acoustic piece that invites us to reflect more on the connection between earth and Heaven.

"The Everlasting Hills" is the first of the two epic compositions on this album, and Bainbridge has divided it into five tracks. By the time it's over, you'll have felt a variety of emotions -- the music is in turns reflective and uplifting, with vocals interspersed at different points. This tune is followed by another short acoustic piece, "Seahouses." Following this, we get the only true song on the album, "Until the Tide Turns." There's a moving yearning for Heaven expressed in Joanne Hogg's beautiful vocals, and the track is propelled musically by Bainbridge's soothing piano playing.

With "The Homeward Race," we enter the album's home stretch. This is another progressive rock piece, and a very upbeat one at that. Iona's Frank Van Essen contributes drumming that drives this tune. Finally, we get the second epic composition, "Star-Filled Skies," divided into four tracks. This composition is the musical soundtrack for the story of the Celtic Christian saint Cuthbert's vision of St. Aidan's death.

Creativity pervades every note played on this album, and yet I couldn't quite bring myself to give it 5 stars. While the album's a stunning achievement, Dave Bainbridge has done better with his epic compositions (see, for example, "Songs of Ascent" on Iona's Open Sky). "The Everlasting Hills" and "Star-Filled Skies" seem curiously incomplete to me. However, 4 stars is too low a rating for this album; if I could, I'd rate it 4.5 stars.

But these shortcomings are very minor, and there's no reason why you shouldn't plunk down your hard-earned cash for this incredible album. (It's far better for your money to support Bainbridge's own Open Sky Records, which always releases exceptional albums, than one of the big distribution labels anyway!) On the musical end, it's chock full of superlative work. Thematically, for those who love Celtic Christianity and want an album that explores Celtic Christian themes, this one's for you. (Bainbridge briefly describes the connection between these tunes in the middle of the album booklet.) For Iona fans, this is probably the best thing that we'll get until they finally come out with another album (and, unfortunately, we may still have to wait a while, as Joanne Hogg's children are still very young).

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