Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Iona — Open Sky
(FFD5285, 2000, CD)

Open Sky Cover art

After two live releases, Iona have gone back into the studio and made their most progressive album yet. Although the band’s overall sound remains the same, with Joanne Hogg’s gorgeous vocals fronting lush arrangements of rock and Celtic folk instruments, a slight shift in emphasis is evident early on. Whereas the band’s last studio effort, Journey into the Morn. began with fairly conventional Celticized pop and saved the more symphonic music for later, Open Sky’s first track is a hard-hitting, nine-minute instrumental that features extended solos from Troy Donockley on Uillean pipes and Dave Bainbridge on electric guitar. It’s a great beginning, and while there’s nothing else on the disk quite so intense, listeners will find that the expectations it raises are fulfilled by the eight pieces that follow — especially by the dreamily ethereal, 22-minute, three-part “Songs of Ascent.” While a few tunes here, like “Light Reflected,” are still closer to Clannad-inspired pop than to symphonic rock, even they have a more proggish punch than did similar songs on earlier albums, a fact that I attribute partly to the contributions of (relative) newcomers Phil Barker on bass and Frank van Essen on drums and violin. Many folks will also appreciate that Iona’s religious message, while still present, is more subtle here than on previous albums. While the band’s lyrics had always offered psalmlike praise rather than preachy didacticism, their overwhelming Christian focus nonetheless could serve as a barrier to those listeners (like myself) who didn’t share their sentiments. In short, Open Sky is another winner and it should appeal to even more of Exposé’s readers than Iona’s earlier efforts.

by Jim Chokey, Published 2001-03-01

This is the symphonic Celtic ensemble’s seventh album and their first studio release since Journey into the Morn. As on perhaps every album except for Woven Cord, whose title track takes the 9 ½ minute opening spot here, Iona display a number of faces. Their sound incorporates Oldfield-like symphonic Celtic folk-rock instrumentals, Irish pop as approached by Enya and Clannad, modern Christian contemporary music, and more aggressive progressive rock sections, wrapped in an ethereal, misty shroud. Iona’s strengths are as fully apparent as ever, not only on symphonic rock pieces like the aforementioned opener and “Castlerigg,” but on the CD’s first highlight, “Wave after Wave,” a simple, yet stunningly effective hybrid of Celtic and symphonic rock. Where accessibility and excellent arranging work well here, the same may not be so easily said for the title track that follows, “Light Reflected,” and “Hinba,” which bear the mark of attempted singles. However, the latter two prelude to Iona’s most ambitious work yet, the largely instrumental, three-part “Songs of Ascent,” a lengthy, meticulously arranged symphonic work whose romantic first movement is followed by a very spacious centerpiece and finale. Both this piece and album closer “Friendship’s Door” evoke Stivell around Celtic Symphony, and it is the cosmic endpiece, reprising a number of the album’s moments in experimental fashion, that truly finishes the album in grand style.

by Mike McLatchey, Published 2001-03-01

It may seem like there’s been a lot of Iona product floating around lately but if you think about it this is their first studio release since 1995’s Journey into the Morn. In the interim we’ve been treated to two live releases (Heaven’s Bright Sun and Woven Cord) and band members have pursued solo projects. Still, enough praise has been going around about this Anglo-Irish ensemble that a new studio release is worthy of attention. I’m happy to report that the news is all good. If anything, Open Sky is as fine a recording from Iona as I’ve ever heard. The lyrical and conceptual references to their Christian beliefs still provide the core of the material and, as with other Iona releases, the music only benefits from such intense inspiration. The overall tenor is a bit more subdued than on previous outings with vocalist Joanne Hogg seeming to have taken a step back to allow guitarist / keyboardist Dave Bainbridge and crew more room to flex their instrumental muscles. In particular, Troy Donnockly is heard on a variety of whistles, pipes, and stringed instruments and even returning drummer Frank Van Essen displays his versatility with some beautiful violin work. As with previous releases, Open Sky offers a breadth of compositional styles, ranging from vocal songs like the title track to all-out symphonic prog epics (“Castlerigg”). Clearly here is a group in its prime and at the height of its powers and after a long hiatus it’s great to see them return with such an excellent new offering.

by Paul Hightower, Published 2001-03-01

Filed under: New releases, Issue 21, 2000 releases

Related artist(s): Iona, Dave Bainbridge, Joanne Hogg

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.