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Hi Luna, thanks for a great review. I wont even try to compete with your wit and musical knowledge by suggesting my own awards ..



but .. I will say that (unlike you!) I love Supertramp and "Don't Leave Me Now" is my standout track. It's actually quite close to the original in arrangement IMHO, and is probably stronger as a consequence

Luna,

For me I have to say to say Kashmir is one of my favorites. Chasing cars is another one I like, just started getting back into Snow Patrol and to hear this song by Gregorian was wonderful. All in all I feel that there are some terrific songs on here that I can listen to over and over. And listening to Arrival I feel like getting into formation and marching for long distances. Its kind of funny but I've been hearing Running Up That Hill almost everywhere I go, and Gregorian's version is fantastic. Great album IMHO.

I don't post too often, but I am a LOOOOONG time fan, and have many of their CD's....going back to the Dark Side as my all time favorite, which this CD reminds me of very much, do we have competition??? Just got this one yesterday, and I'm still learning it, so far Kashmir is blowing me socks off!

Good to see CJ on here!

Veee....

I am so loving "Meadows of Heaven"...cannot stop playing it! and that guitar riff in there? hello? slay me everytime! who is that doing that?

You won't believe this, Everyone... It's my birthday today and my Dad took me to the store. I was browsing in the CD section when all of a sudden, my gaze fell on a lone CD resting on the top-most shelf... A red-black CD with silver letters: GREGORIAN Masters Of Chant Chapter VII... You can imagine the look on my face... I couldn't believe I really had it (and I still can't)...

Right now I'm listening to the Album for the second time and I'd like to tell you how I feel...

The wonderful shock of actually having the Album is still too fresh for me to comment on each song seperately, but I do have a couple of "instant favorites", both in terms of arrangment and vocals. These are:
- Sweet Child Of Mine
- A Face In The Crowd
- Enjoy The Silence
- Whiter Shade Of Pale
- Molly Ban (in the arrangment for this one, I detect an echo of "A Weakend Soul" and I absolutely adore the song for that )
- Don't Leave Me Now

A close second place goes to:
- It Will Be Forgiven (was this by any chance written by the Guys, or is it a cover too? )
- Running Up That Hill

Songs that will take a few more listens to get around to:
- One
- Meadows Of Heaven
- Arrival
- The Carpet Crawlers
- Chasing Cars

Now, it almost never happens that the Guys make a song that doesn't appeal to me... That doesn't feel right on a particular CD. Kashmir is on e such song for me. And I really apologize to all those who heard MOC VII and like Kashmir. For me, that is too much of a ROCK song for a Masters Of Chant CD. BUT I do like the interlude that's right after this song. ALL the interludes are great I realize the Band covered rock songs past, and those are hits. But this one, deep down inside, doesn't work for me somehow...

I had this opinion about a Grego Song only twice before - "Babylon" on MOC II, and TDS.

But the overall atmosphere of MOC is SUPERB It has that familiar MOC feel we fans have come to love... It has that special "flow away while listening" quality Beautiful, just beautiful...

That's quite uncanny, Piotr - I am reading your post as I listen to "Kashmir" on the computer (I have a cheap 5.1 sound setup in my study to allow me to "concentrate" whilst working ). This is one I didn't warm to on first listen, but I now adore. It needs to be loud and proud - I would draw a parallel to Engel on TDS (which remains one of my all time favourites, despite having never been a "hard rock" fan). It doesn't work, for example, if you are listening to Gregorian whilst winding down (or driving!)


Like all off Gregorian's music it has that incredible quality that allows you to completely immerse in it for those few precious minutes. It isn't just the amazing voices of the choir, or the arrangement, or the stunning vocal lead by themselves, but simply the melding of these into a complete rock track. If this had been released in the 60s it would have blown people away.


To me that is the joy of Gregorian - they push the envelope in so many ways, yet remain true to their vision and direction. The sublime quality of all of the separate parts is just a bonus...

PS I am absolutely thrilled you were able to get a copy .. congratulations

I wholeheatedly agree with everything you wrote Aussie GREGORIAN as a whole is a perfect combination of all those things you mentioned... The idea for a song, from which everything begins, the arrangment, musical instruments...choosing the right vocals for each song.. And of course the color-scheme of each CD. With this, their 10th Album, the Band has "gone back to the roots" - the colors of this CD are very similar to MOC I...

Without even one of those things, the project would not be complete.

And it is lovely to see (credited in the booklet) and hear Violet and Carolin singing side-by-side...

As for what you said about "pushing the envelope", I told my Dad the very same thing yesterday: Gregorian are like wine - the older they are, the better they get... They never cease to amaze me

WHAT A TERIFFIC BIRTHDAY PRESENT!!!

Well, I'm listening to that new fantastic Chapter VIII almost constantly - the more I listen to it, the more I love it

Here's how my favorites look now...

ABSOLUTE MOST-FAVORITE / SONG STUCK ON AUTOPLAY IN "MIND RADIO"
- Enjoy The Silence
[I have loved the original ever since I can remember...but thanks to the Band, I love it even more now. They have taken this song to a WHOLE new level for me, and the listening experience is sheer delight...]

FIRST-PLACE TIE (SONGS THAT SHARE THE FIRST-PLACE AWARD WITH "Enjoy The Silence") / TRUE JEWELS
- Running Up That Hill [everytime I hear this one, I literally want to get up and go Running (Up That Hill )]
- A Face In The Crowd
- Sweet Child Of Mine
- It Will Be Forgiven [another wonderfull Gregorian Original. They should make a CD entirely composed of Originals... This one has, for me, a subtle note of "Before The Dawn"...]
- Don't Leave Me Now

STRONG SECOND-PLACE SONGS
- [b]Meadows Of Heaven[/b]
- [b]Arrival[/b] [the verse from this song, the one in Luna's signature, has a special family connection for me...]
[b]- Molly Ban
[/b]- Whiter Shade Of Pale
- [b]The Carpet Crawlers
[/b]- [b]Chasing Cars[/b]

LEAST-FAVORITES (SONGS ON WHICH I DON'T HAVE A DEFINITE OPINION)
- Kashmir
- One


As Porky Pig would say: That's all, Folks!

Something's wrong with my last post... What's with the [ b ] marks in some places...?