Gnidrolog - Gnosis

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Artist:	Gnidrolog
Title:	Gnosis
Label:	Snails Recorcds 70091022
Length(s):	74 minutes
Year(s) of release:	2000
Month of review:	07/2000

Line up

Colin Goldring - vocals, recorder, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Stewart Goldring - guitars, backing vocals
Rick Kemp - bass, backing vocals
Nigel Pegrum - drums, percussion
Chris Lloyds - backing vocals
Nessa Glen - hammond, kalimba, keyboards, harpsichord, sitar
with
David Hudson - didjeridoo
Chris Copping - hammond b3

Tracks

1)	Reach For Tomorrow	5.14
2)	Reverend Katz	6.02
3)	Fall To Ground	4.52
4)	Woolunga	4.22
5)	Wonder, Wonder	4.41
6)	Deventer	4.51
7)	Bells Of Prozac	6.27
8)	Kings Of Rock	6.50
9)	Gnosis	6.46
10)	Crazy, Crazy	4.30
11)	Going To France	4.42
12)	The City Sleeps	4.42
13)	Two Helens	3.28
14)	Repent Harlequin	6.30

Summary

After many years Gnidrolog got together again to record a new studio album. The subtitle of the album is Prospice, Respice, indicating the fact that some of the music here is new, some is quite old, from the time of the previous Gnidrolog incarnation.

The music

The opener is a subdued track with some slight Arabic leanings in the vocal parts. The bass work is low and pronounced, the organ adds to the atmosphere and the chords on electric guitar add some power. The vocals are sometimes quite intense and like I said have strong Arabic leanings. A good song and it can not be told from the song that it was written back in 1970. Reverend Katz is an instrumental, and a rocking one at that. Sometimes a bit bouncy and punctuated by some rather heavy percussion. The variation in the music sounds natural, but the song is more a tune than anything else. A long tune though. Fall To Ground is an acoustic track, a bit melodramatic and laid back. This is pop, not rock. Woolunga is back to instrumental rock with some energetic low sounds from the didgeridoo and a nice theme running through it. The guitar plays in slide fashion and the pace is rather high. Wonder, Wonder is a bit of sunny track, especially the chorus is quite merry. The classical guitar is the dominating element in this track. Again the music may not be considered terribly progressive, but its an entertaining track nonetheless. The name of the Dutch band Lady Lake is a tribute to Gnidrolog, and now it seems Gnidrolog are returning the favour by their song Deventer (the city that Lady Lake comes from originally). A somewhat folky track, mostly because of the melodic flute playing of Colin. A good, driven and entertaining instrumental with some flamenco guitar added. With Bells Of Prozac the alternation of instrumental/vocal track is done away with, because this track is also an instrumental. Again some didgeridoo's on this one, while the track itself is a varied and rather complex piece of work, with a number of different passages being alternated and at any given point in time quite a number of instruments are involved in different ways making the music sound rather full. Kings Of Rock finds us halfway the album. This track is an old one, written in 1973 as something of a reaction to the death of Hendrix and Joplin. This is a rather potent brew with an imposing and bombastic chorus with loads of Hammond and electric guitar. The music does sound a bit seventies. The song ends moodily. The title track is an instrumental and quite a heavy one with a dominating electric guitar. The music is slightly jazzrockish here reminding me in a way of old Camel. The band states that this track contains influences of hassidic dance tunes and I understand what they mean. A good, complex and energetic instrumental. One extended jam, but not a note too much. Time for another song directed track with Crazy, Crazy. A mid-tempo track with slide guitar and a catchy chorus. The weirdest thing is that because of the vocals I'm sometimes reminded of Axl Rose. Hmm. Going To France balances vocal and instrumental tracks. Going To France is a blues rock piece, a plodding track for the Brits visiting France for the world championship football in 1998. The song itself is not terribly interesting from a progressive point of view, but the bridge is nice. I guess its Colins Helen who doesn't want to go topless. I think this, because the wives of both Colin and Stewart are called Helen as is stated for the still to come instrumental Two Helens. The City Sleeps is yet another vocal track, but this is actually one of the better ones in my opinion. It opens very well with a good theme and the vocal melodies both in the verses and the tense and uplifting chorus are tops. The Two Helens is a piece on classical guitar. Nice. The final track is Repent Harlequin, based on a story by Harlan Ellison. This the real masterpiece of the album. Think of The Steppes by Steve Hackett but more orchestral and to be honest: better. An extremely powerful track with menacing undertones. An overpowering finale.

The music of the band and the lyrics are quite good, but less humerous than I'm used to. The tongue in cheek sometimes does come out in the liner notes at times: We Shall Wear It Always.

Conclusion

A mixed bag of tracks: some progressive, some laid back rock, some in between. I like the "ordinary" tracks a bit less (Crazy, Crazy or Wonder, Wonder or Fall To Ground), although these also have their moments. The band comes out best in the instrumentals such as the blistering title track and tracks such Woolunga, Reverend Katz and of course the magnificent Repent Harlequin.