V.A.S.T : Visual Audio Sensory Theater Album Review

In 1998 a little unknown by the  name  of Jon Crosby   under the acronym of V.A.S.T. released his self titled debut album , its  a harmonious blend of  Gothic , Industrial and a New Age  Ambiance , a electric and  acoustic   marriage set over a shadowy  lyrical  backdrop.
I was very  impressed with the  guitar work, the awe inspiring vocals, and the realistic and earthy chanting  in this very solid debut. As far as album  art goes i am not sure who the eye belongs too  and where it was taken or who worked on the graphics but they did a great job  the cover demands attention. Production of the album was superb  also  the samples used from "The Nile's Edge", "Somewhere Else To Be" and "You": "Salve Regina" by The Benedictine Monks of the Abby Saint-Maurice and Saint-Maur, Cleraux

TRACKLIST
   

1		Here	4:57
2		Touched	3:57
3		Dirty Hole	5:36
4		Pretty When You Cry	3:50
5		I'm Dying	4:09
6		Flames	4:37
7		Temptation	3:09
8		Three Doors	5:04
9		The Niles Edge	4:29
10		Somewhere Else To Be	3:05
11		Untitled	3:41
12		You	4:58

   
   
   
   
1 : Here - A powerful classical introduction that  ends up industrial sounding  with electric guitars makes me feel  he  is asking the big question  where am i in the scheme of things?  a state of limbo or perfection ? a man searching for something but  always   just out of his grasp perhaps ' Crosby states "All I know is that I'm here / drifting somewhere in the past / Somewhere in eternity / I never want to leave". Has classical intro that abruptly runs into industrial rhythm's and electric guitars.      
   
   
2 : Touched -  The most  famous song  on the album and without this song  none of the other gems would not of been unearthed for the majority of cd/mp3 owners contains samples from "Pilentze Pee-Pilentze" by Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares and from "Bo Go Gyaling", "Tibetan Buddhist Rites From The Monasteries Of Bhutan - Vol 2" . The chanting is impressive such a beautiful demonstration  of soaring vocals and emotion all at once
Touched was promoted heavily  with   the movie The Beach  which probably drove half the market to this cd, Crosby's vocals and composure shine brightly.
   
   
3 : Dirty Hole - Contains samples from "Sounds Of The South" darkest song on the album for me. Begins with a chilling organ that made me think of a Gothic cathedral perhaps  hearing it  in a  old cloister on a still  winters night, samples are haunting and  eerie strong vocals; The song seems to  be  about the dangers of letting the sexual demons loose Crosby's voice blends beautiful with the haunting  atmosphere he has made       

  
4 : Pretty When You Cry - I think we have intentionally hurt someone   that  we love just  to see their reaction out of malice or spite . "I didn't mean to hurt you / but you're pretty when you cry." .A haunting bliss of gothic/industrial; . The piano combined with a strong bass line make this song amazing. .
   
   
5 : I'm Dying - Perhaps a spiritual statement  made  to remind himself or others that  we are mortal that each day we march to the inevitable certainty. Crosby screams "Not one day goes by that I don't know that I'm dying"  Once again the the chants plus the industrial-style guitars and rhythm back up the nice vocals and honest lyrics very well.    

  
6 : Flames - Nice soothing  guitar  almost folk  sounding with a cello playing sung with so much  felt  compassion and love its hard  to describe it . You can feel the  intense emotion in Jon's voice Flames has the ability to put you in tears and/or lull you to sleep in peace. A love song on another level; beautifully composed, it just has to  be experienced


7 : Temptation - An admission of vulnerability, with the simple and repetitive "You are my temptation" as Crosby attempts to pull out of the swoon from the previous song. Loud, overpowering, effusive. Awake now? Yes the opening guitar on this immediately made me love it, and the rest of the song doesn't disappoint, it's another adrenaline song with one of the best choir chorus's in the album
   

   

8 : Three Doors - Another quality rhythmic  track  i was so hooked on this song  for a long time  catchy  song  "Three doors to go through / I only want the one that leads to you". " This is  your only chance at immortality  I can give you strength  but i cant  give you the key"
   

   

9 : The Niles Edge - I really  like this song also    nice  Somber and surreal brilliant vocals and sampling but  is out of  the league  of Flames when it comes to emotion
   
   
10 :Somewhere Else To Be - Song of soul searching;  Crosby delivers with thought-provoking, melodic, and versatile vocal talent  . Desperate for escape, "I wish I could run / from everyone / Give me somewhere else to be... give me out, that's all I need." Perhaps a time when Jon wasn't comfortable  in his  own skin .Blends  into the next track with  ease
       
   
11 : Untitled - It serves a definite purpose on this album - a nice exit from 'Somewhere Else to Be'  this is a great song, the male choir is enchanting,  it just sinks into you without any warning until you're utterly subdued Beautiful transition piece,   


12 : You -   A  great finish for this album  i love the  sounds in this track  the  song is beautiful sung with compassion The spacey keyboard takes you to a completely different place,  a gentle fitting to a great album  he  gently  takes  you to the end.  "You can't take anything with you / Except the love I have for you." . Amazing closing piece combining breathy vocals and soothing electronics

Conclusion : This is a outstanding debut album , Jon does get compared a lot to Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails i  don't think  there is a lot personally its just they are both one man  projects and happen to be in the same genre i think the music is different, For me the  best  song  on here  is  Flames for a slow moving  hit that is deep   but if you like a bit more  fast moving songs  Temptation and Three doors  are great songs .
Overall a stunning debut well sampled ,well sung and worthy of having a spot  in  the  cd/mp3 collection , a great listen 8/10

Yes : Close To The Edge Album Review

On the 13th of September 1972 Yes released their fifth  studio album called Close To The Edge ,which is probably progressive rocks most complex and sublime performance to date ( *ducks for cover from hostile Pink Floyd ,King Crimson and Jethro Tull fans).
The line up for the album was Chris Squire (bass, vocals), Rick Wakeman (mellotron, moog, Hammond organ,), Steve Howe (electric, acoustic guitars), Bill Bruford (drums and percussion) and Jon Anderson (vocals).
According  to Jon Anderson, Close To The Edge lyrics is inspired by Hermann Hesse's book Siddhartha  which tracks the awakening of Hesse's character "close to the edge" of a river and, symbolically, of the serial lifetimes of his soul,("I get up I get down" is apparently  death and rebirth ) where he experiences a spiritual awakening.
The album was well received commercially  it peaked to number three on the Billboard charts There have been many remastered  and extended versions for this album  apparently the Rhino remaster is good sounding  i was listening to a hybrd dvd version 5.0  surround sound which delivered nicely.
Also  check out the album inlay art by the legendary Rodger Dean  it is beautiful  indeed  and  suits the theme of the album perfectly, underneath that you will find my song by song synopsis i hope you enjoy this wonderful album

Tracklist                     Duration 1 Close To The Edge            18:43 2 And You And I 10:09 3 Siberian Khatru 9:01
1 "Close To The Edge" - This track  weighs in at over 18 minutes an absolute pleasure to behold  , it starts with a fade in of ambience with  running water and birds chirping , after the birds and water wakeman blends his keyboard addition to the intro then the guitars kick in and a cosmic alignment  music wise takes place, a Squire ,Wakeman  and Howe  free for all  comes into existence which makes you cringe on first listen  its out of synch its like each member has been told to out do each other and then when this all over the place jam seems to be going for about 4 minutes they just all of a sudden decide to blend together to start the next phase of this epic  masterpiece. There are  lots of different tempos to this piece To me  Wakeman's  playing is the standout i do love his organ solo i think Bach  would of been  very impressed , but hell i am impressed with all of them , usually  someone always drowns out someone in a recording with this album  and especially this song all get to shine and believe me you need more than  five listens to absorb  this , its very complex for its time the ending on the track comes quickly and you know the ride is over when the sound of water and birds fade from  existence  like you are entering your body again after astral traveling to  a Brazillian  rainforest waterfall .Close To The Edge was later revamped into four pieces so it was more radio friendly but i think it  actually would take the icing off the cake only hearing parts of it compared to the whole. 2 "And You And I" - A very  beautiful ten minute song that starts out with  like a rough--even experimental--rehearsal  sounding with  a nice guitar and autoharp intro then it kicks in  with  a catchy guitar riff that is repeated for most of the song. I really enjoyed this track  Anderson did a fine job  up front although it was hard to conjure up an emotion,  i didn't get a feeling at all its not a break up song nor a dancing song  and if it was a love song i didn't catch the transfer of  emotion into the song its the polar opposite from the first track  its structured and  cohesive  but to me doesn't have the divine majesty  of the opener. It's separated into 4 parts: Cord of Life, Eclipse, The Preacher The Teacher, and Apocalypse.( i am unsure for the reason ). One hell of a track  and it has the incredibly hard job  of being the next inline after progressive rocks most loved song and yet it still delivers  and stands tall but will always fall short of the opener
3 " Siberian Khatru" - This is a great funky track which has has great drumming and guitar, the bass guitar gets a really good  workout. It's just under 9 minutes but it certainly does not feel like it , its very upbeat and energetic. You hear Chris Squire's  basslines, Steve Howe's scaling guitar work, Rick Wakeman's  keyboards and Jon Anderson's upbeat vocals. Bill Bruford (drums) has a subtle solo somewhere near the end of this track. It also features a nice musical duel between Howe on sitar and Wakeman on harpsichord. The ending is dominated by a stop start  vocals then comes another complex instrumental ending. I can hear touches of The Doors and Rivieras influences  maybe because they are  bands with great keyboard sounds also , but to think these guys probably  listened  to the Beatles and the Stones   just puts me in more awe   Conclusion : I don't think i have  heard a recording  where  the  whole imput of the band is clearly heard they all play tight and although Anderson's vocals ain't exceptional it does add beautifully like a fifth instrument to the  free for all expression that is unleashed in this recording. For me Close To The Edge  perhaps should of been the last of the three songs , its epic and ends in ambience which makes a great album finalizer . The other two songs are great pieces  by themselves but its a tough act to follow after the opener, to say that they are at the same level is  a hard one i guess they are just different . This album  does need a few listens to grasp it but  you will come out of it a richer person,  its beautiful on so many levels  the  cohesion between  band members is sublime  and  is just about perfect even with the over the top complexity , actually  this  album commanded me to sit  and listen instead of dance and sing ( "i get up i get down "excluded ) which not many albums do It is a must for any person that does not have it yet ,  the first  song  is worth the album buy  just for itself, it took me to three places sonically a rainforest a dripping subterrainian chamber and a gothic cathedral .  Overall  a great listening experience  this is what every group aspire to do  leave their mark sonically. With Close To The Edge five individuals confirmed their music immortality, a utmost masterpiece   8.8 / 10  Highly Recommended