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Ozric Tentacles
Eternal Wheel
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How’s your psychedelic hippy rock jones going?
For anyone who wondered what it would be like to mix the jamming of Phish, the spacerock of Floyd, with a dash of worldbeat, and without the vocals entirely, the
UK
’s legendary Ozric Tentacles responds, “Well, like us!”
Long a favorite of the festival circuit, the Ozrics came up through the cassette-only underground of the 80s and inspired bands like Porcupine Tree along the way. You can hear that influence very clearly in the track “Eternal Wheel”, part of this expansive two-disc retrospective. It’s the best illustration of the jamming ethic the band is known for. Chief Ozric Ed Wynne is a great guitar player with a clear vision of what his band, and in turn the music, is supposed to be.
If there is a difficulty I have with “Eternal Wheel”, it is that because it is all instrumental, it needs a drastic downshift somewhere, or to put it in the festival lingo, “some ambient chill-out” that actually slows the pace down. Even at its softest, it doesn’t actually break it down for long. Blame the fact that these are highlights of other releases, not a set that creates its own rules and structure. One moment, you’re guided on a synth-driven groove of bloops and blips and ambient pads, then by the next you’re thrust into a guitar run that wouldn’t be unwelcome on a Santana disc... Then all bets are off and the guitars go crazy. By turns, some the music has a multicultural electronica vibe, reminiscent of
Deep
Forest
(and I can’t ascertain who would have influenced whom). Still, it’s all full-steam ahead, without a little quiet-time to relax and refuel. Probably perfect for the live shows the band has staked it’s reputation on, but harder to take in a single CD-listening setting.
I look forward to hearing a regular Ozric disc, which is the true goal of a sampler like “Eternal Wheel” and expect the necessary mechanism of pacing to be there... If this is meant to intrigue, mission accomplished.
Release Date: June 22, 2004
Tracks: 17 - Time: 114:51
Produced by: Ed Wynne
Format: CD
Website: www.ozrics.com
Track Listing:
CD 1:
Jurassic Shift / Myriapod / Saucers / Wob Glass / Coily / Sultana Detrii / Sunscape / Eternal Wheel / Sploosh!.
CD 2:
Oolite Grove / Ashlandi Bol / Iscence / Pyramidion / Spyroid / Neurochasm / Kick Muck.
Ozric Tentacles:
John Egan: Vocals
Ed Wynne: Guitar
Nick Midson - Guitar
Joie Hinton - Keyboards
Roly Wynne - Bass
Merv Pepler - Drums
Rad - Drums
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