White Willow: Ignis Fatuus

This new re-issue of Ignis Fatuus brings back to the spotlight the powerful early discography of one of Norway's foremost art-rock bands White Willow. Ignis Fatuus was White Willow's first album and it is a testament to the deep thought and musicianship that went into this band's early and classic start back in 1995. White Willow for the Ignis Fatuus album, consisted of Jan Tariq Rahman, on keyboards, bass, woodwinds, and vocals; Trill Mohn, on violin; Audun Kjus, on flute and vocals; Sara Trondal and Eldrid Johansen, on vocals; and Jacon Holm-Lupo, on guitars.

The band states, "Ignis Fatuus was recorded in a 100% analog manner, to a 16-track tape machine. It was recorded under primitive circumstances, but to the best of our abilities at the time". But since then the album has been carefully re-mastered by Jens Petter Nilsen, using analog equipment only. The band plans to have one or two more reissues ready before the end of 2013, and finish with the rest in 2014.

For this release and the rest the band plans to include a second disc of unreleased, demos and live tracks as a bonus.

Ignis Fatuus is a fantastic album of powerful influences from early 70s classical and seminal bands like Genesis and King Crimson. However, with White Willow you enjoy the added advantage of beautiful female vocals which add so much diversity and dimension to the poetic soundscape.

Every track from the opener, "Snowfall", to the closing demo cover of King Crimson's "Moonchild" is a trip back in time to when music expressed the best possible experience we could imagine set to melody.

"Snowfall", with its cool opening electric keyboard effect, before the soft acoustic guitar and deep and at times dark lyrics, "Frost in a churchyard, silent falls the snow. Silent on gravestones cold, on stories old. So softly spoken, whispers from below. Heard by a searching ear", will transport you immediately to a far better time in music history. One of the best tracks on an album full of deep lyrics and classical rhythms and sounds. The perfect mix of Genesis and King Crimson sounds with beautiful female vocals as a bonus.

"Lord of Night" is a dark woodland story full of deep dark bass and keyboard tones. Flute and woodwinds play within the soundscape full of soft female vocals singing, "Come dance with me through the mists of night. To the dark and slumbering woodlands". Then later, "A whisper from ancient hollow stones. Of fairy rings and phantoms". Yes Lord of the Rings fans, this is the music you cherish.

"Song" is a soft and sad Middle Ages sounding track full of vocal rounds and flute. Like a trip back to the best of Jethro Tull only with even more classical authenticity. Despite the dark lyrics, the melody keeps an upbeat feeling.

"Ingenting" is sung by Rahman in Norwegian. The sound of flute fills the soundscape as soft acoustic guitar and then violin are added to the measured melody.

"The Withering of the Boughs" is like a slice from some of Anthony Phillips catalog. The beautiful slow guitar work that opens this track is some of the best on the album. Male lead vocals are supported with soft female backing vocals. The lyrics will take you back to Wuthering Heights and other classics of the time. The lyrics, plucked from stories with substance from the past, dramatically deliver the power and passion of the age, "I know of the sleepy country, where swans fly round coupled with golden chains and sing as they fly. A king and a queen are wandering there, and the sound has made them so happy and hopeless. So deaf and so blind with wisdom. They wander till all the years have gone by". Deep bass and flute playfully intermingle to provide a lasting sound that you will cherish.

"Lines on an Autumnal Evening" opens with soft acoustic guitar before deep bass joins in to strengthen the sound. It wouldn't be autumnal without some wind, so they add some fantastic flute work to this track. Soft acoustic guitar eerily similar to Steve Hackett will have ever early Genesis fan's ears perking up. Eldrid Johansen's vocals join in later to complete the soundscape.

"Now in These Fairy Lands" is filled with excellent flute and soft acoustic guitar before Johansen's beautifully accented vocals join in with the harpsichord like keys and tapping drums. Johansen sings, "Since it is evening and sailing weather let us set out for this dream together". And so they do, backed by mellotron, flutes, drums, acoustic guitar and bass. A journey that will take you back to all of your memories of Tony Bank's and Keith Emerson's keyboard extravaganzas.

"Piletreet" is a treat of Johansen's low and high pitched vocals set to soft acoustic guitar, bass, and flute. The track however, passes too quickly at only 1:48.

"Till He Arrives" with Johansen's lead vocal, flute, bass, and acoustic guitar. Later the pace picks up and the drums and percussion join in.

"Cryptomenysis" is the longest of the epic tracks on the album at over 11 minutes. The song is full of excellent mellotron and keys at the opening. The heavy lead guitars and bass soon join in to create an even deeper, darker feel to the track as Sara Trondal provides the soft female vocals to offset the deep sounds. Violin is added later to fully round out the sound. The powerful bass and lead electric guitars that roar in later will take you back to Genesis' Nursery Cryme and the "Return of the Giant Hogweed", only this time accompanied by soft female vocals.

"Signs" is a soft acoustic guitar and flute interlude with Trondal's beautiful vocals and support from soft drums and keys.

"John Dees Lament "is another epic track clocking in at 11 minutes exactly. It opens with an elegant piano opening that sets it apart from the other tracks on the album. Then powerful bass and lead electric guitar along with drums build the rhythm. Rich layered keyboards you will remember from youth flow through the soundscape as Rahman's vocals sing, "It was twilight by the river. I lay lazing with my love. We were wondering and dreaming of the starlit worlds above. Where the crimson turns to purple. And the purple turns to blue. How we wished that we could dive into that strange unearthly hue". From there a mini concerto takes off reminiscence of something ELO might have done in their early days. But the rhythm settles down to piano and deep bass before building again like something off Foxtrot. They intermingle classical guitar within the melody adding even deeper feeling to this epic closer.

The second, bonus CD is a wonderful compilation of live tracks like "Lord of Night", and demos like "Snowfall" and "Till He Arrives" which provide an essence of how the band performed live or an evolution of some of the album's key tracks.

Unreleased tracks like "Det Omvendte Baeger", a nearly 12 minute epic, "Grankvad" and "I in the Eye" are great additions for the White Willow collector.

But the best bonus gift for me was White Willow's cover of King Crimson's "Moonchild". On this track you get solid lead vocals from Rahman which will remind you of a young Greg Lake. But on this version you get the bonus of Trondal's soft voice supporting. The drums, guitar, tambourine, bass and keys will make you wonder why they never included this on the original album.

This re-release brings back so many memories of a time when bands relished the process of creating music which would last for all time. Throughout the CD booklet enclosed the band criticizes their performance and discusses how they wish they could have done even better. You have to celebrate that kind of attention to detail and reach for perfection.

The cover of "Moonchild" was such a wonderful addition that I can't wait to hear what they do with the bonus disc on the next set of re-masters.

This was a wonderful surprise to receive for review. If you haven't heard this early period of White Willow, you really should and I urge you to do it as soon as possible. This is the kind of music I grew up appreciating; only it slipped by me during the "Grunge Years" of my youth in Seattle. I am so happy I was able to hear this. I cannot recommend this enough.

Track Listing:

Disc One:

1. Snowfall (6:30)
2. Lord Of Night (7:13)
3. Song (2:03)
4. Ingenting (3:14)
5. The Withering Of The Boughs (7:16)
6. Lines On An Autumnal Evening (4:52)
7. Now In These Fairy Lands (5:28)
8. Piletreet (1:47)
9. Till He Arrives (3:30)
10. Cryptomenysis (11:37)
11. Signs (2:04)
12. John Dees Lament (11:00)

Disc Two:

1. Det Omvendte Baeger
2. Snowfall (demo)
3. Till He Arrives (demo)
4. Lord of Night (live)
5. Grankvad
6. I in the Eye
7. Moonchild

Added: August 25th 2013
Reviewer: Mark Johnson
Score:
Related Link: www.whitewillow.info/
Hits: 4674
Language: english

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