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Review:
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Castle Canyon is the story of two high school kids
in Portland, Oregon in 1973-75 who wrote a lot of great
music that almost nobody ever heard back then, good time
but wrong place! But end good, all good because the present
has given trio Castle Canyon the opportunity to find each
other again and record their songs and publish them. The
band is very happy to have been able to do this and are
also extremely gratified at the great response to the album
Gods of 1973. Almost all of the tracks were recorded last
year, during their first 'Reunited' episode, when a window
of opportunity connected the past band with the present.
Most of the music was written in 1972-76, with a couple
of new pieces put together by the band when they were reunited
in the present. All songs from the original time are given
dates on the track list. Castle Canyon are the Gods of 1973
and grateful for the opportunity to bring their music to
the present. About the band members: bass guitar player
Fred Chalenor worked with Fred Frith, the Walkabouts, Hugh
Hopper (in the band Hughscore) and recently with the Slow
Music Project including Robert Fripp. Keyboard player Erik
Ian Walker stuck his ear against the speaker and said “whatever
the fuck that was, I’m getting one” when he heard the Moog
synthesizer solo at the end of Lucky Man by ELP for the
first time. In ’76 he studied electronic music and composition
and his career has included collaborations in modern dance,
experimental theater, drag/androgyny performance and odd
movies. Rock/blues keyboards mixed with Gothic classicism,
and austere, sensuous ‘soundtrack’ settings mixed with natural
world sounds are his specialties. And drummer Paul Elias
met Erik in the 1980’s, Erik lost track of him but found
him again, it has been the absolute foundation and reason
this band has re-emerged. They finally found their drummer.
On Castle Canyon’s website I also read about the influences
in their sound, these range from Gentle Giant, Stravinsky,
Spike Jones, Frank Zappa, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and PFM
to Bartok, blues, Led Zeppelin, Morton Subotnick, Arvo Part,
The Residents, Captain Beefheart, Beethoven and even the
element “psychoactive things”! Pretty varied and adventurous
so how about their way of making progressive music? -
Listening to the nine compositions (ranging from 22
seconds to almost 13 minutes) on the CD Gods Of 1973 is
making an adventurous keyboard-oriented travel in the realm
of symphonic rock with surprising excursions to other territories.
The main influence seems to be early ELP but the way Castle
Canyon blends elements of jazz, rock, psychedelia, electronic
and avant-garde sounds very interesting, in the true meaning
of the word progressive. To be honest, I needed a few listening
sessions to get into their music but gradually I started
to appreciate their daring music, performed by very skilled
musicians. The one moment you are listening to fluent rhythms
with Emersonian keyboard work like The Mighty Arp (spectacular
synthesizer flights on the Arp synthesizer, exciting Grand
piano and subtle use of the Mellotron), the alternating
Gods Of 1973 (great Hammond organ sound, sparkling Grand
piano and fine interplay between piano and Mellotron along
a short and funny “lalala” interlude in the vein of Grobschnitt)
and the final track The Last Song Ever (swirling Grand piano
and sensational distorted electric guitar sound). Four good
examples of Castle Canyon their surprising compositorial
skills are the tracks Fjordic Njord and Random Gates (both
short but intricate electronic sound scapes), Bombs Away
(sparkling Emersonian Grand piano runs, accompanied by a
fat, distorted bass guitar and propulsive drums) and Symphony
Of Sorrowful Songs – Cantabile Semplice (written by Gorecki):
a slow rhythm featuring wailing violin play by Michele Walther
and beautiful Grand piano. My highlights are two longer
compositions that showcase Castle Canyon at its best. First
Canoeing On The River Styx: after a spacey, a bit ominous
intro, a wonderful build-up follows with excellent work
on Hammond, synthesizers and piano, interrupted by an experimental
part and culminating in a bombastic grand finale with glorious
keyboards. Finally Triskaidekaphobia: lots of shifting moods
with a wonderful vintage keyboard sound (from ARP synthesizers
and Hohner clavinet to Hammond organ), a ‘soundscape’ interlude
(with razor sharp Fripperian guitar runs and powerful Wetton-like
bass work) and a compelling solo with a slightly distorted
Hammond organ, reminding me of the overlooked keyboard maestro
Dave Greenslade. -
If you love keyboard driven trio’s like ELP, Trace,
Quill and Triumvirat and you have no problems with some
experimental ideas, this is a band to discover, check out
the four excellent MP3 files on their MySpace website!
www.progwalhalla.com
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