"That's not who we are, a pebble and a star and a soul"
When I was a little kid, we had a school field trip to Yale University in New Haven, to their Museum of Natural History. It was one of the things that made 6th grade something to look forward to (especially if you were a 5th grader!). In the center of the museum's "Great Hall" is a completely reconstructed skeleton of a Brontosaurus. It's very cool, especially if you are of 6th grade age. After that trip, all of the class became dinosaur maniacs and everyone read about them and pondered the idea that these things were once here and are now gone.
Well, time moves on, people get old, and with that you tend to put the whole dinosaur thing in the way back and it becomes something of a "Oh yeah, that's Jurassic Park stuff" kind of thing.
But then, along comes "Antiquassuria" from Ian Cooke wrapped in an incredibly perfect 5.1 mix by Neil Wilkes and all of a sudden you are almost returned to the mind of that little kid who loved dinosaurs.
Before I begin the review, let me just say that you really need to listen to this album all the way through, and multiple times. It's not until the second or third listen that it really starts to get you and you will suddenly smile when it all comes together, but I digress. Let's go:
TRACK ONE: PROLOGUE
This is an instrumental track that is pure progressive rock and powerful. The center channel highlights Ian's cello, and accent guitars are discrete in the rears and fronts. The song creates a sonic landscape where you might imagine a prehistoric society with a myriad of beasts lumbering about at different paces. Two and a half minutes in you meet the first beast!
TRACK TWO: STEGOSAURUS
Each of the tracks after the Prologue are written from the perspective of the titled dinosaur. The Stegosaurus here will eventually become the official fossil of Colorado. The lyrics are very straight forward and tell of the trials and tribulations of life as a Stegosaurus. The mix is very Steven Wilson like, with the center channel containing the bass and the solo vocal. If you don't have a center speaker you will be out of luck here. At the end of the track the harmonies are spread out around the center in both the fronts and backs which sounds terrific. Themes from this song will be repeated in the final track "Epilogue".
TRACK THREE: DIPLODOCUS
This track begins with a booming cello in the fronts and you can almost see the Diplodocus lumbering across the terrain as a plucked string instrument in the rears follows the footsteps across the plains. The lyrics again first describe the beast followed by his insights on daily life and how he has to deal with threats at all times. A massive tail can do serious damage!! A nice "string quartet in surround effect" ends the track.
TRACK FOUR: MICRORAPTOR
This beast is a flyer, and the music has a smoother tone to it. Harmony vocals in the rears create a splendid effect. Again the listener is surrounded by crafty guitar parts and Ian's cello in the rears. The surround mix is full and done without the extreme panning that many feel is an issue like some of the old quadraphonic mixes. However, every channel is used and, IMHO, used just right.
TRACK FIVE: POLYCOTYLUS
This song is based on a fossil found with a baby within its womb and we get the baby's story. Neil's mix follows the same formula as earlier tunes. The vocal harmonies really stand out on this one. There is a nice video to go along with this track on the DVD, and you can see the pregnant Polycotylus and her demise, as well as life and death in the sea environment in that video. The song itself is light and jazzy.
TRACK SIX: PARASAUROLOPHUS
This song sounds almost classical, with a cathedral-like choir surrounding you at times, a light piano in the fronts, and a free form jazz feel throughout. The cello really shines on this one. You get the impression that the Parasaurolophus could belt out quite a loud blast, but this song does not do that. It's a very calming tune.
TRACK SEVEN: QUETZALCOATLUS
Another flyer and the music reflects that in its tone. This is more along the lines of progressive rock as opposed to the jazz feel of the previous tunes. Again the story is told from the beasts’ first person perspective. The surround mix has accent guitars and sounds in the rears, but this one is primarily a front channels mix. And it fits the material quite well.
TRACK EIGHT: TYRANNOSAURUS
The big guy. Everyone knows this beast and he's a bad ass!
Ian's Cello leads the track off in the right channels. Another progressive piece, this is one of the longer tracks on the album. Although he's the king, he too can get old and broken down and this story tells us of a Tyrannosaurus on the way down, with a bad ankle and arthritis in his bones. It's tough on those ankles supporting such a large mass above. This poor soul will eventually end up on display in Chicago. Such a fate! Ian's cello really shines on this tune.
TRACK NINE: EXTINCTION
“The end of the world as they knew it” The giant Asteroid hits the Earth and wipes most of it away. Could happen any day. Swell. This track is an instrumental that starts out only in the 3 front channels, solo cello solo in the center but also in the left front. The rears come in after about two minutes, but they merely compliment what's going on in the fronts, which make it a showcase piece for Ian's cello.
TRACK TEN: EPILOGUE
The final track is probably the most "fun" track on the album. It almost "rollicks" and is such a catchy melody that you'll find yourself ear-worming it after a while. It's a great way to end an album and brings it full circle from the first track "prologue". On the DVD is an animated video that goes with the song and fits it well. You look into a “puppet box” as the story unfolds. It’s very clever and worth multiple views.
This album, like I said before, is a true album in the sense that it should be taken from start to finish, not as individual songs. An old time “concept album”, I sincerely hope that people discover it and enjoy it because it’s not something we’ll get every day, and in a world of disposable pop songs and single track MP3’s, here is a work of music that was created to be heard in as an album and not a song.
Neil’s mix is superb, and I am sure that SW would be proud of it and I hope he gets to listen as he would enjoy not only the mix but the content as well.
The music industry is nothing like it used to be, and albums these days are forgotten relics of the past, but I sincerely hope that people discover this project and it gets the attention it deserves.
At the very least, this should get nominated for a Grammy for Surround Album of the Year.
Good job all involved.