From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #1476 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, August 7 2015 Volume 16 : Number 1476 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- The Diary - The Gentle Storm [Karen Hester ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2015 21:06:51 -0400 From: Karen Hester Subject: The Diary - The Gentle Storm My favorite album so far this year is an epistolary song-cycle told through the letters of a 17th-century Dutch Golden Age couple. The merchant husband heads to India, battling storms, while his wife back in Amsterdam becomes pregnant. I rarely make it through without tears, because, spoiler alert, things turn to custard. The 'gentle' version of the album has many traditional and folk instruments and is very ecto. Then there's the 'storm' version with some dramatic orchestral and choir bits, and cheesy metal guitar. I prefer most of the 'gentle' songs though the dark, dramatic ocean songs are enhanced by metal/prog touches. Vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen (ex- The Gathering, Agua di Annique, Danny Cavanagh etc) has one of those gorgeous crystal and tear-drop voices and she's on my 'would listen if singing the phonebook' list. She sings everything, both the husband and wife's letters. Songwriter and prog/metal-muso Arjen Anthony Lucassen wrote the music, which had me apprehensive because I can't stand most of his rock operas (not that I can stand any rock opera, but his feature extra-cheese.) Even amidst his stuff which I dislike there are a few gems, because he writes the prettiest melodies, and I adore almost everything about this project. Gorgeous acoustic rendition of The Moment (my fav) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G_3CyOYaws Darker 'storm' version of 'The Endless Sea', with nice lyric video using lots of Dutch art - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPE3j6Gg_r4 Video for 'storm' version of 'Heart of Amsterdam' with musicians in leather trousers and goofy Anneke wandering around modern-day Amsterdam in a not-really-17th-century costume - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q2Wx5H6wkg Karen ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #1476 ****************************