Often, when popular musicians record with a symphony orchestra the result can be a pretentious shambles. Here Oregon prove a rare exception, their blend of jazz featuring Ralph Towner's 12-string guitar and Paul McCandless's oboe, English Horn and clarinet always by its very instrumentation having an affinity with classical music. Oregon have in fact performed with symphony orchestras throughout their three-decade-long career, and this release, coinciding with their 30th anniversary, is just the first album they have made with one. The material is a mixture of old and new, performed live-in-the-studio with the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra over six days in June 1999, the best takes assembled into this 91-minute set. Everything speaks of quality, from the double jewel box with twin booklets and card outer sleeve, to the superb musicianship and exemplary recording. Not that this would mean a thing if the music itself wasn't good, but fortunately Oregon have pulled off the Holy Grail of improvising with an orchestra, one highlight being "Freeform Piece For Orchestra And Improvisors". Elsewhere, more formally structured pieces such as "Acis And Galatea" and "Waterwheel" have the appeal of good film music, and "The Templers" harks back to Bach, adding a distinctive late twist to neo-classicism. This is the best such venture since John McLaughlin's Mediterranean Concerto. --Gary S. Dalkin

Mikis in the studio singing his own songs!, 11 Dec 2000
That Theodorakis is a composer, not a singer is commonplace comment. So is said about the Bob Dylans and Tom Waitses of this world. And unfortunately, you will probably not find him so convincing a singer here either. The arrangements are by Yannis Zotos not Mikis. The singing sounds too polished and cautious all throughout, except maybe for Imaste Dio which has lyrics by Mikis himself. There is no duetting either- understandable enough after all, this being designed for other reasons altogether. Probably that is the setback of this record. It all sounds too carefully planned to suite Mikis voice and Western audiences. This might lead some to classify Mikis as a composer of tourists' songs. Whatever that means, it might be referring to the treatment of the songs on tourist compilations, rather than songs themselves. When Mikis is in control and in front of his audience, he is a good singer, in that he utterly convincing and moving. There the heavy voiced desires, loss and happiness that inhabit the melodies take life. In other moments he is the jocular note climber one can hear on the last two tracks of the "Z" OST. Only in such cases, we are intimately acquainted with the composer. Sadly enough, Theodorakis here does not seem to take off. Nice front-cover!

Mikis in the studio singing his own songs!, 11 Dec 2000
That Theodorakis is a composer, not a singer is commonplace comment. So is said about the Bob Dylans and Tom Waitses of this world. And unfortunately, you will probably not find him so convincing a singer here either. The arrangements are by Yannis Zotos not Mikis. The singing sounds too polished and cautious all throughout, except maybe for Imaste Dio which has lyrics by Mikis himself. There is no duetting either- understandable enough after all, this being designed for other reasons altogether. Probably that is the setback of this record. It all sounds too carefully planned to suite Mikis voice and Western audiences. This might lead some to classify Mikis as a composer of tourists' songs. Whatever that means, it might be referring to the treatment of the songs on tourist compilations, rather than songs themselves. When Mikis is in control and in front of his audience, he is a good singer, in that he utterly convincing and moving. There the heavy voiced desires, loss and happiness that inhabit the melodies take life. In other moments he is the jocular note climber one can hear on the last two tracks of the "Z" OST. Only in such cases, we are intimately acquainted with the composer. Sadly enough, Theodorakis here does not seem to take off. Nice front-cover!

Polyrhythmic Kaleidoscope, 09 Dec 2007
I periodically try to broaden my musical horizons by listening to something completely new, deliberately seeking out a genre, country, style or instrument with which I am unfamiliar and buying a CD that promises to be a worthwhile introduction. Sometimes this backfires, but more often than not I find myself with a hitherto unexpected new area of interest. I bought Lunghorn Twist "blind", the very idea of a band consisting of five accordion players appealing to my sense of humour as much as my taste for the new and unexpected.
I wasn't prepared to fall in love with the accordion, but Accordion Tribe are a rather extraordinary band. This album is truly beautiful. Consisting entirely of original, modern compositions by various band members (with the exception of Tuudittele -an arrangement of a traditional Finnish tune)there is a definte folk flavour that permeates the whole, perhaps as much due to the inevitable associations the instrument has in Britain, but also a playful, jazzy complexity that makes listening a challenge.
The virtuosity of the playing is midboggling, but never at the expense of melody- I find a genuine, almost ancient joy in some of the tunes- the brightness of the sound is coupled with a rhythmical complexity that is sadly lacking in most contemporary music.
-I should say here that I have played drums for thirteen years, and love to dance, strange and novel rhythmical patterns being a longtime fascination. In the rhythmical context alone, I have found Lunghorn Twist to be both a delight and an education.
Fez Up, for instance, based around the four against three polyrhythm, conjures images of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are, with cartoon monsters dancing by moonlight, while Nat Nr. 7, with its steady seven-beat pulse and extraordinary, almost chromatic signature melody, manages to give me the impression of a psychedelic french/Egyptian cabaret. The Return Of Lasse is (mainly, I think?) an eleven-beat rhythm, with a sinuous, sometimes arabic-inflected melody that feels like a cross between a dervish dance and some kind of higher-dimensional maypole weave, while part III of Hymerea Laborae I would like played at my funeral, so genuinely uplifting do I find its subtly shifting, lilting cycle.

This album is an iridescent wonder; to any fans of mainstream bands such as Tool, who seem to be doing their bit to aid the evolution of our rhythmically impoverished culture, you owe it to yourselves to listen to Accordion tribe... a step closer to the source of all colour.

Mikis in the studio singing his own songs!, 11 Dec 2000
That Theodorakis is a composer, not a singer is commonplace comment. So is said about the Bob Dylans and Tom Waitses of this world. And unfortunately, you will probably not find him so convincing a singer here either. The arrangements are by Yannis Zotos not Mikis. The singing sounds too polished and cautious all throughout, except maybe for Imaste Dio which has lyrics by Mikis himself. There is no duetting either- understandable enough after all, this being designed for other reasons altogether. Probably that is the setback of this record. It all sounds too carefully planned to suite Mikis voice and Western audiences. This might lead some to classify Mikis as a composer of tourists' songs. Whatever that means, it might be referring to the treatment of the songs on tourist compilations, rather than songs themselves. When Mikis is in control and in front of his audience, he is a good singer, in that he utterly convincing and moving. There the heavy voiced desires, loss and happiness that inhabit the melodies take life. In other moments he is the jocular note climber one can hear on the last two tracks of the "Z" OST. Only in such cases, we are intimately acquainted with the composer. Sadly enough, Theodorakis here does not seem to take off. Nice front-cover!

Polyrhythmic Kaleidoscope, 09 Dec 2007
I periodically try to broaden my musical horizons by listening to something completely new, deliberately seeking out a genre, country, style or instrument with which I am unfamiliar and buying a CD that promises to be a worthwhile introduction. Sometimes this backfires, but more often than not I find myself with a hitherto unexpected new area of interest. I bought Lunghorn Twist "blind", the very idea of a band consisting of five accordion players appealing to my sense of humour as much as my taste for the new and unexpected.
I wasn't prepared to fall in love with the accordion, but Accordion Tribe are a rather extraordinary band. This album is truly beautiful. Consisting entirely of original, modern compositions by various band members (with the exception of Tuudittele -an arrangement of a traditional Finnish tune)there is a definte folk flavour that permeates the whole, perhaps as much due to the inevitable associations the instrument has in Britain, but also a playful, jazzy complexity that makes listening a challenge.
The virtuosity of the playing is midboggling, but never at the expense of melody- I find a genuine, almost ancient joy in some of the tunes- the brightness of the sound is coupled with a rhythmical complexity that is sadly lacking in most contemporary music.
-I should say here that I have played drums for thirteen years, and love to dance, strange and novel rhythmical patterns being a longtime fascination. In the rhythmical context alone, I have found Lunghorn Twist to be both a delight and an education.
Fez Up, for instance, based around the four against three polyrhythm, conjures images of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are, with cartoon monsters dancing by moonlight, while Nat Nr. 7, with its steady seven-beat pulse and extraordinary, almost chromatic signature melody, manages to give me the impression of a psychedelic french/Egyptian cabaret. The Return Of Lasse is (mainly, I think?) an eleven-beat rhythm, with a sinuous, sometimes arabic-inflected melody that feels like a cross between a dervish dance and some kind of higher-dimensional maypole weave, while part III of Hymerea Laborae I would like played at my funeral, so genuinely uplifting do I find its subtly shifting, lilting cycle.

This album is an iridescent wonder; to any fans of mainstream bands such as Tool, who seem to be doing their bit to aid the evolution of our rhythmically impoverished culture, you owe it to yourselves to listen to Accordion tribe... a step closer to the source of all colour.

The Serene Machine Live, 17 Apr 2003
Oregon is really Ralph Towner's band. Towner is the late-night jazz guitarist without peer - listening to him is like floating on a waveless sea, whatever's been on your mind seems to diminish & you begin to wonder why it troubled you so much in the first place.

Definitely fills a niche. Have heard better engineered live albums.

Mikis in the studio singing his own songs!, 11 Dec 2000
That Theodorakis is a composer, not a singer is commonplace comment. So is said about the Bob Dylans and Tom Waitses of this world. And unfortunately, you will probably not find him so convincing a singer here either. The arrangements are by Yannis Zotos not Mikis. The singing sounds too polished and cautious all throughout, except maybe for Imaste Dio which has lyrics by Mikis himself. There is no duetting either- understandable enough after all, this being designed for other reasons altogether. Probably that is the setback of this record. It all sounds too carefully planned to suite Mikis voice and Western audiences. This might lead some to classify Mikis as a composer of tourists' songs. Whatever that means, it might be referring to the treatment of the songs on tourist compilations, rather than songs themselves. When Mikis is in control and in front of his audience, he is a good singer, in that he utterly convincing and moving. There the heavy voiced desires, loss and happiness that inhabit the melodies take life. In other moments he is the jocular note climber one can hear on the last two tracks of the "Z" OST. Only in such cases, we are intimately acquainted with the composer. Sadly enough, Theodorakis here does not seem to take off. Nice front-cover!

Polyrhythmic Kaleidoscope, 09 Dec 2007
I periodically try to broaden my musical horizons by listening to something completely new, deliberately seeking out a genre, country, style or instrument with which I am unfamiliar and buying a CD that promises to be a worthwhile introduction. Sometimes this backfires, but more often than not I find myself with a hitherto unexpected new area of interest. I bought Lunghorn Twist "blind", the very idea of a band consisting of five accordion players appealing to my sense of humour as much as my taste for the new and unexpected.
I wasn't prepared to fall in love with the accordion, but Accordion Tribe are a rather extraordinary band. This album is truly beautiful. Consisting entirely of original, modern compositions by various band members (with the exception of Tuudittele -an arrangement of a traditional Finnish tune)there is a definte folk flavour that permeates the whole, perhaps as much due to the inevitable associations the instrument has in Britain, but also a playful, jazzy complexity that makes listening a challenge.
The virtuosity of the playing is midboggling, but never at the expense of melody- I find a genuine, almost ancient joy in some of the tunes- the brightness of the sound is coupled with a rhythmical complexity that is sadly lacking in most contemporary music.
-I should say here that I have played drums for thirteen years, and love to dance, strange and novel rhythmical patterns being a longtime fascination. In the rhythmical context alone, I have found Lunghorn Twist to be both a delight and an education.
Fez Up, for instance, based around the four against three polyrhythm, conjures images of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are, with cartoon monsters dancing by moonlight, while Nat Nr. 7, with its steady seven-beat pulse and extraordinary, almost chromatic signature melody, manages to give me the impression of a psychedelic french/Egyptian cabaret. The Return Of Lasse is (mainly, I think?) an eleven-beat rhythm, with a sinuous, sometimes arabic-inflected melody that feels like a cross between a dervish dance and some kind of higher-dimensional maypole weave, while part III of Hymerea Laborae I would like played at my funeral, so genuinely uplifting do I find its subtly shifting, lilting cycle.

This album is an iridescent wonder; to any fans of mainstream bands such as Tool, who seem to be doing their bit to aid the evolution of our rhythmically impoverished culture, you owe it to yourselves to listen to Accordion tribe... a step closer to the source of all colour.

The Serene Machine Live, 17 Apr 2003
Oregon is really Ralph Towner's band. Towner is the late-night jazz guitarist without peer - listening to him is like floating on a waveless sea, whatever's been on your mind seems to diminish & you begin to wonder why it troubled you so much in the first place.

Definitely fills a niche. Have heard better engineered live albums.

A place no man has been before...,, 07 Jul 2001
This is just another example of unique and exciting creations from the soul of this master musician. One minute he brings you into the village with traditional folk-like songs, then suddenly you are taken on a tour to some harmonically theatrical planet where you surrender to a groove that only Hermeto can create with his genius rhythms.