The Quiet Earth Orchestra
Review by Gary Hill
Let's get one thing out of the way right at the start, this is not an orchestra. In fact, it's not even a band. The Quiet Earth Orchestra is actually a solo work from John Ludi. He has given us a CD that, while probably considered neo-prog, is so rooted in traditional progressive rock it's nearly scary. This is a great album actually. You'll hear echoes of older groups like Genesis, Yes and solo Steve Howe here, but you also might pick up on bits that are similar to The Flower Kings. Either way, it's a strong disc that should please prog purists and neo-prog fans alike.
Track by Track Review
History Ends Here
The intro to this one is surely the beginning of Genesis' Watcher of the Skies. Right where the vocals should enter, though, it moves out to something a bit like a fusion-texture. From there we get some Steve Howe-inspired guitar work. Then it drops way down for the first vocal segment. This is fast paced neo-prog that is firmly rooted in the vintage progressive rock sounds. After this vocal section we get another inspired prog rock instrumental motif. Then keyboards take control for a time. It shifts out from there into a dramatic and rather mysterious sounding section. Next up we get a motif that's based in percussion and keyboards. The vocals that come across here remind me of some of the electronic new wave music from the 1980's. After this section we get more Steve Howe-like guitar – in an arrangement that calls to mind Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe. Then another section of vocals and we're back into ABWH-like guitar solo territory once more. This time the instrumental section ends it.
God
Bouncy, echoey guitar that's again rather like Steve Howe, leads this off. As the other instruments join and the track is reformed, it still feels like something from Howe's solo catalog. This makes its way through a series of instrumental sections, but still feels very much in keeping with Howe's work. As the vocals enter, though, it shifts out into something a bit different. When it moves out after that segment we get some distinctly Yes-like music for a short instrumental interlude, but then we're back to the vocal portion. More Yesisms occur after that and then lead into dramatic Steve Howe solo album type territory. These various motifs make up the rest of the piece.
Limitations
Keyboards start this off and the vocals join almost immediately. Keys with voice carries it for a while, but it shifts out to a slow moving, but more lush, progressive rock motif from there after a time. There are sounds here that call to mind Yes at times and as its shifted out for the next instrumental movement we get some more Howe-like guitar work. More movements are built in here, but much of the track has a Yes (or at least a Steve Howe) styled motif. There are some segments that don't fit that image, but well over half of the cut does.
Simple
This title is somewhat appropriate, although perhaps “short” would be more fitting. This cut is an instrumental that's essentially balladic. The main structure is based off of an acoustic guitar segment, but it gets more fully realized as it carries on. Still, it is rather brief (compared to the other stuff here) at around two minutes.
The Prophet
This one is definitely well rooted in Yes music but there are other elements here as well. The fast paced progression is amongst the best music on show here. The vocal motif on this one is pretty catchy and rather mainstream. We get treated to a great keyboard solo section later in the piece.
Singularity
Somewhat ballad-like (although it does get quite energized), this track has much more in common with The Flower Kings than it does older progressive rock. Running through a number of changes and alterations, I really could hear Roine Stolt's band doing this track. The only vintage prog sounds I hear on this are closer to Genesis than anyone else.
Slow Down
Other than some brief parts which remind me of Jethro Tull, this one seems to be very much in its own stylings. It's a rather bluesy tune at times, but is definitely a progressive rock piece. It's more accessible than some of the other stuff here and is a good tune. There is one soaring segment on this and a cool acoustic guitar solo afterwards that turns a bit jazzy. This gives way to a fast paced, organ heavy section that is quite satisfying. We get a short reprise of the main themes to end this.
The Madness of Crowds
This comes in rather heavy and powerful. It drops back to a staccato sort of rhythmically dominated pattern for the first vocals. This, with more instrumentation added to it, serves as the central song structure as it carries on. Here and there I pick up traces of different artists – the guitar stylings of Steve Howe, the bombastic motifs of Pink Floyd. The war effects that end this are definitely Floyd-like. I love these lyrics, “The punch becomes a fight / The fight becomes a brawl / The brawl becomes a riot soon to become a war / I run away.”
Cicadas
Here we have what is essentially a pretty ballad. There is a tasty prog electric guitar solo, though. The vocal arrangement on this one is worthy of mention as being above some of the rest of the music, too.
The Prophet's Theme
A pretty keyboard solo leads things off. Other instruments join and we're lead along a potent instrumental pattern. This ends and gives way to a classical music styled movement. This doesn't really wander far, but rather continues by repeating and merging these various sections.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs
The Quiet Earth Orchestra is a moniker, also the name of the debut album, for multi-instrumentalist/vocalist John Ludi. It’s a blissful symphonic progressive rock music that would appeal to just about all that enjoy the genre. John provides a nice over-the-top sound without going too far, which is accompanied by some very pleasantly sung vocals that remind me of the more 80‘s sounding new wave bands. I’ve enjoyed several listening experiences with this album but there’s one minor draw back, the percussion sounds. I think the music would excel with acoustic drums. Other than that it’s flawless.John has been working on the Quiet Earth Orchestra project since 1999 and it finally saw the light of day in early 2008. It’s a very cohesive album that contains extended compositions and thoughtful lyrics. I really think a lot of the progressive rock fans will enjoy this album. In fact check out the MySpace page to hear for yourself. Once you do, I’m sure an instant purchase will be happening!!
Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald
The Quiet Earth Orchestra is not really an orchestra, but instead is just one guy, multi-instrumentalist/singer and composer John Ludi. Despite not being an orchestra or a band, Ludi still manages to pull off some pretty successful symphonic progressive rock.
For a long time there's been this division between classic progressive rock, with it's extended compositions, instrumental virtuosity and cosmic lyrics and the so called neo-prog, with shorter compositions, less show-offy instrumental chops and more down to earth lyrics. Ludi's work seems to me to sort of bridge that gap. He's an excellent player, on all the instruments, though it seems clear that his forte is the guitar. His style is complex and dextrous without showing off. Every note has its place in the composition. Keyboards are used more to create added layers and depth, especially to add symphonic textures, rather than for flashy solos. His compositions are multifaceted, never falling into anything formulaic. There are no 20-minute prog rock epics here, but the last six songs on the album do form a 35-minute long conceptual suite. Each piece is designed to lyrically and musically explore a different aspect of his thoughts on spiritualism and human potential (or lack thereof) or to convey a different mood for each segment of the story in the suite that comprises the latter part of the album. But some of the tracks reach into the 8 and 9-minute length, showing that Ludi doesn't like to be confined to any preconceived notions of how a song should be structured.
The album consists of four stand-alone songs and the lengthy aforementioned conceptual suite entitled The Prophet Part 1 (Part 2, I presume, will have to wait for another album). To be honest, the first three songs are not bad, but didn't really grab me that much. They come across as fairly standard neo prog, but not as focused musically compared to what was to come on the latter part of the album, although the tracks God and Limitations have some nice symphonic parts to them that are well done. The fourth track, a brief instrumental appropriately titled Simple is quite nicely done though, with gentle acoustic guitar picking nicely offset by moody, orchestral washes of sound. The album really starts to take on some fire during the final suite, however. The Prophet Part 1, details the journey of a fictional modern day prophet (the album definitely has some spiritual connotations, but if Ludi subscribes to any particular religion, it's not evident in the lyrics, though on his web site he indicates that his title character is based on people such as Jesus Christ, The Buddha and Ghandi and the idea of an "everyman" who becomes enlightened). The Prophet (the first song in the suite) is a somewhat heavier piece, but features some nice piano playing in the middle, somewhat different from the usual guitar interludes and solos. My favourite track on the album, Singularity, is a breezy number reminiscent of The Flower Kings with maybe a touch of Yes Album era Yes, as it describes the hero coming into contact with a cosmic consciousness. Slow Down takes a slightly bluesy, slightly grittier turn, as if to underline the return to a more down to earth setting after the previous piece. The Madness of the Crowds starts simply enough, with a menacing melody, but explodes into an apocalyptic drama complete with explosions and gunfire punctuating the music. The elegiac Cicadas brings the story to a close (for now), with a peaceful piece that features some lovely and moving guitar soloing. The suite ends with the instrumental The Prophet's Theme, a keyboard based number that brings the album to its finish.
The debut album of The Quiet Earth Orchestra should please many prog and neo-prog fans. Ludi's sincerity and passion shines through at almost every turn. Even if the music's occasional lack of focus doesn't always quite get across what he hopes to, the album is still quite an achievement for one lone musician and it's hard to go wrong when an artist believes this much in what he's doing.