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Uli Jon Roth's music is a widescreen, technicolour journey. He is one of the few artists whose musical vision is not only everchanging, but also moving ever upwards, to new heights of musicality, composition and refinement. These CD's are a testimony to that vision; each record can be viewed as a separate peak in a mountain range - once scaled, a new loftier height comes into view, and so the journey begins again. Each recording project presented its own unique challenge to him at the time, and just as in any natural progression, each plateau had to be attained before the necessary understanding and knowledge could be assimilated to enable Roth to move on to a higher level. 'Earthquake' sounds remarkably fresh for a record that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. This was the first major peak in the evolution of Uli's musical vision; everything, so far, had been leading to this point of artistic expression. The elements that had made him such a revered guitarist in the Scorpions, were fully revealed on this album, and because he had total control over the concept that was Electric Sun, he was finally climbing the mountain, rather than just skirting the base of it. To my ears, at least, Scorpions tracks such as 'Fly To The Rainbow', 'The Sails Of Charon', 'Catch Your Train', 'Polar Nights' and "Yellow Raven", were all vital steps on the journey, but 'Earthquake' brought all of the shafts of light that made up Uli's musical and spiritual being together, and focused them into a single beam of pure energy. The Hendrix influence was very strong throughout - for me, nothing else by any other artist comes close to capturing that elusive Hendrix spirit, as this. It's the space between the notes, that 4th Dimension, that separates it to this day from the others. This huge leap, both artistically and spiritually, was helped by the incredible inspiration and support of Uli's then girlfriend, Monika Dannemann. Meeting Monika in 1976 had a profound effect on Uli, and with her visionary nature and astonishing artistic flair, she inspired Uli to follow his spiritual path, to really let his soul speak, to fly.... Uli would be the first to point out 'Earthquake's shortcomings - particularly the vocals - but due to the nature of the whole Electric Sun ethos - the freedom of the three-piece format - it would have been nigh on impossible to just slot in a vocalist and expect it to work. I personally feel that it was a necessary step in Uli's musical evolution to write and sing the vocal melodies, as it was the first step towards an understanding of vocal composition. This would ultimately lead to the melodic sophistication of his future compositions. (In defence of the vocals, I would also add that the message of the lyrics connects on a deeper level - with Uli utilizing his Dylan-esque narration - than if the songs had been sung by some kind of rock frontman). The music though was, and still is, something else. Tracks such as 'Electric Sun', 'Japanese Dream', and the beautiful 'Lilac', combine the Hendrix spirit with an innovative classical ornamentation, unique to Roth in both sound and style. There are many high lights, guitar-wise, on Earthquake, but the incredible solo on 'Still So Many Lives Away', with its unprecedented precision and effortless fluidity, would grace any album. This track in particular, caused shock waves throughout the guitar world. Lest we forget, this was 1978, and Uli was already utilizing so many of the techniques that the rock-guitar fraternity would discover in later years; arpeggios, exotic scales and modes, string skipping, etc., were all part of the Roth arsenal at this point. Eddie Van Halen may have turned the guitar world on its ear when he came on to the scene, but Uli was already light years ahead of the pack. The track 'Earthquake'
was a guitar tour de force; written in October 1977 - well before he left
the Scorpions - it contains incredibly innovative guitar work, fuelled
by passion and grace. It simply soars, propelled by a dramatic intensity
that would be chaotic in the hands of a lesser musician. It builds to
a stunning climax, and as the final sound shimmers into the distance,
the listener is left breathless and stunned. 'FIRE WIND', recorded in 1980 was the next milestone. The striking cover-painting by Monika complimented perfectly the power of the music within, and was later to become a classic Roth image among collectors. This second ELECTRIC SUN album contains amazing guitar work throughout - the performance on 'Cast Away Your Chains' again demonstrates just how wonderfully fluid and eloquent a soloist Uli is. 'Indian Dawn' features some incredibly emotive and expressive improvised soloing over the end section's Uni-vibed rhythm guitar. This illustrates another remarkable aspect of Uli's playing; whether improvising or playing a composed, note-for-note solo, he always plays with the same degree of intensity and passion, and with the same unique, melodic flair. 'Fire Wind' was the last album of Uli's to have that deep Hendrix aura around it; after this, the classical side of Uli's musical nature would be the dominant, guiding force. Indeed, the last track on 'Fire Wind' - 'Hiroshima' - was in a way the culmination of that whole Hendrix vibe, and Uli would agree that it was his strongest composition in that vein. It brought together, in one track, all of the Hendrix-inspired aspects of Uli's playing, from the heavy groove of the main riff, the delicate, shimmering fourths of the 'Tune of Japan' section, to the simply majestic theme of the 'Lament', with its spellbinding, heartfelt guitar fade-out over a magical theme played in octaves. This was always an emotional high point of the Electric Sun concerts, and Uli dusted it off and re-arranged it for inclusion on the recent G3 tour, to stunned and appreciative audiences. This piece seemed to be the last chapter in that style for Roth. He had taken it as far as it could go, and now new and loftier peaks beckoned.... Due to various contractual problems related to his departure from the Scorpions, Uli didn't release a new album until 1984's "Beyond The Astral Skies". This represented the apex of his musical endeavours thus far - here was sonic architecture of the highest calibre. The compositions were grander, more majestic, more symphonic than before, and the music expressed a heightened spiritual quality, in comparison to its predecessors. By this time, Uli had widened the framework of Electric Sun to feature his keyboard playing as well as additional vocalists. The three piece sound that had been the mainstay of his music up to this point, was thus put to rest... and in its place arose, phoenix-like, a more articulate orchestration. Uli had been taking
classical singing lessons, which enabled him to further expand and enhance
his compositions with complex, choir-like vocal arrangements. This album
was the first peak in a new musical mountain range; the classical side
of Uli's music was now to the fore, and this new path would lead him ever
deeper into the realms of classical composition. The innovative combination
of these new elements gave the music a far greater orchestral quality,
and the stunning cover - again painted by Monika - reflected perfectly
the deep spiritual nature of the music within. The music on 'Beyond The
Astral Skies' is ingeniously structured, with a stream of unique textures
and emotions flowing through the pieces. Uli plays all of the keyboards
on the album, and, using them in a manner akin to that of a painter, embellishes
the compositions with vibrant new colours. 'Beyond The Astral Skies' triumphs
as a whole, complete, integrated work. The beautiful, philosophical lyrics
are supported exquisitely by the transcendent power of the music. 'Astral Skies' also contained an extraordinary piece of music in the magnificent 'Eleison - Son Of Sky'. This was a pivotal composition, as not only did it encompass, and expand upon, the best elements of Uli's rock/classical fusion; it also heralded a new direction. Another summit had been attained with this sublime opus. During this time period, Roth began to realize that the journey he had started with Electric Sun had reached its destination with the Astral Skies album; he now felt the need to open up a new musical chapter by adopting an all-out symphonic approach, which was free from the limitations of the rock genre. Although
there was an eleven year gap until his next official release of 'Prologue
To The Symphonic Legends", Uli was far from unproductive. In 1986, he
had written the majority of material for an intended fourth Electric Sun
album. However, due to a lack of necessary funding, Roth found himself
unable to take these songs beyond an initial demo recording stage. Amadeus was also the first recording which fully featured the legendary Sky Guitar. This instrument was designed by Roth himself, in order to overcome once and for all what he felt were the stifling limitations of range imposed on his musical vision by conventional guitars; an aesthetic marvel, it finally enabled Uli Jon Roth to comfortably play full notes in the high register of the violin, an area which was only previously accessible in his dreams. 1988 saw the realization of a long held musical ambition for Roth, with the composition of the 'Sky Concerto'. This was a large scale concerto for Sky Guitar and Orchestra, and although it was never recorded, due to the vast funding necessary to do justice to such a work, it was a hugely important learning experience for Uli. He had again widened his artistic boundaries, and had successfully overcome the many difficulties of large scale composition. Uli chose to write the guitar parts with ruthless disregard to the technical limitations of the instrument...with only one small problem: half-way through the writing of the Concerto, it began to dawn on Uli that even the Sky Guitar would not be able to cope with the enormous technical demands of this music. The ingenious solution he found was to add a seventh string to the Sky Guitar, in order to faciitate certain arpeggios and to increase the instrument's range to a virtual six octaves. The creation of this incredible guitar was another vital artistic landmark for Uli, but sonically, he took it a stage further by designing an amazing new pickup called 'Mega-Wing' together with his friend John Oram. Unlike any other pick-up available, it enabled Uli to create a rich, warm, yet three-dimensional sound - unique to Roth. He now had the full spectrum of colours with which to paint his musical landscapes. The latter part of
the '80s saw Uli developing his martial arts, yoga and painting skills,
and by this time he was also an accomplished pianist. As a compositional
tool, the piano was seen by Roth as being far superior in comparison to
the guitar, which he has claimed on more than one occasion to be an extremely
un-logical instrument. The
next big challenge was just around the corner; after having been invited
to play a series of highly successful Jimi Hendrix tribute concerts in
1991, Uli was approached by the organizers of the 'International Festival
Of The Guitar' to write an orchestral piece to commemorate the opening
of the borders in Europe. Initially, starting out as a ten minute overture
this composition soon developed into Roth's first full symphony - 'Europa
Ex Favilla'. Due to the great success of 'Symphonic Rock For Europe' - and the ensuing recognition - Uli found himself with a host of offers for a new recording contract. It is a remarkable attribute of Roth's, that he can risk everything on the turn of a card, and come out on top; his career, since leaving the Scorpions, has been filled with such risks - risks that most people would shrink from - yet Roth knows when the bell of Destiny is sounding, and he trusts to his intuition to guide him in these matters. Under
the title 'Sky Of Avalon' - which is more a term for the philosophical
and ideological concept of the project than a band name - Roth began to
develop his cycle of Symphonic Legends. Simply put, the 'Symphonic Legends'
are a musical genre unique to Uli; feeling stifled by the strict adherence
to form in conventional classical music, Roth wanted to create a new genre
that was a genuine combination of previously unrelated musical forms -
symphony, concerto, opera, choral, rock - that could freely interchange
and merge into one, seamlessly. Uli began work on the first Symphonic
Legend under the title of 'Soldiers Of Grace'. Tragically, during the
recordings, Monika died. Compelled to honour her in a way befitting to
such a unique, inspirational individual, Uli decided to write a major
composition dedicated to her memory, titled 'Requiem For An Angel'. The 'Prologue To
The Symphonic Legends', included here, is exactly that - an introduction,
a taster, if you like, to the new musical landscapes being explored by
Uli Jon Roth. These compositions represent Roth at his most imaginative,
emotive and inventive. The guitar playing soars to previously unscaled
heights. Several pieces on the 'Prologue' are being reworked and refined
for inclusion on the 'Requiem', and when this album is released in the
Millenium, it will be the crowning achievement to date, in a career of
ever evolving magnitude. Uli Jon Roth has always followed his own path; the journey is filled with twists and turns and like a river, it has many tributaries - but the goal is always in view.... The journey to Avalon is never easy, and it is the spirit of the Eternal Quest that illuminates Roth's music. Let him take you there....
Carl Swann
April 1999 |