Probably the tour de force of Estonian progressive rock -- finally now available on CD. This stuff is amazing. Classic material, among the best prog in the world. The re-release of this on CD in December 1999 is key to bringing this fabulous work to the world. The remastering work by Priit Kuulberg (vocoder and electronics on the album, also bassist for Kaseke and Ruja) brings the murky sounds of the LP into the forefront. It sounds much better quality than the LP version, I must say.

The music on this short LP is unmistakably prog, unmistakably Tüür. That is Erkki-Sven Tüür, the darling of the classical music world and rising star in the European contemporary classical music scene. Calling this type of music "chamber rock" Tüür managed a very unique sound with his compositions -- played magnificently by his band. He himself is very accomplished, playing flute, recorder and keyboards on the album. Tüür is also underrated as a singer, despite having an excellent voice for prog and all forms of music.

The accompanying band is also top-notch, with the guitars of Riho Sibul (also Kaseke and more) and flute/recorder of Peeter Brambat being the other highlights. The material is layered in exquisite composition, intricate enough to demand several careful re-listenings before grasping the full dimension of the music. It's like how many times you needed to listen to a complex passage by Mozart or Tchaikovsky before getting the whole thing. But key to the music of Tüür is that it is amazingly memorable. I bet you that you'll be whistling the lead tune to "Ostium" after only a few listens. It happened to me, one day I was washing dishes and I started whistling the main theme to the opus...

The main work on the release is the side-long "Sümfoonia seitsmele esitajale" {Symphony for Seven Performers}, which ranks among the best progressive rock instrumentals in history. Its starts off with the aforementioned "Ostium" that brings chills down your spine as the door opens. The two driving melody lines are so memorable you will be whistling them soon enough. It is a positively uplifting song, almost a religious experience until the stylish guitar work of Riho Sibul comes in, giving the song another dimension. A ripping guitar solo it develops into -- before the multi-keyboard lines come back to the positive hymn of the piece, finishing on an uplifting note.

Part two of the three-part piece is "Illuminatio" and it is a softer piece that does indeed illuminate as the title suggests. The early part of the song sees Tüür and Brambat doing some beautiful work on their wind instruments, before the rest of the band slowly joins in, of course in different layers. In the middle, there is a quick passage with another unique and fascinatingly upbeat melody. The song drifts with every instrument playing a quietly fantastic theme, led by the simple guitar line of Riho Sibul. It ends with soft wind instruments alike the start, with a final crescendo and section when that illumination is finally realised.

Finally we move into the concluding section "Mare vitreum" which features some excellent playing by all involved. A sharp difference in the start already with the cymbal ride of drummer Arvo Urb leading into a complex layer of music. It is a challenge to follow each of the wind players through the complex lines, but then the song takes off into a moment of energy and inspiration when the rest of the band joining the wind players. After a drift back into softer sounds it re-launches into a powerful section, driven by the familiar Hammond sounds coming from keyboardist Mart Metsala. It works into a gradually active passage with more and more of the musicians joining the fray. The energetic section is highlighted by a ripping solo by Estonia's top guitarist for 20 years, Riho Sibul -- if heard in 1983 at first release, it would have frightened many of the best prog rock guitarists around the world. Sibul has a very distinct style, which makes his solos recognisable in other bands as well (such as Kaseke) in his use of fusiony licks with fast chromatic scales. But the song then moves into a recognisable theme as it slowly fades out with everyone joining in, closing the song, the opus, in style, with a beautiful Hammond chord...amazing stuff. It is so hard to review something you like so overwhelmingly...

Next is the only song with vocals that made it to release, "Antidolorosum." That is a major shame, since Erkki-Sven Tüür has an excellent voice. Having heard some other tracks, like "Isamaa" {Fatherland} and "Uus ja vana" {Old and New}, I can safely say that Tüür has an amazing voice -- even for blues! But this LP track is excellent, with a driving guitar line by Sibul and it rocks out a bit more. It shows a different side of Tüür's composition, though the layered parts by all the instrumentalists is as intricate as anything else. The two instrumental sections driven by the guitar solo of Riho Sibul but the organ of Metsala and synths from Tüür plays along playfully in the background.

It then goes to the softer "Päikesevene" {The Sunboat}, a fascinating piece that undeservedly gets less attention than the other tracks. The background music on this one is about as challenging as "Apocalypse 9/8" by Genesis or "Discipline" by King Crimson but much quieter. The flute plays above the background playfully, with drummer Urb getting a few in there, joined later by the recognisable guitars of Sibul. Then the action moves into something heavier with everyone in excited mode, a cool little passage with several of the instruments going full force. Then it sinks back into the original theme in a slow, relaxed form, before rising back into heavy action. Drummer Arvo Urb plays some good stuff in the background while others are also going at it. The ending is macabre and haunting.

Finally, the release ends with the fantastic instrumental "Sfääride võitlus" {Battle of the Spheres}, which show off the composition genius of Tüür. He skilfully divided his band into two sides, represented by good and evil. The flute of Peeter Brambat, synths of Tüür and electric piano of Anne Tüür play the soft, positive, happy melody of the good spheres, while the drums of Urb, guitars of Sibul, organ of Metsala and bass of Toivo Kopli exemplifies the harsher, dark, frightening sounds of the evil spheres. The good dominate at the beginning, with forays by the evil side slowly into the music at points here and there, fading out after a few seconds of onslaught, each progressing in volume, intensity and length. This is a real story piece, fascinating in its lyrical progression. The evil sounds, led by the guitar with a macabre minor chord assault by the Hammond and rhythm section...then evil takes over the sounds completely for awhile though the good side is still fighting it out (some of it takes careful listening but they're still there in the background, fighting!). However, the evil side hits a crescendo when the good side returns, albeit with a darker feel and intrusions by the dark instruments. The battle ends inconclusively with the gong...does evil or good triumph? Everyone has their own opinion on this one...playing with your balance and EQ changes the battle scene, by the way!

The CD packaging is very true to the original, featuring all the old-time photos and more. A rarity in Estonian prog is that the lyrics to "Antidolorosum" is actually printed. The excellent words of Artur Alliksaar can also be somewhat enjoyed by English readers, as it is expertly translated as are all info on the CD bilingual. This keeps the release true to Estonia and its fans, as well as allowing the world to grasp it. Excellent move by the record company, Eesti Raadio. A class act. Though I must say this is probably the first prog CD to have a sponsor by Dewar's Scotch -- which also provided some "refreshments" at the CD launch. But would this jeopardise distribution to some countries like Finland and the United States, where hard alcohol adverts are banned?

Overall, this is a gem, one of the best pieces of music in the world. I still remember the first time I heard this, much in the same way I remember hearing "The Lamb" by Genesis for the first time at home, disbelieving of the intricacies, much like the first time I heard "Close to the Edge" by Yes and dangerously almost driving off the road in more disbelief., much like when I heard "Misplaced Childhood" by Marillion at a time when the story mirrored my life. An amazing piece of music. This is a piece of Estonia's culture much too good to be kept a secret from the world. Everyone loves Erkki-Sven Tüür already, so let's let them love him more with this! The CD release allows the world to hear one of the true gems of progressive rock from anywhere in the world.

Mel Huang
Tallinn, Estonia
19 July 1999 (updated 22 December 1999)

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