GANDALF - FROM SOURCE TO SEA (2013 REMASTERED CBS/DIGI-PAK)

Related Artist Profiles: Gandalf

Qty:

[Related & Similar Products]  [More By Artist]  [Email To A Friend]

2013 Remastered Re-Issue of his 8th and possibly Gandalf’s finest album, and certainly THE biggest selling import title ever in CD Services history!

Back again after a long absence, ‘From Source To Sea’ is indeed a real classic from the glory days of 80’s symphonic Synth/Prog crossover music – A time when Gandalf, an Austrian multi-instrumentalist playing fantasy music in the vein of something between Mike Oldfield and Steve Hackett, already had seven studio albums under his belt, and was still in the process of being discovered by CDS customers!

Having already produced 6 Progressive/Electronic Instrumental Crossover albums (and a compilation) on Vinyl LP for WEA Austria during the earlier part of the 1980’s, Gandalf expanded his horizons and made a move to CBS/Columbia Europe in 1987. His first release for the label was the wondrously spacey: ‘Universal Play’ which was issued on CD (a new format at that time) and Vinyl LP in ’87.
The follow-up: ‘From Source To Sea’ came 1988 and it too was simultaneously released on Vinyl LP and CD.
The album is all about the journey of water from the source until it joins the ocean. The inspiration originated from a visit of the lakes and waterfalls at Plitvice-Nationalpark in Croatia.
Musically, ‘From Source To Sea’ was built upon hypnotic minimalistic, sometimes Far-Eastern-sounding basic structures, spanning wide symphonic melodies over the top that eventually developed into large orchestral crescendos, featuring many powerful electric guitar and synthesizer solos that were definitely based in Progressive Rock and reminded everyone of Gandalf's earlier WEA roots.

‘From Source To Sea’ was an amazing album that sold itself within the first few minutes of playing with a two-part piece of fantastic instrumental music that was a mixture of serene beauty and dramatic power.
‘Dreamscapes-Part 1’ was simply one of the most beautiful flowing melodic symphonic synth-based tracks we had heard, perfectly portraying the sea in a period of calm tranquillity, but it was to be “the calm before the storm” as the music bursts in to mind-blowing majestic dynamics of: ’Dreamscapes-Part 2’, another track that gets big in melody whilst representing the force and power of the waves as they crash onto the rocks - a fantastic passage of mainly keyboards and guitar driven music that sounds like a band playing as opposed the one individual.
Such is the strength and diversity of these opening seven minutes, it wouldn’t matter if the rest of the album was not so hot, as it’s worth having for these tracks alone – but that’s definitely not the case, because the remaining seven tracks, whilst being slightly overshadowed by the opening salvo of both peace and power, are still all extremely good tracks of instrumental crossover music.

There’s probably not too many of you out there that don’t already have the CBS original, but a lot of new customers have come on board at CDS since we last had ‘From Source To Sea’, so this is your chance to add some of his greatest moments to your Gandalf collection with this new Remastered (by the man himself) edition in a Digi-Pak!

As we all know, this man is still producing fantastic music in the new millennium, albeit less “Proggy” these days, and long may he continue to do so.

‘From Source To Sea’ is released on 14th March 2013.

GANDALF: FROM SOURCE TO SEA Track List:

01. Dreamscapes-Part I (4:09)
02. Dreamscapes-Part II (3:14)
03. Dancing Butterflies (10:19)
04. Lotus Blossom (6:04)
05. Clouds Dissolving (4:15)
06. From Source To Sea (11:30)
07. Yamuna Full Moon (6:45)
08. Crystal Cascades (4:19)
09. Refuge Island (5:38)

TPT: 56:15