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Census Of Hallucinations - "Apparitions" (4-CD set)

The first thing that strikes you about this collection is the sound: a brilliant palette of sound coloration that breathes new life into music already familiar but never quite as vividly realised before. Let’s start with CD3 (Why not?), a good starting point for those unfamiliar with CoH music :two of their most immediate and renowned songs ‘Orion’ and ‘The Moon’ followed by two songs that are stylistically very different, and might be loosely described as ‘disco soul funk without the inane lyrics’ (Does that make sense? Probably not!) Chunky acoustic guitar drives the barbed political commentary of (If at first you don’t succeed) ‘Lie Again’ admitting that ‘there does not seem to be a solution’ as the world has gone irredeemably astray. Despite the fatalism CoH music is oddly uplifting and always delivered with a wry humour and candid lyricism that certainly hits the target but may be a little ‘OTT’ for some. That would be a pity because not to open your mind to this is to miss out a quite extraordinary musical journey through life’s ‘discomfort zone’. Anyway, another thing is to always expect the unexpected. A whiplash, a quotation from ‘they’re coming to take you away HA!HA!’, ‘raspberries’, acerbic insolent ‘one liners’ litter the music at periodic intervals. A title like ‘General Erection’ tells its own story and uses a jazz funk approach that Frank Zappa would surely approve of. ‘Merlin…You Left Your Hat’ is accompanied by a very clever video on the Pet Hippy website (www.aural-innovations.com/pethippy) as we are reminded that science doesn’t have all the answers. ‘What about the things you can’t see?’ Quite! ‘Gardez loo’ (shouted before rubbish and excrement were thrown out of windows in pre sanitation days) introduces the delicious folk rock of ‘Ignorance Insane’, a splendid song boasts a chorus that reminded me of Tom Petty for some unfathomable reason. Guitarist/ singer/ songwriter Tim Jones is at his finest on ‘Hard World’ ably accompanied vocally by ‘fellow conspirator’ Terri B (Only joking!), Tim’s guitar arpeggios perfectly deliver the message musically. There are more gems to come on this CD: the lovely reflective ‘To Prodigal’s Guide’ and the ‘disco stomp’ (Not really!) of ‘Daydream in the Slipstream’ with more fine guitar from Tim.

To me CD 1 held together thematically in a way unsurpassed by the others which could get rather disparate and fragmented and a lot to take in for the newcomer! There are only seven tracks on CD1 (Over 40 minutes of music) including some of my personal favourites like ‘The Sun is Rising’ and ‘Sunshine Through Autumn Leaves’ a song that has grown in stature enhanced by the superior sound quality. There was also a nice reminder of the late Tony Morland’s lyrical contribution to the band in ‘Mazed and Mystified’ and ‘The Sun is Rising’. The incisive, at times acerbic commentary is punctuated nicely by ‘Opening the Trapdoor to Outer Space’ a classic example of space electronica. I was less familiar with the concluding track ‘Where?’, an invigorating reggae/ska concoction I couldn’t quite place.

Disc 2 didn’t work as well as 1 for me as there is more emphasis on experimentation and less on substantial pieces of music. Having said that the fluid guitar of the remarkable ‘Love is the Answer’ and the hypnotic Hillage like guitar echo of ‘Integration’ (Would this have benefited from editing I wonder?) as well as the moving anti-war sentiments in ’55.000 Airmen’ are worth the admission alone. My favourite piece on the side though (and one of my all time CoH favourites) is the awesome 7 minute ‘My God It’s Full of Stars’ with sax joining the guitar.

Census of Hallucinations is ever eclectic and this is nowhere better demonstrated than the range of styles on CD4. Big questions are always asked: Where do you go when you sleep? What is the grand design? Whatever your perspective the lyrics and commentary will really get you thinking. On more earthly matters titles like ‘Weapons of Mass Deception’ tell you what to expect. Musically there are many variations: from the folk chant of ‘External Internal Development’ to the bluesy ‘Manifest Your Magick’ and a wonderful new song ‘The Gremlin Song’ containing a fine guitar riff and solo that will appeal to all you ‘head bangers’ out there.

So if you’re looking for something challenging and different look no further than ‘Apparitions’. Inevitably trying to put so much music together it’s difficult to keep the momentum going but there is enough thought provoking stuff in this musical compendium to satisfy the most demanding of listeners. Recommended.

Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)