Track Listing
1. Mr. Sandman 2. Surfin' U.S.A. 3. Bright eyes 4. Lord of the rings 5. The wizard 6. Spread your wings 7. Mordred's song 8. Black chamber 9. The bard's Song 10. Barbara Ann/Long tall Sally 11. A past and future secret 12. The France 13. Theatre of pain Year: 1996 Label: EMI - Official Site |
Blind Guardian - 'The forgotten tales' - By J. Korkiam�ki
The Forgotten Tales is a 15 song compilation of Blind Guardian�s rarities, more specifically b-sides, bonus tracks from the previous albums� CD versions, a couple of new cover songs, one live song, one remix and most of the songs are great acoustic versions of the songs on the three latest Guardian albums. That�s about it, and I�m sure quite many Blind Guardian fans are aching to know what the CD includes specifically. I think it�s best to do this song by song. "Mr. Sandman" is the single, a weird The Chordettes cover song, that has even ended up as a hilarious video. And god damn it, it�s a real, honest to god lullaby! As the name is implying, the song is about the Sandman himself, and it lasts for about two and a half minutes, if even that. It begins with a very... hmmm... frightening (LOL) Telebubbies-intro, that could easily be from some old The Osmonds LP, but in the end the bass drums start to strike, the vocals still going on the same, a bit rougher though. Surprisingly the song is very funny and definitely one of the CD�s best offerings. The first one of the album�s two Beach Boys cover songs is the classic "Surfin� USA", that is quite 'right on' rock, unlike you could first imagine about the other one, "Barbara Ann", which was previously heard on the CD version of Follow The Blind, I think it wasn�t on the original (?). Well anyway, "Barbara Ann" needs more personal adjustment before you can get into it completely, mostly because of the rock �n� roll vocal lines. I don�t know if the long haired gorillas in Blind Guardian really like that more frightening monster than in any other 50�s horror movie, meaning Beach Boys, or is this just mean (but nothing personal kind of) mockery. Following "Surfin� USA", there are three acoustic pieces. They are "Bright Eyes", "Lord Of The Rings" and "The Wizard". Everybody remembers "Bright Eyes" from Imaginations From The Other Side and "Lord Of The Rings" from Tales Of The Twilight World, but "The Wizard" is a new one, and again a cover song, this time from the vast material of Uriah Heep. Well, the acoustic versions from Guardian�s own songs are absolutely fabulous, although "Bright Eyes" lacks the same emotion and of course the electric guitar�s stomping riff. "The Wizard" is a very soothing and relaxing experience, and if I didn�t know this was a Uriah Heep cover song and the name and theme were different, I�d probably be looking for this song from my old Eagles vinyls. "Spread Your Wings" is a familiar cover version of a Queen song for those, who have previously owned or own Somewhere Far Beyond�s CD version. It�s a good cover, like I said in the review of Somewhere Far Beyond. I still can�t understand why they didn�t put "Trial By Fire" on this album. After "Spread Your Wings" we again here a couple of acoustic takes, Imaginations From The Other Side�s "Mordred�s Song" and Somewhere Far Beyond�s filler (well, sorry!) "Black Chamber", more boring than ever. "Mordred�s Song" isn�t nearly as good as the electric version, but here you can truly hear the beauty of the rhythm guitars. The only live song on the album is a very good choice, at that. It�s Somewhere Far Beyond�s great, also originally acoustic ballad "The Bard�s Song � In The Forest", which the German audience seems to like too, because they almost sing the whole song from the beginning to the end, Hansi just showing the way through the verses and the choruses. Unbelievable, I have never heard this kind of display of honor on any live albums. The band clearly also admires their audience. A fantastic version, wow! I talked about "Barbara Ann" enough in another review already, so let�s just jump forward... "A Past And Future Secret"'s acoustic version is, like all the others, a fine piece of work, as a matter of fact, the vocals and the vocal lines fit the acoustic melodies a bit better than the original, more electric ones. "To France" is another cover song, taken from the material of "the young prince of prog", Mike Oldfield. Sounds a bit like a march of war, this one, although the theme is a bit different. A very functional song, this time played with traditional heavy metal instruments. The last song on the album is "Theatre Of Pain" from Somewhere Far Beyond, as an instrumental remix. The added violin fits the song perfectly. A very good ending for the album, and fits great to be background music for the Final Fantasy games. I know, I�ve tried. The Forgotten Tales is an awesome piece of work, a very interesting package for all die hard Blind Guardian fans. I said in an earlier review that this might be one of the good places to start listening to Blind Guardian. I�ve not changed my mind, I just want to add that you should still make reservations for the album, "Mr. Sandman" and company could give a kind of strange image about the band. A must have for those who like to have some fun with heavy metal and for those who are open minded or like alternative versions and candid cover songs. Metal Obsessive Grade: 95% |