The timelessness of the haunting - Great Southern Land
anthemic | Australia | 07/20/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"'Ghost of Time' is a collection of pieces that rework thelegendary Icehouse track - 'Great Southern Land'. The title track wascommissioned by the City of Sydney Council to be performed on 1999 New Year's Eve at the Sydney Opera House. The four tracks comprise 44 minutues of music with the title track consuming 23.20 of that time. The opening track 'Great Southern Land(2000)' revisits Iva's original haunting vocal performance. However the track differs from its origins by being more textually layered in keyboards and adding in string orchestration. Such a technique becomes the stylistic motif throughout the CD. Mood-wise the original was fluid and eerie - here it is forcefully darker and nowhere is this more evident than at the ending where instead of fading out, the track threatens to explode with screeching guitars and taiko drums. The sublime returns with a twist. 'Walk Alone' is a beautiful track that owes much of its mood to the ambient and trance sub-genres. The initial origins of Icehouse essentially belong more to underground than commercial music and it shows that Iva is still in touch with some current underground music trends. 'Endless Ocean' is an instrumental that is consistent with the thematic concern aforementioned. The use of cellos continue the eerieness prevalent in 'Great Southern Land'. Finally, the title track is awesome and dares to loudly fuse guitars with string and brass ochestration throughout the first 16 minutes of the track. It captures the hypnoticism of early Pink Floyd. The latter part of the track returns to 'Great Southern Land'. I saw 'Ghost of Time' being performed live at the Sydney Opera and it was mesmerising as the hypnotic mood accompanied the well-lit floats cruising Sydney Harbour. The fact that they chose this song to welcome in a new millennium bears testament to the timelessness of 'Great Southern Land'."
Down-under Big-thumbs-up!
Gustavo Padilla Pratt | Mexico, D.F., Mexico Mexico | 09/29/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This one of the best performance of a great and famous song, "Great Southern Land". You may call it a chant or a hymth, or maybe its better to call it the lead song for a country that been know by the world by the Olympic Games that took place in Sydeny. Icehouse, and its lead singer, songwriter and master-musical-mind, Iva Davies gives us a retrospective into the heart of Australia. First, he moves us via a the lyrics and words of his song "Great Southern Land", now with an orchestral arrange. Then he guides us in the a quest to find Australias darkest and more cultural origins, combining original aboriginal words and noises with orquestral manuevers and technology. Iva, also, a perfectionist in the art of the recording, put special care in this cd, in the mix and in all the production.If you want a cd that reflex this 2000, and Millenium search "for something", you should by this rare but very special down-under extravaganzza."
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1