Search - Jon Anderson :: Toltec

The Power of Silence

John Luttrell | California, USA | 04/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album was clearly a huge endeavor - high effort on musicianship, orchestration, and imagination - on the level of Anderson's early masterpiece "Olias of Sunhillow". However, unlike Olias, Toltec was not a solo effort and involved a small "orchestra" of classical and electronic instruments and players...The project, originally recorded in 1992 and entitled "The Power of Silence", was not to be released by Geffen Records, and sat on the shelf until finally released in 1996 by High Street, a division of Windham Hill. Having heard the original "POS" recording, I much prefer it to the Toltec version. A track-by-track analysis of both recordings is not really needed as they are very similar, however the haunting spoken word voice-over from Longwalker is much more present on Toltec, to the point of getting in the way of the music. It is still unclear whether the music was re-recorded for Toltec or if the original "POS" tracks were just remixed.There are many parallels between Toltec/POS, The Lost Tapes of Opio (1996?), Angels Embrace (1995), and even A Requiem for the Americas (1989). Clearly inspired by the book "The Power of Silence" by Carlos Castenada, Jon Anderson transports the listener - just as Don Juan's Yaqui shaman transported him - to a parallel reality. Seeming sometimes like a quasi-mystical British explorer, Anderson's quest for spirituality through native cultures and world music still continues and we always expect the unexpected with each release."

Jon's best away from Greek keyboardists

John Luttrell | 05/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is JA's best album in my opinion (beside from his work with Vangelis, which surpasses Yes in, inevitably, my opinion). Whereas his previous solo efforts seemed to waver between Yes-style (Olias of Sunhillow), Vangelis-style (Song Of Seven, Animation), I-don't-know-what-but-lets-try-it-anyway-style (Three Ships, In The City Of Angels, Deseo, Change We Must, Angels Embrace, The More We Know), and I'm-a-short-hippy-with-all-my-own-hair-style (Earth Mother Earth), Toltec stands out as the best combination of all Jon's musical leanings. From Rock to Pop to Prog to New Age, this is the best summary of Jon's diversity, and a good starting point for anyone curious about his (VERY curious) work."

Beautiful,complex,interesting, well performed and detailed.

John Luttrell | 04/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having been a huge YES fan since 1971, I highly reccomend this album for all lovers of music that transends the norm. In my opinion this is one of Jon's best, if not my all time favorite, from among his solo efforts. As is usually the case with YES music and Jon Anderson's individual work , this album is extreamly complex, detailed and beautiful."