Solstice ~ England

Prophecy (2013)

Prophecy is the 5th album from Solstice, and in a quick turnaround (by Solstice standards that is) of three years. There are five new, and lengthy, compositions for Andy Glass to explore his emotional progressive style, as first laid out on Silent Dance - and as a shrewd move, three of those tracks from said album (Silent Dance) have been added as bonus material, having received the Steven Wilson mix, and are included here for reflection and comparison. Prophecy finds Solstice right down the middle of their various styles. A selection of the best - and worst - Solstice has to offer (in my mind anyway). As such, Prophecy is almost certainly not the album that will change minds about them. The album artwork, and overall atmosphere, call out the American West - that of the Native American. There really isn't a more appropriate topic when considering the music of Solstice. It's an interesting anecdote then, that New Life first started sending chills up my spine while driving in Northern New Mexico on my way to Santa Fe from Denver (this was back in 1994). So perhaps I was having the same musical vision that Glass himself was. Let's get to the problematic parts, and then we'll focus on the positive. 

Solstice, again for my tastes, always had a tendency to retain too much "praise to the heavens" in their music. You can just picture the female singer with her head up, eyes closed, slowly swiveling her hips, palms open and arms sweeping upwards, while howling to the moon in that annoying American Idol way. Pan the camera for a profile shot in a misty light. Not for me I'm afraid, sorry. On this album, you can definitely envision this scenario on tracks like 'Keepers of the Truth' and 'West Wind'. 

On the flip side, when Glass and company add a little muscle, and the soaring violin and electric guitar begin to lay out the sustain chords, the entire mood shifts from quasi-religious to pure emotional ecstasy. Now in this setting, the crystal clear female voice is heavenly rather than temporal. For this style, we get 'Warriors' and especially the rousing closer 'Black Water' which is absolutely Solstice at their best. The opening track 'Eyes of Fire', like the album itself, straddles both sides of the fence. In any case, I'm a huge Solstice supporter, and would recommend this highly to fans. Otherwise, you may want to start with Spirit if curious about the band.

---8/26/26

This is a tough album to evaluate. I spent the last three nights listening to it, each one offering a bit more than the last. There's some repetition in the vocals that I find irritating and I think that's the source of my frustration above. Yet when Andy Glass's guitar and Jenny Newman's "fiddle" (violin) get cooking in unison, Solstice is hard to beat. There's a lot of great music here and I enjoyed a +1 listen.

Ownership: 2013 Esoteric Antenna (CD). Booklet with lyrics and Native American artwork. Acquired in 2013.

12/19/13 (review); 8/25/26

Spirit (2010)

Spirit is the 4th release from Solstice, coming 13 years later after the somewhat disappointing Circles album. This is really all I could have hoped for from a new Solstice album. Picking up where New Life left off, but avoiding the hippy dippy tweeness of Circles, Spirit is a fine collection of beautiful songs from Andy Glass and company. All the trademarks of classic Solstice are here, including the soaring violin and the sweet female vocals. And, of course, Glass' superb guitar leads. And there's a bit of rough edge this go round, showing that Glass isn't all about peace and love after all. I'd like to see him explore his more aggressive and psychedelic side in the future. Overall, a splendid effort from one of the UK's most unappreciated progressive rock bands.

Ownership: 2010 F2 (CD + DVD). Acquired in 2013.

12/20/13 (review)

New Life (1993)

With a cleaner production than their debut from nine years earlier, New Life sees Solstice at their height. Andy Glass is in top form here, with some truly majestic guitar leads. He doesn't play fast or technical, it's all pure emotion unlike anyone else I've ever heard. 'Guardian' is one of the most gorgeous tracks I've had the pleasure of listening to. Plenty of wonderful violin and female vocals as well. A rich, beautiful album.

Ownership: CD: 1993 Progressive International. Acquired in 1994.

1994; 12/18/13 (review)

Silent Dance (1984)

Though typically lumped in with the New Wave of British Progressive Rock crowd (or the more common, but dreadful, "Neo Progressive" tag), Solstice were really the odd band out. No Genesis influences here. Perhaps some Renaissance due to the female vocals or even perhaps Yes, because of the generally positive vibes. Solstice play a very beautiful and relaxing progressive rock, with violin, female voice, and searing electric guitar. On this latter point, I could listen to band leader and guitarist Andy Glass all day. He plays in an expressive way like no one else I've ever heard. Recommended.

Ownership: 1984 Equinox (LP). Gatefold with lyrics in the centerpiece. Acquired in 2014.

First copy: 1991 Brainworks (CD). Acquired in 1993.

1993; 2010; 12/15/13 (review); 12/27/21

Previously owned: Circles

12/15/13 (new entry)

Our good friend Spyros has the following observation about Solstice, and since he had a boots-on-the-ground perspective, it's always great to get these first hand accounts: "SOLSTICE were a weird affair. Though by their sound one could easily label them as a neo-prog band, they belonged to the festival scene (being regulars to the most famous free festies of the times with bands like OZRICS, HERE & NOW, HAWKWIND etc). Sonically however, they had nothing in common with the festival bands by being a pure progressive rock combo. They had also little to share with the pomp rock neo-prog clan as they deviated towards Renaissance's folkier edge and the 60s psych prog style. Add to this the fact that in their beginnings they had a late 60s hippy image. Probably the reasons of their limited success; no scene really embraced them as their own... Great band Tom. Count me among their loyal followers."