Kyrie Eleison ~ Austria

The Fountain Beyond the Sunrise (1976)

As you probably have noticed, I write about a lot of albums - especially in these last few years - that have little to do with progressive rock. There is no mistaking where Kyrie Eleison comes from in the continuum of genres. I bought this at a time when I was starving for anything that might resemble the classic 70s progressive rock sound, especially obscure albums that were actually released back then. The cover alone is just perfect, so the contents within must be magnificent. To this day, Kyrie Eleison has been a permanent fixture on my "wall of albums". Foxtrot era Genesis is obviously the name of the game here, so let's dig in.

After 35 years of owning this LP, I can safely say it hasn't improved any more to my ears than on the first listen. The analog instrumentation and lengthy compositions are all welcome of course. Their heart is absolutely in the right place. The execution is what is lacking. The production is distorted. The English vocals are iffy at best, a common issue with continental European prog bands of the 70s. They are intended to replicate Peter Gabriel's theatrical mannerisms, but come across oftentimes as irritating. The songs themselves lack those magical highs that make prog such a brilliant genre. There's no soaring guitar solos like on 'Firth of Fifth', or the fuzz bass proclamations of a 'Close to the Edge'. The Fountain Beyond the Sunrise grinds through their compositions without the clarity needed to create a next level experience.

If thinking what I'm saying above means I don't like The Fountain Beyond the Sunrise, that would be the incorrect conclusion. It just never really met my rather lofty expectations. Whether while I was still in my early 20's or now (gasp) 60. Back on the wall it goes, perhaps another visit in a dozen years will finally reveal what I've been looking for.

Ownership: 1984 Merlin (LP). It's easy to tell the difference between this reissue and the original - the cover is more distinctly yellow in color, the back cover is white, and the inserts are photocopied, rather badly at that. One of those inserts is an advert for Indigo, their current band at the time. I've seen many folks try to pawn this version off as an original, so just be sure to look for these details. Originals are much tougher to source. Discogs has an entry for a Swedish release, but looks incorrect. I don't have the energy to correct the record, so to speak.

Archie at Eurock brought in many of these obscure European prog albums in the late 80s (his forte was more towards electronic and what we now call avant prog). In phone conversations with him back then, I don't think he really liked symphonic prog too much. Some of what he brought in are going for the same price now as then. Others have skyrocketed. I only bought a few, because that's all I could afford, and still own some.

His catalogs tended to be hype machines, every album was incredibly great. He offered that kind of praise for the Indigo album and I bit. What a huge disappointment! I need to conduct a recent objective listen, as I'm sure my ears will provide more of an historical context. But at the time, it was exactly the kind of hollow "neo prog" (=80s arena rock) I was trying to avoid.

1//89 (first listen); 5/29/09; 10/19/24 (review / new entry)