Thursday 4 October 2018

Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock - 'An Alien Heat'

Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock - 'An Alien Heat'



Title - 'An Alien Heat'
Artist - Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock
For those not in the know, Spirits Burning is a musical collective that features musicians associated with space rock and progressive rock, including input from members of Blue Oyster Cult, Clearlight, Gong, and Hawkwind; and is overseen by American composer/producer Don Falcone.
Don Falcone is an American producer, musician (keyboards, bass, and vocals), and captain of Spirits Burning. A live version of the band played in the UK in 2017, with Falcone on keys and vocals, and featuring Hawkwind family members Bridget Wishart, Richard Chadwick, and Steve Bemand.
Michael Moorcock is an English writer and musician, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published literary novels. He is best known for his novels about the character Elric of Melniboné, a seminal influence on the field of fantasy since the 1960s and 1970s.
As editor of the British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States.
His publication of Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad as a serial novel was notorious; in Parliament some British MPs condemned the Arts Council for funding the magazine.
He is also a successful recording musician, contributing to the band Hawkwind, Blue Öyster Cult and his own project.
The new Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock album, An Alien Heat is actually an adaptation of the Michael Moorcock novel of the same name.
Indeed, it is the first Spirits Burning album to feature Michael Moorcock, and the first with Albert Bouchard as one of the main collaborators.
Albert Bouchard is an American drummer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member and drummer of Blue Öyster Cult. He also plays with his brother Joe in the Bouchard Brothers, and they are both in Blue Coupe with Dennis Dunaway from Alice Cooper.
1. 'Hothouse Flowers' (4:09)
2. 'Geronimo' (4:42)
3. 'Soirée Of Fire' (5:20)
4. 'In The Future' (4:05)
5. 'Doomed' (4:25)
6. 'Fall In Love' (4:14)
7. 'Any Particular Interest' (2:58)
8. 'Dark Dominion' (4:49)
9. 'Seven Finger Solution' (4:07)
10. 'To Steal A Space Traveller' (7:29)
11. 'Virtue & Mrs. Amelia Underwood' (6:33)
12. 'Learning The Art' (3:04)
13. 'Back To 1896' (4:28)
14. 'Quest For Bromley' (3:00)
15. 'Thank You For The Fog' (7:34)
16: 'Old Friends With New Faces' (4:43)


Says Don Falcone, “The debut Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock album came together, in so many special ways. I asked Mike if I could do an adaptation of the ‘Dancers’ trilogy, starting with ‘An Alien Heat,’ and he gave a long-distance blessing."
Al Bouchard became a co-collaborator and helped improve every song. He also brought in some Blue Öyster Cult family members. The planned sessions with Mike came to fruition, and Mike ended up singing on most tracks, and playing harmonica on three.”
With the overall game plan to do three albums to cover the entire Dancers... trilogy, this An Alien Heat space prog rock album is an incredible beginning to what will obviously be an awe inspiring set of works.


Jason Atoms does vocals on the opening tracks and his voice was built for this genre of music, that's for darn sure. Tracks such as 'Hothouse Flowers,' 'Geronimo' and the exquisite, sonically detailed 'Soirée Of Fire' showcase what's to come rather delightfully.
A musical adventure with mystery and chock full of all your favorite elements of space rock, prog, together with tinges of jazz, folk, new wave, and ambient, there's still cuts on here that sound beautifully experimental also.


Enabled to breathe via a pluralistic construct, whether it’s an unexpected grouping of musicians, or styles, or just the staggeringly magnificent luck of everything coming together in the same place, at the same time, under one roof seamlessly, An Alien Heat is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best albums I've had the pleasure to review in the past decade (or more).
CD Purchase Link
'An Alien Heat' Box-Set PledgeMusic.com Campaign Link
www.SpiritsBurning.com
www.MichaelMoorcock.co.uk/
www.GonzoMultiMedia.co.uk

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO


Spirits Burning is one of the most unique entities in the space rock galaxy. The group consists of one main member, Don Falcone, and many other participants from various  bands and projects...


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