SPILL ALBUM REVIEWS: JON ANDERSON – SURVIVAL & OTHER STORIES | EARTH MOTHER EARTH

JON ANDERSON
SURVIVAL& OTHER STORIES | EARTH MOTHER EARTH
FRONTIERS MUSIC

Jon Anderson has released 16 solo studio albums. His catalogue of music is astounding and with his new band, The Band Geeks, he continues to record and tour. These two albums are older Anderson albums that one may have missed when they were first released. However, both of these albums are well worth discovering. Survival & Other Stories was released in 2011, while Earth Mother Earth made its debut in 1997. Both albums are back, on vinyl and CD, and thank goodness they are available to reach a whole new audience. While Yes was a band with huge concepts (usually based in fantasy, not always but in the early days they certainly went towards fantasy and sci-fi), Anderson, on the other hand, has always used his solo output to explore more personal issues.

Earth Mother Earth is a very acoustic based album, featuring songs about spirituality and nature. Listening to it almost 30 years from when it was first released, one can also hear the notion of home coming through the songs, lyrics and sounds. It is as far away from the sounds of Yes as one could be. That is what makes it so incredible. Sounds of birds, nature, and his wife, Jane Luttenburger Anderson, provides spoken words and provides lead vocals on one track, “Heaven Knows (Treehugging).” The album is less prog rock and more folk, but not traditional folk. Anderson’s voice is fantastic, and in a song like “Concerto Uno” it sounds like he is dueting with a bird. It is stunning and moving.

Anderson produced the album, and besides providing the vocals, also plays guitars, percussion, and harp. There are guests but this is Anderson’s album. It is peaceful, hopeful and extremely beautiful. When he sings with his wife, it is stunning. Quite like Paul and Linda McCartney, in that he could only achieve that sound with her. The album feels very intimate and personal but one does not get the sense of invading his space, but rather he is welcoming you into his world, which happens to be full of love, and good will. If a song like “Harptree Tree” does not sink peace into you, I am not sure anything will.

While Earth Mother Earth has a very homemade feel to it, Survival & Other Stories is completely different. And this is what I love about Anderson’s solo output, it is all so very different and he is never afraid to experiment and try very different things. Survival & Other Stories has a very interesting history. In the late 2000s, Anderson posted an interesting piece on his website. “Musicians wanted to send me your music?” He basically invited musicians to send mp3 samples as a basis for collaboration. Many of the songs became the content of Survival & Other Stories. This album also followed Anderson’s health issues in 2008.

Once again, this is a very spiritual album (“Understanding Truth” and “Unbroken Spirit” are so beautiful they tug at the heartstrings), but he is not preachy. He is simply asking questions and stating his beliefs. “Unbroken Spirit” features the incredibly beautiful line “There’ll be a time, when the clock runs faster than my life,” and is followed by “There is a force, deep within my heart, my soul.” His voice sounds so powerful and yet a little vulnerable as he sings the song. Although much more produced, the album features the same simplicity, beauty and honesty of the acoustic Earth Mother Earth.

Both releases are straight re-releases of the original albums, on vinyl for the first time and on CD. These albums have been somewhat difficult to find over the years, so it is brilliant that they are back in circulation. They are very optimistic and hopeful creations, which, quite frankly, the world could use these days.

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