Unable to attend this year’s edition of NEARfest (no I’m not the lottery winner from San Fransisco!) I’m sure After Crying was one of the highlights of this great annual event. Whilst I told bassis/cellist Péter Pejtsik that it was about time the band released some brand new studio material, as opposed to the recycled material of their back catalogue either as a "normal" compilation or as a live album, apparently both band and record label thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to release the combined efforts of a compilation and live album all in one go. Recorded on October 2nd, 2000 in Budapest, at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, the band had the pleasure of performing their original material together with a symphonic orchestra. Whilst the band consists of the best classically trained musicians money can buy, of course they know how to adapt their style together with a real symphonic orchestra. The arrangements have been adapted where necessary, which turns parts of “Struggle For Life I” almost into an outtake from “Tubular Bells." What is remarkable about this entire release is the fact that you can hardly tell it is a live recording as everyone has the discipline to listen to the music. In fact you can hear a pin drop! The short interlude “Enigma” sounds very solemn and classical when a female and male voices blend together in perfect harmony. Once again the trumpet of Bal´zs Winkler sounds wonderful during “Suburban Night,” blending nicely with the violins. Certainly one of the all-time greatest melodies out of the After Crying legacy has to be “Cool Night,” sung here in the original Hungarian version. The fragile piano works wonders, forming a perfect counterpoint for “Night-red” which introduces the full orchestra, almost resulting in an unreleased soundtrack for a Hollywood blockbuster! This track is released for the very first time here, and as it works so well with the orchestra, one can only hope that this is a taster for a full studio album, including a full orchestra! Especially the brass section works rather well into extra emphasizing the dramatic passages. In fact it kind of makes me think of some of the parts of Deep Purple’s “Concerto For Group And Orchestra." The intimate nature of “Aqua” kind of brings us into the realm of Solaris with lots of nice flute passages to top it all. “Burlesque” holds the same atmosphere as Wakeman’s “Merlin, The Magician” delivering quirky and funny music. “Finale” is yet another orchestral highlight, offering the band the perfect opportunity of integrating the rock instrumentation inside the classical arrangement. The final song “Shinin” is like a conclusion of the entire musical journey. A crystal-clear female voice swims in between flute, cello and piano in order to enhance the dramatic feel. The flute plays a major role in this song, which can be regarded as After Crying’s very own attempt at beating Vivaldi at his own game! Although one would think this composition would end in a huge cacophony of sounds, the album closes in harmony, unexpectedly. With Bootleg Symphony, After Crying proves that it can tackle all sorts of music, not in the least the true classical nature of the symphonic orchestra. It also illustrates that their very own compositions have become true classics, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if these people were soon regarded as being the Beethovens of their generation. Awesome! Reviewed by : John "Bobo" Bollenberg |
