Most under-appreciated album?

plumpuff6 · Post by **plumpuff6** » 13 years ago

So, which album do you think is the least talked about?

Peace, especially, seems to be wildly popular (and I'm not saying that's wrong, as I love that album myself), but it seems like some albums almost never get talked about.

For my part, I feel like Luminosa and Libera are seldom spoken of, although they both have some amazing songs that feature great soloists like Ben C., Steven G. and Liam O. and Adam H.

paopao · Post by **paopao** » 13 years ago

yep, it's understandable that Libera is the least talked about (as an album), as it's released back in 1998/1999, and now the most recent release gets the most talked about status, i believe Libera had it's golden age too.

i know Luminosa & Libera have received mixed reviews. For some "purists", Luminosa is like the antidote for the previous album, Libera ..while others say Luminosa is boring and so on. well, IMO both albums are great in their own way, sort of yin & yang, 2 different elements that complement each other (ok i made up that yin&yang stuff

, but you get what i'm trying to say). i guess those two were rather "controversial" back then

oh and i agree on the fact that Libera & Luminosa showcase some of the finest soloists Libera's ever had. Ben C was flawless in Luminosa, just saying

BrightEyes · Post by **BrightEyes** » 13 years ago

Hey Paopao and Plumpuff

You know I really liked the Libera album and still do because it was my first time ever hearing music in this style. Certainly Robert Prizeman's approach was revolutionary, blending treble voices with New Age and making what we now know as Libera.

I played that album to death after I got it and could not believe how much better this was than any other boy choir I had heard before.

Now I'm not *quite* so enthusiastic about the first album because Libera's current releases, especially Peace, seems so much better. Back in 1999, before any of their later releases, I remember thinking there is no way they could ever improve on the first album. Happily Robert Prizeman and Ian Tilley keep finding ways to keep up stellar quality despite an ever-changing lineup of boys.

Also a lot of the tracks from the first album have been redone so many times that it seems you can hear most of the tracks on later releases.

Still I really like Liam O'Kane's solos on this album and "Agnus Dei" well I like that one a lot!! It remains one of my favorite Libera tracks ever

As far as underrated albums, my votes go for all of the Angel Voices releases under the St. Philips Boys Choir. Some very beautiful tracks on those

I agree with you, Paopao, about the first two Libera albums. "Libera" seemed like the music was almost as dominant as the voices, whereas "Luminosa" was a much quieter and restrained style that really emphasized the boy's voices.

After Luminosa the style seemed to change again becoming what is closer to what we have now - the present Libera. And I like the way the choir is now. It seems better than ever. I just hope and pray that Libera can keep going and that they continue to discover and develop new talent to replace the older boys when their voices change.

paul · Post by **paul** » 13 years ago

BrightEyes wrote:Hey Paopao and Plumpuff

You know I really liked the Libera album and still do because it was my first time ever hearing music in this style. Certainly Robert Prizeman's approach was revolutionary, blending treble voices with New Age and making what we now know as Libera.

I played that album to death after I got it and could not believe how much better this was than any other boy choir I had heard before.

Now I'm not *quite* so enthusiastic about the first album because Libera's current releases, especially Peace, seems so much better. Back in 1999, before any of their later releases, I remember thinking there is no way they could ever improve on the first album. Happily Robert Prizeman and Ian Tilley keep finding ways to keep up stellar quality despite an ever-changing lineup of boys.

Also a lot of the tracks from the first album have been redone so many times that it seems you can hear most of the tracks on later releases.

Still I really like Liam O'Kane's solos on this album and "Agnus Dei" well I like that one a lot!! It remains one of my favorite Libera tracks ever

As far as underrated albums, my votes go for all of the Angel Voices releases under the St. Philips Boys Choir. Some very beautiful tracks on those

I agree with you, Paopao, about the first two Libera albums. "Libera" seemed like the music was almost as dominant as the voices, whereas "Luminosa" was a much quieter and restrained style that really emphasized the boy's voices.

After Luminosa the style seemed to change again becoming what is closer to what we have now - the present Libera. And I like the way the choir is now. It seems better than ever. I just hope and pray that Libera can keep going and that they continue to discover and develop new talent to replace the older boys when their voices change.

I 100% agree about the St Philip's Angle Voices albums.
There are some spectacular tacks on them as I stated in a previous post.

As for new talent, I don't see this ever being a problem. There are fine soloists waiting in the wing.

I think Cassius and James M will be playing key roles within Libera in the very near future, and as they come of age, there will be others, I can be certain of that

dani · Post by **dani** » 13 years ago

Luminosa for me is grossly over looked.

Peace and Luminosa are my personally favorite albums. But for me Steven G was the perfect treble.

The problem with the later albums ( i love them ) but they do come across as sometimes too over produced. Everything has been touched up to the 1000 degree. And so you lose some of the magic.

Also the fact that they use synthesizers way to much instead of real instruments and that has been a massive criticism across for the board with Libera. We saw a change midway though the year where suddenly Prizeman dropped Orinoco flow and was hiring young Musicians to perform at concerts and seemed to be toning back all the over produced backing music which imo cheapened there sound.

paul · Post by **paul** » 13 years ago

dani wrote:Luminosa for me is grossly over looked.

Peace and Luminosa are my personally favorite albums. But for me Steven G was the perfect treble.

The problem with the later albums ( i love them ) but they do come across as sometimes too over produced. Everything has been touched up to the 1000 degree. And so you lose some of the magic.

Also the fact that they use synthesizers way to much instead of real instruments and that has been a massive criticism across for the board with Libera. We saw a change midway though the year where suddenly Prizeman dropped Orinoco flow and was hiring young Musicians to perform at concerts and seemed to be toning back all the over produced backing music which imo cheapened there sound.

Yes! got to agree on this as well, drop the synth's a bit and more of the boys natural harmonies to fill in the gaps. After all, he did say he was sampling the boys voices and laying them out on a keyboard. Why? when you can get them to sing?????

Although I do like the recent albums, the older music sound purer to me.

plumpuff6 · Post by **plumpuff6** » 13 years ago

paul30003 wrote: Although I do like the recent albums, the older music sound purer to me.

I really agree with that! In particular, Luminosa seems to exemplify this the best. It is really, really focused on the boys' voices, IMHO. I haven't given it a serious listen for a while though, and I'm definitely planning on doing that soon.

Peace seemed like it was pulling back a little on the synthesized instrumental music and getting closer to the boys' voices, which I like a lot, at least compared to New Dawn. Not that I don't like that album, I do, especially "Sancte" and "Jerusalem" and even "Gloria", for its swelling orchestral sound. And, dare I say it?--I like "Orinoco Flow" because it sounds so upbeat and fun (but not as fun as "Exsultate", ha ha).

And speaking of New Dawn....I think it'd be cool to see "Air" performed live at a concert. The quartet could be made up of Stefan, Ralph, Daniel and Jakob or something.

BrightEyes · Post by **BrightEyes** » 13 years ago

paul30003 wrote: I 100% agree about the St Philip's Angle Voices albums.
There are some spectacular tacks on them as I stated in a previous post.

As for new talent, I don't see this ever being a problem. There are fine soloists waiting in the wing.

I think Cassius and James M will be playing key roles within Libera in the very near future, and as they come of age, there will be others, I can be certain of that

I'm glad to hear that from you, Paul. I think if anyone on the forums has a sense of the present state of Libera it would be you since you see some of the boys at the services. I am not so familiar with the current members as I am the older boys like Liam O'Kane, Michael Horncastle and of course Tom C. and Josh M.

dani wrote:Luminosa for me is grossly over looked.

Peace and Luminosa are my personally favorite albums. But for me Steven G was the perfect treble.

The problem with the later albums ( i love them ) but they do come across as sometimes too over produced. Everything has been touched up to the 1000 degree. And so you lose some of the magic.

Also the fact that they use synthesizers way to much instead of real instruments and that has been a massive criticism across for the board with Libera. We saw a change midway though the year where suddenly Prizeman dropped Orinoco flow and was hiring young Musicians to perform at concerts and seemed to be toning back all the over produced backing music which imo cheapened there sound.

I know in some of the tracks they have used the violin and I also saw this in the concert. I forget the name of the lady who plays violin with them, but I thought that sound went quite well with the boy's voices.

And I agree that they should use more live instruments in the concerts and tracks. And please Mr. Prizeman, let the boys sing and don't lay down their voice to a keyboard setting!

I personally like Free, Visions, and Peace better than Luminosa and Libera. With Peace I thought the overall quality of the tracks was above and beyond anything they've achieved before

symphonica7 · Post by **symphonica7** » 13 years ago

BrightEyes wrote:
paul30003 wrote: I 100% agree about the St Philip's Angle Voices albums.
There are some spectacular tacks on them as I stated in a previous post.

As for new talent, I don't see this ever being a problem. There are fine soloists waiting in the wing.

I think Cassius and James M will be playing key roles within Libera in the very near future, and as they come of age, there will be others, I can be certain of that
I'm glad to hear that from you, Paul. I think if anyone on the forums has a sense of the present state of Libera it would be you since you see some of the boys at the services. I am not so familiar with the current members as I am the older boys like Liam O'Kane, Michael Horncastle and of course Tom C. and Josh M.

dani wrote:Luminosa for me is grossly over looked.

Peace and Luminosa are my personally favorite albums. But for me Steven G was the perfect treble.

The problem with the later albums ( i love them ) but they do come across as sometimes too over produced. Everything has been touched up to the 1000 degree. And so you lose some of the magic.

Also the fact that they use synthesizers way to much instead of real instruments and that has been a massive criticism across for the board with Libera. We saw a change midway though the year where suddenly Prizeman dropped Orinoco flow and was hiring young Musicians to perform at concerts and seemed to be toning back all the over produced backing music which imo cheapened there sound.
I know in some of the tracks they have used the violin and I also saw this in the concert. I forget the name of the lady who plays violin with them, but I thought that sound went quite well with the boy's voices.

And I agree that they should use more live instruments in the concerts and tracks. And please Mr. Prizeman, let the boys sing and don't lay down their voice to a keyboard setting!

I personally like Free, Visions, and Peace better than Luminosa and Libera. With Peace I thought the overall quality of the tracks was above and beyond anything they've achieved before

I agree with the Live instruments....not really a big fan of synth sounds myself....unless used properly...but hey it's all personal taste. I would really like to hear some acapella tracks!!!! You can certainly hear the sounds of Libera change throughout the years.....not a big fan of the 90's drums instrumentation on some of Libera's older tunes...but at the time I'm sure it was hot!! LOL. Some Libera songs wouldn't have the effect it does if not for the backing instruments...

for example....."Sancte" The strings in that track are simply amazing I couldn't imagine that song without the stringed ensemble....in that track, the instruments and the vocals are actually having a conversation. Just Brilliant!

paopao · Post by **paopao** » 13 years ago

BrightEyes wrote: I know in some of the tracks they have used the violin and I also saw this in the concert. I forget the name of the lady who plays violin with them, but I thought that sound went quite well with the boy's voices.

The violinist is Fiona Pears, and she happens to be Ian Tilley's wife (newly wed).
sometimes though, her violin seems to overpower the boys' voices.

symphonica7 · Post by **symphonica7** » 13 years ago

paopao wrote:
BrightEyes wrote: I know in some of the tracks they have used the violin and I also saw this in the concert. I forget the name of the lady who plays violin with them, but I thought that sound went quite well with the boy's voices.
The violinist is Fiona Pears, and she happens to be Ian Tilley's wife (newly wed).
sometimes though, her violin seems to overpower the boys' voices.

That's just bad mixing..........

BrightEyes · Post by **BrightEyes** » 13 years ago

paopao wrote:
BrightEyes wrote: I know in some of the tracks they have used the violin and I also saw this in the concert. I forget the name of the lady who plays violin with them, but I thought that sound went quite well with the boy's voices.
The violinist is Fiona Pears, and she happens to be Ian Tilley's wife (newly wed).
sometimes though, her violin seems to overpower the boys' voices.

Thank you Paopao

I thought that was her name. Just was not sure. I like the tracks with her a lot, but I guess it is personal preference. I agree with Symphonica that the strings go well with the boy's voices. Certainly better than the synth does.

Oh and acapella is Otay by me! as Buckwheat would say

paopao · Post by **paopao** » 13 years ago

BrightEyes wrote: Thank you Paopao I thought that was her name. Just was not sure. I like the tracks with her a lot, but I guess it is personal preference. I agree with Symphonica that the strings go well with the boy's voices. Certainly better than the synth does.

i meant when they're performing live, though i've only watched the videos. the studio recording of New Dawn sounds just fine. yeah maybe it's just me or the bad audio quality

symphonica7 · Post by **symphonica7** » 13 years ago

I can assure you, its probably just a bad recording, or bad mixing....all the studio recordings are supreme.

BrightEyes · Post by **BrightEyes** » 13 years ago

symphonica7 wrote:I can assure you, its probably just a bad recording, or bad mixing....all the studio recordings are supreme.

Hi ya Symphonica

When you worked with Libera in Atlanta were you helping with the audio mixing then? I bet that concert went well.

Do you know if Libera has a sound crew that travels with them or do they rely on outside help at each venue?

I agree that the studio stuff sounds better than the live, probably because of the perfect acoustics of the sound studio and time to record again and again until they get the track sounding just right.

I do love Fiona Pear's violin playing though. I hope her and Ian Tilley have many happy years together