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CLOSER TO DOOM
I know very little about Big Elf, merely that they are/were a four piece consisting of Damon Fox (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Andrew H M Jones (guitar, piano, vocals), Richard Anton (bass and vocals) and Thom
Sullivan on drums. Looking at the picture of the band, one would think that it was taken in the seventies as they sport long hair and flowered shirts with floppy hats and scarves.
Big Elf's music is a somewhat bizarre amalgam of a variety of influences which appear to include the Beatles, Black Sabbath, the Doors, ELO and ELP, amongst others!
The opening track is 'Change' which is underpinned throughout by lashings of Hammond organ.
There are several changes of pace and feel through the piece. It starts off in a fairly laid back manner and, after a short frantic Hammond interval, there's a nice vocal harmony section. After some fuzzy guitar work there's a frenetic, almost screamed vocal supported by thrashed guitar. Then it's back to the vocal harmonies - this time over heavy guitar chords. How's that for three and a half minutes!!!
'Crazy' is, from the start, faster. It has a very seventies feel to the vocals and, again, features some splendid Hammond organ work.
The eclectic sound is further enhanced by the use of string sounds and added sound bites - a good song.
The much heavier 'Frustration' has a somewhat doom laden feel. Heavy bass and prominent drums support low key vocals with splashes of colour provided by guitar and organ.
The heavier feel continues into 'Salvation' - but this is certainly not doom laden.
It's an upbeat, classic prog rock piece mainly comprised of layer upon layer of organ and keyboards. The fairly simplistic vocal line being augmented by a simple soaring backing vocal.
String sounds predominate 'In The Void' with a counterpoint provided by the Hammond organ. There are some strong vocal harmonies throughout and, towards the end, a great guitar solo.
The last track, 'Closer To Doom', begins with a somewhat light hearted, staccato, sound which belies the nightmarish lyrics (which would be quite at home on a Shadowland album!). The rest of the number
alternates between this and a very heavy bass and drum led sound with down beat vocals.
Perhaps Big Elf want to be all things to all people and, obviously, no one could achieve this. But, they do display some very interesting ideas and there's some good work on this album. It's certainly
worth looking out for if you enjoy the oddities and rarities to be found in second hand shops.
Marisa 31 October, 1999
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