Iona

Item: Heaven's Bright Sun
Author: James Stewart

Heaven's Bright Sun

(1997)

Reviewed by James Stewart

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Label ForeFront Records / Alliance MusicThe Phantom Tollbooth1997

celtic folk rock progressive rock

I still remember vividly my first experience of Iona live. Perhaps it's because I was worried about developing hypothermia but it was still the most enthralling live show I have seen by any band. Since that time Iona have gone from strength to strength, and their latest studio album Journey Into The Morn was featured in Q's (a well respected British rock magazine) top 5 folk albums and top 50 albums of 1996.

Despite a fairly easy start in the limited world of British Christian music, the band's journey to their latest album has not been a short one with four albums (plus a 'best of...' release) preceding this. First up was a self titled album Iona which was followed in 1992 with Book Of Kells. About this time original member Dave Fitzgerald left the band, but they soldiered on and released Beyond These Shores in 1993 and the aforementioned Journey Into The Morn in 1995. The band has clearly developed over these recordings with none of the earlier albums quite matching Journey Into The Morn or their latest album, Heaven's Bright Sun.

Their latest release is a mammoth live double album featuring just short of two hours of music. My first impressions of this album involved much use of the expression wow!, and continued listening hasn't really changed that reaction. Iona's great musicianship and spine-tingling vocals are one thing but when a group gels as they did in this performance, the results are fantastic.

Tracks are taken from all of the band's studio recordings with a couple of extras thrown in. The band has said that they've used live performances to build on the older songs, and old favorites such as "Treasure" and "Chi-Rho" certainly benefit from the growth of the group. But it's not just the older songs which benefit from this setting: even the Journey Into The Morn tracks take on a larger, more powerful sound which is quite an achievement. The amazing technical skill of the band is evident in every track but are very noticeable on "Flight Of The Wild Goose" and the set of Irish Reels which form part of the encore.

Musically the band is hard to pin down but have been described by some as "Clannad with some jazz" and containing influences from Irish folk, progressive rock, jazz, and world music on top of mainstream rock. But in this release, the progressive influences are more limited.

The effortless speed and the tone of the pipes blend well with the startling solos which Dave Bainbridge provides on his guitars. The variety of instruments--an almost bewildering array of pipes, whistles, percussion instruments, and a cittern (an instrument related to the guitar)--also added to my enjoyment of this album.

In the studio the band has made use of guest musicians including Chris Eaton, Maire Brennan of Clannad and guitar hero Robert Fripp, but on this release they stay with the regular live band. The "Reels" featured on disc two offer another outlet for the ability of these musicians, with some of the harmonies from Troy Donockley's whistles, Mike Haughton's flutes, and Dave Bainbridge's guitars being quite breathtaking. The bass is ably provided by Phil Barker, and Terl Bryant is as omnipresent as ever with his huge collection of percussion instruments.

Joanne Hogg's vocals are breathtaking all the way through but my favorites were "I Will Give My Love An Apple," a traditional tune, and "Today" from Beyond These Shores, both of which show off the folk lilt in her voice.

The band's vision is very much a part of their lyrics. Band members have been instrumental in the revival of interest in the Celtic Christian ways of faith, and they often draw on these influences for lyrics. The song "Iona" is a great example of this and is preceded by a spoken introduction from Hogg about the vision she had when she first saw a picture of Iona. The poetic beauty of the songs is yet another addition to the beauty of the music.

So make your home inside my heart
Fill this empty house of stone
Make your home inside my heart
Let me dance in the brightness Of your throne -
"Inside My Heart"

"Treasure" is taken almost directly from scripture, with the lines:

Consider the flowers of the field
In their beauty
More lovely than even the clothes of a king

Another interesting track is "Bi-se I Mo Shuil - Part 2" which is a Gaelic translation of the hymn "Be Thou My Vision" and was a large part of the inspiration for the Journey Into The Morn album. (A note for trivia fans: when the band began looking for a Gaelic translation of "Be Thou My Vision," they discovered that the grandfather of Clannad singer Maire Brennan had written this one.)

Perhaps the best thing about Iona's music for me is the emotion caught up in the songs, which have an ability to take me with them on a journey as no other band seems able to do. This ability is especially noticeable in this live recording, perhaps because of the spontaneity a live performance allows and because the band and the audience are caught up in the same journey. The album closes with Iona's latest version of "When I Survey." Now extended to fourteen minutes, the music takes the listener on a journey from the crucifixion, through the resurrection and on to the return of Christ, changing moods marvelously.

Stunning, breathtaking and epic are all phrases that have been used to describe music from Iona, and they all fit this album. As my mind drifts back to that evening when I first saw Iona, I realize how much they've developed without losing any of the qualities that drew me in.