ECHOLYN: Stars and Gardens

echolyn

Stars and Gardens

© 2004 echolyn, inc. (619517004427)

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The most comprehensive American musical group of our time. Diverse and ecclectic, yet simple and embraceable. Great dynamics. Great music. Strong lyrics.

notes

There is a band that needs to be seen live. This band is echolyn. Yes, the studio albums are wonderful and to them we listen. But echolyn was and is more than their albums. Stars and Gardens is echolyn. For many, the footage here on these DVD's may be their first look at one of the most remarkable American bands of our time. Enjoy the performance. Enjoy the artistry. Enjoy the embrace. For other's, like myself, watching Stars and Gardens helps us feel as we did when we sat in the theaters and clubs that housed the intensity that is echolyn. Stars and Gardens forever captures not only the music but it also showcases, astonishingly well, the people who are the music.

Stars and Gardens is over 3 and ½ hours in length, 150 minutes on stage and 70 minutes of echolyn history. The concert footage was filmed May 25, 2003, at Sellersville Theater using 6 cameras, HD, 16 mm, BETA SP. The audio was recorded digitally live with 32 channels and mixed by Brett Kull.

Echolyn has been creating music for 15 years. They have composed and produced over 80 songs. They have gained an international audience and always working on new and pertinent material.

reviews

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  • Every Echolyn fan should have this DVD
    author: Charles R. Husson

    Once this DVD became available again, I ordered it immediately, and was not disappointed when it finally came. The concert is great and the archival disc is entertaining and informative. The comments by the band during the 'Making of ATW' are priceless. I wasn't distracted by the visual effects, but I could have done without them. The audio is excellent (although not 5.1 as one reviewer said). If you are interested enough in the group to even be on this page,you need to order this before it becomes unavailable (again).

  • great dvd!!!!
    author: midwest prog fan

    This DVD showcases the truely unique approach Echolyn uses to deliver some of the best modern prog. on the market. There is no band more underrated, even in prog. circles. The first disc gives you the concert highlighted by the complete performance of the epic MEI, complete with Chamber Orchestra live on stage, as well as classics like As The World, Texas Dust and Dear Wormwood. The second disc is a nice documentary that gives you a good overview of the bands history. Stars and Gardens is a must have for any serious music listener.

  • Excellent !
    author: Eric Giguère

    Vous savez tous qu'Echolyn est un excellent groupe. Le DVD du spectacle est très bon, autant pour la qualité des images, du son que pour le groupe qui performe très bien. La seule chose qui m'agace est l'utilisation «abusive» d'effet vidéo. Cela ne doit cependant pas être un obstacle pour vous procurer le DVD. Les interviews et les vidéos du deuxième DVD sont très intéressants. N'hésitez pas !

  • I was late to the party...
    author: P Smith

    ...having only discovered Echolyn after the release of "Mei." This DVD is a fascinating look into their history - I especially enjoyed the glimpses of past concerts & recording sessions. Well worth the money!

  • Great live concert, amateurish video production
    author: woburnmusicfan

    This 2-DVD set contains a great 2003 live show by Echolyn. The set list includes the entire album-length "Mei" performed with 6 additional musicians, a new acoustic arrangement of "Never the Same", and great tracks like "Texas Dust", "The Cheese Stands Alone", and "1729 Broadway". To my ears, "Mei" and "Cowboy Poems Free" are the best prog-rock albums ANYONE has made since 1980, so with the strong live performance this DVD is a must-have...musically. The visuals are another story. The video production is amateurish, with poorly framed shots, aimless jump cuts, plenty of high school A-V gimmicks like high contrast, and non sequitur snippets of mostly-bad film clips that look like REM's earliest videos. For example, in the middle of "A Little Nonsense" a home movie of a skydiving trip suddenly cuts in. Based on the credits, it looks like guitarist Brett Kull had as much of a hand in the editing as anyone. Echolyn is a band that doesn't jump around on stage, and doesn't have a huge light show; Kull seems to have thought the concert footage wouldn't be interesting enough on its own. The second DVD includes a history of the band that includes a ton of footage from the recording of 1995's "As the World" and rushes through everything else. (1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

  • Echolyn Stars and Garden
    author: Steven R. Hudson AKA Hudman

    Having listened to and enjoyed MEI recently , this DVD was the next step. Echolyn is awesome on this DVD particularly on MEI as they pulled it off with the help of the Strings and flute. Highly recommended and oh btw the other songs are great as well. A+++

  • FINALLY! and it's great!!!!!
    author: Eric Larkins

    If you're reading this, it's probably not by accident. You know who Echolyn is and love their music (let's face it - you either love them because you 'get it', or you don't). Now they've blessed us with this wonderful release! And if getting to see and hear them perform live isn't enough, there's the 2nd DVD full of stories, interviews, and awesome behind the scenes footage. A+++ Well, what are you waiting for??? Oh, okay, well, if you are reading this by accident, then the universe is trying to tell you something by bringing them your way! (Order it NOW!)

  • A Gift for every Echolyn fan
    author: Scott Ellison

    If you have followed this band, you must get this DVD. The first DVD has a live performance covering songs from their entire carreer. Brett Kull, the band's guitar player, has taken a lot of time adding a lot of special effects that I believe really enhance the performance. I usually do not like special effects, but in this case, they were really cool, and I think added to the overall effect. The 2nd DVD is a documentary about their entire career, including the break up, and reformation, with a lot of studio footage inside the Sony Studios for the "As The World" Sessions. The whole thing is very entertaining. Highly recommended.

  • Echolyn - Stars and Gardens
    author: JH

    Well, there they are. In the flesh, in colour, in 5.1. I bought As the World eons ago on a whim and a prayer, knowing little about the group except that - as we're all on a tight budget - I'd never see them live here in England and what a shame that was. This is the second next best thing. The very next best thing, though, is the footage of them recording As the World. Magical.

  • a Prog fan must have
    author: Danbo

    Echolyn's Stars and Gardens is an incredible event. Living on the left coast keeps me from having an opportunity to witness this great American prog band, however, Stars and Gardens is the next best thing. Incredibly tight production, nice camera work and awesome sound.

  • Great sound recording; difficult to watch.
    author: John

    The sound on this dvd is excellent. The performance was perfect. However, the editing of the performance leaves a lot to be desired. Honestly, I am unable to watch the concert, because of the awkward transitions and effects. The documentary is great, though. 3 stars for great sound, and an interesting documentary. Sorry to be so critical, but it really gave a bad impression of the band to my friends, who may have become fans otherwise.

  • Brilliant! (but where are volumes 1-3?)
    author: Paul Adrian Villarreal

    The only way this dvd could be better is if the band played every song in their catalogue. As it is, the set list is GREAT, the live performances are incredibly tight. To me Echolyn have always been sort of cryptic. They never really say too much, or give away much about the members in their liner notes. Here all is revealed. In the documentary you really get a feeling of each members personality, and how everything came together. I'll repeat what's been said: Echolyn fan's, this is a MUST! I'll go one further: open minded music lovers, this is a MUST!

  • Wonderful!
    author: John Gardner

    A must have DVD for any Echolyn fan! After listening to this band for years, its nice to finally see these guys perform! And what a show they put on :) The audio production is excellent and the video quality is good.

  • Un excellent DVD
    author: Eric Grenier

    J'ai vu ce concert l'an dernier à Québec et j'attendais avec impatience la sortie de ce DVD. La musique d'Echolyn est extraordinaire et pouvoir regarder ces musiciens performer live à profusion est extraordinaire, le son est excellent, la performance est majestueuse, la vidéo est bien monté et nous présente des flash back très intéressants. Amateurs de prog avertis... Vous serez ici fort bien servi. Si vous aimez la musique d'Echolyn, procurez vous immédiatement ce DVD sans aucune hésitation. Test For Echo!

  • worth buying just for acoustic version of "Never the Same"
    author: Vincent Smedile

    I'll keep it short: Soundwise, the DVD is excellent. I agree that the visuals sometimes distract. However, it's the music that matters, and Echolyn's music on this DVD is suberb. What stands out for me is the acoustic version of Never the Same. It's right up there with the acoustic version of Meaning and the Moment on When the Sweet Turns Sour and the 2000 version of Suffocating The Bloom. I love to hear Brett's voice with minimal accompanyment.

  • Insightful look into little-known prog band. The music? Wow!!
    author: Jeremy Weissenburger

    The concert itself is almost worth the price of the DVD. Great performances by all the musicians. But the real treat is the interview disc, which gives insight to most of the bands' albums. It's good to see that musicians are out there playing music they WANT to play! Some of the effects seem a little odd on the DVD, but I wasn't expecting a Floyd-like laser-light show, either. If you are a fan of independent and daring music, I suggest you get this DVD!

  • Essential viewing for all Echolyn fans
    author: Stephen Lambe

    This is terrific stuff - musically just about perfect, though not quite the setlist I would chose, and after 2 years of playing the CD Mei still doesn't quite do it for me. The visuals are a little distracting occasionally - like a bunch of film students let lose in a video editing suite. Less is more sometimes. But the second DVD is wonderful, especially the "As The World" sequence, which might just be the greatest Prog CD ever made. Yes, really.

  • author: mario bianchi

    Stars and Gardens really captures the beauty and the power of echolyn. The first dvd is a real treat for us poor european fans,who finally have the chance to see echolyn live. No tricks, no special effect, only great music created by a great band. You can see the fun of the boys while playing. The second dvd is full of funny memories and laughs (see the making of atw). Higly recommended to all the echolyn fans, and to those who are always searching for creativity in rock music

  • It will do until Echolyn play Wales!
    author: Chris Davis

    Does what it says on the packet (well it would if the packet said 'here's a live concert from Echolyn on DVD, so you can see what they are like, even though you're unlikely ever to see them in the flesh!'). The first CD is the concert, including a version of MEI that sounds prety faithful to the studio version, and it's nice to see the extra musicians getting into it. There's also an epic version of Shades to finish off. The second disc is good for those of us who enjoy background details. If you like Echolyn, get it. If you've never heard of them, then give it a go!

  • Best thing I've watched in years
    author: Warren Foster

    Beautifully Done! I loved the entire work. Audio and Visual. Great intensity. The effects add plenty of dimension and expression. The band rocks. The sound is awesome.

  • ECHO OF THE PAST AND REALITY OF THE PRESENT
    author: Louis Cossette

    This is a great document to discover the band or to add to your collection of the bands'stuff. We get a full concert with great set list where the best is at the end where they play the 50 minutes mei song. The only downside is there's no light show at all, but who cares, the music come first with this band. The archives in the second disk are good and funny at times but mostly touching when you see them live in the small clubs just like i saw them 10 years ago for the price of 5$ in my home town.

  • An outstanding look into Echolyn performance and history.
    author: Ed Payne

    Quick summary: if you like Echolyn, then you MUST get this DVD set. I haven't had the chance to watch/listen on my high-end reference system, but on a normal system the performance is top-notch, as is the audio quality. I'm not fond of "special effects" on live shows and I felt some were a little too much. But, that is only a minor annoyance to a superb performance. The one special effect (if it can be called that) I found quite nice was the early studio footage at the beginning of "Wormwood" in sync with the live performance. That was used a couple of times in a fine manner, this one being the best. I loved the interviews and historical look into the band and all their albums. I wish there would have been more detail about the breakup years, but this is about Echolyn not Finneus Gauge or Still. I am very pleased to add this to my DVD collection and I'll be leaving it in the DVD changer for quite a while.

  • Stars and gardens and echolyn
    author: Raphaël Leger

    Got the CD today, took a while to reach here, Paris/France, but it really worth waiting a while for this DVD :-). So, to keep it short, i'd say the audio is good. Could be better, but good enough. The video is quite poor in my opinion... I'm not really fond of special visual effects and so on... Sorry guys :-). But anyway... The performance is awesome !!! I was not really familiar with Echolyn's catalogue, knowing only Mei, but wow ! You guys on stage just rock !! A "must-have" for everyone who enjoys echolyn !!! Thanks Echolyn !!! Thanks Cd-baby :-).

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