OK, I can't keep my mouth shut any longer!!! Now that it's official and CDs are on their way, here goes....

This album is a remarkable accomplishment on so many levels!!! One of the first things that really makes an impact is the cohesiveness of the album's theme. From the song titles to the artwork (another incredible Ferenc Dobronyi design) to the primal energy--it is abundantly clear that a tremendous amount of care and attention to detail went into the songs and their unifying concept. The entire album really flows like the soundtrack to some kind of adventure epic.

Tribal Fury

Smack! The intensity hits you right in the face from the very first second! Truly like a "headbanging" dream for the fans of the heavy stuff, the main lower-register descending riff pummels you into submission and spits you out into a tension-creating higher register chordal passage that explodes into a whirlwind of a blistering "exotic" solo that truly only Ivan could deliver.

Cities of Gold

Optimistic and hopeful, yet with just the right amount of added tension, as though you don't know what's lurking around the next corner. Beautiful acoustic rhythym guitar and memorable, gentle melodies.

Twilight

Ahhhhh...now we're given a chance to reflect and appreciate the beauty of it all. Perhaps viewing the jungle at twilight, thinking of those loved ones back at home, looking nostalgically at a wallet photo by campfire. Gorgeously Shadows-inspired in all the best ways. Effective and not overused strings. Triumphant. The sun sets. Gotta get a good night's sleep for tomorrow, because we may end up witnessing a...

Fire Sacrifice

OK, tension begins to increase as the tribal toms kick you into a foreign world of wonder and intrigue, as though you're witnessing something you shouldn't from behind the protection of dense foliage. I know I'm injecting my own non-musical interpretation here, (isn't that one of the greatest things about instrumental music?), but I swear you can hear the exact moment in the song when the actual sacrifice takes place!!!

The Expedition
First light...rolling toms, acoustic rhythm and dripping palm-muting move brush along the trail as strange beasts scamper across the leafy horizon. Where are we going, where are we headed? What's next? Light and humidity glisten against the vibrant colors of the green foliage as the trails winds upwards and deep into the hills. Wonder and glory. Good times, natural beauty. Until we arrive at a hidden area where, through the trees we can see a....

Witch Doctor

Uh-oh. Something isn't right here. Throbbing bass invites us into a powerful, exotic and dark world of hummingbird-like double picking and accents, while an ever-so-subtle shaker sounds in the background, reminding us that the doctor is still working his magic, which involves...

Jungle Drums
Ahhhh...content, happy, mellow. Tribal drums, big, acoustic rhythm, claves, a sublimely toneful lead line--Ernesto Leucona's classic, famously interpreted on Martin's Denny's Afro-Desia given a brilliant new lease on life. A definite instant Surf-Exotica classic! Like floating down a beautiful, majestic river.

Arcadian Voyage
Tribal toms and double-picking pumping confidence into the belief that the voyage is worth it, that the adventure will end successfully. The trials and tribulations of taking such an adventure. What's that around that bend, is that an ocean view?...

Mar Vista

Beautifully acoustic, in the exotic/flamenco/romantic vein we've come to expect and adore from The Madeira. Wonderfully subtle yet effective use of hand drums.

Giant
Galloping drive, spacey echo for days--one of those tunes where Patrick's strumming hand seems like it's impossible to go that fast! Big, anthemic, dramatic!

Pre-Ritual
Speaking of drama, this time a different, quiet kind. Dark, foreboding, deep, ominous. Awesome instrumentation--Acoustic rhythm, Bass VI, Shaker/scraper, bell, drippy palm-muting, more tribal toms. Intense feeling of leading up to something...

Ritual
Heavy, tense, building, growing, ascending to an apex, rising up from the fires. Like you know it all must eventually come to end, and you don't necessarily know if it's a good or a bad thing, just that it has to happen. Triumphant.

Zanzibar
Soft, lilting, mellow--resolution. The voyage is over, we've survived. We've loved, we've lost, we had adventures, but now it's back home. It was a good ride, but now it will only exist in our memories. Wonderful use of tremolo and echo. Breathe a sigh of relief and reminisce about the beauty of it all.

Ivan, Dane, Patrick, Todd....thanks for the adventure! A true masterpiece!

Insect Surfers
The Tikiyaki Orchestra
The Scimitars
Lords Of Atlantis
Fiberglass Jungle - Surf Radio

Too cool! Just awesome, Jonpaul, thank you very, VERY much!! I just love the fact that you reviewed the CD in such "Cinemascope" terms, since that's exactly what we were going for! We really wanted the people to write their own jungle adventure/mystery movie in their minds as they're listening to this CD, and that's exactly what you did. Just perfect! Thanks again!!

I forgot Lecuona's Jungle Drums is on Denny's Afro-Desia album! I have that on CD, I'll have to give it a listen again, it's been a long time. I actually got the song from Morton Gould's orchestral exotica album "Jungle Drums", which had a ton of Lecuona tracks on it, and that one really stood out and got my attention. I've been wanting us to do it from the very beginning of the band, so it's finally a wish fulfilled.

(BTW, one tiny correction: though Ferenc expertly and creatively put together the entire CD package, relying heavily of course on your fantastic photos, the front cover is not by Ferenc, but was rather painted for us by San Francisco-based artist (and ska/reggae/blues drummer!) Randy Odell. He did a fantastic job!)

Thanks again, Jonpaul!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Last edited: Feb 25, 2012 08:55:17

OH MY GOD JonPaul

Have you ever whet my hungry instro surf-beat appetite!!

NOW I gotta grab me a copy A.S.A.P.

Thanks for such a vivid, rich review

UNSTEADY FREDDIE

http://www.facebook.com/unsteady.freddie

Morphball--

Waiting til May to get this CD is pure torture - if you want to get it from the band, just PM Ivan and I'm sure you can work out a deal to get a copy from the band.

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

Surf CD's / Vinyl / Fanzines / DVD's
Aloha Screwdriver - Lunar Wobble CD
The Nebulas - Euphorion LP / CD
Supertubos - The Fourth Drive CD
Continental Magazine - Issue #38 w/17 Song CD

You can now download mp3s of those three promo songs (Tribal Fury, Cities of Gold, Twilight) on our site.

Enjoy!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

If you are a Double Crown Music Club member, or have ordered through the Double Crown website, I am now working on getting all of your Tribal Fires CD's out to you. The official release date is this coming Tuesday, March 6th, and I should have just about all of the CD's in the mail by then.

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

Surf CD's / Vinyl / Fanzines / DVD's
Aloha Screwdriver - Lunar Wobble CD
The Nebulas - Euphorion LP / CD
Supertubos - The Fourth Drive CD
Continental Magazine - Issue #38 w/17 Song CD

StevieMartini wrote:

I've really been diggin the TribaL Fires CD. I've listend to it about 5 times now since getting it Friday and it doesn't disappoint.

Very cool, thanks very much, Steve!

My favorites so far are ths Shadows inspired Twilight and the track Zanzibar. I guess Patrick wrote Zanzibar and it shows how great the song writting team of Patrick & Ivan is. Just curious Ivan when Patrick writes a song does he come up with the melody & rhythm?

Yes, he writes the whole thing. I may add little embelishments here or there, but nothing significant. The interesting story about Zanzibar is that it started off as a vocal song! It was a song that he wrote for his band the Shake Ups, titled Behind the Curtain (on their CD Warm Fuzzies). It really caught Dane's ear, and he suggested we do it up instrumentally. I think it turned out really nicely, a beautiful song.

I'm also diggin Mar Vista. Remindes me of the great Fleminco stylings of Paco De Lucia records I used to listen to in the late 70's. This song made me wonder why I haven't listend to them in a while and has inspred me to change the strings on my classical guitar thats been sitting in my closet for years.

Awesome! Very glad to hear that. I love classical guitar and flamenco, and we always try to feature a bit of that sound on our albums, building on DD's stuff like The Spanish Kiss and what-not. Mar Vista is also Patrick's song, and he recorded the demo acoustically since he was doing it late at night and couldn't make a lot of noise, but he didn't intend it to be an acoustic song. Well, we were just blown away by the demo, and prevailed upon him to keep it acoustic. I think we made the right decision.

Jungle Drums is another track I've been listening to over n over. I know these are the mellow songs on the CD,

You do like that mellower stuff by us! Tangaroa, too.

but they are really catchy and have great melodies. I'm sure this CD will grow on me with each listen like the previous 2 Madeira CD's. Inspiring work!!

Thank you deeply, Steve, I'm really happy to hear you say that. We greatly appreciate it.

ElMonstroPorFavor wrote:

Got mine in this weekend! Still needs some more spins, but it's a pretty great listen. Played The Ritual on my show today and got a call demanding to know what it was, saying it was making his drive home "so epic"

The Ritual??? Really! That's a song that I think all of us thought was just downright weird! We expected that people would be mostly puzzled by it - and yet it went down really well on Friday, and when Dane played the rough mixes to a friend of his a few months ago, that's the song he picked out as a standout. We're very confused, but we'll take the compliment - thanks, Hunter, and thanks for playing it!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Last edited: Mar 05, 2012 21:01:30

Only TWO threads for this album?

Radio Free Bakersfield--60 Minutes of TWANG, CRUNCH, OOMPH.
http://radiofreebakersfield.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Free-Bakersfield/172410279636
http://www.sandiegojoe.com/rfb.htm

I've been listening to Tribal Fires several times since Friday,and I must say it's so weird to finally hear so many of these songs professionally recorded.I've heard these tracks so many times in a live setting it just takes my breath away on how much has been added to these great songs in the studio.I'll be posting my song by song review at my blog in the near future.
Had a wonderful time last Fri it was certainly worth the wait.Another perfect night at the Melody Inn.All the bands,and the crowd make life worth living after all.So glad I was able to witness the very dedicated Mystery Men for making the trip.Having Madeiara and Destination: Earth! in my own backyard so to speak really makes this surf junkie a happy man.

Reverb, It's A Way Of Life!

IvanP wrote:

The Ritual??? Really! That's a song that I think all of us thought was just downright weird! We expected that people would be mostly puzzled by it - and yet it went down really well on Friday, and when Dane played the rough mixes to a friend of his a few months ago, that's the song he picked out as a standout. We're very confused, but we'll take the compliment - thanks, Hunter, and thanks for playing it!

ha well actually I spoke too soon, didn't notice there was also a tweet asking for an ID as well. And I really don't get those very often. It may be that it's the most metallic/proggy one on there so some people with a different ear may find something they like.

Of course, I played it for a reason myself. I don't know, I liked how grandiose it was, plus it's one of the tougher numbers on the album.

Storm Surge of Reverb: Surf & Instro Radio