Earth and Fire - ( Extra Tracks Import)

Earth And Fire - To The World Of The Future (1975)

I disagree with the labeling of this band as "Dutch answer to Genesis" as it was mentioned in the sleeve notes of one of their early albums. This album is by no exception. Yes, most of the tracks are keyboard and mellotron based but the composition is different structurally. The choice of melody is different. So, I think it's too simplistic assuming this band in the vein of GENESIS. I fail to classify under which box this band, especially this album, we should put in. It has female vocal. So what? Should it be classified under RENAISSANCE or BABE RUTH or ATLANTIS / FRUMPY? It is so silly classifying a band based on sexual genre of lead vocals.

I think the title track "To the world of the future" represents the heart of this album. It has great composition as the music flows dynamically starting with an upbeat tempo, a bit like disco music (not really, actually), moves slightly to a slower tempo. The bass line used is very dominant and set the right ambient of the track. Keyboard and mellotron are used significantly in this nice and dynamic track. Vocal part is done by JERNEY KAAGMAN and CHRIS KOOERTS in a dialogue style. It's a perfect combination of male and female vocal. The tag-line melody is really touchy and memorable. The inclusion of keyboard and mellotron sound at the background have made this track very rich in its musical nuances. This track is full of energy and can stimulate your positive emotional feeling and gear your motivation up. The guitar solo in the middle of the track is really stunning. I bet you'll love this track regardless you are a progger or not. It's a fantastic song! As I am writing this review, I have been playing this track four times with no sign of getting bored!

Having been rocked by the first track, the next "How time flies" is mellow track with acoustic guitar, female vocal and keyboard play. It's nice. No drumming in this track. It's a great break after an upbeat tempo track. . "The last seagull" is a great instrumental piece opened with keyboard sounds that create a situation at the beach. This track is heavily influenced by jazz with stunning organ / keyboard solo with mellotron sound at background. There is lead guitar solo as well. The music flows smoothly from start to the end without any surprise in melody or rhythm changes. It's very enjoyable track. "Circus" is a song with great melody and lead vocals. The organ solo in the middle of the song is really excellent. This is another track that I always repeat listening. Excellent composition. The band use many musical transitions in this track.

I think you will enjoy this album very much whether you like prog music or not. It's not a pop music, definitely. But is not as complex as any prog rock music. Music lovers would like this album, I think. For me, it's an excellent addition to my prog collection. RECOMMENDED. Buy the CD! The title track itself is worth for having this CD in your collection. Gatot Widayanto, Indonesia. EARTH AND FIRE To the World of the Future music reviews and MP3( review from progarchives.com)

Songs / Tracks Listing

 1. To the world of the future (10:47)
2. How time flies (3:10)
3. The last seagull (6:55)
4. Only time will tell (3:46)
5. Vote from yonder (7:00)
6. Love of life (3:21)
7. Circus (6:12)

Total Time: 041:11

Line-up / Musicians

- Theo Hurts / bass, acoustic guitar, arrangement
- Jerney Kaagman / lead vocals
- Ton van de Kleij / drums, xylophone, percussion, bell tree
- Chris Koerts / acoustic & electric guitars, Arp Odyssey synth, vocals, arrangement
- Gerard Koerts / organ, acoustic & electric pianos, Mellotron, clavinet, synthesizers, virginal, arrangement percussion, bell tree

Earth & Fire - 01 - To The World Of Future 1.wmv

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Earth And Fire - Atlantis (1973)

1973 followup to "Song of the Marching Children", but I felt it was just a notch down. The album, entitled "Atlantis", of course, is a concept album on the rise and destruction of Atlantis (something ELOY would do four years later for their album "Ocean"). This album is pretty much in the same vein as its predecessor, so really little has changed in the band in those two years. Even the lineup is the same (Jerney Kaagman, twin brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts, bassist Hans Ziech, and drummer Ton v.d. Kleij).

The album opens up with the side length title track, which actually sounds like a collection of separate songs, but still works quite well. Great vocals from Jerney Kaagman as usual, and the ever presence of Mellotron. The music of course, tells to story of Atlantis, the birth, and the destruction thereof. The second half of the album mostly consists of non- related music, with the exception of a recurring theme. One song, "Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight" is without a doubt, the most pop-oriented number on this album. I am not pulling your chain that this song sounds a whole lot like SPANKY & OUR GANG (it reminds me of "Sunday Will Never Be the Same"). Of course, unlike that CHICAGO folk-pop band that's often derided as little than a second-rate MAMAS & THE PAPPAS, this song has Mellotron, to let people know this is a prog rock band. There's the much more progressive "Fanfare", with enough Mellotron to keep anyone happy. "Love, Please Close the Door" is a nice acoustic ballad that closes the album. Great album, nonetheless, even "Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight", and if you're new to EARTH & FIRE, I suggest you get both this album and "Song of the Marching Children" in one go. EARTH AND FIRE Atlantis music reviews and MP3 (Review from progarchives.com)

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Atlantis (16:21)
...a) Prelude - 0:53
...b) Prologue (don't know) - 3:19
...c) The rise and fall (under a cloudy sky) - 2:41
...d) Theme of Atlantis - 3:40
...e) The threat (suddenly) - 2:10
...f) Destruction (rumbling from inside the Earth) - 2:57
...g) Epilogue (don't know) - 0:41
2. Maybe tomorrow, maybe tonight (5:46)
3. Interlude (1:48)
4. Fanfare (3:33)
5. Theme from Atlantis (1:51)
6. Love, please close the door (4:12)

Total Time: 33:40

Line-up / Musicians

- Jerney Kaagman / lead vocals
- Ton van de Kleij / drums, percussion
- Chris Koerts / acoustic & electric guitars, backing vocals

- Gerard Koerts / organ, piano, flute, Mellotron, synthesizers, virginal, backing vocals
- Hans Ziech / bass

Earth and Fire - 01 - Atlantis [1 of 2]

Earth and Fire - Maybe Tomorrow Maybe Tonight. HQ

Earth & Fire - Atlantis/In The Mountains [Live]

Theme From Atlantis Earth & Fire

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Earth And Fire - Song Of The Marching Children (1971)

EARTH & FIRE's "Song Of The Marching Children" falls somewhere within the song-oriented prog category. The album consists of short tracks on side A, and a larger epic on side B (my CD also came with a bonus track, but there is another CD that features SOTMC, and Atlantis). All of the tracks on Side A feature some of the best qualities found in more adventurous progressive rock, and they end up sounding like miniature epics. The side- long track sounds like 5 songs pieced together. Overall, the music from this band has a strong European symphonic sound, meaning that Baroque, classical, and even circus influences are all over the place.

The band likes to weave in and out of major/minor chords and scales, so the music alternates between happy and sad moods. I also hear a noticeable early KING CRIMSON sound (heavy on the orchestral mellotron sound). EARTH & FIRE had a female lead-singer with one of the warmest, and charismatic, voice that I've heard in prog. She is usually mentioned first when people talk about the band. Some of her lyrics are silly in a surreal, counterculture, sort of way, but her beautiful voice quickly makes you forgive the naive lyrics. This is a majestic album that will please fans of early KING CRIMSON, PFM's "Per Un Amico", and FANTASY. EARTH AND FIRE Song of the Marching Children music reviews and MP3 ( Review from  Progarchives.com)

This album is generally pointed out by progheads as E&F's peak and I agree somewhat with them but as you can see by my rating , this is hardly the Everest , more like a foothill in Progressive Rock Mountains Range. E&F is one of those many Dutch band that obviously listened to a lot of classical music before starting a rock band (Focus , Ekseption , Trace etc..). The problem with that is that I see a great lack of originality/personality in those bands (Focus excepted) and prefer groups such as Supersister , Finch or Golden Earring . Since Holland is where I live during the week , I feel particularly con cerned to give a proper review and explain well why I appreciate a band or not.

E&F has one beautiful female vocalist that sings in accent-less English (as is often the case with the Dutch) sometimes brilliantly but at times also very annoyingly/irritatingly. The main thing about this album I would suggest here is that too much mellotron kills the mellotrons effects and here this is a lot more of an orgy ....... more like an indigestion. Use and abuse , where does one draw the line?!?! Well , it is not clearly drawn out but IMHO we are over the line by a few miles... If I was a music instrument dealer , I would use this album to clients as a sales brochure for the full spectrum of the capabilities of the instrument. But too much is toooooo much....

Side 1 is full of reworking the classical music and is rather tedious and sometimes sound like a third rate Focus or a second rate Ekseption, filled with mellotrons layers. Side 2 holds the side-long suite that gives its name to the album and is relatively pleasant with interesting KB lines (other than mellotrons that is) even though there are lenghts (the long March as pointed out heavily by the drumming) and the facts that there are borropwed themes (heard elsewhere). I just find it very much over-rated as much so thant the other side-long suite of the following album Atlantis. EARTH AND FIRE Song of the Marching Children music reviews and MP3 ( Review from  Progarchives.com)

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Carnival of the animals (2:42)
2. Ebbtide (3:06)
3. Storm and thunder (6:25)
4. In the mountains (3:00)
5. Song of the marching children (18:20)
...a) Theme of the marching children - 2:20
...b) Opening the seal - 1:10
...c) Childhood - 3:10
...d) Affliction - 1:30
...e) Damnation - 2:53
...f) Purification - 4:17
...g) The march - 3:02
Bonus tracks on Polydor cd release:
6. Lost forever (2:48)
7. Invitation (3:50)
8. Song for the marching children (single version) (4:08)

Total Time: 44:28

Line-up / Musicians

- Jerney Kaagman / lead vocals
- Ton van de Kleij / drums, percussion
- Chris Koerts / guitar, backing vocals
- Gerard Koerts / organ, piano, Mellotron, backing vocals
- Hans Ziech / bass

Earth and Fire - 05 - Song of the Marching Children [1 of 2]

Earth & Fire - Lost Forever

Earth and Fire - Storm and Thunder (better quality)

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Earth And Fire (1970 )

I remembered back as a kid when my dad bought "To the World of the Future", thinking there'd be no way in hell in ever finding out anything more about EARTH & FIRE, one of the great Dutch prog rock bands. My dad bought "To the World of the Future" not really knowing what he was buying (he wasn't exactly the most musically informed person out there), and since none of my family ever been to Holland, he bought that album either mistaking them for EARTH, WIND & FIRE, or simply liked the '70s futuristic cover artwork. This was back in the 1980s, and so I just thought getting info on this band was worthless. There was no Internet, and running in to people who collect this sort of stuff was rather rare. I never mentioned anyone them for the obvious reason of bewilderment or mistaking them with EW&F. Just to let everyone know, by the time they released "To the World of the Future", they were starting to explore disco, but hadn't yet abandoned prog.

In the 1990s, I met someone else who owned a few EARTH & FIRE albums and ever so glad they had many more albums, and I very much treasure "Song of the Marching Children" and "Atlantis" greatly (since I originally had cassette copies of these courtesy of that guy who owned EARTH & FIRE albums, and then me acquiring the original Dutch Polydor gatefold LP copies of those albums).

This self-entitled album was their debut LP, but they already released a couple singles prior, "Seasons" b/w "Hazy Paradise" (1969) and "Ruby is the One" b/w "Mechanical Lover" (1970), both A-sides ending up on this album. So this album ended up having two songs with original drummer Cees Kalis, and the rest with new drummer Ton van der Kleij. This here is the original LP, released on Polydor/Medium with the matchbox cover, in which the cover folds open to reveal matches, and of the song contents. In 1971, this album received a UK release on the Nepentha label, which features the Roger Dean cover (that's been used on the German Repertoire CD reissue as well as the Japanese reissue). The Nepentha LP is even harder to acquire than the Polydor/Medium matchbox cover, so I went for the matchbox cover (the Nepentha LP regularly goes for $200-400). This album is less polished than the albums to follow ("Song of the Marching Children", "Atlantis"), the Mellotron hadn't even yet appeared (although I suspected a little synthesizers was used near the end of "Twilight Dreamer"), and there's more of a late '60s psych feel.

The album opens up with "Wild and Exciting", which became a hit for them in their home country. "Vivid Shady Land" features some aggressive guitar from Chris Koerts, plus male vocals, and of course female vocals of Jerney Kaagman. "Seasons" was the very first song they ever recorded, as mentioned, previously released as a single. This song wasn't written by either of the Koerts brothers or any other EARTH & FIRE members, but George Kooysman of GOLDEN EARRING (who supported EARTH & FIRE and helped sign them to Polydor, the label Golden Earring was recording for). "Love Quiver" bears more than a striking resemblance to JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, right down to the vocal harmonies, although Jerney Kaagman's voice doesn't sound much like Grace Slick (more like STEELEYE SPAN's "Maddy Prior", but with a Dutch accent, or perhaps Mariska Veres of SHOCKING BLUE). But very unlike something from the AIRPLANE, you get a lengthy organ solo (rather than an extended Jorma Kaukonen guitar solo like on the "Volunteers" album). "21st Century Show" is much like the rest of the album, but features a nice flute solo. "What's Your Name" is a laid-back acoustic piece with flute. It sounds like Jerney Kaagman isn't doing any of the vocal duties here, not even backing vocals, the vocal duties seem to be from the Koerts twins, this song gives you a clue what EARTH & FIRE might have sounded like if they didn't feature a female vocalist. It's obvious that these guys need to brush on their English, but regardless, it's a pleasant piece, especially after the aggressiveness of "Love Quiver" (which preceeded it). It's understood that "Song of the Marching Children" and "Atlantis" shows the band at their best (I can't argue with that), this debut album is still excellent with promise of more great things to come. EARTH AND FIRE Earth and Fire music reviews and MP3

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Wild and exciting (4:27)
2. Twilight dreamer (4:16)
3. Ruby is the one (3:26)
4. You know the way (3:46)
5. Vivid shady lady (4:11)
6. 21st century show (4:14)
7. Seasons (4:08)
8. Love quiver (7:36)
9. What's your name (3:36)

Total Time: 39:40
Bonus tracks on Repertoire release:
10. Mechanical lover
11. Hazy paradise
12. Memories
13. Invitation
14. From the end till the beginning
15. Lost forever
16. Song of the marching children
(single)
17. Thanks for the love
18. What difference does it make
19. Wild and exciting
Bonus tracks on Rotation/U release:
10. Memories
11. Invitation
12. Wild and exciting (edit)
13. Greenpark station
14. Seasons
15. Song of the marching children
(single)
16. Ebb tide
17. Storm and thunder (single)
Bonus tracks on Rotation release:
10. Hazy paradise (3:46)
11. Mechanical lover (4:12)
12. Invitation (3:50)
13. Song of the marching children (single) (4:08)
14. Storm and thunder (4:50)
15. Lost forever (2:48)
16. Memories (3:20)

Total time: 66:10

Line-up / Musicians

- Jerney Kaagman / lead vocals
- Ton van de Kleij / drums
- Chris Koerts / guitar
- Gerard Koerts / guitar, keyboards
- Hans Ziech / bass

Earth and fire-Memories

SEASON / EARTH & FIRE

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