Iona – Iona
Open Sky – 7 August 2020
The first few tracks of this re-release might get a newcomer asking what Iona are about. The opening washes of keys, mixed in with the sound of waves crashing, give way to an Uilleann pipes melody. So they’re Celtic. But then Flight of the Wild Goose lets rip with guitar and sax each soloing its theme. So it’s also jazz-rock? Then The Island sees Jo Hogg’s powerful vocals enter the frame, imploring against stabs of keys. So they do rock ballads, too? When White Sands follows this, they are back to the Celtic pipes and whistles taking the lead.
It’s this mix of styles, all interwoven, that made the band such pioneers when this début appeared in 1990 – significantly earlier than the first performance of Riverdance, during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest interval, that seemed to launch Celtic music into the mainstream for a few years.
But what draws it all together is a great lump of rock, tucked against the west end of the Isle of Mull. Iona inspired the band to form, but also informed its music.
So the open washes, pipes and flutes are often instrumental impressions of the island’s exposed and misty landscape. The island’s history also influences the music: founder multi-instrumentalist Dave Bainbridge has described Trilogy as an attempt to musically depict “1400 years of history in just 8 ½ minutes” and Viking massacres of its monks inspired White Sands. Part of that history is the island’s key role in spreading Christianity throughout Britain, and sax-and-flutes player David Fitzgerald’s soaring instrumental Columcille (another name for Columba) is a tribute to the saint, while the wild goose –part of two tracks – is a Celtic image of God.
While these themes continued to run through Iona’s music, the band also had a wider vision, reflecting present times in further lands: the dramatic instrumental “Beijing,” with its Chinese percussion, was influenced by events in Tiananmen Square, while the suitably lively song Dancing on the Wall celebrates the re-unification of Germany.
This is a remarkable effort for a first album, with every track earning its place. Melodies are strong, (whether straightforward songs or instrumentals), each track has its own character and the fusion of genres smothers any predictability. So Columcille begins with its gorgeous melody played on whistle, before pipes take over (and on the demo version it’s played by lead guitar) while underneath the low keys growl and the higher ones float like musical dry ice among everything else.
The band’s 30th anniversary is the reason for this re-release (or, strictly speaking, re-re-release, as several tracks were re-worked for the four-disc compilation set in 2002 that launched the band’s Open Sky label). A 17-disc box set sees each of their studio albums paired with a companion disc, and a new batch of material added for good measure. Each 2-disc set is available on its own.
The bonus disc for this début album is, surprisingly, one of the best of the whole set, largely because it flows better than several others, which trace the development of songs in greater depth and so can be a little fragmented. It follows the order of the original, six of the tracks having two versions, with just enough room to add a two minute mood piece at the end.
One remarkable aspect is the way that demos from cassettes have cleaned up so well, free of any hiss and with real sharpness to the notes. Hogg’s demo for The Island brings out the ringing quality of the piano riff, which comes across as a pealing of bells. It’s only the demo of Dancing on the Wall that sounds muddy. It also helps that several tracks that were re-worked in 2002 have their original 1990 versions here and the atmospheric Beijing is even better than on the main disc, appearing in the more cinematic “Widescreen mix.”
As the band developed its worldwide fan base, the Celtic element grew alongside the prog aspect, with Troy Donockley joining officially and taking a rockier approach to his Uilleann pipes, often playing them like a second guitar. They only once dipped below a four-star level (The Circling Hour) but this first album was a running start, and it has never sounded as good as with this bumper version.
The video below trails bonus material from across the whole box set:
Iona is due to be released on 7 August 2020 and is available from https://www.musicglue.com/iona
Iona are
Dave Bainbridge – Keyboards, Acoustic and electric guitars, bouzouki, programming
David Fitzgerald – Saxophones, flutes, Piccolo, Flageolet, Irish whistle, tenor recorder
Joanne Hogg –Vocals, Keyboards
With guests
Terl Bryant – Drums
Troy Donockley – Uilleann pipes, Low whistles
Tim Hines – Percussion
Tim Harries – Bass, Double bass
Peter Whitfield – Violins, Viola
Ian Thomas – Voice
Frank van Essen – Drum loop sample