Go to www.davescottmorgan.com for project updates.
Get EARTHRISE from
CD baby NOW!!!
amazon reviews of EARTHRISE:
J. W. van Aalst (Amazon review)
mr david k jones (Amazon review)
At long last Earthrise makes an official release. If you are an ELO collector this is for you. If you enjoy good music from two very fine musicians then go out and buy this you will not be disappointed.
Nate s. (Amazon review)
Every so often, a brilliant album is condemned to oblivion by blunder upon blunder in marketing. Such has been the fate of the 1985 concept album "Earth rise" by Richard Tandy and Dave Morgan; the former being the keyboardist of the Electric Light Orchestra, and the latter a fellow Brummie who's been in and out of Birmingham bands such as the The Move and E.L.O (from 1981 to 1986)
In the early eighties, a musical period when concept rock albums where out-of-fashion and "not done", Tandy and Morgan constructed a timeless gem out of a bunch of demos by singer-songwriter Dave Morgan. The "Earth rise" story is about an intergalactic space traveller, who, in the emptiness of the Galaxy, is longing to return to his one love on Earth; in the end, he realises that true love has always been present within himself ("The secret was always inside"). Apart from the science fiction form, the content is really about universal questions, and both the compositions and the lyrics are impressively haunting: "Feeling so lonely / Feeling so blue / Feeling so empty / Like all this distance between me and you", and "Travelling one thousand worlds, searching for only one..." Who hasn't done this one way or another in his/her lifetime?
The album easily matches E.L.O.'s 1981 "Time" album in inspiration and flow, and, Richard Tandy being a prominent player on both albums, share several similarities. If you like E.L.O.'s "Time", you're going to love "Earth Rise". And yet, Earth Rise has an originality and energy of its own that prevents it from being labeled a "Time imitation".
The album was released in 1985 on vinyl and cassette, but for all kinds of reasons, marketing was totally absent. The album got no airplay at all, which, as we all know, is deadly for commercial success. Given the proper airplay, tracks like "Spaceship Earth", "Zero zero" and "Pictures in my pillow" could easily have been massive hits, given the combination of commercial sound production and emotional impact.
As a minor point of this release, I found that the track order has been changed, which means the story just doesn't seem to flow as logically as it did on the original release. Moreover, both "Zero zero" and "Pictures on my pillow" have now been 'relegated' to the end of the disc, as a sort of 'bonus tracks'. While they may not fit into the concept story lyrically, I feel that on the original release they came at exactly the right spot. Also, two left-over tracks have now been inserted at various points without really adding anything significant. But hey, track order is easily rearranged when playing the CD, and, most important of all, the tracks are still the original recordings, not re-workings.
A final minor point is the cover art, which I feel is way inferior to the original cassette album art. On the other hand, the lyrics have now been included in the booklet, which is nice, given the importance of the storyline.
All in all, I'm glad that this timeless concept album has been given another chance on the market, and I'm sure many E.L.O. fans will spend many a blissful hour on re-listening this collaborative, extremely musical sytnth-rock-album. Let's release "Spaceship Earth" as a single after all - but who's going to organize the airplay this time?
In the early eighties, a musical period when concept rock albums where out-of-fashion and "not done", Tandy and Morgan constructed a timeless gem out of a bunch of demos by singer-songwriter Dave Morgan. The "Earth rise" story is about an intergalactic space traveller, who, in the emptiness of the Galaxy, is longing to return to his one love on Earth; in the end, he realises that true love has always been present within himself ("The secret was always inside"). Apart from the science fiction form, the content is really about universal questions, and both the compositions and the lyrics are impressively haunting: "Feeling so lonely / Feeling so blue / Feeling so empty / Like all this distance between me and you", and "Travelling one thousand worlds, searching for only one..." Who hasn't done this one way or another in his/her lifetime?
The album easily matches E.L.O.'s 1981 "Time" album in inspiration and flow, and, Richard Tandy being a prominent player on both albums, share several similarities. If you like E.L.O.'s "Time", you're going to love "Earth Rise". And yet, Earth Rise has an originality and energy of its own that prevents it from being labeled a "Time imitation".
The album was released in 1985 on vinyl and cassette, but for all kinds of reasons, marketing was totally absent. The album got no airplay at all, which, as we all know, is deadly for commercial success. Given the proper airplay, tracks like "Spaceship Earth", "Zero zero" and "Pictures in my pillow" could easily have been massive hits, given the combination of commercial sound production and emotional impact.
As a minor point of this release, I found that the track order has been changed, which means the story just doesn't seem to flow as logically as it did on the original release. Moreover, both "Zero zero" and "Pictures on my pillow" have now been 'relegated' to the end of the disc, as a sort of 'bonus tracks'. While they may not fit into the concept story lyrically, I feel that on the original release they came at exactly the right spot. Also, two left-over tracks have now been inserted at various points without really adding anything significant. But hey, track order is easily rearranged when playing the CD, and, most important of all, the tracks are still the original recordings, not re-workings.
A final minor point is the cover art, which I feel is way inferior to the original cassette album art. On the other hand, the lyrics have now been included in the booklet, which is nice, given the importance of the storyline.
All in all, I'm glad that this timeless concept album has been given another chance on the market, and I'm sure many E.L.O. fans will spend many a blissful hour on re-listening this collaborative, extremely musical sytnth-rock-album. Let's release "Spaceship Earth" as a single after all - but who's going to organize the airplay this time?
mr david k jones (Amazon review)
At long last Earthrise makes an official release. If you are an ELO collector this is for you. If you enjoy good music from two very fine musicians then go out and buy this you will not be disappointed.
Nate s. (Amazon review)
What a great "DISCOVERY", right
"OUT OF THE BLUE", and just in "TIME". Okay enough with the
references already, now we must "FACE THE MUSIC"! Have I made myself
annoyingly clear? This CD, along with the late (and missed), Kelly Groucutt's
solo CD (KELLY), and in my opinion the work of Orkestra are a perfect fit
to my E.L.O. / J.L. collection. Why this beautiful work took so long to
"RISE" up out of the ashes I have "NO ANSWER" (I just
couldn't resist). Seriously, even if you are a passive E.L.O. fan, or you are a
true lover of the 80's you will not be let down, for those of us which the
light will always shine bright, it is a must!
E - (Amazon review)
E - (Amazon review)
This is not simply a re-issue but a remastering with additional tracks (and a new mix of Caeser of the Galaxy added back in).
Excellent release.
Excellent release.
Across the Divide
11 tracks written by Dave:
Some albums get your attention the very first time you hear them. "Across The Divide" by Dave Scott-Morgan is definitely in this category. The former ELO man has put together a great set of songs that not only vary in tempo and style but also contain pensive lyrics which not only convey his Christian faith, in part, but deliver some really catchy tunes with a message. This whole album is my favourite track Keith Sinclair elobeatlesforever.blogspot
Regardless of whether you got Earthrise from Amazon or not, why not write a review for Amazon UK? No prizes, no bribes and no need for unqualified glowing reviews, just what you really think.
UPDATE AT 20TH AUGUST 2011
Amazon are now shipping orders. Due to a higher than expected demand they have almost run out of stock. We will endeavour to send them further supplies as soon as possible. Please accept our apologies for any delay.
UPDATE AT 10th August 2011
We have had a number of requests for autographs and interviews, particularly related to ELO. We are unable to deal with these or pass messages on. Please contact ELO management.
For press enquiries and interview requests email: mandy@lifeware.co.uk
UPDATE AT 12 JULY 2011
Here is the track listing for Earthrise Special Edition:
Spaceship Earth
Earth Rise
Under the Blue/Asteroid
Starclipse/Purpose
One Thousand Worlds
Escape from the Citadel
3rd Planet
Suddenly
Princeton
Wheels
Caesar of the Galaxy
The Secret
Zero Zero
The body of the album contains additional tracks which have been retrieved from the original sessions. "Purpose" has a new guitar track added.
Other additional tracks, not part of the new edition, but part of the original sessions/album, will also be included, such as "Pictures in my Pillow".
9th JULY 2011
Here is a sampler for the album. We are keeping back a few surprises and the Special Edition is quite a different thing altogether. (Not available on iPad)