Over the years I have heard many tribute acts and cover versions, as have we all, but generally I find them poorly constructed and rather pointless. But, there are some exceptions to the rule, as with the excellent ‘Genesis For Two Grand Pianos’ albums by Roger T Matte and Yngve Guddal. So, I must confess, I wasn’t looking forward to playing this album, as I know all the songs incredibly well, and was rather concerned as to what they were going to do with it. Echoes have built a reputation as being one of the premier Pink Floyd tribute bands around, but I have never understood the concept of buying an album of a tribute band – why not just listen to the original instead? However, this was promising to be slightly different as they had the idea of approaching the music in an acoustic fashion, yet not losing any of the power and emotion that makes Floyd such an amazing entity. Could it be done?
The line-up for this was Oliver Hartmann (acoustic guitar, vocals); Martin Hofmann (vocals, acoustic bass, guitar); Paul Kunkel (piano, vocals); Steffen Maier (drums and percussion); Michael Unger (woodwinds and vocals); Carolin Riehemann (vocals); Irena Morisáková (cello); Terezie Fadrná (cello); Milena Kolárovà (violin) and Alice Vasilová (violin). Oliver is the most well-known of them all, as he is singer with Avantasia as well, but while he has incredible presence on songs like “high Hopes”, it is the complete band presence that makes this such a success.
From the first few notes of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” through to the final “Run Like Hell” this is a masterpiece. The music is still very much that of Floyd, but it has been treated with great respect and the arrangements maximise the space and atmosphere from the originals but in a very new setting indeed. I can’t imagine any Floyd fan not falling in love with this the very first time they hear it – in some ways it feels like the old painting has been carefully restored and new life provided. Some songs feel closer to the originals than others, but all have gained a great deal from this treatment. Sit down, relax, and fall into the world of songs that are all familiar yet here are revitalised and refreshed. This is an album that comes highly recommended indeed. For more details visit the band’s site at www.echoes.de
