Jon Anderson – Animation 1982 (Japan Remastered 2006)

Dadas las consultas anteriores sobre este álbum, finalmente una edición que le hace más justicia a este no tan conocido registro dentro de la trayectoria de la voz de Yes como solista. Como él mismo Jon afirmaría en una entrevista para el Molodie Maker, su intención con este disco era conciliar su personal enfoque de la música con el lado más electrónico de la new wave en aquel entonces a toda popa. Si bien con un presupuesto notoriamente menor a su trabajo anterior o cualquiera de sus epopeyas junto a Yes, teniendo el mismo que producirlo y mezclarlo (lo cual se hace evidente en la mezcla), el resultado final no es estrictamente new wave o electrónico, sino que al igual que su trabajo anterior de 1980, sigue siendo un álbum fuertemente melódico de orientación pop con algunos pasajes tanto electrónicos como acústicos. Si de momentos lo califique como una selección de canciones de descartes de Song of Seven, como lo puede denunciar el mismo repertorio de músicos de sesión, estas canciones aún se encuentran dentro del mejor momento de su etapa creativa, muchas de éstas canciones siendo desarrolladas a partir de demos desde a mediados de los setenta, siendo concretados finalmente en este contexto más electrónico y ochentero. Como curiosidad Boundaries, es una de esas tantas canciones que fue maquillada e incluida con otro titulo como tema de relleno en el álbum junto a Yes: Open Your Eyes en 1998.

Si bien lamentablemente este álbum pasó completamente desapercibido para el publico y la critica, sepultando cualquier posibilidad de repuntar su carrera musical a un nivel ligeramente cercano al que vivío con Yes en los setenta, incluso aun por debajo de sus otros trabajos en colaboración con otros músicos de la new age o electrónica como vangelis o Mike Olfield. Un disco cuya edición promocional japonesa de 1983 en vinilo suele ser una de las piezas más apreciadas y cotizadas por coleccionistas, destacando por la calidad de su cubierta, y del vinilo mismo de un llamativo color rojo y de un material lijeramente más pesado para asegurar que la aguja no saltará en el tornamesa además de cierta propiedad antiestatica para evitar el desagradable ruido propio de algunas ediciones de menor calidad que pululaban en el mercado americano de aquel entonces. Una edición que además incluía el aún más raro single Spider. Edición que es rescatada en esta flamante re-edición remasterizada en CD.  Un considerable esfuerzo por mantenerse aún vigente dentro del cambiante y veleidoso escenario musical, lejos de los multitudinarios estadios, las ostentosas lemosinas, el sequito de fans aduladores y todo aquello que había significado en algún momento el escenario progresivo de mediados de los setenta.

En las Propias palabras de Jon Anderson acerca de la realización de este álbum:

‘Animation’ was a great moment in my musical life. Experimentation was key then, and when I listen to the music today, I realize how far away from the norm I was … yet strangely, still so close to it.

It was 1982 and I had been to the Olympia music trade show in West London a week before I was scheduled to start recording what would become ‘Animation.’ During this period I found myself into funky rhythms and electronic manipulation of music, and these interests, of course, found their way onto the finished product. In the solo pieces of ‘Olympia,’ for example, I was literally juggling with a radio, making a solo out of various radio ‘bits’ I was hearing and then assembling into very interesting words. I even got a very cool cricket score in there: «Somerset 365 all out.» Listen really close and you can hear it at about the 2:49 minute mark. A radio solo … absolutely amazing. And through it all Clem Clempson drives the piece with his beautiful guitar work.

‘Animation’… as songs go, there is a whole lot of energy around each corner. It seems like I’m singing on helium most of the time. It’s about the birth of my wonderful daughter, Jade. Seeing her birth in the form of a song was kind of unique in a way. It’s a musical of various ideas meant to capture the emotions of Jade’s entry into the world.

‘Surrender’ … I wasn’t aiming for it, but this always was a radio song. Frankly, it still could be. Stefano Cerri’s wonderful bass lines really set the piece and propel it forward … so pure. It’s about getting rid of fear and war. Having a big fireworks display to celebrate after we succeed. Ridding the world of war … how wonderful that would be.

‘All in a Matter of Time’ …Christopher Rainbow sings all the harmonies, and does so beautifully. David Sancious on keyboards … masterfully sublime. A very lovely piece of music.

‘Unlearning’ … it was about breaking away from Yes and everything I had learned while in the band. It was also about feeling so alone during that time and realizing I needed to move forward with my life and career. Unlearn the old rules and re-dream my world. The song has a strong, hard sound that’s very strange.

‘Boundaries’… this song came to me in a dream about five years earlier. I woke up, sang it into a cassette recorder, and promptly lost track of the tape. I found the cassette while recording this album. I love the high penny whistle I played over the song.

‘Much Better Reason’… very latino … an afternoon of musical fun … wrote and recorded in only a couple of hours … just a great groove. It’s a song about a drug addict, and features some really fantastic drumming by Simon Phillips.

‘All Gods Children’… a lot of honest love and fun, along with a hip groove and a big choir of energy. I was trying to lift the world with song … so many lyrics in this one … so many melodies. I remember the studio t was alive with light and love. Just wonderful.

Here’s a spot of trivia for you: Quite a while before I recorded ‘Animation’ I wrote a story called ‘Twins.’ It was something that came to me one day, and which I imagined as a musical, a movie, and a story. Eventually the name changed to ‘The Spell.’ That story was the original backbone for this album. I remember recording it in a day very spontaneously. I had world-class musicians with me, so everything I needed was available. But at the time, the record company didn’t really get it and didn’t want the track on the finished album. Oh well, such was life in those days.

The whole concept behind «The Spell’ was always something more than I was able to explain. I could, and still can, see it perfectly clear in my mind’s eye … I just could never put the entire thing into words such that it would make sense to anyone besides me. Be that as it may, ‘The Spell’ is included here as a bonus track. The sound isn’t that great; it was originally on a cassette «tape I had lost many years back. I found the old cassette last year and thought, «Why not let people hear where I was in those days.»

‘Spider’… the other bonus track was originally the B-side for the ‘Surrender’ single. The song is based on an old Irish story about the 13th sign of the zodiac, the Spider sign. Very speed}’ bloke, the Spider is. It was great fun having my daughter, Deborah, explaining the story in the background as we were singing it. A very cool piece indeed.

So there you have it. All in all, a very interesting period in my musical life. I hope you enjoy this work as much as I did creating it… all those years ago.

-Jon Anderson.

Tracklist:

1. Olympia (4:53)
2. Animation (9:03)
3. Surrender (3:50)
4. All In A Matter Of Time (3:02)
5. Unlearning (The Dividing Line) (4:54)
6. Boundaries (3:18)
7. Pressure Point (4:35)
8. Much Better Reason (4:25)
9. All Gods Children (4:25)
Bonus Tracks:

10. The Spell (11:39)
11. Spider (2:49)

Personel:

Jon Anderson – Vocals, Acoustic Guitars

Stefano Cerri – Bass 

Clem Clempson – Guitars

Simon Phillips – Drums and Percussion 

David Sancious – Keyboards

Additional Personnel:

Jack Bruce, Dave Lawson, Ronnie Leahy, Brother James, Billy Kristian, Bret Morgan, Blue Weaver, Ian Wallace, Delmay String Quartet (arranged by David Ogden), John Giblin, Maurice Pert, Brazil Idiots, my kids Deborah and Damion Anderson … having fun.

Brass section arranged by Dick Morrisey with Henry I^owther, Chris Payne, and Tony Stanton Original release produced by Jon Anderson and Neil Kernon Re-release executive producer: Rob Ayling All songs written by Jon Anderson except «All Gods Children» by Jon Anderson & Jennifer Anderson

Design, layout, and copy editing by Ed Prasek of Spin Studio, Re-release mastered by Mike Petrini at Vortex Sound Studios, Boston, Massachusetts Additional sound design & mixing on ‘The Spell’ by Mike Petrini Special thanks to Daniel Earnshaw for helping make the re-issue of Animation a reality

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