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SantaR
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SantaR Surprisingly good. As may be expected from 2 members of a Pink Floyd tribute band, "Rain" invites comparisons to PF's concept albums and Roger Waters' solo work. Recommended listening for anybody who was disappointed by Endless River! Favorite track: When The Whistle Blows.
kadees
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kadees „Ah, den Gitarristen kenne ich... JA! Das ist der Gilmour, oder? Pink Floyd? Richtig?“
Falsch!
Von Pink Floyd hat „Rain“ - ein Konzeptalbum über den ersten Weltkrieg – jede Menge. Die Musiker verstehen sich darin, das Erbe Pink Floyds anzutreten und sämtliche Epochen deren Schaffens verschmelzen zu lassen.
(March 9, 2015) Favorite track: Rain (part 1).
John Deasey
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John Deasey Quite simply one of the most powerful and moving pieces of war-themed music i have heard.
Classy, note perfect and wonderfully produced, this masterpiece deserves a huge audience.
The whole album flows beautifully from start to finish and the atmosphere builds wonderfully throughout
An essential album for any discerning music lover
more...
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Limited edition deluxe 6 panel digipak double gatefold CD with beautifully presented 20 page booklet containing Rain artwork and the lyrics to every song.

    Includes unlimited streaming of RAIN via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      £13 GBP or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The standard edition of RAIN in jewel case format with 4 page booklet.

    Includes unlimited streaming of RAIN via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      £10 GBP or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Three f2g icon jpg. files included with download.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £7 GBP  or more

     

1.
They filled our hearts they filled our minds They’d be safe behind the lines There’d be no way that we could fail Hoist the flag and set the sails So my brothers fell like rain Every rain drop bares a name The storm will rise the sky will fall A bitter lesson for us all The weight of truth lay in our eyes Heavy hearts and leaden skies Stood together in the rain Will we ever be the same? So my brothers fell like rain Every rain drop bares a name The meek will rise the might will fall A bitter lesson for us all Our Fathers knew we had to go To show our faces to the foe Our Mother's eyes gave them away And told us more than they would ever say
2.
After the storm has ended After the tide has turned How long the road to the lesson learned? Seeing walls defended And watching bridges burn Flies in the face of a lesson learned Riding tides and catching waves History writes another page And falls like a leaf into the stream And as the stars are winding As the world is turning We're rolled like the wheels of this machine
3.
When I stray from the path of reason I rest in the hands of faith I fall for the pseudo freedom I fall beneath the weight Contemplate, speculate, communicate, advocate Recreate the truth that’s lost in time Manipulate, fabricate, propagate, subjugate History is just an endless rhyme Wading through the information Through waves of unfamiliar lies Drown in an ocean of sedation Catch the wave ride the tide Time will close another chapter Time will turn another page Look for the happy ever after Beyond the fury beyond the rage After the storm has ended, after the tide has turned How long the road to the lesson learned? Seeing walls defended, and watching bridges burn Flies in the face of a lesson learned Contemplate, speculate, Instigate, separate, Desecrate the peace of hearts and minds Dominate, violate, Devastate, annihilate History is just an endless rhyme Wading through the information Through waves of unfamiliar lies Drown in an ocean of sedation Catch the wave ride the tide After the storm has ended, after the tide has turned How long the road to the lesson learned? Seeing walls defended, and watching bridges burn Flies in the face of a lesson learned And the river flows Like the sands of time And tomorrow knows It's just an endless rhyme....It's just an endless rhyme..... It's just an endless rhyme.....
4.
Fooled again By those in who we put our faith Into this house we are born Face to face The situation kept us safe There’ll be no shelter from this storm First the fear grows then the cold wind blows We’re just riders on a wave We’re just riders on a wave that breaks On a tide that takes As the wind blows Head to head The worst case plan put into action So is this how the end begins? Eye to eye In this shelter of distraction We’re at the mercy of the wind First the fear grows then the cold wind blows We’re just riders on a wave We’re just riders on a wave that breaks On a tide that takes As the wind blows We’re just riders on a wave We’re just riders on a wave that breaks On a tide that takes On a tide that takes As the wind blows As the wind blows As the wind blows (riders on the wave) As the wind blows (riders on the wave)......
5.
We set sail from Liverpool, Nova Scotia bound The William Sail would take us from Halifax to Cape Town Through every kind of sea no destination known Half the way around the world, a universe from home We’re just ordinary men sent to fight a cause Wherever fate may lead us, foreign fields and distant shores Hugging the coast of Africa to our next port of call We sail by Madagascar as events unfold that would affect us all With our futures at the hands Of the will of a chosen few We’re expected to deliver We’re expected to come through And our fates have led us here To be currency for the bitter price of freedom Laid up in Mombasa waiting, decisions being made Plans that would decide our destiny and test our faith no matter how well laid Be it desert or the jungle one thing we all knew Ill-equipped and undertrained for either of the two With our futures at the hands Of the will of a chosen few Who expect us to deliver Who expect us to come through So our fates have led us here To be currency for the bitter price of freedom So we sailed toward the rising sun, to save the island “bastion” Lovers, Brothers, Fathers, Sons, the innocent defrauded young Defenders of a naked Isle, Expendable, the rank and file We were born into this century, Wither summons destiny So our fates have led us here And this island will fall And the writing will be clear As our backs hit the wall Sold down the river on the blackest of days For those who survive there’ll be hell to pay
6.
LU2 01:59
I watch the moonlight It scans the floor The pull of love The tug of war As red as anger The sun will rise We’ll hold our nerve beneath An unforgiving sky I wonder if you know I wonder if you’re still I wonder if I’ll fall Some have, more will.
7.
I watched them fall like rain I watched them fall like rain I watched them fall like rain I watched them fall like rain Something had to give Something had to go Though we'd held on, we'd held on Some of us were saved Some of us would fall Though we'd held on, for so long We dreamed a safe return Allowed our hearts to burn But how could we hope that our Hell would be gone It had clearly defined our existence for so long I watched them fall like rain I watched them fall like rain
8.
To the darkest corners My memory sheds its light Through the murky waters Shadows in the night Fly like an angel fall like a stone Take away the sun I'm blinded by its light Let the shadows fall And slip into the night Fly like an angel fall like a stone Fly like an angel fall like a stone Fly like an angel Every step I take another folded memory holds me down Every page another face with every sight and every sound Flying like angels falling like stones Flying like angels falling like stones Flying like angels They filled our hearts they filled our minds They'd be safe behind the lines There'd be no way that we could fail Hoist the flag and set the sails
9.
Through the panes of broken glass See the lessons of the past Watch hypocrisy unfold From the mouths of open goals Fractured earth November sky Minds too young to doubt the lie Changing winds and shifting gales Find the secrets on the dial In the shadow of the style The Devil's in the detail Changing winds and shifting gales (So my brothers fell like rain) Hoist the flag and set the sails (So my brothers fell like rain) Tie your faith onto the rails (So my brothers fell like rain) Memories too close to the bone The stare from angels made of stone Stood like dominoes in chains The fate of youth lay in the hands That built their castles made of sand So my brothers fell like rain Changing winds and shifting gales (So my brothers fell like rain) Hoist the flag and set the sails (So my brothers fell like rain) Tie your faith onto the rails (So my brothers fell like rain) They filled our hearts they filled our minds They’d be safe behind the lines There’d be no way that we could fail Hoist the flag and set the sails Something had to give, something had to go Some of us were saved and some of us would fall Though we'd held on Though we'd held on The World we knew would leave our hearts And crumble like a house of cards A certain sense of freedom
10.
Part 1 From Cumberland to Gallipoli The Eden to the Somme Young boys on a journey They’d been called upon The call that came from Kitchener Was coloured by their pride For Glory, King and Country Such unfamiliar lies So they answered the call And the rain would fall Red the river flows When the whistle blows He hated all the generals Can’t you see what you have done? Sending burning flying steel through flesh and bone Of another mother’s son So the tables turned (You’ll only hear what we want you to hear) While the home fires burned (You’ll only hear what we want you to hear) Red the river flows (You’ll only hear what we want you to hear) When the whistle blows Part 2 You take the shilling you’re ours day and night So go on the whistle you’re here to fight Over the top while we play our games Do as you’re ordered and fall like rain From the man that returned not a word has been said About 14 to 18 or the blood that was shed The nightmares may fade but the scars never heal So silence remained over Flanders fields So they answered the call And the rain would fall Then the field would fall silent Just the sound of a lone voice in no man’s land Barely out of school with his life on the line And he’s calling out for his mother’s hand So they answered the call And the rain would fall Red the river flows When the whistle blows A hand full of medals a picture or two Remind us forever of what he went through Robert Wilson a father, a son His childhood ended at the Somme with a gun
11.
Take our picture from the wall see the shadow left behind By the four years of our youth that left us old before our time Let the hands turn on the clock face let the sun fade from the sky Those of us that made it home would spend the rest of our lives trying to grow young
12.
They filled our hearts they filled our minds They’d be safe behind the lines There’d be no way that we could fail Hoist the flag and set the sails So my brothers fell like rain So my brothers fell like rain So my brothers fell like rain So my brothers fell like rain........
13.
Home Again 03:36
14.
15.
Broken bones will mend But broken hearts and promises Are taken to the end Scars and calluses Fissures in my soul Flaws in every plan Fault lines in my heart But not a broken man I’ve seen the mighty fall To depths I’ve never known They hit the water hard And sink like a stone They’re broken in the wheel Beaten by the bigger plan Wounds that never heal And I’m not a broken man The Hounds of fate can wait But they won’t be denied The slowing of the wheel The rising of the tide My memory serves me well Keeps me close enough to heaven Far enough from hell I’m not a broken man I’m not a broken man I’m not a broken man

about

"An ambitous and accomplished debut album" - PROG Magazine.

A review of Rain by Phil Stiles.
www.sonicabuse.com/2014/02/freedom-to-glide-rain-album-review/

Freedom to Glide are a progressive rock band from England. Featuring Pete Riley and Andy Nixon, both of whom play in a Pink Floyd tribute band, Freedom to Glide draw together the sound of Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Porcupine Tree on an album that is very much the spiritual successor to ‘The Final Cut’ with its conceptual theme of the costs of war. Beautifully played and perfectly recorded, ‘Rain’ is a throwback to the sublime melodies and fluid guitar work of ‘WYWH’-era Floyd with a touch of ‘Starless and Bible Black’ era Crimson thrown in for good measure. Poignant and intelligently written, there is no surprise that the album gained a number of plaudits (including Prog Mill album of the year) upon its release.

Opening with ‘Rain (part 1)’ the band craftily repeat the trick of ‘shine on you crazy diamond’ with the music starting in a swell of synth sound (presumably not wine glasses though!) before introducing the gently keening guitars and after a slow, gentle build up, the very English vocals which recall David Gilmour crossed with Steven Wilson. Built around the heart-breaking lyric “so my brothers fell like rain” it draws the listener straight into the heart of the album’s concept whilst the melody is so haunting it will stay with you for days after. In the best progressive tradition ‘Anywhere Else But Here’ is a short, hypnotic segue that draws the listener to the harder edged ‘path of reason’ which adds a more Porcupine Tree feel to proceedings with its driving riff, subtle piano embellishments and funky rhythms. The music is recorded with amazing depth and clarity, allowing the melodies to shine out from the heart of the song, and it’s clear that a lot of work must have gone into achieving such a beautifully clean, organic sound.

Having indulged in rockier fare, Freedom to glide slow things down for the acoustic ‘Riders On A Wave’, a melodic and tender ballad that considers the necessary submission of ordinary men under arms to those in power in the hope that the latter know what they are doing. The music is beautiful, but for the ‘riders on a wave’ the position is hopeless and fate is dictated by faceless overlords whose decisions are never justified, explained or even criticised if things go wrong. It takes great skill to take such a difficult subject and turn it into such a beautiful song, but Freedom to glide make it seem easy. More complex and showcasing the album at its darkest, ‘Price Of Freedom’ covers the difficult topic of betrayal in foreign lands and leaves the soldiers lost and dying halfway around the world. Another brief segue (‘L-U-2’) is a simple vocal backed by lonely piano before the band utilise the well-worn trick of shuffling across radio stations to arrive at the lush melancholy of ‘Rain (part 2)’. ‘Angels And Stones’ is a short, dark track that is shrouded in sinister ambience and the dimming of the light, before heading back to the album’s central theme with ‘Rain (part 3)’.

One of the most ambitious tracks on the album, ‘When The Whistle Blows’ is a lengthy, two-part track that covers the experience of a soldier going to war with admirable lyrical ingenuity and quite remarkable musical prowess. Clearly the album is a labour of love and born of strong personal conviction, all of which is represented in the carefully crafted music and the sublime solos which are played with a fluid grace and elegance that few can achieve. ‘Trying To Grow Young’ is another segue that drifts dreamily into the somnambulant pulse of ‘Rain (part 4)’, a song that draws upon ‘Wall’-era Pink Floyd with a delay-enhanced guitar line and even a choir bought in to augment the refrain. Perhaps the most poignant moment sees the Ode of remembrance set to gentle synth on ‘Home Again’ before the album slips quietly into the instrumental ‘One Hundred And Twenty’. The final track, ‘Not A Broken Man’, deals, again with a grace and candour that can only come from a lifetime of contemplation upon the subject, with the survivor guilt and psychological wounds of those who do return from great battles and leaves, impressed upon the listener, a genuine empathy for those who have suffered the horrors of war.

When Roger Waters wrote ‘The final cut’, he crafted a powerful album and one that, with time, has grown in stature. However, his vicious polemic alienated some who felt he had politicised a topic that needed to be treated as a universal issue rather than one of any single government and, as a result, the terrible sadness that was communicated by that album did not reach as wide an audience as perhaps it should. ‘Rain’, to a large extent, readdresses the balance. By focusing on the very personal experience of a soldier at war, rather than on the political machinations that landed him there, ‘Rain’ is an album that can appeal to us all and draw sympathy for us all. The lyrics are perfectly written, balancing poignancy with historical accuracy and the dictates of rhyme and meter, and despite treading the well-worn theme of war, they feel as if they have something new and important to say about the subject – no mean feat. The music, meanwhile, is sublime on every level. With a sound that recalls ‘DSOTM’ and ‘WYWH’ in terms of clarity and depth and a level of musicianship that so very few attain, ‘Rain’ is a near perfect album that should be compulsory listening for progressive fans. A modern classic, Freedom to glide have created a true masterpiece that mingles beauty with sadness over its 63 gorgeous minutes.

credits

released November 11, 2013

Andy Nixon - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drum production.
Pete Riley - Piano, Synthesizers, Organ.

Guests:
Francesca Genco - Additional backing vocals
Stephen Bell - Trumpet
Elation Community Voices - Choir
Geoffrey Watts Riley - Spoken word
Lydia Wilson - Spoken word

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