Ember Sea
Moonlight Shadow
Green Bronto Records
September 24th, 2021
Playing time: 07:23
Recently, “Two Stages – Live at Monopol & Wolfsmond” was playing in my CD player. Two great live shows wonderfully captured on one CD. I also enjoy listening to “Nova” and “How to Tame a Heart” again and again. I simply love the sound of the Hanoverian Rock band Ember Sea. Founded in 2009, the relatively stable line-up is astonishing. Three of the five members have been with the band since the early days. Surely a reason for the good albums. Now I read that a new single was released in September. A cover version of the Mike Oldfield classic “Moonlight Shadow”. “Very brave” I think to myself. After all, this song is musical world literature. Guitar god meets exceptionally gifted singer (Maggie Reilly). Can that go well?
The answer is a very clear Yes and No! Ember Sea try to walk the balancing act between faithfulness to the original and an own sound. Unfortunately, they don’t quite succeed. Sure, Eva Gerland has a good voice, but she doesn’t come close to the original. The guitar solo is more rock and melodically cleanly played. But I still have the Master in my ears here. And the synth or keyboard sounds don’t fit the song for my taste. Wouldn’t a new own song have been better here than two versions of the classic of different lengths. The differences between the two versions are only noticeable when listening extremely closely. Too bad, I would have hoped for a little more from the single.
Ember Sea – Moonlight Shadow: https://youtu.be/woJuqmCCwIM
Lineup:
Eva Gerland – Vocals
Stefan Santag – Guitar
Pablo J Tammen – Bass
Dirk Marquardt – Keys
Enrico Mier – Drums
Label: Green Bronto Records
Out: September 24th, 2021
Playing time: 07:23
Track list:
- Moonlight Shadow
- Moonlight Shadow (Extended)
