Gandalf

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music
GANDALF is possibly the rarest album on the Capitol label and sought after in any condition by record collectors.

Gandalf's Fist: "If you want a good idea on what Gandalf's Fist is all about then look no further. To celebrate our Ten Year anniversary we've put together this compilation to allow everyone to sample our back catalogue. Chronologically. there's one track from every album, including our very first demo from back in 2005. As an extra treat the first three songs have been remixed, remastered, and in some sections, even re-recorded… which we've done to thank all our existing fans and supporters out there with some nice fresh versions of our favourite tracks! Rather than do a traditional "best of", we've picked one song from each record which means something special to us - check out the individual track notes for each song for more details."

Prog/Folk/Rock from the Murky depths of Cumbria. Aided by a merry band of misfits, Gandalf's Fist are your new favourite Cult band waiting to be discovered! Gandalf's Fist draw on their mutual love for classic rock bands such as Pink Floyd, The Who, and even the likes of Iron Maiden. Gandalf's Fist is a British band from Maryport, Cumbria. Their music is influenced by 1970s progressive/psychedelic rock. The group formed in 2005, and built their reputation through various airplay by national radio with the help of several interviews in the "Classic Rock presents Prog"- Magazine, they cemented their reputation by playing at the "Second Stage" of Planet Rockstock in Great Yarmouth in December 2013, despite being a "initially studio only" project. They were featured in the TOP20 of Geoff Barton's 2013 Critic's choice in PROG Magazine Issue #41 lately.

Prog/Folk/Rock from the Murky depths of Cumbria. Aided by a merry band of misfits, Gandalf's Fist are your new favourite Cult band waiting to be discovered! Gandalf's Fist draw on their mutual love for classic rock bands such as Pink Floyd, The Who, and even the likes of Iron Maiden. Gandalf's Fist is a British band from Maryport, Cumbria. Their music is influenced by 1970s progressive/psychedelic rock. The group formed in 2005, and built their reputation through various airplay by national radio with the help of several interviews in the "Classic Rock presents Prog"- Magazine, they cemented their reputation by playing at the "Second Stage" of Planet Rockstock in Great Yarmouth in December 2013, despite being a "initially studio only" project. They were featured in the TOP20 of Geoff Barton's 2013 Critic's choice in PROG Magazine Issue #41 lately.

Gear Fab's excavation of the recorded history of Greenwich Village folkie Chris Wilson continued apace with this follow-up to The Grey Wizard Am I (itself reissued three years earlier by the archival label). You needn't be a total sci-fi/fantasy dork to enjoy that 1972-vintage album, though it certainly doesn't hurt. Those with less esoteric – okay, less geeky – tastes, on the other hand, probably felt the Tolkien-themed lyricism was more than a little bit twee and precious. Even more well-adjusted, down-to-earth listeners, however, might find themselves charmed by parts of The Tin Angel. Firstly, the music itself is more diverse and, consequently, has a far broader appeal. Secondly, there is nary a wizard hat or hobbit in sight.

Taking full advantage of his 30 years experience crafting music in harmony with the rhythm of nature, Gandalf presents a grand celebration in tribute “to the wonderful variety and beauty of the universe" with Earthsong and Stardance. Masterfully blending his customary sounds with the Corso Wien Orchestra and a Sanskrit choir, the whole truly blurs the boundaries between earth and the stars.

Gandalf's self-titled album has some attractive baroque-psychedelia with a spacey air, though its quality depends very much on the standard of the material. Generally they're better the more they rely on the slightly weird and spacey production, as on "Scarlet Ribbons" and their cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang on to a Dream." On tracks like "You Upset the Grace of Living" there's a nice balance of melody and quasi-classical keyboards on the cusp between pop, progressive rock and psychedelia. "Can You Travel in the Dark Alone," one of the few originals (by Peter Sando), is nice, harmonic sunshine pop with a slightly experimental feel, along the lines of some of the better things being done by Californian cult figures like Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher at the time.

Hein Strobl is an Austrian new age multi-instrumentalist (proficient at piano, percussion, guitar, and synthesizer), and has issued countless albums on a steady basis since 1980 under the alias of Gandalf. Taking his name from the good-hearted wizard in J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy Lord of the Rings, Gandalf's work often reflects his love of nature, as well as his commitment to preserving the environment (while his music has been compared to such other artists as William Ackerman, Rick Wakeman, Shadowfax, Enya, and Mike Oldfield over the years). His first few albums - 1980's Journey to an Imaginary Land, 1982's To Another Horizon, and 1983's Magic Theatre - contained a definite prog rock edge, before adding such instruments as flutes and saxophones to the equation and heading in a more new age-ish direction…

Despite the stellar results of his last recording Lotus Land, it didn’t quite keep the momentum of his pinnacle Real Music recording Sacred River. As for his latest endeavor Sanctuary, though the title is common and overused in the New Age genre, there is absolute nothing ordinary about the magnificent musical contents. Although Gandalf has been around for what seems to be forever, this does not seem to dilute his creative juices which are clearly obvious on his latest offering that is equal to or even exceeds the wonders of Sacred River…