Search - Orchestra Luna :: Orchestra Luna

Long Ago and Far Ray!

Zube | 03/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Far ray is worth it all by itself! One of my favorite songs is spite of the drug reference. Dancin on Paper excellent too! It just brings back the 70's in Boston! LOUIE!"

An overlooked gem from a great group!

Zube | Youngsville, NC United States | 08/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a unique album and it is a shame that they did not receive the recognition they deserved during the short time they played together.



I won't flog a dead horse here by going into great detail about the group or their music. If you want to learn more, check out my Orchestra Luna website at www.orchestraluna.com."

Three star rating: 1* for the record, 5* for the band

the_global_village_idiot | Hanover, ME USA | 03/16/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Sadly, Orchestra Luna was proof that talent, originality and vision aren't enough to make it in showbiz. This album (and a few traces on the Internet) are pretty much all that's left of one of the greatest bands Boston ever produced - heck, maybe one of the best bands ANY city ever produced. It's a shame, because while this album hints at the brilliance of which the band was capable, hints are all you get.



Orchestra Luna was a phenomenal live act. In its first incarnation - which this album presents - the band was part jazz combo, part carnival, part Off-Broadway review. The jazz aspect was chiefly because of brilliant guitarist Randy Roos and solid musicianship elsewhere.



The second incarnation of the band, which (among other changes) replaced Roos with Steven Perry and featured Karla Devito on vocals, rocked out a lot more than did the first team. It was certainly more mainstream - but still a little too weird for mass-market tastes, and never recorded. Constants in both versions included the brilliant songwriting and foghorn voice of bandleader Rick Kinscherf (later Rick Berlin) - and a wacky sense of humor.



That sense of humor is one of the things lacking on this record. Yes, there are the signature narrations of Peter Barrett (what other 70s rock act featured a vocalist who never sang?). And the inclusion of the live showstopper "Heart" (from Damn Yankees, no less) was certainly a cheeky thing to put on a debut album. But the album sounds like it was recorded by a troupe of supremely talented amateurs who were trying too hard - which, in fact, it was. It lacks the band's wonderful live spontanaity, its edginess, its live-without-a-net daring. It's too sweet and over-produced (to say nothing of disappointingly mixed).



Orchestra Luna was a cult band's cult band - and there are still enough folks around who fondly remember them, and chat about them, that some curious souls might be sufficiently intrigued to search this disc out. So have a listen - I'm frankly thrilled that it's available. But don't base your judgement of the band on it. Unfortunately, this disc doesn't even come close to showing what Orchestra Luna could do, and the genius that was this band is probably gone forever."