Planets (Eloy album)

1981 studio album by Eloy

Planets

Studio album by

Eloy

Released| June 1981[1][2]
Recorded| 1981
Studio| Horus Sound Studio, Hanover, Germany
Genre| Space rock, prog rock[3]
Length| 42:01
Label| Harvest / EMI Electrola (original issue)
Heavy Metal Worldwide (1982 UK issue)
Producer| Eloy
Eloy chronology
| Colours
(1980)  | Planets
(1981)  | Time to Turn
(1982)

|
|

Alternative cover

1982 UK exclusive cover, designed by Rodney Matthews

Audio sample

"On the Verge of Darkening Lights"

* file
* help

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
ArtRock| [4]
Music Street Journal| favorable[5]

Planets is the ninth studio album by the German rock band Eloy, released in 1981.

It is the first part of a double concept album conceived by Frank Bornemann, with the second part being Time to Turn. It tells the sci-fi story of Ion, an inhabitant of the planet Salta, who tries to fight negative forces in an age of chaos. Salta and Ion represent the Earth and humankind, who must fight to improve its future.[6]

Planets was the first Eloy album to be issued in the United Kingdom in 1982, a year after its initial release, simultaneously with Time to Turn, with alternative artwork designed by Rodney Matthews.[7]

## Background

[edit]

After Colours was considered as a step too far from Eloy's musical identity, the band's leader Frank Bornemann decided to switch back to the concept album norm that made them successful, this time in a more emphatic and grandiose way than ever before: a double concept album, comprising from Planets and Time to Turn.[6]

He wrote a prologue of more than 1,000 words explaining the sci-fi backstory of the album, which was printed on the gatefold along with the lyrics, as a continuous story. Bornemann was heavily influenced from the book Nach uns die Zukunft (After us, the Future) by Hans A. Pestalozzi while conceiving his story, and he arranged two meetings with Pestalozzi during its creation, in order to exchange ideas with him.[6] Due to the complexity of the texts, Bornemann asked for contribution from Sigi Hausen, an American woman with deep knowledge of the German language, with Bornemann writing the story in German and Hausen translating and adapting it in English.[6]

To work better as a unit and write the most cohesive music possible, Eloy rent an apartment together, like they did during the composition of Floating back in 1974. The results were very satisfactory for the group, both in terms of quantity and quality.[6]

With both lyrics and music ready, the band gathered at the Horus Sound Studio to record the album. There, drummer Jim McGillivray often appeared poorly prepared and underperformed. His behavior led to him being expelled from Eloy, with the drums parts still unfinished. The rest of the recording was completed by session drummer Olaf Gustafson.[8]

## Reception

[edit]

Planets was the first Eloy album that did not enter the German charts since Dawn, although it's sequel Time to Turn did.[9] The German music press was negative towards it, but the complete Planets/Time to Turn project was very well received in the UK, where both albums were released simultaneously in 1982. Both the British press and fans appreciated the albums; there were even comparisons to Peter Gabriel's work,[8] who was very popular at the time.

## Track listing

[edit]

Music by Eloy, lyrics by Sigi Hausen and Frank Bornemann.

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Introduction"| 1:58
2.| "On the Verge of Darkening Lights"| 5:37
3.| "Point of No Return"| 5:45
4.| "Mysterious Monolith"| 7:40
5.| "Queen of the Night"| 5:22
6.| "At the Gates of Dawn"| 4:17
7.| "Sphinx"| 6:50
8.| "Carried by Cosmic Winds"| 4:32
Total length:| 42:01

2005 Remastered CD reissue bonus trackNo.| Title| Length

|
|

9.| "On the Verge of Darkening Lights" (live in Paris, France, 1983)| 4:09

## Personnel

[edit]

Eloy

* Frank Bornemann: guitars, lead vocals
* Hannes Arkona: guitars, keyboards
* Klaus-Peter Matziol: bass, vocals
* Hannes Folberth: keyboards
* Jim McGillivray: drums, percussion (partial)

Additional musicians

* Olaf Gustafson: drums, percussion as a session musician
* Wolfgang Dyhr: strings conducting and arrangement

Production

* Eloy: arrangement, production
* Jan Nemek: engineering, recording, mixing

Artwork

* Winfried Reinbacher: painting (original issue)
* Rodney Matthews: painting (1982 UK issue)

|

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Planets (Remastered 2005) - Eloy". Amazon Music. Amazon. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
2. ^ "Planets (Remastered 2005) - Eloy". Apple Music. Apple Inc. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
3. ^ "Eloy – Planets". Discogs. Zink Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
4. ^ Horyszny, Paweł. "Eloy — Planets". ArtRock.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
5. ^ Pierpoint, John (2012). "Eloy - Planets". Music Street Journal. 5. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
6. ^ a b c d e Kuinke, Volker. Eloy - Planets (booklet) (in German). Harvest Records \- EMI Electrola. pp. 3–5. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
7. ^ "Eloy – Planets". Discogs. Zink Media, LLC. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
8. ^ a b Kuinke, Volker. Eloy - Time To Turn (booklet) (in German). Harvest Records \- EMI Electrola. pp. 3–7. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
9. ^ "Eloy - Time to Turn". Offizielle Deutsche Charts (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 9 June 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* "Planets". Eloy official website. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Eloy

* Frank Bornemann
* Klaus-Peter Matziol
* Hannes Folberth
* Michael Gerlach
* Stephan Emig

* Erich Schriever
* Helmuth Draht
* Wolfgang Stöcker
* Manfred Wieczorke
* Fritz Randow
* Luitjen Jansen
* Detlef "Pitter" Schwaar
* Detlev Schmidtchen
* Jürgen Rosenthal
* Jim McGillivray
* Hannes Arkona
* Bodo Schopf
* Kristof Hinz

Studio albums|

* Eloy (1971)
* Inside (1973)
* Floating (1974)
* Power and the Passion (1975)
* Dawn (1976)
* Ocean (1977)
* Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes (1979)
* Colours (1980)
* Planets (1981)
* Time to Turn (1982)
* Performance (1983)
* Metromania (1984)
* Code Name: Wild Geese (1984)
* Ra (1988)
* Destination (1992)
* The Tides Return Forever (1994)
* Ocean 2: The Answer (1998)
* Visionary (2009)
* The Vision, the Sword and the Pyre – Part I (2017)
* The Vision, the Sword and the Pyre – Part II (2019)
* Echoes from the Past (2023)

Live albums|

* Live (1978)
* Reincarnation on Stage (2014)

Compilation albums|

* Rarities (1991)
* Chronicles I (1993)
* Best (1994)
* Chronicles II (1994)
* The Best of Eloy Vol. 1 – The Early Days 1972–1975 (1994)
* The Best of Eloy Vol. 2 – The Prime 1976–1979 (1996)
* Timeless Passages (2003)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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