Garden of Delight - 1987 - Big Wheels in Emotion

(36:58; Norske Albumklassikere [2021 Edition] )

Track list:
1. Monsterlove 3:34
2. Another Way to Drown 3:29
3. The Glance 3:54
4. White Whisper 3:21
5. Beating Romance 3:14
6. Big Wheels in Emotion 3:40
7. Lillies on a G-string 3:58
8. Twinkle 4:12
9. I Sing 7:36

Line-up:
May-Britt Kristoffersen - vocals
Bitten Forsudd - vocals, guitars, keyboards, tuba, tambourine
"B" - bass, drums, keyboards, guitars, percussion, vocals
with:
Nini Ebeltoft - tablas
Tore Elgarøy - guitars, bass
Torstein Ellingsen - drums
Bjørn Gjertsen - sitar
Heidi Hansen - bass
Bjørn Juliusson - drums
Jon Klette - saxophone
Bjørn Kulseth - guitars
Kari Manum - viola
Tanja Ordning - cello
Per Platou - piano
Terje Rypdal - guitars
Atle Solberg - keyboards

Norwegian band Garden of Delight was formed back in 1982, and made a name for themselves as early pioneers in Norway for the type of music that later would be described as Gothic rock and post-punk with their initial single releases. "Big Wheels in Emotion" from 1987 is the sole studio album the band released before folding.

The line-up that recorded this album was somewhat different from the earlier incarnations of the band, with numerous guest musicians involved, and one change that possibly happened due to this was that the style of music the band was most renowned for didn't get to dominate this production. We do get some fine examples of their very own Gothic take on post-punk / new wave on a few occasions though, with opening cut 'Monsterlove' and the borderline brilliant 'Beating Romance' fine examples of what the band were capable of when exploring this style of music.

Many of the other songs had a bit more of a generic pop/rock feel to them, some of them really well made it has to be said, while some of the other more expressive creations do feel either a bit undeveloped or use dynamics that some 30 odd years later feels a bit dated or stale. This mainly goes for the instrument details and arrangements though, as the often expressive and distinct vocals are of high quality throughout, albeit with some subtly odd accents appearing here and there.

Another high point of this production appears at the very end though, with world music elements, some psychedelic touches and expressive, chant and folk-oriented vocals combine into a magnificent but perhaps ever so slightly understated composition clocking in just shy of the 8 minute mark.

As an album experience this sole production by Garden of Delight has something of an identity problem. Much of the material may be regarded as too far removed from the music the band was best known for, and one may get the impression that at least some of the material here was included with radio play in mind and possibly included to reach a broader audience base. Some songs sounds rushed when listened to so many years later, although this may well be a case of music and certain effects that doesn't fare all that well with age. The best parts of this production are well worth taking a listen to though, and for me that would be the two songs where the band stick closest to the type of music they were best know for, in addition to the striking song that concludes this somewhat uneven production.

Olav M. Björnsen, August 2021

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/godnorway
https://norskealbumklassikere.no/