Hope (Klaatu album) explained

Hope
Type:studio
Artist:Klaatu
Cover:HopeKlaatuAlbumCover.jpg
Released:September 12, 1977[1]
Recorded:June 1976  - June 1977[2]
Length:40:53 (including hidden track)
Label:Daffodil, Capitol
Producer:Terry Brown
Prev Year:1976
Next Title:Sir Army Suit
Next Year:1978

Hope is the second album by the Canadian rock band Klaatu and their first concept album. Released in September 1977, it won a Juno Award for "Best Engineered Album" and a Canadian Music Critics award for "Best Album" that same year. The album follows the loose concept of space travelers visiting a distant planet.[3]

An alternate version of Hope was released in 2005 as part of the group's Sun Set collection of rarities. The alternate version on Sun Set includes the complete contributions of the London Symphony Orchestra, which had largely been removed from the version released in 1977. The alternate version also includes a short unreleased track, "Epilogue," which had originally been intended to be placed between "So Said the Lighthouse Keeper" and "Hope."

Hope was remastered and re-issued in 2012 by the band's members, and was released on the band's independent record label Klaatunes.

Musical style

A reviewer for Julian Cope's Head Heritage described Hope as “an elaborate sci-fi prog opera,[4] while an article in the Edmonton Journal described a “whimsical space-rock album”.[5] Allmusic's Mike DeGagne commented that the album was "less pop-infused" than the group's previous album , and contained more "progressive depth" with an "experimental sound".[6] Peter Kurtz of the website felt that the album's conceptual rock opera theme sounded "pretentious, and in some cases like a rip-off of Queen".[7] Billboard described the songs as ranging from "fun light pop" similar to 10cc, to "theatrical melodramas" similar to Queen, and to well-orchestrated ballads similar to the Moody Blues.[3]

PopMatters described the song “Around the Universe in 80 Days” as a “powerful pop ballad” with a “gorgeous piano melody”, and a “fine example of effortless pop-rock craftsmanship”. It described “Prelude” as “an instrumental rock epic”.[8]

Artwork

Like the previous Klaatu album, the cover was painted by graphic artist Ted Jones.[9]

The cover shows "the Lighthouse Keeper's beam". The ruined stone plaza features the sun image from the cover of the previous Klaatu album.

Track listing

Side one
Side two

The album opens with a mouse squeak. Their previous album, 3:47 EST, ends with a mouse squeak. The cover art for each album features a mouse.

The original release credited all songs simply to "Klaatu"; however, subsequent reissues and the band's website provided individual song writing credits.[10]

Personnel

Klaatu
Additional
Production

The band members are not named on the original LP.[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Capitol Records Releasing 11 LPs on September 12th . Klaatu.org . 2020-09-04.
  2. Web site: The Morning Sun - 5th Edition . Klaatu.org . 2016-11-16.
  3. Billboard's Top Album Picks — Pop. Billboard. United States. September 24, 1977. March 3, 2022. World Radio History.
  4. Web site: Unsung Reviews – Klaatu: Sir Army Suit . Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage . Dog 3000 . 7 September 2014.
  5. News: Klaatu has long maintained a low profile emerging from the underground. Graham. Hicks. Edmonton Journal. 12 July 1980.
  6. Web site: Mike DeGagne . 3:47 EST - Klaatu | Songs, Reviews, Credits . . 2016-11-16.
  7. Web site: Peter . Kurtz . Hope - Klaatu . . 2018-10-30.
  8. Web site: So Said the Lighthouse Keepers. www.popmatters.com.
  9. Web site: Klaatu Frequently Asked Questions . Bradley . David . Klaatu.org . 2021-01-16. 3:47 EST, Hope, Endangered Species and Magentalane were painted by longtime friend of the band, graphic artist Ted Jones..
  10. Web site: The Official Klaatu Homepage . Klaatu.org . 2016-11-16.