BORN

When I bought "Born" I had only heard about thirty seconds of BOND's music and that was Victory. But I liked it so much that I just had to buy the album. But I was a trifle worried that I was being whimsical and wouldn't like the rest of the album. I arrived home with the album and went straight to my room and locked myself in. It was late at night and I decided that I would let BOND send me to sleep. 

Quixote:

Quixote began, and although the beginning was slow I was still rather intrigued. Then it just took off and all my fears that I might not like the album were totally proven wrong. Quixote is the best opening track that could possibly exist. I think Haylie puts it best when she says that it "Boils the blood"...

Wintersun:

Quixote was over and I was rather tempted to repeat it as I had enjoyed it so much. However, the track that was now playing was just as intriguing as the last and then the beautiful use of Pizzicato and I began to get goose-bumps. Wintersun just confirmed the fact that I had finally found the type of music that I had been searching for my whole life...Even though I am still just 17 I see that as quite a while! Wintersun is also perfectly positioned in the album as it is very different to Quixote but it is still an amazing track that prevents the listener from changing tracks!

Victory:

There was no way that I would even be tempted to change track from Victory. This was the track that sparked my love affair with BOND. I like both versions, the single version and the long version. Perhaps I enjoy the long version better as it has an amazing jazz section with piano in it. I play the piano and by listening enough to the track I can now play along with it. Victory is a masterpiece in that it displays exactly all that is desired from a string quartet and that is variety. I have always had a thing fro theme and Variations and this one is perfect.

Oceanic:

I had intended on letting BOND send me to sleep that night but at this stage I was so wide awake with excitement that the prospect of getting to sleep anytime before the next morning was becoming dim. Oceanic began and its effect on me was pure Hypnotism. The goose-bumps returned once again. Oceanic is such a beautiful piece of music and the skill that BOND share just improves the piece. You can easily hear the talent in this track as it definitely requires feeling and touch to be pulled off properly and as is obvious, this is what BOND has.

Kismet:

I am a great lover of Ancient Egypt and of "The Mummy" movies. The instant that Kismet began I was immediately transported to the dimensions in time and space that correspond to those genres and I loved every minute of it. The structure of the piece is flawless save for the fact that it is selfishly to magnificent! And I have it on good council that it is a great work. Even Eos agrees with me! The first time i heard it I was unaware that it was the brain child of the groups very own Gay-Yee Westerhoff as I was lying in bed without yet laying eyes on the inlay. The moment that I did find out that piece of information, the next morning, it only increased my love for this newly found group!

Korobushko:

I have to admit that Korobushko was my least favorite so far. I didn't like it too well at all but I did appreciate the technical skill involved. However, after buying and watching the 'Live in Concert" DVD and BOND's performance of Korobushko my perception of it has changed dramatically. Now it is one of my favorites! It is a piece that takes a bit of getting used to, because now I love it!

Alexander The Great:

I like this track. It is very easy listening. But on the other hand it lacks depth and therefore, unlike Korobushka, my love for it has waned some what. But that does not in any way suggest that I don't like it.

Duel:

The moment I heard the first instant of sound of Duel I fell in love with it. I love the interplay of the first and second violins, and later the first violin and viola. Questioning and Answering is an extremely hard musical technique to pull off and as usual BOND are perfectly adapt at it!

Bella Donna:

This track is very like the Godfather soundtrack and I love it for its variety that it adds to the album. Once again, listening to it for the first time that night without yet reading the inlay I was unaware that it was written by Eos. Once again my heart just swelled and I loved BOND more when I learned the truth!

The 1812:

Growing up with an upbringing in classical music, The 1812 overture was already one of my favorite pieces of music of all time and what BOND do is so inventive and wonderful that I was having difficulty believing my ears. They actually managed to improve the 1812!

Dalalai:

I really enjoyed the ethnic strains in this track. Once again it supplies hint of multiculturalism to the album and hence achieves variety. By the time I reached this track the night I first listened to the album I was so in raptures about the album and BOND that I didn't want the album to end. I hadn't paid much attention to the track listing and all that I knew was that it began with Quixote and ended with the Victory re-mix. Part of my liking for this track I then attributed to the fact that it meant that the end was still in the distance. But on further listenings I realized that I like this track really for its variety and eclectic ness.

Hymn: 

Talk about Variety. My main fear, as I mentioned earlier, was that perhaps BOND only had one song as good as Victory and that the rest of the album might just be classical. This does not reflect a hatred of classical music I merely prefer modernized classics. The fact that Hymn is utterly classical did not by any means denote from the album. It enforced the variety of the album and it really does have a swell melody line. Plus it once again displays the talent and skill of BOND by emphasizing and highlighting the different voices in it. 

Victory (Remix):

Since Victory has already been spoken about I will just be brief. The remix is understandably shorter and different. If it was longer it would be too long for the single charts and the Jazz section didn't exactly fit with the image that BOND would have been aiming for with this as their second single. And so, after a whole hour of total enjoyment, the premier of "Born" in Tim's bedroom was complete. However, I was far from tired and I think it must have been close to 3 in the morning before I eventually turned it off, and that almost broke my heart. 

Viva! (Born special edition):

The version of "Born" that I had did not include this track, but I quickly remedied that. Viva is based on a segment from Autumn in Vivaldi's Four Seasons, a work that I am much in amid with. And as a funny coincidence my favorite season in Vivaldi's work is Autumn. And as an even funnier coincidence the segment that BOND play in VIVA is my favorite segment from Autumn. Clearly you can understand why I love VIVA! And the video from the Classical Britt awards is really amazing. You can see how much they enjoy the music they perform which always helps.

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