Headed up by Stone Premonitions label founders Tim Jones and Terri~B, Census of Hallucinations released a string of critically well received albums from 2000-2007. Across eleven albums and several compilations, Census of Hallucinations created a truly unique brand of Psychedelia, incorporating a variety of Progressive Rock, Space Rock, and experimental influences, and what one reviewer described as “the ultimate marriage of Psychedelia and song-oriented Progressive Rock.”
After a five year hiatus, Tim Jones resurrected Census of Hallucinations in 2012, and since then has released four albums and an EP plus the career spanning 2-CD set - A Bundle Of Perceptions and A Parliament Of Modules – which featured over two hours of the best Census of Hallucinations instrumentals.
As 2014 draws to a close Census of Hallucinations introduce what Tim regards as a definitive collection of their most recent work and one of the best albums that the band have released to date. The album is entitled ‘As Within, So Without’ to be released on ZyNg tapes on December 8th 2014. It was compiled by Rob Kirtley who runs the ZyNg tapes label and Rob shows a deep insight and understanding of what Census Of Hallucinations are all about.
Since the launch of Stone Premonitions in 1994, Tim Jones has written some of Rock history’s most politically caustic, take no prisoners lyrics, as well as some of the most personally reflective. The music on ‘As Within, So Without’ will appeal to fans of the most Psychedelic yet artfully crafted Census of Hallucinations. Studio craftsmanship has always been a hallmark of the Census of Hallucinations sound and that aspect shines on the album. Census of Hallucinations, as always, sound like no one else, even as they continue to evolve and progress, taking on new members who introduce new dimensions to the band.
Review from Bliss/Aquamarine
CENSUS OF HALLUCINATIONS As Within, So Without tape (ZyNg Tapes)
Cassette compilation of Census of Hallucinations' recent material, with tracks taken from the albums Spirit of Yellow, Coming of the Unicorn and The Nine, and the EP Imagine John Lennon. As with all ZyNg tapes, the presentation is of a high quality, the package comprising a translucent fluorescent green tape and psychedelic artwork on high gloss photographic paper. The tape is limited to 100 copies and hand numbered.
The music here covers a lot of ground, taking in spacerock, prog, classic melodic rock, psychedelic blues-rock, and experimental music, often with several of these styles combined within one track. There are song-based tracks, instrumentals, and narrations set to music, the latter category in particular tending towards a cynical, vitriolic, pull-no-punches tone. Census of Hallucinations are a highly creative collective of musicians with an eclectic approach, and this tape serves as an ideal introduction to the various sides of the band.
Kim Harten
www.blissaquamarine.net
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Review from Raised By Gypsies
Cassette Review: Census of Hallucinations "As Within, So Without" (ZyNg tapes)
"As Within, So Without" begins with long, dreamy guitar notes with drums. Waves begin crashing in the background and it has me California dreamin'. This becomes somewhat psychedelic, which was only a matter of time given the name Census of Hallucinations and as the vocals come out this begins to remind me of something from the classic rock genre, some Pink Floyd perhaps. But the influences don't stop there and this one only gets better as it goes on.
There are spoken word bits over the music as well as singing and this can be anything from the modern sounds of Blue October to the older sounds of Johnny Rotten via Public Image Ltd. It can be anything from rocking like ZZ Top to instrumental like a jam band, but man, there are some great guitar solos in here. With all of the melodies Census of Hallucinations shows here that these songs are anything but one dimensional.
The lyrics can vary from song to song, but there is one song where he is literally doing math. It's not so much counting as multiplying and then adding numbers to make nine. This is done in the way that 9 x 5 = 45 and then 4 + 5 = 9. It's somewhere between School House Rock telling us that 3 is the magic number and that movie starring Ryan Reynolds where we learned that koalas control the weather.
Overall, I love this cassette because at any given point you can begin to think you've got it figured out and then it turns a corner and shows you just how wrong you were. Others would simply be classic rock in a modern world or a jam band or psychedelic, but Census of Hallucinations likes to keep it interesting and I really respect that.
Joshua Macala
raisedbygypsies.blogspot.co.uk
released December 8, 2014
Tim Jones – lead vocals, acoustic & electric guitar & keyboards
John Simms – lead & rhythm electric guitar, guitar synth, keyboards
Kevin Hodge – acoustic & electric guitar, drums, bass & percussion
Mark Dunn - bass
Paddi – drums & percussion
Dave Hendry – keyboards & synth
Terri~B – harmonies & backing vocals
Maxine Marten Simms – harmonies & backing vocals
James Jones – narration of his poem ‘Lost In The Lakes’
Dave Pipkin – drums on ‘Crystal Spheres Of Light’.
Barry Lamb – sax & mellotron on ‘In Ruins’
All music written by Census Of Hallucinations with lyrics by Tim Jones.
Additional backing vocal lyrics by Terri~B & Maxine Marten Simms
Engine-Eared by Census Of Hallucinations.
Final mixes & mastering by Tim Jones & Dave Hendry.
Additional engineering by Mark Craney.
‘As Within, So Without’ was compiled by Rob Kirtley for ZyNg tapes 2014.
Cover graphics by Rob Kirtley.