WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 Welcome back to another Deep Dive. We are so 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:04.700 thrilled you could join us today because we are 00:00:04.700 --> 00:00:07.400 taking you on a really serious journey. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:07.700 --> 00:00:10.000 It is a massive one. Yeah, we're heading back 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.419 in time to the year 1981 and we're zeroing in 00:00:13.419 --> 00:00:16.620 on a pivotal make or break moment in music history. 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:19.600 Picture the scene. You have a highly successful 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:22.519 band that suddenly finds themselves at a massive 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:25.120 crossroads. Right. They've just released an album 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.760 that will push their sound a little too far from 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:30.699 their roots. Exactly. And now they're facing 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.479 a full blown identity crisis. They have to radically 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:36.299 reinvent themselves or just risk fading entirely 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:38.719 into obscurity. Which, you know, is a classic 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:41.759 tale of artistic survival, really. But the way 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.600 this particular band chose to survive was not 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:48.109 by playing it safe or. apologizing to their fans. 00:00:48.310 --> 00:00:50.649 No, not at all. Instead, they took a massive, 00:00:50.750 --> 00:00:53.950 incredibly ambitious leap into the unknown. We 00:00:53.950 --> 00:00:55.670 are looking at a project today that involves 00:00:55.670 --> 00:00:59.030 deep conceptual world building, intense interpersonal 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:01.990 drama inside the recording studio, and a fascinating 00:01:01.990 --> 00:01:04.890 look at how a piece of art can be received completely 00:01:04.890 --> 00:01:06.769 differently depending on the culture and the 00:01:06.769 --> 00:01:09.409 country it lands in. Our mission for this deep 00:01:09.409 --> 00:01:12.370 dive is to figure out exactly how a grand creative 00:01:12.370 --> 00:01:14.829 vision like that actually comes to life, warts 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:17.090 and all. Right. And to do that, we're drawing 00:01:17.090 --> 00:01:20.150 directly from the historical and critical Wikipedia 00:01:20.150 --> 00:01:22.890 documentation surrounding the German rock band 00:01:22.890 --> 00:01:25.849 Eloy. Specifically, we are focusing on their 00:01:25.849 --> 00:01:29.030 ninth studio album, Planets. To set the scene 00:01:29.030 --> 00:01:31.450 for you, Planets is a 42 -minute journey into 00:01:31.450 --> 00:01:33.859 space rock and progressive rock. It was released 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:37.340 in June of 1981 on the Harvest and EMI Electrola 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:39.459 labels. Which were huge at the time. Very huge. 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:41.680 But here is the crucial piece of context to keep 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:44.260 in mind. Planets was not just a standalone record. 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:46.359 It was specifically designed from day one to 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:49.099 be part one of an epic, sweeping, double -concept 00:01:49.099 --> 00:01:51.780 album. Okay, let's unpack this. Because to really 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:54.200 understand Planets, you have to understand the 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:56.620 sheer panic that preceded it. Oh, the panic was 00:01:56.620 --> 00:01:59.079 real. Eloy's previous album, which was called 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:01.719 Colors and came out in 1980, didn't quite land 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.319 the way they hoped. In fact, it was viewed by 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:07.379 many as a step way too far away from their core 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:10.280 musical identity. Yeah, the fans were not happy. 00:02:10.659 --> 00:02:13.259 When you're a band known for a specific, intricate 00:02:13.259 --> 00:02:17.280 sound, alienating your bass is terrifying. It's 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:18.620 that moment where you look in the mirror and 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:20.759 think, wait, who are we again? I mean, it's the 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:23.800 ultimate artist nightmare. It is. But before 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.080 we get too deep into that psychology, for the 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:27.819 listener who might not have a vinyl collection 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:31.379 from the 1970s, how would we define their core 00:02:31.379 --> 00:02:34.479 sound? What exactly are progressive rock and 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:36.879 space rock? That's a great baseline to establish. 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:40.039 Progressive rock, or prog rock, is essentially 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:43.120 rock music that decided the standard three -minute 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:45.620 pop song structure just wasn't enough. They wanted 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:48.039 to go bigger. Much bigger. It's highly complex. 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:50.699 It often features classical music influences, 00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:54.180 complicated time signatures, and deep philosophical 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:56.939 lyrics. Sort of the thinking person's rock music. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.520 Exactly. And then space rock takes that foundation 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:04.340 and adds a cosmic atmosphere. Think heavily echoing 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:07.539 guitars, swirling synthesizers, and lyrics entirely 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:10.580 focused on outer space, science fiction, and 00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:13.669 the future. Eloy was a master of this sound. 00:03:13.770 --> 00:03:15.990 They built their entire fan base on transporting 00:03:15.990 --> 00:03:18.490 people to other galaxies. And with their 1980 00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:21.229 album Colors, they tried to modernize that sound, 00:03:21.370 --> 00:03:23.030 making it a bit harder, a bit more streamlined, 00:03:23.229 --> 00:03:25.590 and the fans basically rejected it. They wanted 00:03:25.590 --> 00:03:27.990 the galaxies back. Right. Which brings up this 00:03:27.990 --> 00:03:30.849 massive hurdle for any creative person. How do 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:33.710 you balance evolving your craft with keeping 00:03:33.710 --> 00:03:36.120 the people who actually support you happy? It 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:38.539 seems incredibly risky. It's the innovation versus 00:03:38.539 --> 00:03:41.520 alienation paradox. Artists are constantly walking 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.479 a tightrope. If you keep making the same album 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:45.740 over and over, you stagnate and the critics call 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:48.280 you boring. But if you change too much, you lose 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:50.919 the core audience that pays your bills. Exactly. 00:03:51.139 --> 00:03:53.719 The reaction from Eloy's leader, Frank Bornman, 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:56.099 to this backlash is what really sets our story 00:03:56.099 --> 00:03:58.819 in motion today. You might expect a band in that 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:02.080 situation to issue a very safe... conventional 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.919 record just a desperate attempt to give the fans 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:07.580 exactly what they used to like the musical equivalent 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:10.500 of a frantic apology tour But Bornman didn't 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:12.939 do that. Instead of playing it safe, he decided 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:15.759 to return to the concept album format that had 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:18.199 originally made them successful. But he chose 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:20.899 to do it in the most grandiose, emphatic way 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:23.500 possible. He doubled down. He absolutely doubled 00:04:23.500 --> 00:04:26.319 down. He envisioned a massive narrative, with 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:29.220 Planets in 1981 acting as the first half, to 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:32.160 be followed by its sequel, Time to Turn, in 1982. 00:04:32.990 --> 00:04:34.850 I find that strategy fascinating. It wasn't a 00:04:34.850 --> 00:04:37.050 retreat at all. It was an escalation. And I think 00:04:37.050 --> 00:04:39.449 there is a profound lesson in that for you as 00:04:39.449 --> 00:04:41.389 the listener. Think about your own life or your 00:04:41.389 --> 00:04:43.990 own career. Sometimes when you lose your way 00:04:43.990 --> 00:04:46.629 or make a misstep, your instinct is to take a 00:04:46.629 --> 00:04:49.569 tentative step back, to shrink yourself, to avoid 00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:51.769 further criticism. Just trying to disappear a 00:04:51.769 --> 00:04:55.029 little bit. Exactly. But Bornman's strategy shows 00:04:55.029 --> 00:04:57.350 that sometimes the best solution is to aggressively 00:04:57.350 --> 00:05:01.149 lean into what makes you uniquely yourself. If 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:03.279 you're going to return to your roots, Don't just 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:06.339 visit them. Plant a massive flag there. And Eloy 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:08.399 didn't just plant a flag. They built an entire 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:12.100 solar system. The lore that Bornman created for 00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:15.220 this project is staggering. This wasn't just 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:17.639 a collection of songs with a loose theme. It 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.339 was a sprawling, tightly written science fiction 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:22.500 narrative. It was almost like a novel. It really 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:25.000 was. Yeah. The album tells the story of a character 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.680 named Ion, who is an inhabitant of the fictional 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:31.189 planet Salta. Now, Salta is very clearly a metaphor 00:05:31.189 --> 00:05:33.689 for Earth, and the character of Ion represents 00:05:33.689 --> 00:05:36.089 humankind. Right, it's an allegory. Exactly. 00:05:36.269 --> 00:05:38.730 The core of the story is about Ion trying to 00:05:38.730 --> 00:05:40.870 fight negative forces during an age of chaos, 00:05:41.110 --> 00:05:43.610 all in a desperate bid to improve the future. 00:05:43.910 --> 00:05:46.050 What's fascinating here is the sheer level of 00:05:46.050 --> 00:05:48.850 dedication Bornman had to this narrative. It 00:05:48.850 --> 00:05:51.050 wasn't just a vague mood board in the studio. 00:05:51.129 --> 00:05:54.149 He actually sat down and wrote a prologue for 00:05:54.149 --> 00:05:56.389 the story that was more than 1 ,000 words long. 00:05:56.610 --> 00:06:00.240 Over 1 ,000 words. Just to set the scene before 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.579 the music even really starts, that is a massive 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:06.519 commitment to ask of a listener. It is, and it 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:08.360 completely changes the way you interact with 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:10.800 the art. He had this massive prologue printed 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.540 right on the album's gatefold. For anyone listening 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:15.939 who hasn't held a physical vinyl record in a 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:19.100 while, the gatefold is that center part. that 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:21.540 opens up like a giant book when you unfold the 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:23.939 album sleeve. So you have this huge canvas. The 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:26.139 prologue was sitting right there alongside the 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:28.680 lyrics, which were designed to be read as a continuous 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.980 flowing story. You are meant to physically hold 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:34.680 this album in your hands, read this immense text 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:36.959 and fully immerse yourself in the political and 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:40.120 social universe of Salta before you even dropped 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:42.699 the needle onto the vinyl. It is world building 00:06:42.699 --> 00:06:45.060 on a literary scale. Yeah. Which makes sense 00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:47.259 because Borman wasn't just pulling these ideas 00:06:47.259 --> 00:06:49.350 out of thin air. No. He had some serious academic 00:06:49.350 --> 00:06:52.290 inspiration. Yes, the documentation notes a major 00:06:52.290 --> 00:06:55.370 specific influence on him during this time. There's 00:06:55.370 --> 00:06:57.829 a book called Nakonstizukunft, which translates 00:06:57.829 --> 00:07:01.029 to After Us, The Future, written by Hansi Pestalozzi. 00:07:01.329 --> 00:07:03.709 Boardman was heavily influenced by the philosophical 00:07:03.709 --> 00:07:06.449 themes in this book while he was conceiving his 00:07:06.449 --> 00:07:09.269 sci -fi story for Planets. But he didn't just 00:07:09.269 --> 00:07:12.310 read the book and quietly borrow a few metaphors. 00:07:12.430 --> 00:07:15.089 He actually reached out to Pestalozzi directly. 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:18.569 He arranged meetings, didn't he? He did. He arranged 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:20.970 two separate face -to -face meetings with the 00:07:20.970 --> 00:07:23.769 author during the album's creation so they could 00:07:23.769 --> 00:07:26.389 actively exchange ideas. That level of research 00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:29.089 for a rock album is extraordinary. He was actively 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:31.569 consulting with published authors to ensure his 00:07:31.569 --> 00:07:33.769 philosophical and narrative foundations were 00:07:33.769 --> 00:07:37.290 rock solid. He wanted Salta to feel like a real, 00:07:37.310 --> 00:07:40.389 breathing society in crisis, not just a cartoon 00:07:40.389 --> 00:07:43.569 backdrop. But bringing that dense, complex vision 00:07:43.569 --> 00:07:46.300 to life presented a massive logistical challenge, 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:49.040 specifically regarding a severe language barrier. 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:51.519 Right, because Bornman was writing this incredibly 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:54.740 intricate philosophical sci -fi epic in his native 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:57.079 German. And German is a language known for its 00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.540 precision and ability to convey highly complex 00:07:59.540 --> 00:08:02.360 philosophical concepts, which is great for the 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:04.399 ideas, but maybe not so great for the target 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:07.339 audience. Precisely the issue. Progressive rock 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:09.839 at that time had a massive international audience, 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:12.480 and English was essentially the dominant language 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:15.100 for the genre. Bornman knew that for this epic 00:08:15.100 --> 00:08:17.240 story to reach the wide audience he envisioned, 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:20.519 these lyrics had to work in English. But a simple 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:22.579 direct translation wouldn't cut it. Have you 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:24.379 ever tried to run poetry through a translation 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:27.000 app? It strips all the soul and rhythm right 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:30.060 out of it. It's terrible. The poetry, the musical 00:08:30.060 --> 00:08:32.580 meter, and the deep meaning of this thousand 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:35.179 -word lore had to be completely preserved so 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:37.639 it could actually be sung. So what is the solution 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:40.019 there? You can't just hand it to a standard translator. 00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:43.080 You bring in a specialist. Bornman hired an American 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.700 woman named Siggy Hausen. Siggy Hausen. Yes. 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:48.539 She had a deep, nuanced knowledge of the German 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:51.600 language. They formed this incredibly tight collaborative 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:54.440 loop. Bornman would write the story in German, 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.240 embedding all his grand themes about ion and 00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:00.019 salta. And Hausen would take on the monumental 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:02.519 task of translating and adapting those complex 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:05.080 ideas into English lyrics that actually flowed 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:07.299 with the complex time signatures of space rock. 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:10.659 It's such a delicate, collaborative dance. You 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:13.200 have the original architect of the idea and the 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:16.039 linguistic adapter working side by side, trying 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:18.879 not to step on each other's toes. And her contribution 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:22.340 was so vital that C .G. Howzen is credited right 00:09:22.340 --> 00:09:24.639 there alongside Bornman for the lyrics. It was 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:27.440 a true partnership. Which brings us to the actual 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:29.919 execution. Here's where it gets really interesting. 00:09:30.059 --> 00:09:32.940 Because when you have a thousand word sci -fi 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:36.039 prologue, deep philosophical themes translated 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:38.860 across languages and a double album concept to 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:41.480 record, you can't just casually stroll into the 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:43.679 studio for a few hours a day after grabbing a 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.720 coffee. No, Eloy needed total unbroken immersion. 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:49.779 They needed a creative crucible. Exactly. So 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:52.100 to ensure they worked better as a single unit 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:54.620 and wrote the most cohesive music possible, the 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:57.399 band made a radical decision. They rented an 00:09:57.399 --> 00:09:59.559 apartment and moved in together. They lived and 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.080 breathed this project 24 -7. Think about that 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:04.799 for a second. Imagine you are tasked with completing 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:07.159 the most important project of your career, so 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.460 you decide to move into a single apartment with 00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:11.419 all of your coworkers. It sounds like a psychological 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:14.779 experiment waiting to go wrong. Seriously. But 00:10:14.779 --> 00:10:17.559 for Eloy, it was actually a return to a proven 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:20.039 formula. The sources mentioned that they had 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:22.980 done this exact same thing back in 1974 when 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:25.179 they were composing their highly regarded album 00:10:25.179 --> 00:10:27.799 Floating. And history repeated itself in the 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:30.460 best way. Living together resulted in work that 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:33.059 was highly satisfactory for the group, both in 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:35.279 terms of the sheer quantity of material they 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:37.539 produced and the high quality of the music. They 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:39.620 were completely locked in. They had the English 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:41.879 lyrics polished, the musical arrangements were 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.860 tight, the vision of Salta was clear. So they 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:46.860 packed up and headed into Horst Sound Studio 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:49.539 in Hanover, Germany, to officially record the 00:10:49.539 --> 00:10:52.100 album with their engineer, Jan Nemec. They were 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:54.940 prying to execute this grand vision. But of course, 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:58.100 a project of this massive scale rarely goes entirely 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:00.899 smoothly once the red recording light turns on. 00:11:01.059 --> 00:11:04.000 Drama strikes in Hanover. You have this intense 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:05.879 pressure cooker environment. Everyone has been 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:08.379 living together, breathing this music, entirely 00:11:08.379 --> 00:11:10.899 focused on executing this make or break double 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:13.159 album. Tensions are naturally going to be high. 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.139 Right. And then. According to the historical 00:11:16.139 --> 00:11:18.820 documentation, drummer Jim McGillivray starts 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:21.840 showing up poorly prepared. Oh, no. Not only 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.899 is he unprepared, but he's actively underperforming 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:27.480 during the actual studio takes. You can just 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:29.500 imagine the suffocating tension in that room. 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:32.419 You have Frank Bornman, who has literally held 00:11:32.419 --> 00:11:35.539 summits with authors and hired bilingual adapters 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:38.720 to get every single syllable of his alien planet 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:41.600 metaphor perfect. And then he looks over and... 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.159 the drummer isn't hitting his marks. It's a disaster. 00:11:44.419 --> 00:11:46.639 In a progressive rock band where the rhythm section 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:49.340 has to navigate incredibly complex time changes, 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:52.399 a struggling drummer is a glaring liability. 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:55.279 The tolerance for anything less than perfection 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:57.879 was absolute zero. I have to ask, though, from 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:00.679 a purely logistical standpoint, was confronting 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:03.240 him a fatal blow to their momentum, or did it 00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:05.879 actually save the project? Because firing a core 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:07.580 member in the middle of a session seems like 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:10.000 it could derail the whole thing. It's a massive 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.690 risk. But keeping him would have compromised 00:12:12.690 --> 00:12:15.250 the art, which was the one thing Bornman refused 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:18.830 to do. McGillivray's behavior and lack of preparation 00:12:18.830 --> 00:12:21.570 led to him being expelled from Eloy right then 00:12:21.570 --> 00:12:24.230 and there, mid -session. That is ruthless. He's 00:12:24.230 --> 00:12:27.250 just out with his drum parts for this massive 00:12:27.250 --> 00:12:30.389 double album, still completely unfinished. The 00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:33.009 band had to pivot immediately to stop the project 00:12:33.009 --> 00:12:35.460 from bleeding out. They brought in a session 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:38.360 drummer named Olaf Gustafsson to complete the 00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:40.639 rest of the recording. Wow. And to your earlier 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:42.879 point, it didn't derail them. It actually proves 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:45.299 their hyper -focus. They didn't let the loss 00:12:45.299 --> 00:12:47.600 of a band member stop the train. They simply 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.519 swapped out the piece of the engine that wasn't 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:52.320 working and pushed forward to finish Planets. 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:54.080 They had to protect the vision of Solta at all 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:56.279 costs. Yeah. And you can really feel that grand, 00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:58.399 unyielding vision when you look at the final 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.879 track list and understand the sonic landscape 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:05.309 they built. It is a pure unadult. The titles 00:13:05.309 --> 00:13:07.769 alone are fantastic. Just listen to the flow 00:13:07.769 --> 00:13:10.070 of these titles. You start with a scene -setting 00:13:10.070 --> 00:13:12.429 introduction and then immediately launch into 00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:15.110 a track called On the Verge of Darkening Lights. 00:13:15.490 --> 00:13:17.730 Very dramatic. Then you hit Point of No Return, 00:13:18.009 --> 00:13:21.149 Mysterious Monolith, Queen of the Night, At the 00:13:21.149 --> 00:13:24.629 Gates of Dawn, Sphinx, and the whole 42 -minute 00:13:24.629 --> 00:13:27.549 experience wraps up with a song called Carried 00:13:27.549 --> 00:13:30.809 by Cosmic Winds. those titles paint an incredibly 00:13:30.809 --> 00:13:34.090 vivid picture don't they but the sensory experience 00:13:34.090 --> 00:13:36.549 of the music itself is what really sold the concept 00:13:36.549 --> 00:13:39.549 absolutely you can hear these atmospheric sweeping 00:13:39.549 --> 00:13:42.629 synthesizers that sound like deep space paired 00:13:42.629 --> 00:13:45.750 with heavy driving bass lines that ground the 00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:49.789 complex rhythms and to elevate that grand cinematic 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:53.070 sci -fi feel even further eloy made a crucial 00:13:53.070 --> 00:13:55.509 addition to the studio personnel they brought 00:13:55.509 --> 00:13:57.789 in wolfgang dar what did he bring to the table 00:13:57.789 --> 00:14:00.450 that a rock band couldn't do themselves. He conducted 00:14:00.450 --> 00:14:03.490 and arranged sweeping string sections for the 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:06.169 album. Oh, that's huge. Adding traditional orchestral 00:14:06.169 --> 00:14:10.009 elements to progressive rock is a classic, highly 00:14:10.009 --> 00:14:12.690 effective way to signal to the listener that 00:14:12.690 --> 00:14:15.509 you are making something truly epic. The way 00:14:15.509 --> 00:14:17.830 those soaring strings blend with the echoing 00:14:17.830 --> 00:14:20.370 electric guitars perfectly match the massive 00:14:20.370 --> 00:14:22.710 scale of the story they were trying to tell about 00:14:22.710 --> 00:14:24.950 the fate of humankind. So let's look at where 00:14:24.950 --> 00:14:27.559 we stand. They survive the identity crisis of 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:29.940 their previous album. They build an intricate 00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:33.259 alien world. They painstakingly translate it 00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:35.759 to English. They survive the studio drama of 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:38.240 firing their drummer. And they finally finish 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:41.440 this incredibly lush, string -backed space epic. 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:45.019 The hard part is over. You would think. Now it 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:47.379 is time to release it to the world. And here 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:49.059 is where the story takes a deeply fascinating 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:52.039 turn regarding how art is perceived. If we connect 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:54.659 this to the bigger picture. The release of Planets 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:56.960 serves as a brilliant case study in the sheer 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:59.539 unpredictability of the music industry. You have 00:14:59.539 --> 00:15:01.779 this German band operating out of a studio in 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:04.200 Hanover, releasing an album in their home country 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:06.899 of Germany. But the commercial paradox here is 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:09.100 staggering. It really is. In their native country, 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:11.580 the reception was incredibly disappointing. The 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:14.480 German music press was notably negative towards 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:16.860 the album. And from a commercial standpoint, 00:15:17.059 --> 00:15:19.799 it was a really harsh blow. Planets became the 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:23.620 very first Eloy album since their 1976 album 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:27.139 Dawn to completely miss the German charts altogether. 00:15:27.580 --> 00:15:30.139 After all that intense work, after writing a 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:32.820 thousand -word prologue, conducting meetings 00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:35.299 with philosophers, and literally moving into 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:37.960 an apartment together, your home country essentially 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.980 issues a collective shrug. It had to be devastating 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:43.700 for the band's morale. Although, to be fair to 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:46.159 history, it is worth noting that the sequel album, 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:49.299 Time to Turn, did eventually find its way onto 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:51.379 the German charts a year later. That's true. 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:53.659 But for Planets, the initial reaction at home 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:56.100 was deafening silence. But that is not where 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:58.879 the story of this album ends. A completely different 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.860 narrative unfolds just a year later across the 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:04.500 English Channel. In 1982, Planets finally gets 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:06.899 its official release in the United Kingdom. And 00:16:06.899 --> 00:16:09.440 the UK label, which was called Heavy Metal Worldwide, 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.720 decided to handle the release a little differently. 00:16:11.659 --> 00:16:13.700 differently than the German label did. They changed 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:16.679 the strategy. Exactly. Instead of staggering 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:19.500 the releases a year apart, Heavy Metal Worldwide 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:22.500 put out both halves of the massive double concept 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:25.100 album Planets and Time to Turn simultaneously. 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:28.360 They didn't make the audience wait. They presented 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:30.919 Frank Bornemann's complete overwhelming vision 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.659 all at once. They also recognized that British 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:36.059 fans had different visual tastes, right? Because 00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:38.779 they made a significant aesthetic change to the 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:41.379 physical record. The artwork. Yeah. The original 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:44.059 German issue of the album featured a painting 00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:47.179 by an artist named Winfried Reinbacher. But for 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:49.480 the UK release, the label commissioned brand 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.110 new alternative artwork. They brought in the 00:16:52.110 --> 00:16:54.669 famous fantasy artist Rodney Matthews to design 00:16:54.669 --> 00:16:57.169 the cover. Which is brilliant marketing. By doing 00:16:57.169 --> 00:16:59.350 this, they were tailoring the physical packaging 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:01.909 specifically to appeal to the British progressive 00:17:01.909 --> 00:17:05.029 rock and heavy metal audience. And the UK audience 00:17:05.029 --> 00:17:07.990 absolutely devoured it. The contrast is stark. 00:17:08.250 --> 00:17:10.849 While the German press was largely dismissive, 00:17:10.849 --> 00:17:13.170 the British press and the fans completely embraced 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:16.450 it. The reception was incredibly strong. It really 00:17:16.450 --> 00:17:18.609 resonated with them. The conceptual, ambitious 00:17:18.609 --> 00:17:27.299 nature of the album was so... which is huge. 00:17:27.700 --> 00:17:30.119 As the documentation points out, Peter Gabriel 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:33.099 was wildly popular and highly critically acclaimed 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:36.259 at that time, especially in the UK. Being compared 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:39.740 to his level of artistry in 1982 was a massive 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:42.059 badge of honor for a rock band. It perfectly 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:44.640 illustrates how a piece of art can be a commercial 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.119 disappointment in one specific context and a 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.599 critical triumph in another. Think about it. 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:52.109 Eloy didn't change a single note of the music 00:17:52.109 --> 00:17:54.710 for the UK release. The art remained exactly 00:17:54.710 --> 00:17:57.549 the same. It was the environment around the music 00:17:57.549 --> 00:17:59.190 that changed. The timing and the presentation. 00:17:59.609 --> 00:18:03.029 Yes. The timing, the visual packaging, the simultaneous 00:18:03.029 --> 00:18:06.269 release of both parts of the story, and the specific 00:18:06.269 --> 00:18:08.849 primed tastes of the British prog rock scene 00:18:08.849 --> 00:18:12.130 all perfectly aligned. It finally gave Planets 00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:14.150 the reception that Frank Bornman had envisioned 00:18:14.150 --> 00:18:16.130 when he first started mapping out the fictional 00:18:16.130 --> 00:18:18.690 world of Salta. So what does this all mean? If 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:20.410 we look back... at the whole journey of this 00:18:20.410 --> 00:18:24.569 deep dive we see a band that absolutely refused 00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:28.150 to fade quietly into the background They experienced 00:18:28.150 --> 00:18:30.410 a terrifying identity crisis with their album 00:18:30.410 --> 00:18:33.589 Colors, and their response wasn't to cower, but 00:18:33.589 --> 00:18:36.769 to create a massive two -part sci -fi allegory 00:18:36.769 --> 00:18:39.150 for Earth's struggle. They fought back with art. 00:18:39.369 --> 00:18:41.950 They survived the inner turmoil of firing a core 00:18:41.950 --> 00:18:44.410 band member mid -recording, and despite being 00:18:44.410 --> 00:18:46.769 initially rejected by their own home country's 00:18:46.769 --> 00:18:49.710 charts, they ultimately found a passionate, deeply 00:18:49.710 --> 00:18:52.170 understanding audience in a completely different 00:18:52.170 --> 00:18:55.190 country. It really is a masterclass in creative 00:18:55.190 --> 00:18:57.210 perseverance and betting on your own vision. 00:18:57.349 --> 00:19:00.210 It absolutely is. But as we wrap up, there's 00:19:00.210 --> 00:19:02.589 one final lingering thought I want to leave you 00:19:02.589 --> 00:19:04.549 with, looking at the core themes of this project. 00:19:04.809 --> 00:19:07.569 What's that? Think about the deep irony of how 00:19:07.569 --> 00:19:10.109 this album was created. Frank Bornman wanted 00:19:10.109 --> 00:19:12.529 to help humans understand Earth, to help us process 00:19:12.529 --> 00:19:15.329 our own societal chaos and struggles. But to 00:19:15.329 --> 00:19:17.329 do that, he didn't write a story about Earth. 00:19:17.430 --> 00:19:19.789 He wrote a story about a fictional alien planet 00:19:19.789 --> 00:19:22.759 called Salta. And he wrote this grand vision 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.339 in his native German, only to have it adapted 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:27.759 into English to reach its final, most successful 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.599 form. So I leave you with this provocative thought 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:33.640 to explore on your own. Okay, late on us. Sometimes, 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:36.240 in order to truly understand our own reality 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:39.039 and our own problems, we have to translate our 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.779 experiences into a completely alien language 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:44.640 or setting. Why is it that creating a massive 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.140 fictional distance is often the only way we can 00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:50.119 finally see ourselves clearly? That is an incredibly 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:52.380 powerful thought to end on. Thank you so much 00:19:52.380 --> 00:19:54.339 for joining us on this deep dive into Eloy's 00:19:54.339 --> 00:19:56.859 planets. We loved unpacking this dense, fascinating 00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:59.160 history with you, and we warmly invite you back 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:01.819 for our next exploration. Until then, keep digging 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:02.599 into the liner notes.