Hope (Klaatu album)

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.

Hope
Studio album by Klaatu
Released	September 1977
Recorded	June 1976 – June 1977[1]
Genre	Progressive rock[2] art rock[3]
Length	41:11 (including hidden track)
Label	Daffodil, Capitol
Producer	Terry Brown
Klaatu chronology
3:47 EST (1976) Hope (1977) Sir Army Suit (1978)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4] (Klaatu/Hope two-in-one)[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."[5]

Hope was remastered and re-issued in 2012 by the band's members, and was released on the band's independent record label Klaatunes.[5]

Musical style

Allmusic's Mike DeGagne commented that the album was "less pop-infused" than the group's previous album 3:47 EST, 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".[4]

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”.[7]

Artwork

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

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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"We're Off You Know"	John Woloschuk	4:02
2.	"Madman"	Dee Long	2:40
3.	"Around the Universe in Eighty Days"	Long	5:02
4.	"Long Live Politzania"	Woloschuk	9:11

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Loneliest of Creatures"	Woloschuk	3:52
2.	"Prelude"	Woloschuk, Long, Terry Draper	5:43
3.	"So Said the Lighthouse Keeper"	Woloschuk	5:56
4.	"Hope"	Woloschuk	4:45

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.[5]

Personnel

Klaatu

• Dee Long - vocals, piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, organ, clavinet, bass guitar, synthesizer, mandolin, slide guitar, harmonica, electric sitar
• John Woloschuk - vocals, bass guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, autoharp, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, Polymoog synthesizer, harmonium, electric piano, pianet
• Terry Draper - drums, tambourine, triangle, percussion, whistle

Additional

• London Symphony Orchestra

Production

• Arranged & produced by Klaatu & Terry Brown
• Recorded & engineered by Terry Brown

The band members are not named on the original LP.[5]

References

1. "The Morning Sun - 5th Edition". Klaatu.org. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
2. https://www.goldminemag.com/.amp/articles/compared-beatles-proved-mixed-blessing-klaatu
3. Dave Sleger (1992-01-06). "Klaatu/Hope - Klaatu | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
4. Kurtz, Peter. "Hope - Klaatu". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
5. "The Official Klaatu Homepage". Klaatu.org. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
6. Mike DeGagne. "3:47 EST - Klaatu | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
7. "So Said the Lighthouse Keepers". www.popmatters.com.

External links

• "Hope" at discogs