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The history of the Dutch group Coda dates back to the beginning of 1980, when Erik de Vroomen and Ton Strik, who both lived in the small Dutch town of Wijchen, first came into contact with each other. This was the start of a partnership, which would last for 16 years and would produce two legendary rock albums for the lovers of symphonic- and progressive rock music.

The most spectacular achievement of this period was, without doubt, the LP `Sounds Of Passion,' released by Boni Records in 1986 and still a much sought after album amongst sympho fans in the Netherlands and abroad. Before the LP first saw the light of day the group had, in 1983, made a demo-cassette with a different line-up than on the LP. The band went by the name- Sequoia, but shortly afterwards they changed it Coda. You’ll find this interesting demo-performance of Sounds Of Passion in Chapter 2 of this deluxe 21st Anniversary Edition, so you can hear the growth and development, which the music has undergone. Even though the 31 minute epic on the demo-cassette gave a good impression of Erik de Vroomen’s artistic qualities they decided, to re-record the tape in a professional 24 track studio. After just seven rehearsals in a classroom at the music school in Wijchen – where Erik worked as a piano teacher – the group, consisting of Jacky van Tongeren (bass guitar), Mark Eshuis (drums and percussion), Jack Witjes (guitar and vocals) and Erik, went onto the MMP studio to record the LP Sounds Of Passion plus a number of extra tracks. You can find these extra tracks in Chapter 2 as well.

In June 1985 Ton Strik had the opportunity to play the studio recordings on Wim van Putten’s LP and CD show on the national pop music station, Radio 3. Ton is a great admirer of symphonic- and progressive rock music and had offered to finance the expensive studio recordings. Van Putten’s radio program, with music and interview, produced scores of positive and favorable reactions, which didn’t go unnoticed by two Dutch record companies: Dureco and Boni Records. In September 1986 Boni Records released the LP Sounds Of Passion, and the first pressing sold out within one week. The second pressing sold out within two weeks. Meanwhile the group made preparations for live performances, rehearsed with a second keyboard player (Frank Bieker), and gave the requisite radio interviews to promote the LP and the single, Sounds Of Passion (4th Movement - Final), taken from the LP. They even had plans to work live with projection screens, film, slides and ballet, directed by choreographer Chiquita Zonneveld. This didn’t, alas, get further than the planning stage, because this kind of show is too expensive without the financial backing and support of a major record company.

After about five year’s silence Ton Strik was approached by SI Music Records to release Sounds Of Passion on CD. The release, in 1991, was followed a year later by the CD-single Crazy Fool And Dreamer. Shortly after that, they inked a licensing deal in South Korea and in 1993 the Korean company Si-Wan Records released a CD and LP version (with gatefold sleeve) of `Sounds Of Passion' on the Asian market. Many copies of S.O.P. were sold in Japan and South Korea and for quite a while Coda. was one of the best selling European symphonic bands. The worldwide demand for new Coda. material was satisfied in 1996 with the release of a follow-up album for S.O.P. with the title What A Symphony, a release on the well-known Dutch high-quality label Transmission. This impressive second album effectively concluded Coda’s career. Although Erik de Vroomen made one fruitless attempt to record new material, it is highly unlikely that we will ever hear any new music by Coda. So enjoy this atmospheric deluxe 2-CD document with previously unreleased bonus material and the original master recording of `Sounds Of Passion.'

Coda biography courtesy of: Hans van Vuuren of CENTERTAINMENT

CDP-1086 Coda. – Sounds Of Passion: The Album - The Demos

21st Anniversary Edition

Chapter 1 - Sounds Of Passion: The Album

Sounds Of Passion 29.14

Prologue (2.17)

1st movement (7.12)

2nd movement (4.07)

3rd movement (5.37)

4th movement - final (9.59)

Crazy Fool And Dreamer 4.25 - Album Version

Defended 7.07

Bonus Tracks

Sounds Of Passion 4th 4.43 - Single Version

Sounds Of Passion 3rd 2.28 - Single Version

Crazy Fool And Dreamer 4.24 – Single Remix

Central Station 2.06

Reverberating Sounds 4.03

Tracks 1 – 5: p 1986

Tracks 6 – 8: p 1992

Track 4: p 1986 previously unreleased Single Version

Chapter 2 – Sounds Of Passion: The Demos

Sounds Of Passion 31.25 – Demo Version

Prologue (3.07)

1st movement (7.33)

2nd movement (4.06)

3rd movement (6.53)

4th movement (9.43)

Nevermore (The Proud Tower I) 4.25 – Demo Version

Dance In The Mirror (Defended) 6.53 – Demo Version

True Melody (The Proud Tower II) 3.19 – Demo Version

Crazy Fool And Dreamer 4.31 – Demo Version

What A Symphony (Part 1) 4.48 – Demo Version

What A Symphony (Part 2) 5.16 – Demo Version

Reverberating Sounds 2.52 – Demo Version

Track 1: p 1983 previously unreleased Demo Version,

recorded under the band name: Sequoia

Tracks 2 – 8: p 1984 previously unreleased Demo Versions

Tracks 1 – 8: Rough Mixes / Demo Sound Quality

REMASTERED IN THE 24-BIT DOMAIN FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES

WWW.CENTERTAINMENT.NL

CODA DISCOGRAPHY:

1986 – LP Sounds Of Passion BONI BLP 2860481 NL

1986 – 7” Sounds Of Passion 4th final – Single Remix /

Sounds Of Passion 3rd – Single Version BONI BSI 2861397 NL

1987 – LP Sounds Of Passion DURECO 88.131 NL

1991 – CD Sounds Of Passion SI Simply Nine NL

1992 – CDM Crazy Fool And Dreamer - Remix / Central Station /

Reverberating Sounds SI Simply Eighteen NL

1993 – CD Sounds Of Passion SI-WAN SRMC-4001 KOR

1993 – LP Sounds Of Passion SI-WAN SRML-4001 KOR

special notice: with gatefold sleeve

1996 – CD What A Symphony TRANSMISSION TM-004 NL

1996 – 2CD What A Symphony TRANSMISSION TM-004/TMS-005 NL

1996 – 2CD What A Symphony SEOUL RECORDS SRCD-2339 KOR

1996 – 2MC What A Symphony SEOUL RECORDS MC SZPC-283KOR

1997 – 2CD What A Symphony BELLE ANTIQUE 97335-6 JAP

2007 – 2CD Sounds Of Passion BELLE ANTIQUE 071306-7 JAP

special notice: with gatefold sleeve

2007 – 2CD Sounds Of Passion PSEUDONYM CDP-1086 NL

special notice: DeLuxe 21st Anniversary Edition

NL = Netherlands / KOR = Korea / JAP = Japan

Sounds Of Passion

The Album - The Demos

DeLuxe 2CD Compilation,

Extensive 20 Page Booklet,

18 Re-mastered Tracks,

incl. Unreleased Rarities,

Demos & Non-Album Tracks!

- over 2 hours of music -

21st Anniversary Edition