PATRICK MORAZ

Patrick Moraz is an accomplished keyboard player and masterful piano player who is not afraid to break conventions. On his first solo piano album, he ranges from classical inspired pieces to modern virtuoso playing.

You could imagine some if it being playing in a prog-rock set up, such as the first composition which is very dynamic and exploratory. It is one of the strongest tracks on the album.

What follows is a laid-back ear-pleasing piece, in a more conventional manner but it has its level of dynamics in the middle. Moraz confirms high level of imagination as there is enough change in playing

"Kaaru" is perhaps the most known Moraz' composition with a strong melody, whereas "Talisman" is charged with energy similar to "Festival" which is technically perhaps the most complex piece with furious right-handed runs accompanied by a boogie type of left hand.

The rest of the album is more reflective and accessible, finding the melodic "Best year of our lives" included here again. The last minute the album is ruined by the repeated kind of sound (probably not coming from a piano).

Otherwise, a solid album by a skilled and inspired piano player. 3.5 stars

Swiss keyboard virtuoso takes the prog catalogue of instruments he learned with YES back to his jazz/classical roots. The question is: Is this proggy jazz-rock fusion or jazzy prog world fusion?

1. "Impact" (3:31) Patrick progs up some jazzy Brazilian rhythms. Interesting and very weird (especially the first time one hears it!) Great percussion performances. (8.875/10)

2. "Warmer Hands" (3:31) flowing over from "Impact," the song quickly morphs into a kind of Latinized "Gates of Delirium" before smoothing out for the group choir to deliver some lyrics in choral style. This section bulges forth some very strong funky coming from the solid rhythm section of Jeff Berllin, Alphonse Mouzon, and Ray Gomez. Surprisingly complex and sohpisticated but lacking the kind of melodies that Anglo-minds can latch onto. (8.875/10)

3. "The Storm" (0:52) announced by the crow-like "achhh!" of several band members as the percussion and keyboard storm cacophony explodes and slowly decays. 4. "Cachaca" (4:07) in the aftermath of the storm the percussionists, keys, and vocal choir come up with a upbeat wordless melody. Then the band is led off into a Chick Corea-like Latin carnival passage by the band leader and, later, full choir, as the very-expanded rhythm section goes into some more serious Latin funk. (8.75/10)

5. "Intermezzo" (2:49) a classical piece with multiple keyboards performing alongside the piano until it switches into acoustic backing for vocalist Vivienne McAuliffe, but then the full electric complement return for the song's post-vocal finish. (8.875/10)

6. "Indoors" (3:44) a very dense, condensed ZAPPA/Todd Rundgren's Utopia-like song race that eventually has presents some more ANNETTE PEACOCK/GAYLE MORAN-like lead vocals (that are buried too deep within the overall mix). A lot of similarities to some of the music Larry Fast's SYNERGY was doing at the same time (as well as NEKTAR's Recycled.) (8.875/10)

7. "Best Years of Our Lives" (3:59) a gentle, somewhat-incongruously placed pop, or stage musical, ballad sung in a delicate, over-saccharined voice coming from John McBurnie. Nicely arranged and composed but ultimately too out of place. (8.666667/10)

8. "Descent" (1:43) the high-speed synth weave that gets Side Two off and running. Finishes sounding a lot like BRAND X's "...and so to F." (4.75/5)

9. "Incantation (Procession)" (1:51) prefaced by the decaying synthesizer of the previous song, the deceptively slow, odd (carnivalian), and yet surprisingly engaging sound weave that is established is suddenly usurped by an all- percussion motif before reasserting itself to then finish the song. (4.75/5)

10. "Dancing Now" (4:38) the percussionists return, piano, drums, bass and choral "Da-da, da-da, das" congeal so that John McBurnie can sing a much more powerful though still a bit hoaky vocal (and lyric) over what is really a very standard rock-pop song. Nice Gothic keyboard melodies in Patrick's solo section (coming from multiple keys!) (8.75/10)

11. "Impressions (The Dream)" (2:49) great Gershwinian classical piano rapture. Another "WTF" song that leaves one wondering how Patrick ever conceived and pulled this album off--as a "concept" album. (9/10)

12. "Like a Child Is Disguise" (4:05) another piano-based pop-rock "stage musical" ballad for John McBurnie and gang to sing over. The "stuck in the middle with you" chorus is perhaps the first real hook I've latched onto but the rest of the John Lennon-performance over an early bluesy Elton John song is just fair. (8.75/10)

13. "Rise and Fall" (5:34) and the melodrama increases! (What melodrama! I cannot for the life of me pick out a story from this album!) By the end of the first minute this song has veered into some rock-dominated Latin funk similar to some of the songs on the opening of Side One--even going back to those YES-like time and chord changes before spilling out into another "Gates of Delirium"-like chaotic jam. Nice performances from so many of the band members (though the soundscape does get rather congested/murky), but then the speed picks up (especially crazy Jeff Berlin and the percussionists) while wordless choir vocals make their reappearance before Patrick launches into an instrumental passage in which he nimbly switches between about a dozen keyboards--repeating many of the melody themes from the rest of the album. (So this IS a Broadway musical!) (8.875/10)

14. "Symphony in the Space" (2:56) In this all-keyboard final song we are once again treated to a Larry Fast- SYNERGY/VANGELIS-like demonstration of the new world of electrically-possible synthetic sound. (8.875/10)

Total Time 46:09

Since the very first time I heard this album back in 1977 I've had an ambivalent like-dislike relationship with this album. It's just so weirdly different than anything I'd ever heard before. Ambitious, I think Patrick has ultimately failed in revealing a musically-coherent work to express his idea for a concept album. And, despite it's occasional funk and dominating Latin percussion work, I would never call this a Jazz-Rock Fusion album.

B/four stars; an interesting if somewhat haphazard-seeming collection of songs strung together to convey, supposedly, a single story arc. Try it out for yourselves; I cannot endorse it from the perspective of something I enjoy very much.

Hearing this album after the ambitious and at times intensive "The story of I" is not recommended because I think it will undergo the expectations. The warm cover suggest further digging in Latin music and it is largely true. This time, not really explorations but rather in a more convention Latin setting (as a rhythm or synth solo). The album makes a pedestrian impact on me although there are captivating moments: "Rana Bacutada" goes in the Latin fusion directory with tasty soloing on ARP and some solemn chord by organ. Most expectations lie within the last track, which partly succeeds. Moraz creates great captivating world of sequencers before immersing in a melodic piano suite and disappointingly incorporating mediocre sung part. The pop/rock tracks are pretty forgettable even though soaked with sunny beach. The stupid titled "Love-hate-sun- rain-you" is one of the most embarrassing rock-like moments by a prog musicians I've ever heard. Terribly affected vocal, the "die-try-hard" guitar and mildly unsuitable choice of synth soloing make it a torture to listen to. Overall, this album is only recommended if you're into pop-oriented Latin prog and can forgive a number of awkward moments.

After the fantastic contributions to the Refugee only album and Relayer, the highly underrated keyboard wizard Moraz did not lose any of his ambitions for his first solo album. The variety on this album is incredible, both in styles and playing. Being one of the most versatile players in prog rock (I feel I haven't heard that big array of keyboard sounds on any keyboardist solo record), Moraz demonstrates to be a passable composer, not at the height of Banks/Emerson but he compensates this lack of strength with incredibly passionate and fueled playing and an ear for change.

Brazilian and Carribean moods are combined with romantism (not too distant from Genesis of 76-77). Interestingly, there isn't much Yes' influence on the record, with the exception of the mellow "Interemezzo" ending. Some proggers will be put off by the relative commercial appeal on the sung tracks but these are no throwaways. They are actually quite good to take rest between some busiest moments that I can recall on a prog rock album.

Rhythm section, especially percussions and drumming by Mouzone are another big magnet on top of fantastic playing by Moraz. Moraz amply amplies his Moog soloing and sound that was applied on "Relayer". "Cachaca" wouldn't it out of place on a Return to Forever album, combined genuine Latin percussions with more symphonic sounds.

The hottest track to me is the modestly titled "Intermezzo" that is nothing short of fusion excellence. After the first minute when the water is being cooked and instruments gearing up, we proceed to the furious fusion exchange with extremely complex drums, bass and keyboard lines. Clearly these battlefield drumming could only come from Mouzon or Cobham. Moraz cleverly shifts the order of various motives on his ARP seconded by the bass and drummer. There is a hint of similarity to the dense atmosphere of the "Gates of delirium". It's a pity that this track only spans 4 minutes whereas the amount of ideas could make it easily up to seven. The Yes-like outro leads us to the overly romantic "Indoors" that could have been a radio favourite. The second half of the album has some not too successful moments, such as hard rock guitar on the pop oriented "Incantation" and slightly embarrassing singing. "Dancing now" with busy Mouzon helps the spirits to go high again as well as Moraz' fantastic solo. Two other styles come into play: classical music piano "Impressions", although feeling somewhat out of place here. "Like a child is disguise" could have been an Elton John song. Not really needed on the Moraz album. Thankfully, we're not the second album highlight "Rise and Fall", back to the instrumental Latin fusion. "Symphony in space" falls in the progressive/symphony electronic pot, musically a fitting way to this mixed bag of styles.

I think it is best Moraz' album, not too commercial and quite demanding to appreciate all Moraz keyboard lines.

Review Nº 446

Patrick Moraz is a Swiss progressive rock keyboardist with a classical musical education acquired at the Conservatory of Lausanne, in Switzerland. He also played jazz primarily before entering into the progressive rock world and he has also been highly acclaimed for his musical virtuosity. However, he is best known as the keyboardist of Yes, which happened between 1974 and 1976. With Yes he wrote some of the best Yes' pages on their album "Relayer".

Moraz moved from Switzerland to England in 1973 when he met Lee Jackson and Brian Davison and formed Refugee. Refugee was the band that replaced The Nice, when Emerson left the group to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer. With Refugee, Moraz performed on two albums, the studio album "Refugee" and the live album "Live In Concert". In 1974, he had the chance to replace Wakeman in Yes and performed on their album "Relayer". He also played in the world tour of that album. He appears on some Yes' tracks on their live album "Yesshows", too. In 1978, he began touring with The Moody Blues on their album "Octave" tour, replacing their former keyboardist Mike Pinder, and became a member of the band till 1991. Since then, Moraz has primarily concentrated on his solo works, particularly on his solo piano pieces.

"Story Of I" is the debut solo studio album of Moraz and was released in 1976. After the release and the world tour of "Relayer", Yes took the decision to do a break with the intention of each band's member can be able to make a solo album. However, at the time that "Story Of I" was released Moraz was no longer a member of the group. Wakeman had returned to Yes. The "I" of the title of the album is in reality a Moraz's personal logo, a kind of an inverted triangle shape with a sphere above it. But, the album isn't a self-titled album and its story isn't properly an autobiography of him.

"Story Of I" is a conceptual album based in a romantic story of a massive tower in the middle of a jungle. The tower lures people from all over the world because inside it, people are able to live their desires and fantasies. The only problem is that the people inside the tower can't be in love with each other. However, two persons inside it do so, and since the tower acts like a prison because the people are slaves of their own desires, both decided to escape from it.

It's interesting to say that Jon Anderson was involved with the concept of "Story Of I". When Anderson and Moraz were on tour with Yes, they saw a massive tower and they began to think what was inside of it and invented many theories about it, which they shared with each other. Anderson encouraged Moraz to make his solo work with a tower's concept.

"Story Of I" has fourteen tracks. All music was written by Moraz and all lyrics were written by John McBurnie. The tracks are all joined into each other and flow like a single piece. The only exception is between the seventh track and the eighth track, due to the technical impossibility of the 70's to go from side A to side B on a LP without a break.

"The Story Of I" was partly recorded in Geneva and partly in Brazil, where it fused progressive elements with Brazilian music. Several Brazilian percussionists and singers appear on the album along with more famous musicians. Musically, the material here is a blend of Jazz and Classical Music with certain references to percussion driven acoustics and Brazilian rhythms, based on Moraz's keyboard capabilities, from tricky, complex instrumental pyrotechnics to soft Folk Fusion affairs on keyboards and hand drums and light piano driven Classical introductions. There is a definite Fusion flavour throughout the album, especially on the synthesizer/guitar parts and the regular drumming, but the stylistical diversity allows the listener meet with Moraz's unique and wide musical taste. We have lots of cinematic interludes and heavy instrumental stuff, only interrupted by occasional vocal pinches. This is an album with a very complex music.

The list of the musicians on the album is particularly extensive and beyond Patrick Moraz (keyboards, piano, synthesizers, marimbaphone and additional assorted percussions), and the usual performance of vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, it has also the addition of sixteen Brazilian percussionists of Rio de Janeiro.

Conclusion: I know "Story Of I" since it was released in the 70's, but I only bought it some years ago. "Story Of I" is usually accepted as Moraz's best and most progressive solo album. He is a very talented and virtuoso keyboardist that unfortunately always was underestimated. He had the serious problem to be always the number two. He was number two of Emerson of The Nice, Wakeman of Yes and Pinder of The Moody Blues. "Story Of I" is a unique album in the panorama of the progressive music of the 70's. It's an album of fusion progressive music with many influences from several styles that ranging from pop, rock, jazz, classical, oriental and electronic, with a very special touch of Brazilian traditional music, samba, which made of it a very special work. It's an incredible album that flows like a single piece with many musical changes. "Story Of I" is unfortunately an underrated, and in a certain way, a misunderstood album that deserves to be known because it's a very special and unique progressive masterpiece. It's highly recommended.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Three songs on this CD reference Aliens in their title! If this is what "Alien fusion" sounds like, please allow me to be the first to request M-A-P ("More Aliens Please")!!

Composer and keyboard virtuoso Patrick Moraz stumbled across drummer Greg Alban during the 80's at a random gig in California. He was so impressed that he hired him to perform on a few tracks on his "Time Code" album. Since then, the two of them have stayed in touch and gotten together to jam whenever Moraz was on the west coast.

As an accomplished session musician, Alban had no shortage of professional opportunities to perform, but he developed a yearning to record something that represented his own style and taste. Naturally, he immediately sought to recruit the best keyboardist and composer he knew to participate in the project!

Moraz ended up composing the majority of the music for this CD. Arrangement, recording and performance decisions were all collaborative.

The opening tune "Jungle ALIENS" sets a medium heavy groove, effectively sending us the signal that this will be essentially and foremost a rock fusion project.

Next up, "Strictly Organic" ups the energy ante a notch, featuring Lenny Castro on congas.

When Moraz first played "Canyon Afternoon" for Alban, he immediately envisioned the spirited saxophone of college friend Dave Van Such. A few phone calls later, he was in the studio turning this into one of the highlights of the project. His sax sings and soars, bringing an inspired and very human element to the forefront.

"Jazz in the Night" is another highlight yet for an entirely different reason. Jumpy, and imbued with an energy that sometimes borders on what might be called "frenetic", it is almost impossible to sit still listening to this song! The rhythms are complex yet these players are so well versed in the material and so professional, everything works together with a perfection that sounds almost effortless. (Then again, perhaps they just recorded multiple takes until they got it right! Either way, "get it right" they most certainly did indeed! This is a great piece!)

Alban describes "The Drum Also Solo" as perhaps the most "fun" to play. From the sound of it, "fun" seems to provide an apt descripton of the entire album. Now is probably a good time to mention that there is no shortage of drum fills on any of the songs I've heard so far. That said, "The Drum Also Solo" certainly does offer plenty of fun drum fills and thrills especially toward the middle of the tune!

The Real Feel slows things down to provide a breather and a change of pace. Some of the fills toward the middle and the end are unexpectedly playful and delightful. Ex-Oingo Boingo bassist John Avila's interplay steps to the forefront on this piece. Alien Intelligence returns to what Alban appears to love most: powerful, driving, upbeat, infectiously optimistic jazz rock fusion! The spotlight shines even more brightly on Avila's bass guitar. It ends on a high note.

Mumbai Mantra reminds me a bit of Jan Hammer's 1980's solo work on Miami Vice soundtracks. Although it is energetic and bouncy, it tends to sit on one chord and groove for an extended period of time.

The closer "Alien Species" continues in the vein of meditative single chord explorations of tone and timbre. To this impatient listener, Alban's busy stickwork and cymbal washes are the one thing that rescued this song from the "next" button.

The Story of Ay Caramba!

43 years on it still looks like a giant radioactive golf tee but in mitigation, what other jobs apart from golf pro and 70's Prog muso give white guys a chance to dress like black pimps at Halloween? Patrick must have felt like he was playing with house money at this point in his career: a member of one of the biggest bands on the planet (Yes) and given free rein to explore his own musical vision via a solo career. However, that triumphant walk down the 18th fairway towards an adoring gallery to hoist the shiny beaker aloft, was denied him as he inexplicably found some heavy rough with his final approach shot. It was rumored there were plenty grass snakes in there all more than willing to smuggle his ball from the short stuff (Golfers do not have a monopoly on bad lies)

Yes do not come out of Moraz's version of events at all well but I've yet to see or hear their side of the story. Patrick claims he was abandoned with his wife and baby daughter in the freezing Swiss winter of '76 with no money, transport or explanation for his expulsion from Yes. All this took place in the aftermath of the band's biggest and most lucrative tour to date where they played more than 65 dates with some audiences in excess of 100,000 on the 'Bicentennial Tour' If all were not rosy in the bean sprout garden it seems inconceivable that Moraz would have remained such a desired presence at this time on the solo projects of both Howe (the Steve Howe album) and Squire (Fish out of Water) Some have speculated that Yes were unhappy with Patrick's reinterpretation of the canonical Wakeman parts and would have preferred a more verbatim approach. From what I can gather, both musicians found the other's contributions difficult to replicate.

"Unfortunately, I was forced to leave. And even though, at the time, the split was not made to appear acrimonious, I suffered extremely and extensively. To be asked to leave so suddenly put me in a lot of turmoil and disturbance. The fact is, I was never compensated for anything. I never ever got paid for any of my tour participation in the extremely successful and extensive YES Tour of 1976. After all, as a member of the band, I was entitled to a 20% cut from what the band was getting". (Patrick Moraz)

Moraz has clearly never studied contract law but has studied Brazilian music extensively and was the musical director of a touring Brazilian ballet in 1972. He was therefore more than qualified to couch his inspiration in the infectious rhythms that emanate from that part of the world. However, apart from Cachaca, where the rhythm clearly begets the melody, the 16 percussionists used are often relegated to being just a textural device. This is a pity and maybe a missed opportunity. The other notable exception to this is Dancing Now where the bass, drums and keys fall hypnotically into step under the percussion's pulsating spell, resulting in a genuine fusion (or if you prefer, a slinky Latin funk groove thang y'all) It also explains why I believe those who nominate The Story of I to be the first 'world music' album (principally erm...Patrick Moraz) are rather wide of the mark.

Patrick claims he contributed as a writer to much of the material that ended up on Going for the One but never received a writing credit

"I don't like to dwell into negatives, however, I can tell you that I had absolutely no desire to want to leave YES, at the time, in November of 1976. Somehow, it had been decided that we would go and record, in my own country, Switzerland, what became the album "Going for the One", which we had extensively composed, developed and rehearsed during the course of 1976 (and even before that). There was no reason in the world for me to want to leave the band! Also, I understood, much later, that Rick (Wakeman) was already in town, with his own crew, when I was still in the group, and I was still part of YES. In addition, it was an extremely complicated and difficult situation for me to be stranded, on the street, with my baby daughter who was only one-month old and her mother, without any transport or money, in the cold winter of Switzerland. Then the fight for survival to stay alive, it all became surreal" (Patrick Moraz).

There is also perhaps the inevitable inference that Moraz has a propensity to fall out with his collaborators to the extent that the rifts become irreparable. His subsequent stint with the Moody Blues from 1978 to 1991 also ended badly. I mean, what could he have possibly contributed to this soulless fondant ensemble who produce a neutered 'white noise' for unsolicited sperm donors? It's like hiring Le Corbusier to build your patio. Patrick was eventually fired from the Moodys and sued them for breach of contract and lost royalties. He ended up losing around $325k by not accepting a pre-trial settlement offer of $400k and being awarded a relatively paltry $75k. Depending on which unverifiable source you choose to believe, Moraz originally filed for $3.7 million which begs the question: wouldn't you query the amount of your first royalties cheque or tour payment rather than wait 13 long and unlucky years to cry foul! The trial was televised, and if you have the intestinal fortitude for it, can still be viewed on the Internet. It's hardly eye candy your honour: 4 pommy mullets all equally unconvincing in a suit v Swizz ringer for a considerably more hirsute Muppet Gonzo. (Courtroom 6 Los Angeles CA 1991) It's impossible to warm to either plaintiff or defendants as everyone is clearly lying through their laser whitened teeth

Given the Olympian chops and vaunted ambition on display, it's ironic that possibly the most enduring theme on the whole album is Cachaca's childlike sing song motif (based on the Baiao rhythm) That's not to say there are a lack of memorable themes elsewhere, but if his career long quest to harness the primitive with the civilized has taught him anything, it's Steve Reich's observation that window cleaners don't whistle Schoenberg.

Patrick's ability to build and develop appropriate mood or atmosphere has always been hugely impressive e.g. Refugee, Relayer and around 35 film scores to date. The opening Impact serves as the aural equivalent of a movie trailer where snippets of the music to come are spliced and woven into a hybrid electronic/acoustic soundscape that melds seemingly incongruous elements into a faintly unnerving and disorienting whole. The analogue synth textures and sequencer effects clearly denoting the 'technological' are ingeniously assimilated with the chanted wordless vocals and ethnic percussion representing the 'primitive'. This is much harder to pull off than it sounds as many similar attempts from Rock and Jazz musicians often come across as either patronizing or exploitative of the very cultures from which they are drawing their inspiration.

For me, Patrick's overriding signature calling card is the jaw dropping pitch bend modulation and vibrato articulation he coaxes from his trusty ARP Soloist Synth (at least I think that's the critter he's using: gear-heads out there are free to correct me by all means) On occasions his legato soloing imitates uncannily the whammy bar tantrums of many a sugared up electric guitar shredder. By way of contrast, his piano work has a leanness and forensic detail that makes his reading of something like Chopin's Military Polonaise (his contribution to Steinway to Heaven) the only version to date of this flaccid saccharine tune taking up arms to defend itself. Check out the all too brief exquisite solo on The Best Years of Our Lives (like tiny specks of gentle rain on a still pond) or the tongue in cheek gravitas during Intermezzo where baroque counterpoint grows flamenco cojones and plays footsie under the table with a slightly tipsy Auntie Prog. The solo piano track Impression (the Dream) is all the evidence anyone should need that this is a musician who grew out of Rawk's short pants a very long time ago.

The Best Years of Our Lives is but a holding pen for untapped tears and one of the most beautiful songs bequeathed by Prog in the 70's full stop. I'm surprised it wasn't released as a single to become a global number one smasheroonie. Shame, as this might have prevented Patrick having to drag the Moody Blues' pale flabby asses through the courts. It was nagging at me for a while where I had heard that voice before until I realized that John McBurnie was in Jackson Heights together with Lee Jackson prior to Refugee. I have to confess I've never been a huge fan of his singing. He's a very accomplished vocalist to be sure but texturally, for me at any rate, he sounds rather generic and downright cloying on the MOR ballad Like a Child in Disguise This is a session man whose name is forever destined to remain on the tip of everyone's tongue.

I've never made any secret of my reluctance to take Progressive Rock or concept albums seriously and The Story of I is no exception. The narrative appears to go something like this: There's a tower in the jungle that everyone wants to gain access to, as inside, they can experience all their wildest desires and fantasies but only on the condition that they cannot fall in love with another inhabitant of the tower. Call me the Devil's avocado if you like, but what would happen if the body corporate's mental health screening is found wanting and a suicidal inhabitant's wildest desire or fantasy is to destroy or burn the tower to the ground? Or worse still, if one of your wildest desires is to write a risible rock concept album about the whole experience without resorting to stealing the towels. Those of you familiar with Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia's The Platform will realise that this ain't remotely that movie's take on a 'Vertical Self Management Centre'. All joking aside, there is an irony at work here as Patrick Moraz was, in 1976, effectively living out such a fantasy by being a bona fide Rock Star with all the privileges that status entails. Is this art imitating life or vice versa? Actually I suspect the message is considerably more prosaic than that: We are all prisoners of our own desires maan

Kudos are due however for this lyric which carries genuine insight:

There's nothing new except what's been forgotten

Similar to Keith Emerson, I always thought that Moraz had effectively outgrown Rock and Roll circa '75 and should have embarked on a career writing contemporary classical music or exploring new directions in the genre from which they both originated (Jazz) Given the subsequent moribund state of both marketplaces, it's hardly surprising they chose to follow the smart money.

Patrick's first choice as drummer for this project was Billy Cobham but as he wasn't available, used Alphone Mouzon instead. Alphonse played with Weather Report and Larry Coryell's Eleventh House and his playing on the first half of the album is markedly different to that of Andy Newmark's on the 2nd. The latter is a more 'in the pocket' player whose sparer style is a better fit for the material. Mouzon's busier fusion style is a perfect match for the more complex pieces on side one and he also introduced bassist Jeff Berlin to Moraz who quickly hired him for the sessions. This was Berlin's first big career invite.

My review version of the album is the 1990 Virgin release which I've never felt could faithfully reproduce what must have been an incredibly busy production where much of the finer detail may have been sacrificed in the final mix-down. That's hardly surprising in the analogue domain with as many as 28 performers all vying for the available audio bandwidth at any one time. To my ears, the sonic environment is commensurately foggy and blurry in places so I have to crank up the volume to differentiate who's playing what in the quieter sections (which my neighbors love me for.) I understand there is a remastered edition from 2006 which may have addressed some of these issues but I ain't heard that. Quibbles aside, there is much to enjoy here as The Story of I manages to encompass an incredibly eclectic blend of instrumental Progressive Rock, Classically themed cinematic soundtrack, memorable songwriting, Latin, African, Funk and Caribbean rhythmic elements together with a generous sprinkling of Jazz fusion thrown in for good measure. Some of the latter reminds me in places of Return to Forever circa Romantic Warrior, and that can't be bad thing in anyone's book. Along with Chris Squire's Fish Out Of Water and Wakeman's earlier output up to Criminal Record, this is one of just a handful of Yes solo releases of which their creators can be justifiably proud.

Beyond binary

Patrick Moraz' solo career has most often been a solo career in the fullest sense of the word, meaning that Patrick does everything himself with no involvement by other musicians. Human Interface is a case in point: composed, arranged, performed, and produced by Moraz.

The best track on this album is the opening Light Elements which reminds me of Vangelis' best works. Next up is another good piece called Beyond Binary which sounds a bit like a cross between Keith Emerson and Vangelis. The third track Cin-A-Maah is also a good one, this time prompting comparisons with Geoff Downes' excellent solo debut album The Light Programme.

Unfortunately, after this the album goes awry. The rest of Human Interface is not as good as the first three tracks. Stormtroops On Loops is nothing but an annoying sound collage but thankfully it is short. Modular Symphony (First Movement) is in the style of Classical music while Goto Ophioplomal returns to electronic territory again. The 10 minute plus Kyushu reminds of Vangelis' China but is overly long and soon becomes tedious. The final tracks are in more New Age style and also feel a bit too long and monotonous.

There are some good moments on Human Interface, predominantly in the beginning of the album, but overall it does not hold up that well. Still, many of Moraz' solo albums are worse!

— First review of this album —

"Yes, it's that studio"

It is contestable how "live" this album really is, since it is one of those live-in-the-studio affairs. Applause can be heard between a few of the pieces so there is a small studio audience present, but beyond those rather sparse applause there is no audience interaction to speak of. Like the spoken introduction by John DeBella makes clear, this is Patrick Moraz playing material from his album Human Interface. Moraz is the sole performer, playing a variety of electronic keyboards and percussion instruments. There is also a short interview of Moraz by DeBella included in which Patrick explains his choice of not being supported by a band as "self-imposed limitation". Limitation is probably the right word, and even if this is a brave and quite impressive enterprise, I suspect that the result would have been better with a band.

Oddly enough, the titles of the various pieces performed are not the same as on the Human Interface album. What on the album was called Go To Ophioplomal is here performed under the name of Electronica Classica, and an overture is added to the piece. Light Elements becomes Night Lights; Stormtroops on Loops becomes Scoops of Love; Modular Symphony becomes Molecular Symphony; Cin- A-Maah becomes The Godmother Theme; Beyond Binary becomes Age du Tertiaire; Stressless is renamed Stresslessness; and finally, Kyushu has become Night In Kyoto. The only track from Human Interface not performed here is Hyperwaves.

With the exception of Night Lights - which is the "live" version of Light Elements, the best track on Human Interface - these Abbey Road versions are either slight improvements over their Human Interface counterparts or at least of the same quality, even though the differences between the versions are very small. Night In Kyoto is as boring and overly long here as it was on the album and Stresslessness too is a rather dull number in both versions.

After the brief interview, Patrick performs a piano piece which closes the main part of the radio broadcast programme, the remaining three tracks on this CD being bonus tracks from an unknown (to me) source.

The final assessment of this album is that this is a release primarily for fans and collectors of Patrick Moraz but not recommended for the general Prog fan.

Here we have the second album of the well known swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz. Primarily known for having participated in the masterpiece of Yes, Relayer, Moraz provides some other good album: during his career, in fact, he worked with the Moody Blues and was named in 1973 to replace Keith Emerson, that just left The Nice to set up the ELP project. Moraz has also produced a series of solo albums, like this Out In The Sun. This is straight crossover prog, since we can hear in it some good pop / rock that recalls Supertram sometimes, created with a Latin vein, as seen in the previous album, Story Of I. Although slightly lower than the previous, also in Out In The Sun we can find some enjoyable ideas. Moraz's keyboards are a bit less virtuoso than Refugee's relese, but it is still dominant and capable of quite good work, in particular in the 9 minute-suite, Time for Change. The voice of John McBurnie does its job well enough, but also the performance of Francois Zmirou, who appears in Love-Hate-Sun-Rain- You, should be mentioned. In conclusion, for 70s keyboards fans and not only, Out In The Sun is good addition to your collection. It is not certainly a must-have, but it's still a good album worth listening to.