WHEN EARTH LETS GO

Gazpacho's second album marks a further adventure for the band and an improvement in one of the two areas that the first album was lacking: They now have a full time drummer in the group and this adds greatly to the sound. Where as Bravo was an odd mix of Muse, Depeche Mode and classical, When Earth Lets Go is a much more rounded album with the band finding their own distinctive sound.

The intro is a typical device on most prog albums so we will move straight on to Snowman. It starts quietly and gradually builds into an epic sound. The vocals are the usual selling point on a Gazpacho album - full of emotion with a great soaring range. Discordant synths break the song into the epic portion before the vocals take the lead again.

Put it on the Air starts as a nice rocker with Ohme singing in a slightly lower range than usual. This song also showcases how good a real drummer can make a song compared to a drum machine! The only thing missing is a guitar solo! Once again the intelligent lyrics lead the song as it builds to the finale. Electronic sounds and vocals effects come into play and show the bands prog influences before the rock out song ending.

Souvenir starts with slow drums and quickly moves into a melancholic vocal and synth driven song.The guitar touches join the song as Jan Ohme's sensitive vocals again drive the song. It deceptively builds before all instruments except an organ stop and the vocal finishes the song.

Steal Yourself is a more up tempo song which starts quickly and then changes into a guitar driven rocker, before moving back into a drum and synth lead verse. The chorus shows how good the band are at guitar rock and the song shows how the band can meld two styles together into a cohesive whole. Saying all this, Steal Yourself is lyrically the weakest song on the album. Not bad by any means, but not up to the standard of the rest. However, it is probably a real stonker live! (That's a good thing, honest!!)

117 is another Gazpacho mood piece. starting slowly with moody electronic sounds and synths, the delicate vocals lead the song and are joined by gentle guitar and bass touches to add to the mood. Female backing vocals add to the experience before the guitar comes to the fore. This is another point in a Gazpacho song where you hope a corking guitar solo will emerge but again Gazpacho confound us by more fragile vocals leading the song again. Suddenly the song changes track and Ohme's vocals burst forth with passion. A gentle part of the song comes forth followed by a change in time signature before a return to an epic portion of the song as the lament from Jan Ohme continues to drive the song. 117 is the most Prog like song on the album and with a running time of 6.22 it is the longest. I would rate this song 5 stars on it's own and it is the centre piece of this album.

Beach House starts out completely different and changes the tone of the album at this point. Harsh sounds accompany the drum before the vocal kicks in. The song turns out to be another guitar driven rocker but it somehow seems more involving than Steal Yourself did. I can only put this down to better song writing and a guitar solo! Yes, there IS a guitar solo in there, although is is short and not very intricate. That said, it suits the song perfectly.

Substitute For Murder starts with the sound of gentle waves on the beach overlaid by a sharp building whine. This then turns into what Gazpacho do best. Quietly building piano and vocal lead moody musical epic. It even glimmers with a cheerful musical interlude before becoming quite menacing and then back to the delicate vocals and piano. Ohme's vocals are truely outstanding on this track and I am sure a lesser vocalist would mean a lesser song. His passionate singing is the cornerstone to this song, whether it is the quiet sections or the louder, menacing sections. And just when you think it can't get any better, the guitar lets rip with another very short but welcome solo. Then we are treated to a violin solo. You can't argue that Gazpacho are not brave enough to experiment to get the sound they want! And everything seems to be there to build the soundscape. At times you could be listening to Hogarth era Marillion and it's only when there is a lack of a Rothery guitar solo that you realise it's a different band altogether!

Dinglers Horse is another change of tempo as this delicate song starts, again vocal lead. The drums also play a major part to this song, giving it a great pounding rythum which somehow never overshadows the vocals. Then the song changes into a guitar backed moody end section.

When Earth Lets Go begins with a crystal clear piano introduction and more of Ohme's delicate vocals. The violin joins in the background as this beautiful song tells of the beauty of the earth - or is it the beauty of a woman? You decide. Strings and piano lead the song to it's gentle conclusion before the album closes as it opened.

This is a stunning second album and comes very highly recommended.