CLEAR

Clear is not a bad album, but it not very good too. Let's say it is just betweeen ordinary and good. Most of the tracks are quite gross and sound a bit amateurish, especially on side 1. The visceral rock/hard rock dimension is the main influence. The psychedelic dimension is also present but not too much. The big problem is the bad guitar sound: I am just allergic to a bland electric guitar sound like here. The guitar solos are very unexpressive: they sound like a pure jam exhibition. With better crafted guitar sound, the album rating would increase at least by a half star. The drums are OK, and the bass has a rather smooth sound despite it is not very elaborated. The keyboards are a pretty subdued and they often sound colorless and flat. The lead vocals could be worse, but remain ordinary. The compositions have a deja vu dimension, since they offer nothing new or original. "Policeman's Ball" is more funny, expressive and colorful than the previous tracks. I give 3 stars for the side 1.

The side 2 is definitely better: there are fortunately some better tracks: the band seems to have significantly reduced the irritating electric guitar parts. The mellow "Give A Life Take A Life" and "Clear" are two really interesting tracks, the latter containing some sentimental orchestral arrangements with an very slow rhythm. I give 3.5 stars for the side 2.