DAWN

What a terrific improvement over their previous efford The Power and The Passion! And even more so if you remember that the band broke up after that record (according to leader Frank Bornemann because of bad manangment and musical differences between band members). He almost call it quits after that. But Bornemann´s resilience paid off since the new line up would be probably Eloy´s best ever, with ex Scorpions drummer Jürgen Rosenthal stepping in, plus Klaus-Peter Matziol (bass) and Detlev Schmidtchen (keyboards, guitar). The group was also allowed to use a full orquestra for the first time. The results are simply stunning.

While this conceptual album is basicly a sequence of the story told on the Power And The Passion CD, this is a far better work, both on the instrumental parts and on the lyrics department. It´s hard to believe this is the first album with the new personel since the performances are great. The songs merge one into the other giving it a cohesive whole, like a long suite and not just a mere collection of tunes. While all other Eloy´s records have fine moments (specially their second one, Inside), Dawn was the first one that can be really be seen as a total success and the beginning (or dawning) of their very own sound. The psychedelic/space rock flavor is still there (Pink Floyd was definitly an influence), but now we have greater symphonic prog feel on it.

I always hear this CD from beginning to end without skipping a single track. The orchestral arrangements are beautiful and enhance the strong songwriting, and the fine performances of all band members. I just loved Matziol´s fine bass runs and Bornemann´s improved (yet never flashy)) guitar lines. It is really a pity that they would never use an orchestra as an integral part of the record´s sound for their future CDs. Even Bornemann is much more convincing as a singer (despite his heavy german accent), although he had not mature his personal style yet. . His voice would get better eventually, but this is his best delivering so far. And the lyrics are way better too. This point is much helped by the fact that newcomer drummer Rosenthal provided the words for all the songs: his poetry proved far more subtle, intriguing and interesting than the mediocre, naive ones featured on The Power And The Passion.

Conclusion: Dawn is definitly one of my favorite Eloy´s albums of all time. And the first of a string of great ones they would eventually produce over the next few years. A very good starting point if you want to get to know for this classic prog band of the 70´s. Rating: something between 4 and 4.5 stars. Highly recommended!