BETWEEN FLESH AND DIVINE

Other reviewers have remarked on the sound and feel of this album being like a combination of early 70s GENESIS and CAMEL and I couldn't agree more. This is beautiful and often sophisticated music very close in feel and mastery to the models it seems to wish to emulate or perpetuate. The drumming is often worthy of superlatives while the keyboard player shows excellent instincts in playing mostly in a support role (but a very important support role, à la TONY BANKS).

"Nightwind" (8/10) opens instrumentally feeling much like an early 80s pop song (PAYOLAS "Eyes of a Stranger") before turning into a fairly sophisticated 'lost Genesis' song. Great drumming in an odd time signature with excellent support synths, moving bass, and flute lead. New section begins at 1:48--a vocal section that is quite reminiscent of 70s CAMEL. Beautiful and versatile flute playing. 5:20 Keyboard entrance end section is very reminiscent of TONY BANKS/GENESIS

"Northern Lights" (8/10). The first 2:06 are quite calm and pastoral. Then all GENESIS/CAMEL breaks loose with a very up-tempo section. At 3:45 all sound drops out to be replaced by a new section of delicate electric guitar picking and electric keyboard. At 4:38 a foreign-accented male voice enters to sing in English as the tempo picks up a bit (drums and bass join in). Fuzz guitar solo. Return of vocal. Voice is like ELOY's FRANK BORNEMANN's singing with BRYAN FERRY's phrasing--the way he down-slides the endnotes of a phrase or word.

"Boundless" (7/10) is a three-minute gentle ballad--singing from the start, ending with a drawn out, easy, repetitive electric guitar solo.

"Dedicace" (8/10) begins with the bass sound more familiar from RENAISSANCE over which a breathy flute is dancing. At 1:20 there is a very CAMEL-esque shift to a mid-tempo 'controlled jazz' section. 2:15 acoustic guitar stums beneath fuzzy electric guitar, keyboard organ while bass and drums join in at a fairly quick pace as singer comes in singing in higher register than previous songs. Very "Lady Fantasy" feeling. 3:25 totally shifts to bucolic GENESIS section. Classic GENESIS transition stuff. Return to vocal with half the freneticism of the former section (sans acoustic guitar strumming). Another repeat of the slow instrumental transition to the fast strumming acoustic guitar section with singing to sudden end.

"Lost in a Dream Yell" (9/10) begins with rain sounds, a few single random notes from treated guitar with vocal being most prominent feature--the bareness of which really makes obvious the awkward foreign accent. So ELOY! Rain and piano with electric guitar arpeggios interplay irregularly behind vocal until 2:40 when guitar arpeggios are left alone for half a minute while rain fall sounds gradually fade and synth strings and mellow flute join in. Slowly from far in the background, military drumming patterns begin to emerge and move to foreground. All the while flute continues to lead with beautiful melody. Really awesome drumming to tune into--four minutes of it! Song ends with same pattern playing out.

"Dreadful Memories" (7/10) begins with an odd, almost spy-theme music led on a DICK DALE-like bass line over which haunting synth chords are washing in and out. Song ends with a weird cut out and echoed synth fade.

A very nice listen that would definitely be an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection. Solid four stars.