ANYONE'S DAUGHTER

On the long run it may be a stretch to label this German band symphonic prog. Neo-Prog - or even Crossover-Prog - wouldn't be very unsuitable either, at least for this (2nd) album, which is not quite as symphonic as the debut Adonis (1979) that had a good side-long epic. The overall approach is slightly commercial and very accessible, the melodic songs are mostly in 4-5 minutes length with a strong dose of pop sensibility. But despite all the contemporary lightness this music clearly descends from the classic (symphonic) prog as many German bands did at the late seventies. The vocals remind me of ELOY's Frank Bornemann, or Wildschwein of GROBSCHNITT. The clean sound puts the emphasis on the melodicism of keyboards and electric guitar. One could think of Barclay James Harvest of the time, which was very popular in Germany.

A couple of songs deal with meeting a girl and falling in love, in a rather banal level, and the catchiest song 'Moria' draws inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien - as dozens of prog bands have done before and after. I'm glad there's also an instrumental (albeit very short one) and one longer composition (of unquestionable symphonic nature) to widen up the scale. There's not a single weak or unpleasant track on this album, but perhaps it's not exactly Anyone's Daughter at their very best. After this one they changed into German language. With a new drummer they brought a new spark into their sound on the excellent In Blau (1982).