TRANS AND DANCE [Ω XIV]

The long awaited 1995 comeback studio album from the legendary Hungarian band Omega after a 10 year sabbatical during which time numerous compilations and live concert material was released. It also heralded the return of original composer/keyboardist Presser Gabor who manages to slip in brief Hammond and piano fills reminiscient of the Omega sound of the 1960`s. However, don`t expect a re-kindling of the early Omega magic but rather a completely revamped sound making extensive use of advanced recording engineering technology which had finally reached Eastern Europe by the late eighties and early nineties, possbly as a result of singer Janos Kobor`s business involvement.

Trans and Dance is a ballad soaked album seemingly focusing on religious themes ( all sung in Hungarian ) with contributions from various guest lyricists including Peter Sulyi who had collaborated with the band at various points throughout their long history. More exciting moments occur on the heavier "Miss World" and "A rock and roll nem hagy el " which have sort of AC/DC meets Foriegner tinges to them albeit with the softer Omega touch. These more or less straight hard rock tracks could have been a bit more effective with more guitar freak outs especially with an additional guest guitarist. Those familiar with Omega`s `70s recordings will remember Gyorgy Molnar`s fiery guitar pyrotechnics from that period.

The album is loaded with Jean Michel Jarre-like computer generated synth soundscapes and effects which sometimes can sound like muzak . Nevertheless, they work well with Kobor`s vocals most of the time whose voice was always better suited for ballads and songs with a mystical theme. Some of these tracks have a Pink Floydish feel to them the most noticeable being "A kesuszt ut veg" and "Az almodozo" the former sounding at times notoriously ( but surely not intentionally ) like Brain Dammage and the latter even has a Great Gig in the Sky sounding female vocal at the end! Nice though.

All comparisons aside, a very spacey Omega album sung in the beautiful Hungarian language with stellar production although it does have some grey areas. Neo- progists as well as those who liked 1987`s Babylon should have no problem getting something redeeming out of Trans & Dance. Eight of these tracks were released in English on a subsequent album, Trancendent ( 1996 ) which oddly features a different vocalist who sounds nothing like Janos Kobor. Add ½ star to 3.