BRAINBOX

The music of Brainbox is best described as progressive blues rock with a psychedelic vibe. The main attraction is of course the guitar playing of Jan Akkerman, but the soulful vocals of Kaz Lux are very distinctive for the music as well. Added with the powerful bass of Andre Reynen and the creative, jazzy drumming of Pierre van der Linden this is a great album.

It opens with one of their most progressive tracks, Dark Rose. This is a sort of proto-Hocus Pocus (the Focus hit). There are some very fast and furious guitar breaks by Akkerman and a wonderful flute solo played by Solution member Tom Barlage. It takes some time to recover from this one, so the next song is a not so interesting cover of a Tim Hardin song. This is followed by a nice blues tune with some typical Akkerman chords. The adaptation of Scarborough Fair has again a progressive flavour. Akkerman plays acoustic guitar and Barlage again adds his beautiful flute. On the album is also a version of the classic Summertime. This is one of the better versions, with again a brilliant guitar solo. Sinner's Prayer is another typical blues song. The b-side of the album is occupied by the psychedelic Sea of Delight with long guitar, bass and drum solos. It starts and ends as an ordinary rock song, but the long middle part is truly a psychedelic trip. The best moments are occupied by Akkerman's guitarwork, but there a also some tedious moments with the inevitable drum and bass solos. Overall a good track though.

On the CD release you can also find the a- and b-sides of their first two 45s. Down Man is a good original song, Woman's Gone is a sad blues song with the piano played by Rob Hoeke and bass by Akkerman, because at that time they didn't have a bass player. The second single is an edit of the long Sea of Delight, paired with a rock song with a wah-wah drenched guitar. This is as good as an interesting album, because soon after this release Akkerman and van der Linden became Focus members and went on for great musical fortune.