DIARY

Third and last Studio effort by Führs & Fröhling, the "Diary" album settles an order in the material's style and arrangement after the eclectic adventure comprised in the previous album "Strings". This time, the duo states a sort of recapitulation of the two preceding albums, resuming some of the ethereal bucolic atmospheres "Ammerland" in alternation with symphonic and jazz-rock elements that had been more present in "Strings" (as well as in SFF's final album "Ticket to Everywhere"). The solo acoustic guitar piece 'Late in the Evening' kicks off the album on a minstrel note: the soft bass lines subtly emphasize the undercurrent cadence. 'All Hallow's Eve Dream' brings us a crepuscular portrait of soft jazzy tones, sounding like a mixture of early Sky and "QE2"-era Oldfield. The use of a rhythm machine doesn't kill the main motif's inherent warmth. 'On My Pillow' brings back the bucolic environment that had been first introduced by the opener, although it bears a lighter mood due to the soaring synth ornaments provided by Führs. The motif is Renaissance-style, conveying a sort of longing. 'Prelude' is evidently more agile, related to the overall moods of track 2 but with a fresher attitude - the synth layers and the acoustic guitar phrases melt together quite naturally. 'Back and Again' is the album's rocker: it bears a certain catchiness that we can also find in Alan Parsons' "Pyramid" and Camel's 79-81 albums: light weight but not truly frivolous, I think that a longer expansion with a couple of guitar and synth leads would have made it FF's anticipation to Camel's 'Sasquatch'. Anyway, it's fun to listen and it is well constructed as it objectively is. 'Argo', which starts the album's second half, picks up the preceding track's momentum to a degree, but the symphonic treatment is genuine and pronounced, almost related to classic Novalis. Actually, this piece wouldn't have been out of place as part of the "Sunburst" album's repertoire. Just like 'Argo, 'China Puppet' is a Fröhling-penned piece. This one is an exquisite exercise on spacey symphonic prog, based on a Vangelis-style cosmic refurbishment of a melodic basis sustained on Baroque and Romantic atmospheres. Beautiful and evocative, delicate as a China item and playful as a puppet show, 'Chine Puppet' has to be one of the loveliest ideas that Führs has ever come up with. 'Green Island' is a mid- tempo that reestablishes the Sky connection, featuring Fröhling's lead acoustic and rhythm electric guitars. The closure track 'Mind Games' features piano and mellotron in the elaboration of an epic atmosphere that strikes me as very related to the spirit of 'Every Land Tells a Story" (the apex of "Ammerland"). "Diary" is, all in all, a beautiful album whose inner diversity is subjected to a rule of pertinent cohesiveness - a perfect farewell from Führs and Fröhling, two of the most brilliant German minds in the realms of progressive rock.