RETROSPECTIVE

Yeah, Retroheads, the title says it all! Won't be hard wringing a torture-laced confession out of these dudes, wot? These Norwegian proggers decided to give themselves the right and freedom to fool around, old-style, combining space, symphonic prog and electronics within a song format, just to keep things interesting. Main composer and instrumentalist Tore Bo Bendixen shines on vocals, keys, guitars, bass and programming, bringing on as added guests (sister/wife) Ann-Kristin Bendixen, lead guitarist Tommy Berre , another guest axeman on one track and some percussionist. The 10 minute + "Earthsong" begins like a sci-fi soundtrack, crackling noises laced by some gorgeous interplanetary synth sweeps, mellotron swirls and morphing into a swooning song, sprinkled with some slithering guitar leads throughout, a heady spacy cocktail that is quite entrancing and loaded with effects. Pretty interesting introduction I must say. "Man" is more of a classic vocal oriented song with some existential message about the state of the human condition (or rather the inhuman condition), with relatively sparse acoustic guitar accompaniment, exploding halfway into an edgier percussion-laden platform for a searing multi-level guitar solo that expresses all what needs to be said, a synth bridge keeps the balance together until then gentle outro.."Judgment Day" offers up more odd effects and atmospherics, evolving into a harsher rant, with a slight schizo slant, somewhat corny lyrics about St- Peter and judgment day but nevertheless remaining a pleasant listen with a sleek female vocal intervention. By the middle, it starts evolving into slightly more complex environments, with waves of burping bass, dangling percussives, plaintive wailing voices, synthesizer rumbles and a certain expansive feel. A superbly surly Hillage-ian guitar exploration takes this even further into the vortex of sound, a fine example of a so-so debut transforming itself into a monster track. "Dreams" is more spacy pop, with dreamy guitar bellows, more Floyd than prog, heightened by a cool axe solo that attempts originality rather convincingly by evolving the background into some very electronic space with some splendid synth work, over which the guitar can then explore even further. The whole point of prog is taking some simple ditty and flinging it instrumentally into the farthest reaches of creative playing. "World Reveal" luxuriates in more spacy confines, beginning nicely and quickly turning into an almost intergalactic-boogie with Manhattan Transfer-like jazzy vocals, bizarre really with a baby crying , , a wondrous extended electric guitar foray , swooning synth patterns as a counterweight but ultimately a fun ride ."Starry Night" starts off gain like a song (this does seem to be the recipe here) but here the mighty choir mellotron makes a huge impression, intertwined with some searching guitar sorties and an insidious synthesizer parallel. Berre delivers a series of sumptuous solos here that just fit perfectly with the massed male voice choir. I am a sucker for this so.. I am hooked. "Urban Flight Delight" gets a tad nasty with synthesized e-piano and kookie guitar vying for space, organ sheets a la Floyd and a general feeling of sameness starts creeping in, a little formulaic by now, realizing that all the previous pieces are just variations on the same theme. The record goes on like this to the end, very well-done, but with some magic missing, its called song craft , because really the playing is first rate, though a little added violin, sax, oboe, flute would have made this so much more enjoyable. The intention was there, a good mix of Camel, Floyd and some of the newer bands but this will never garner maximum accelerated accreditation. I am still pretty happy with this purchase though, because of the fab soloing . 3.5 retro-stars