THE TIDES RETURN FOREVER

Interestingly for me, it seems to have a similar structure to the album that would follow it, Ocean 2. In other words, a good first half, and a fairly unenjoyable second half.

With Klaus-Peter Matziol back in the band, things at least look good for the rhythm section with him and Nico Barretta on drums. We get off to a good start with the lively The Day Of Crimson Skies which buzzes along nicely in more modern Eloy style, but still manages to bring up echoes of their more proggy period of the 70's. This is reinforced by the next track, Fatal Illusions, which starts out almost exactly like the opening cut of Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes. With its Shine On You Crazy Diamond intro, to it's driving bass and guitar lines, this one is a winner. Especially for those of us who are not too crazy about the Ra and Destination albums.

The next track is easily my favorite on the album, Childhood Memories, which features some very nice acoustic playing (not Frank) with a very nice acoustic solo (also not Frank). The song has nice variation, with quieter sections mixed with more upbeat and louder symphonic sections. Very nice. Generation Of Innocence is a decent, if somewhat repetitive song that just doesn't do much for me. Along the lines of the more plodding material from Ocean 2. The Tides Return Forever is an excellent song with fantastic vocals from Jocelyn B. Smith alternating with Franks. A very dramatic and powerful song.

The Last In Line is, in a word, horrible. Take all the worst traits of Ra and Destination, and put them all into one repetitive, synthetic sounding electro-pop tune with a flat, dull melody and you have this tune. Easily the worst thing on the album and certainly one of the worst Eloy songs ever. Final track Company Of Angels is apparently about Joan of Arc, but really the massed vocals (male and female) just put me off of it. Here the bombastic qualities are quite tedious in a song with little variation that plods along at the same medium tempo for it's entire 9 minutes and 45 seconds. Very forgettable.

So, overall, this is much like the album that would follow it. Some very good and rewarding tunes, and some dull and plodding and downright awful ones. But not bad for a band that's been around as long as Eloy and certainly a step up from the previous two albums. So for me, 3 solid stars on the whole. But don't start here if you're new to the band. Really, getting their albums in chronological order (completely skipping the first one though) is probably the best way to approach this band. But if you like a more modern 80's, early 90's sound with more modern synths, you could do far worse than this album.

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