BROKEN DOOR

I like this album a lot! The music is mostly a fusion of Krautrock and Jazz-Rock, with touches of Psychedelic/Space Rock and Symphonic or Eclectic Progressive Rock. This album features dark, heavy riffs/progressions like '73-'74 era King Crimson as well as heady fusion jazz sounding similar to Mahavishnu Orchestra with vibes in most songs and some great guitarwork reminding at times of John McLaughlin, and sounds at times somewhat similar to Message's 'From Books and Dreams', Guru Guru's 'Dance of the Flames'. These comparisons only reflect part of the music, though, as there are other styles I'm not sure how to express and Prosper have their own distinct sound. Each song varies in style and this works well for the album, as the heady or darker and more progressive instrumental songs ("Dance of an Angel", "Beginning", and "Where the Sun Touches the Water") are interspersed with the more melodic, vocal-containing songs "Burning in the Sun" and "Your Country" and the more low key jazzy instrumental "Birds of Passage", while "Broken Door" contains some of both. All songs are excellent with the exception of "Birds of Passage" and "Your Country" which, while still very good stand out less, though they are both very welcome differences in style. The 1 1/2-minute drum solo "Master's Inspiration" is pretty straightforward for a drum solo and doesn't add much to the album. Its hard to describe exactly what i like about the album--it is full of great melodies and great orchestration, excellent playing, a very inspired sound (most of the time), tactful songwriting, and good variety of style and mood. Its a bummer these guys only made one album. This is a classic of both Krautrock and Jazz Rock/Fusion that deserves much more attention. Highly recommended!

4.5