WALK INTO LIGHT

I think one should have in mind the tendencies of the time when Walk Into Light was issued. There were no serious prog rock efforts in Europe - even the giants like Yes and King Crimson were struggling to accommodate and survive in the new world of electronics, rhythms and videos. For me the appearance of Walk Into Light was a pleasant surprise, especially after the depressing A - the album which seriously shook my faith in JT's ability to make intelligent music any longer. Walk Into Light actually restored that faith (even though it was an Ian's solo project) and helped me stay linked to the JT heritage during the eighties. The quality of this album lies in the fact that Ian Anderson did not make a compromise with his artistic orientation and affinity but rather wisely used the prevailing tendencies of pop music to express himself alternatively, remaining almost equally good as on some the JT classics (Stormwatch for example). There are no trivial elements, so characteristic for the music of the time, each song is brilliantly structured, with beautiful atmosphere, very catchy, hard to forget - if you like Ian Anderson's music of course. In a certain way the album is urban in its profile, with no folk and rustic elements, but definitely without intention of being commercial and appealing to broader public. I give it four stars - two men made a very good album, in the era of obvious musical decadence and banality.