FOOL'S JOURNEY

Certainly on paper this looks like a can't miss album. Roine Stolt, Par Lindh and ENGLAND's drummer Jode Leigh are part of this band. Interesting that the songs here were recorded by vocalist Ingemar Hjertqvist and keyboardist Per Sundbom back in 1984. Some 300 copies were made and really this was all but forgotten about as they both got married and Ingemar moved to Switzerland. Fast forward to 1993 and Ingemar put a band together to perform these songs but after two years the band was dissolved.Then it all came together as Roine Stolt wanted in, and hearing this news Per wanted back in, then all these other guests wanted to be part of this project too. By the way i've never seen Roine with such long hair. This is a concept album.

"Prelude" opens with atmosphere before vocals and strummed guitar arrive. Not a fan of the vocals here. Piano and bass join in too. It kicks in with guitar at 2 minutes. It stays pretty mellow and the vocals return around 3 1/2 minutes. "My Uncle" is more uptempo and there's lots of mellotron from Par. Nice chunky bass here too. It does settle when the vocals arrive. Again they are weak. Contrasts between mellow and the more powerful sections continue. Great sound 4 1/2 minutes in but it's brief. "Where Am I Going From Here" has some nice bass early as the almost spoken vocals join in. Mellotron as it gets fuller. Man this really comes off as poor Neo- Prog sadly.

"Decision" is atmospheric and spacey for the first 1 1/2 minutes. Then a beat arrives with guitar and other sounds. Vocals after 2 minutes as it settles with organ. The tempo picks up some. An instrumental section late to end it isn't bad. "Fool's Journey" is an instrumental and a pretty good one. Laid back guitar and fat bass early on. It gets fuller 2 minutes in as the guitar makes some noise and the organ joins in. "Anguish" is darker with mellotron and organ to start. It picks up with guitar and drums fairly quickly though. Bass too. Vocals a minute in. I like the guitar and bass but again the vocals aren't the best. "The Ladder" opens with atmosphere as the spacey winds blow. It changes and the vocals arrive after 1 1/2 minutes. It stays at a mid-paced tempo the rest of the way. The focus is on the vocals.

For collectors only in my opinion.

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