IN COLLABORATION WITH THE GODS

3rd album of Michael Quatro called "In Collaboration With the Gods" is definitely his most symphonic effort. Almost no pop or glitter rock tracks her which often appeared in his previous album, mostly just pure prog-rock here. Overall this release is dominated by Michael's skillful keyboards classical-style playing so similarities to Rick Wakeman's work are obvious.

1. "In Collaboration With the Gods" - album starts with 19+ minutes long suite which is surely the most ambitious project of Mr. Quatro. This composition has plenty of keyboards (synthesizers, pianos & splendid mellotron) passages and quite large amount of electric guitar solos played by Rick Derringer. Everything seems to be in good place but somehow this epic sounds often disjointed, filled with too many different ideas which don't cooperate together easily. We have romantic Grand piano fragments, hard rock guitar riffs, cabaret- like moments, tear-jerking mellotron waves & even short quote of Jimi Morrison's "Petition the Lord with Prayer"(from "The Soft Parade"). Jumps from happy-sloppy ragtime music to heavenly classical influenced piano rides are a bit too much in copy-paste fashion. In general not bad at all, but after it's finished you won't remember too much from it.

2. "Get Away" - begins like typical classical tune with only Michael on his trusty Grand piano but after a while starts more up-tempo, almost hard rock style tune and we can also listen to vocals this time. I kinda like those cosmic solos in the middle of the song, still wondering whether it's guitar or synthesizer... Anyway this track sounds like Argent for me, but without organ.

3. "Rockmanninoff's Prelude In C / Blunt Funk" - my favorite track of the album is atmospheric instrumental full of guitar leads, great piano lines, omnipresent mellotron outbursts & some additional synthesizers. Classical music meets with rock and it's a very fruitful meeting.

4. "Ave Rock Maria" - relaxing symphonic piece played mainly on Moog synthesizer and mellotron with non-obstructive rhythm section. Interesting vision of this classic tune but may be boring for some.

5. "Prelude In Ab Crazy II" - fantastic tune in the vain of "Rockmanninoff's Prelude In C" but even more mellotron-drenched. Very energetic sparkling piano + few electric guitar licks and more melancholic ending.

6. "Sweet Lovin'" - short and completely out of place glam rock song. For the 2nd time we're able to hear vocals on this album and they're not good at all. The only good thing I can say about this tune is usage of Hammond organ for the first and last time on this record + some nice fat sounding Moog sounds from time to time.

Conclusion: "In Collaboration With the Gods" is surely the most progressive album of Michael Quatro and (albeit last song) the most consistent one. But somehow it's lacking real emotions & passionate power I'm looking for in music. So overall I can give it only 3,5 stars and recommend to Rick Wakeman fans & general neo-classical rock aficionados who like plenty of mellotron/Grand piano passages (but if you're looking for more rock- oriented, energetic staff I advise you to check previous album of this artist called "Look Deeply Into The Mirror"). Especially casual keyboards-oriented prog lovers may not appreciate this album because of rather slow tempo & almost complete lack of Hammond organ or flashy synth solos.

Best tracks: "Rockmanninoff's Prelude In C / Blunt Funk" & "Prelude In Ab Crazy II"

P.S. It's a pity that I wasn't able to find any later works of Quatro so I don't know whether he ever recorded fully satisfying album or not.

3,5 stars from ozzy_tom