BETWEEN THE LEAVES

When Svein Rønning and Knut Lie left Høst after recording their first album, they formed the explicitly symphonic-prog act Deja Vu. The one album they made only got the tiniest of test-pressings on vinyl back in 1976, packaged only in a plain white cover. It's probably the rarest Norwegian prog item, and was exclusively a luxury for wealthy collectors up until its CD reissue in the 90's.

It's quite a pity that it took this long for this album to see the light of day in form of an official release as it's actually quite good. Harald Otterstad is the highlight of the instrumental combo, offering some absolutely sumptuous Moog work, but also enriching it with other keyboard sounds. Hammond, string synth and Clavinet dominate the key-chestration. The sadly late Kai Grønlie is quite expressive on lead vocals, adding much feeling to the music.

About the worst I can say about this album is the cover art is pretty poor. Too 90's "death-metal" looking in style, and un-suited to the music. I'd definitely recommend this album, though. Many a prog fan should be able to glean much enjoyment from it.