IN THE REGION OF THE SUMMER STARS (1984)

Even though I came to this band in the early 2000's, I have oddly enough never heard the "newer" version of this album. I was fortunate to aquire MP3's ripped from an original vinyl copy of the 1976 LP. So I can only offer a review of that record. Incidentally, the person I got it from was a huge Enid fan from their beginning and was involved in their fan club in the late 70's. He felt the rerelease was a terrible reworking of the original. Again, having never heard the newer version I can't comment. As to the original, it was not exactly a revelation for me since I already had purchased the re-recording of Aerie Faerie Nonsense (I also have an MP3 version of the original vinyl LP release of that album as well). But I must say that at first, I was not sure why it had recieved so much praise. Repeated listens helped me to apprciate it more. The compositions are excellent examples of how rock and classical can work very well together, particularly in The Fool... and The Last Judgement/Region. The compositions are quite Romantic, though obviously not as much as the following album would be. I think it is safe to say that anyone who is not a fan of classical (particularly Romantic period) music will not care for this. But fans of Renaissanse and similar classical rock bands should find this satisfying. Just bear in mind that the CD version is NOT what I am reviewing here, and it is my understanding that it is significantly reworked.