THE THIRD EYE

Alfred's third solo album was released in 2003, and is with his previous album he not only inferred which number album it was in the title he also played all of the instruments. There are a lot of really good things on here, especially "Bilbo Is Back" which is definitely Wakeman to a tee as it gently bounces along with a poptastic refrain. The only thing wrong with this song is that it is less than three minutes long! But, then it gets spoiled by the track that follows it "Vamos A Ver". This is one of the few times when vocals are utilised, where Alfred has sampled a singer called Suzann and has used her during the chorus and I really wished that he hadn't as the second scat line is massively out of tune with the music and every time I hear it I feel as if someone has dragged fingernails across a blackboard. And of course as it is sampled the same thing is repeated each time it is used. Either change the melody or don't use it!

To me this puts a dampener on what is one of Alfred's most accessible and enjoyable albums as he mixes Wakeman with Emerson and even throws in some JMJ for good measure. This is well worth hearing, but I bet you only play the third song just the once to see if I'm right.. www.soniqtheater.de (I am)