TIME OUT

After the instrumental album BEYOND TIME, originally recorded in 1994, TIME OUT is another album taken from the LIFE LINE PROJECT vaults. The album contains all titles from the 1995 recording and it has four extra tracks added, from which three are taken from an album I don't know, but was originally recorded in 1994. On TIME OUT again all instruments are played by Erik de Beer, varying from all sorts of guitars, keyboards, basses, electronic & acoustic drums to flutes, lutes and mandolins. The vocals on the album are taken care of by Marion Stroetinga, who has a more sensitive way of singing, which suits the extremely melodic and harmonious compositions of Erik de Beer very well.

Unlike on BEYOND TIME, not all the songs on TIME OUT are on the same level. Songs like "Don't Turn Your Back" or "Suzy" are not among my favourites, although there are some beautiful themes to be enjoyed in them. Properly put, the album is divided in two parts. The first half contains all vocal songs, while the second half contains only majestic instrumental symphonic progressive rock. The instrumental half is very similar to BEYOND TIME. Those who enjoyed that album will even find more pleasure in listening to these instrumental tracks. The recording quality is better and the structure and the impact of the compositions are better. Absolute masterpiece is the over 23 minutes lasting composition "Behind The Curtain Of Your Mind", a piece which has it all: well- played tempo changes, beautiful symphonic electric guitar themes, fine keyboard-parts and subtle acoustic parts. The title piece "Time Out" acts like a sort of prelude to "Behind The Curtain?". "Across The Lines" is another powerful instrumental from over ten minutes and it seems to have been taken from the homonymous album from 1994. I especially liked the virtuoso and latin sounding Spanish guitar piece in the middle.

From the vocal half I particularly liked "All You Need Is Bluff", well-sung and containing some very strong instrumental sections, displaying a beautiful acoustic piano in the middle and a spectacular synth-solo at the end. One of the most beautiful songs is probably the only three minutes lasting "Just A Thought", sung very beautifully and almost with a jazzy feel by Marion and containing a beautiful but short acoustic guitar solo. Another well-sung piece is "How I Miss You Now". It's a bit more on the AOR side, but still nice to listen to.

With over seventy minutes of music the album is well-filled and even if not all songs are on the same level, TIME OUT is certainly worth listening to and contains some overwhelming instrumental symphonic rock. The sound quality of the album is quite good, although I prefer the passages using acoustic drums to the ones with electronic drums. Like on all LIFE LINE PROJECT albums I have listened to, the playing is of excellent quality. Erik seems to be playing all instruments equally well. My rating should be closer to a four star one than to a three star one and therefore TIME OUT will go with 4 stars.

Theo Schop