DANSE MACABRE

After Ekseption reunited with Rick van der Linden in 1978, its first reunion album (Ekseption78) did not turn out to be a commercial success. Mind you, at this time Punk was fashion followed by new wave music, and symphonic rock definitely was out of vogue. So, Ekseption's reunion may not have happened at the most opportune moment. Due to the lack of commercial success of Ekseption78 Ekseption decided to record some of their old hits from the late sixties/early seventies again. Only two tracks on the entire album are totally new: Haydn, which features the theme from Haydn's trumpet concerto, and a piece written by Rick: 'Concorus'. So, all in all there is very little new about this album, and in addition it failed to do what it was supposed to do: bring renewed commercial success for Ekseption. The album may be interesting as an alternative to yet another compilation of 'Ekseption's greatest hits'. After this album Rick and Rein decided to call it quits, until they attempted another try at reviving Ekseption in 1989 with an album titled...'Ekseption89'. Yes, the titles of their albums are not as imaginative as their music.

I remember vividly that I purchased this album in cassette version in October 1981 and I thought it was an entertaining purchase because punk and new wave swept the total music industry at that time. This is exactly like Birdcorps mentioned before. Yeah, I felt the same as well. And I thought that this was a new album from the band. But when I spun the cassette, it was basically almost all were major hits from their previous albums, rerecorded because Rick van der Linden rejoined the band in 1978. As this is mostly rerecorded material, I am not surprised at all with the music because it's been in my system for so long. In fact, some songs had been familiar with most people in my country as some tracks were used as background for a local television program.

Most of rerecorded material are not better off than the original version because this time with this album, the sound is like coming from a band while in its original versions - the sound like an ensemble or string section or, in fact, an orchestra. There are two new tracks at the end of the album : Haydn and Conchorus.

Overall, this is an enjoyable album. I think it will serve well for people who have never heard the music of Ekseption. So I can recommend this for newbie. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW