VISIONARY

So here it finally is - the first new studio effort by Eloy for more than a decade.

The best thing about this disc is that it is undeniable Eloy. The wandering bass lines are in place, the subtle acoustic guitar licks and subdued riffs many fans will recognize from the Planets/Time to Turn era are firmly in place as well, and although Bornemann's voice has deterioated somewhat over the years this feature was never among the strongest assets of this band in the first place either.

However, the finer details are missing. The searching guitar soloing, the floating space-tinged textures and to some extent the gentler symphonic elements have gone missing. The same can be said for the subtle dramatic synths that were so much a part of Eloy, especially in the Planets era of the band.

What's left are subdued and dampened guitar foundations with dampened symphonic backdrops at best. Unmistakenly Eloy in sound, but without the magic. Good nice efforts, bound to be played from time to time and satisfying as such, but overall among the poorer efforts in Eloys discography.

Still, it is new material, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Bornemann has a few more superior efforts in his system - if he starts spending more time recording stuff from now on.

Visionary shows the new beginning for the german space rock band - Eloy. In fact, it's only the second album by this band I've listened to after Power and the Passion, but I was interested to see what's going on there. I found something satisfying beyond Visionary. It contains a lot of typical space rock tunes, combined with some hard rock moments. Despite I didn't listen to quite big number of albums by Eloy, I'm confident of the fact, that this album can't be considered as one of their best or one of their worst albums. It's probably middle class Eloy album. There aren't any special moments here, but on the other hand there aren't annoying parts, too. The main negative aspects in Visionary in my opinion are several repetitions and the vocals made by Frank Bornemann, which I don't like. 2,7 stars

I admit, I don't get why everyone feels that this album is so low. I'm in even worse situation than poslednijat_colobar, because this is my first Eloy album, but maybe this fact helps. I can't compare, I can just enjoy this album as it is. Maybe compare it with other music I know, but that's all. This reminds me a lot another long-time runner, Kayak. I heard their latest (also from 2009) and there are few similarities. Beautiful music, little bit less prog (not much), symphonicity and should be (I don't know myself) different than their previous music. But this can't and will not prevent me from appreciating this music. Because when I compare it to other new bands, if I give some weight to fact that I like it (even not enjoy to maximum), close one eye, I'll dare to give this:

4(-), because that's what this deserves. Not entirely pure prog, but nice "almost-prog" music. Their most innovative flame should be out (I still don't know for sure, don't forget that I never heard their other music), but sparks remain. And after all, it's maybe blasphemy, but I think I can enjoy this kind of music more than their early years.

In the glory days of the late 1970s and early 1980s, ELOY would surprise us fans from one release to the next. Sure their lyrics were hackneyed and Frank Bornemann's vocals were not everyone's bag, but these were secondary, buried beneath the real story: the evolution of a visionary and his ever changing cast. Few bands attained their level of consistency for as long as they did while avoiding stagnation, and they were also among the elite who kindled the progressive flame during those dark days. That they could shift so dramatically and so effortlessly at annual intervals is hard to fathom given that, in the 11 years between "Ocean 2" and "Visionary", ELOY as a band has down shifted into neutral.

Even by the standards of the pseudo-philosophical story lines, the lyrics here are weak, playing on incessant rhyming of words that end in "ation" or "ery". I wasn't surprised by anything until a pixie was mentioned in the final track. Never has there been an Eloy album as vocal dominated as this, which I assure you is not a plus, since the band's prime strength has been its instrumental fireworks, mostly absent here. I have always counted myself as a fan of Frank's voice because he can sound angry and shift to caressing, but here he mostly sounds robotic, clearly unable to squeak out of an increasingly narrow range. The backing of Anke Renner and Tina Lux on most tracks was a smart move, but not what fans clamor for.

After 11 years, we get a mere 42 minutes running time, with one of the tracks being a modest alteration on the classic "Time to Turn". Others sound very similar to some of the work on "Ocean 2", the best of these being "Edge of Insanity", as much because it rocks out of the stupor too common elsewhere, but also due to spirited synth work by Michael Gerlach. "Summernight Symphony" is a reasonable attempt to repeat the "Childhood Memories" motif from "Tides Return..", while the opener is notable for pleasant acoustic guitar and Renaissance flute otherwise dressed up in a typical latter day ELOY outfit. Both parts of "The Secret" are simply too dirge like to appeal to most long time fans, particularly Part 2, which drones on ad nauseum, even the moderately appealing bass line being almost a verbatim steal from "The Challenge".

If you are looking for top notch German space rock, you may want to try Leipzig's DICE who appear to have usurped the crown from ELOY. I feel like the traffic officer who listened to my pathetic excuse for running a stop sign a few years ago, ridiculed me mercilessly, and then inexplicably pardoned my ticket. It's sad to see such a waste of talent and exploitation of fans, but what's disappointing ELOY is still good music that knows how to generate a spacey ambiance, aural visionaries that they are. 2.5 stars undeservedly rounded up.

Eloy´s comeback after more than a decade has brought me a lot of mixed feelings when I first heard it and ot still does after several spinnings. Visionary sounds like a sum of everything Eloy has done in their career (but more specificly around the Planets/Time To Turn period). Which means that nothing new came with this CD. It is mostly a reharsh of their former self. So I guess I should be glad with that since I was never really charmed by their more eletronic work in albums like Ra and Destination.

The bad side of Visionary is that of the new songs: too much vocals (not one of their best aspects in any record) and not really convincing themes and arrangements. The playing is as fine as ever (great bass lines by Klaus-Peter Matziol, good guitar parts, very good vintage sounding keyboards). The main problem seems to be a lacking of boldiness like they did on Ocean 2 and The Tides Return Forever, where they again plowed on familiar ground but still delivered strong and relevant material. On Visionary the tunes are ok, but you have the strong impression you heard it all before and done in a better way: The Challenge for instance, is almost Time To Turn with another set of lyrics.

Conclusion: Visionary is a pleasant album, if you´re not a too demanding fan. Rating: somewhere 2,5 and 3 stars. Good, but not essential in any way.

Time To Turn, part 2

11 years after the previous Ocean 2, Eloy returned once more with this album. While Ocean 2 obviously was a celebration of the band's 1977 album Ocean, Visionary instead harks back to 1982's excellent Time To Turn album. Like on Time To Turn, which is my favourite Eloy album, we find here a set of symphonic and spacey songs with strong melodies. The presence of acoustic guitars and also renaissance flute on a couple of tracks brings a slight but very appealing folky touch to the proceedings. I'm reminded of recent Nektar and 90's Pink Floyd but it is still 100% Eloy.

The German accent of vocalist Frank Bornemann, which I often found troubling on the band's 70's albums, has never been as unobtrusive as it is here. He sounds more confident than ever singing in English. His voice is sometimes treated with tasteful effects in the appropriate places and often embellished by female backing vocals it creates a convincing vocal drive. Again like Time To Turn, the sound here is rather keyboard dominated, but there is a well-balanced mix of electric and acoustic guitars, bass, drums and percussion and discrete orchestral sounds. The sonic quality of the recording is very high. You can tell that a lot of work went into the production with its high attention to detail.

The Challenge is subtitled Time To Turn, part 2, but it is really a new version of the Time To Turn title track. Both versions are very good. Summernight Symphony is, as its title implies, the most symphonic track of the album. The Secret is divided into two parts with the second part called Mystery. Once again like the Time To Turn album, Visionary closes with an acoustic number. This time with a short one called Thoughts that rounds off the album well. Another positive aspect of Visionary is its moderate length. While many bands today exploit the CD format to its full potential, making albums with running times well over an hour. Eloy wisely avoids overdoing it and Visionary clocks in at just over 40 minutes.

Overall, this makes for a reasonably varied album and there is not one weak moment to speak of. Given the melodic and somewhat laid-back nature of the music and the fact that it is largely vocally driven, this album might not blow all Prog fans away. But the band sounds very confident here and they have produced a very likable and appealing album. It is indeed hard to complain about Visionary.

In my opinion, Visionary is a great come-back and Eloy's best achievement since Time To Turn

After reading several mixed reviews here on Prog Archives, some negative, some positive, some indifferent, I wasn't sure if I wanted to purchase this new album from Eloy, the first in about a decade. But having nearly everything in Eloy's discography, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I include it into my regular purchasing routines. I received it in the mail quite a while ago and it sat there, and sat there, and sat there... Other albums in my pile of "things I need to listen to" were taking higher priority and I have to admit that it was the negative reviews that were keeping me from it. But one day I had the "urge." And I popped it into my CD player with an open mind thinking some of this is likely to be good, some of it might cause me to hit the "next" button on my player...

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. No, this doesn't quite sound like Ocean 2 or The Tides Return Forever, nor does it sound like Floating or Dawn or Slient Cries and Mighty Echoes. And no, it really doesn't sound like Ra or Destination. So what exactly does it sound like? Well, it's really balanced for a change. It isn't keyboard-dominant, or guitar-dominant. It clearly sounds like a mix of all of Eloy's past into one, but with better songwriting sensibilities and not overdone regarding any of Eloy's leaning to one style over another. Further, not one of the songs I would consider bad. Their all pleasant and enjoyable listens. Bornemann's lyrics still focus on the future and learning from past mistakes, plus their well-written; possibly the best lyric writing of his career.

A very enjoyable album and a much-welcomed comeback. The only fault I would find with this album is it needs some more keyboard and guitar solos, something traditionally part of Eloy's history. Overall, a respectable four stars.

Summernight Symphony

Eloy is the classic space rock band. Revered for their classic album "The Ocean" and other space rock gems, the band is well known in the progressive community. 11 years after their last studio album, the band reformed on their 40th anniversary to record their latest album, "Visionary." On this album contains seven exceptional tracks, each with classic Spacey spirit with a new hard rock aura. Although some of the music can seem uninterested and just along for the ride, the album ends with a satisfied feeling in my ears, and is no doubt a very good album.

The Refuge opens the album slowly at first with a cool atmosphere which quickly begins to accelerate into the hard rock river that the album turns out to be; with a constant flowing feel, the song never really lets up. Adorned with some really great riffs and instrumental breakdowns, the song has some really great qualities. However, many of the riffs seem to be a little overused, with little variation in the pretty standard song form.

The Secret has a spacier feel to it, with more atmospheric guitar themes and pulsing rhythmic drum lines. The vocal melodies are distorted in a psychedelic sort of way, giving a nice spacey taste to the music. Once the song gets into the chorus, it has a nice poppy feel, with pleasant melodies and nice use of the various instruments allegedly used in the recording (some seem a bit synthesized). Overall, the song continues the album's trend of interesting spacey rock, with a harder, albeit poppier, sound, with some interesting instrumentation and nice melodies. Although the music is not incredible, it certainly is good.

Age of Insanity has a heavier edge than the previous track, with a heavier use of synthesizers as well. At this point, we start to see the apparent re-use of ideas and similar themes and the melding of track distinguishability. However similar the tracks seem to be getting, this song certainly has some really great themes and riffs to go by. The instrumental section is great, with some great solos and fantastic spacey atmospheres backing them. Although the themes start to get a bit overused throughout the track, it is still one of my favorite songs on the album and a great track overall.

The Challenge is another rocking spacey track, with some cool riffing and atmospheric synth work. The bass line is the main attraction, with a nice rhythm behind it and a nice melodic forefront. Overall the song seems to repeat much of the same formula as the other songs, with a similar feel and atmosphere constructing the song. In the end it's not a bad track, but more another variation of the good songs that precede it. Summernight Symphony is by far the mellowest track on the album, with the strongest return to Eloy's spacey beginnings and psychedelic feel. The song is built on sublime melodies with a cool summer feel, raised up upon breezes of musical prosperity; the song is like a cool wind upon the back of trepidation, allowing the night sky to engulf the thoughts of the gazer and forget the woes he may have against the world. In the end, the track is another of my favorites, giving the album a fantastic feel for Eloy's true melodic quality.

Mystery, a continuation of some of the themes, both musically and lyrically, of The Secret, is the longest track on the album, both in physical length and the amount of material the band managed to shove into its nine minutes. Taking quite a long time to build up to anything, it serves more as filler than anything else, in my opinion. It contains slow and steady somewhat spacey riffing and atmospheres, sustained for nine minutes with little break. Melodically it lacks, with little variation in Bornemann's tone. Overall, this track is certainly not my favorite, with little to its name but its length.

Thoughts is the short ender, adorned with some mellow guitar chords and nice melodies. It ends the album on a nice mellow note, with some pleasant harmonies to its name.

ALBUM OVERALL: Visionary is an adequate return for Eloy. The seven songs that make up Visionary are all good in their own right, with admirable melodic qualities and a new hard rock sound that isn't found on much of Eloy's previous work, or at least to the extent of my knowledge. However, each of the seven songs also follow an almost identical formula, with similar feels and atmospheres, making for much of the album to sound alike, which can get a bit boring. In the end, Visionary is a good effort for the newly reformed band, with some really great passages and some equally low passages. The album really flattens out to an overall good album. 3+ stars.

Visionary is the latest to date Eloy album. Released in 2009 to me is likeable album all the way, but is to direct in aproach only here and there they remind me that they were space prog once. It's a melodic album with good pieces, nothing is fantastic here, a mature work that show Eloy is still in bussines after almost 4 decades on the baricades. Some hard rock moments here and there but combined with progressive complexity, shows that Eloy evaluate the music in a diffrent way, the result is ok but far from being excellent. A welcome come back afre almost a decade silece, Visionary besides a great cover art has some good moments overall with Eloy touch on every pieces but more on melodic side with out that bursting moments of previous albums. Keeping in mind that all musicins are almost in 60 of edge, this release is plent surprise. Overall good, nothing great nothing bad, 3 stars desearves for sure. Best track to me is The Challenge, is a spacey piece with memeorable musicianship, the rest are also good.

Visionary remarked the band's return into business after eleven years vacuum. The music still represents their original style with spacey keyboard drenched style backed with solid basslines and drumming. This album does not stand out as an excellent one even if you are a die hard fan of this Germany band. But it's good that Eloy still exist until now. The only track that I consider as excellent one is the third track 'Age of Insanity' as it has great melody, excellent harmonies and vibes reminiscing the original sound of Eloy with great flow, stunning keyboard solo. I think most of Eloy die hard fans would like this track very much. While the first two opening tracks are too loose in terms of composition and melody and they tend to be boring.

The Time to Turn Part 2 is basically a good one and it's still in line with Eloy musical style especially in its groovy psychedelic style. However this track is quite boring even as it starts - it's too simple as a composition. But I love the keyboard work. As the title implies this one is similar with Time To Turn, in fact the chorus line where the female vocal enters, is exactly the same. It's like weak in terms of originality as it lends some of the melody from vintage track. Mystery (The Secret, Part 2) is actually a good track as well - but again ...it's boring.

Overall ...it's still a good album by Eloy especially if you are a die hard fan of the band.

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

A decade later Eloy return with "Visionary" to celebrate their 40th Anniversary, and of course there was much anticipation with this return of one of the most beloved prog acts hailing from the 70s and continuing indefinitely it seems. The real question is whether this album will live up to the reputation of Eloy or will it flop dreadfully. I am delighted to report that this album is a real grower and features some incredible compositions, not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but this is one of the better releases of the recent Eloy albums. It is the consistent quality and effort put into every track that is most rewarding and at least 3 of these tracks deserve a listen by any progheads out there.

It begins with some subdued material in the form of a straight forward uptempo rocker 'The Refuge', with an AOR feel similar to the material on "The Tides Return Forever". The riffs are nothing special though there is some exceptional lead breaks from Bornemann. Hearing his distinct vocals is like returning to an old friend; Eloy are impoverished without this uniqueness. The renaissance flute here by Volker Kuinke works well to accompany the layers of synths.

'The Secret' is immediately back to the spacey quality of Eloy. It is a slow meandering song with far too many vocals and not enough symphonic key boards. I like the way the vocals though at first are processed to sound like vintage psychedelic prog. The feel is more poppier in the chorus and the uplifting melody is repeated ad infinitum and, as a result, becomes quite tiresome after an initial listen.

'Age of Insanity' is where the brilliance begins for me; a stunning song that I could hear over and over. This one has everything from the heavy guitar riffs to Michael Gerlach's beautiful synth lines. There is a powerful roaming bassline from Klaus-Peter Matziol that mesmirises. Bornemann even returns to his infamous narrations on this one, similar to "Ocean". The instrumental section is dynamic with Gerlach sizzling on keyboards creating stellar spacey soundscapes.

'The Challenge (Time to Turn part 2)' is the next highlight; space rock with an extraordinary rhythmic bassline driving it headlong. The loud synths are dramatic and pleasurable to the ear. There is a strong melody and it feels quite majestic, especially the way it builds in the chorus. It sounds purposely like the material on "Time to Turn" and this is a good thing. I love the way Anke Renner and Tina Lux's vocals balance out Bornemann's delivery. At 4:30 there is a welcome lead break, simple but organic with the bassline and sustained synths. The drumming on this by Bodo Schopf is also a step up from recent Eloy albums. Overall this is a spirited comeback thus far.

'Summernight Symphony' is the most symphonic feeling more like vintage Eloy of the 70s. The music is very measured like a cool summer breeze. There is a strong orchestration on keyboards and Bornemann's vocals are pleasant, with sweet-natured lyrics; "We share a dream enchanted by an overwhelming atmosphere, just you and I beneath the sky, side by side we're soaring high." The pretty melody works as a break from the rockier tracks previous.

'Mystery: The Secret part 2' is a continuum of part one but far better with more keyboard soloing to indulge in. The longest track on the album, Eloy attempt to throw in all of their patented ideas from previous albums but it doesn't come off as a highlight as sometimes less is more. However, it is still a decent composition, that could have been trimmed particularly the opening section that takes an eternity to get to its destination. The guitar riffs are nicely accomplished but Bornemann could have launched into a soaring lead break but restrains himself and yet this is a drawcard of his 70s musicianship, such as 'Castle in the Air' and 'Madhouse' that feature his guitar work at its finest.

'Thoughts' is a short acoustically driven conclusion but after a few slower songs it would have been beneficial to include an uptempo track to wake us up.

Overall, "Visionary" has a lot of merit to recommend it, and although it does not measure up to the adventurous classic 70s material it is still a great album. The band tend to steer clear of lengthy inventive soloing and opt instead for arena anthemic choruses and a plethora of vocals, and this is not necessarily a good thing. However, driven by melody and spacey atmospheres, it should appeal to Eloy fans and those who enjoy the mellow side of prog.

Eleven years after the band's previous studio album, "Ocean 2", the least that we can say is that Bornemann and co. did not take many risks with this new opus. "Visionary" contains conventional and smooth ELOY space rock compositions. Rather consensual, the songs have also been shortened. A noticeable change is the definitive reintegration of Hannes Folberth, ELOY's keyboardist from 1980 to 1984, and invited as a guest on "Ocean 2" for "Ro Setau".

The first two tracks incorporate flute. The melancholic "The Refuge" is an efficient soft space rock opener. Maybe the only true innovative passage, as it sometimes sounds like JETHRO TULL. Supported by modern rhythms, "The Secret" is rather calm and enjoyable, although a little long. "Age Of Insanity" is the most interesting track of the record. A punchy fantasy space prog composition featuring nice guitar and keyboards solos.

As its title suggests, "The Challenge (Time To Turn Part 2)" is a copycat of the eponymous title track of 1982's "Time to Turn" album. Not much to say about it, except that this variant is not very original. "Summernight Symphony" quite reminds PINK FLOYD's "Comfortably Numb" with its chord progression and hazy ambiance. The slow 9 minutes "Mystery" is the longest song of the record. Rather average, with not many variations, it fails to really lift off and does not justify its length. As a closing track, "Thougts" is a nice acoustic short piece with a pretty melody.

"Visionary" contains no real bad tracks, but no genuine surprises or memorable tracks either, except maybe "Age Of Insanity". For sure this new opus does not revolutionize ELOY's musical universe. However, despite its lack of originality and fantasy, this album is overall a pleasant listen.