SECOND SMILE

3,5 stars really!! Brainstorm is commonly associated with Canterbury bands but IMO too much is made of that because there are some elements but it is hardly the majority.

This second album holds many different styles mostly reminding you of Lizard-era Crimson for the opening track. In the third track you could swear Wyatt is on vocals and Ratledge on kb but halfway thru you jumped into a different planet. The last track Monroe holds a long monologue that could be tiring after repeated listenings. There Was A Time is probably were Brainstorm develops their personality best and happens to be my fave. For once, the bonus track is not bothering the untity of the album but it does not bring that much more.

Enjoyable album but no must-have either.

BRAINSTORM's second and final studio album is even better than the debut in my opinion. Actually Roland the sax player also states that "Second Smile" is a definite improvement on the debut. You can obviously tell from my rating that I love this record. It was re- issued by the Garden Of Delights label. On the debut album the band had no bass player as Roland (sax) and Rainer (flute) took turns playing it instead. On this second album they brought in the bass player from JUD'S GALLERY named Enno Dernov who also plays guitar on one track. All the music and lyrics are original except for the lyrics on the song "There Was A Time" which were written originally by SANTANA vocalist Leon Thomas for Pharoah Sanders. Hey we even get some mellotron on one track this time.

"Himwind" opens with atmosphere that gradually intensifies. It settles back and vocal melodies come in around 2 minutes then it kicks in. Great sound here. I like the flute and mellotron. Guitar to the fore after 4 1/2 minutes then it settles back with vocal melodies to end it. Amazing opener right there. "Herbst" is led by acoustic guitar and flute. Beautiful stuff. It picks up 2 1/2 minutes in. "My Way" is led by reserved vocals and atmosphere early on. Vocal melodies before 2 minutes as it picks up. So good. The guitar is abrasive 3 1/2 minutes in. Vocals are back around 6 minutes as it calms down. More abrasive guitar then it picks up. Killer stuff.

"Aftenzahn" has a good instrumental intro, in fact the whole song sounds incredible. Flute leads after 2 1/2 minutes as keys pulsate. Guitar and bass standout before 4 minutes. "There Was A Time" has liquid keys and drums to start. Sax and bass join in, and I should mention that the sounds are sparse at first. It picks up around 2 minutes with sax. Great sound.Vocals after 3 minutes. Love the distorted organ 5 minutes in. Sax leads after 6 1/2 minutes to end it. Man every song sounds so good. "Marilyn Munroe" is a laid back vocal track at first.It picks up around 2 1/2 minutes but not for long as spoken words take over. This is so cool. It's picking up before 5 1/2 minutes before settling back with vocals.

It seems that the album cover from the debut has turned a lot of people against this band which is a shame because these guys are brilliant musicians and they play a style that I just can't get enough of.