MADISON DYKE

The songs are pretty good. Cooking time of an egg is a small gemstone of a song. Short and sweet. The rest is OK, without being diamonds. It is actually a pity that Madison Dyke only released one album. I wonder what they may had come up with if they had continued. If this album is to judge the band by, they were not in the same class as Triumvirat or Eloy. But they were OK. But OK is perhaps not enough in today's music world.

3 stars

The opening cut "First Step", builds slowly and atmospherically with plenty of mellotrons and other keys before the flute enters and the "song" begins. The music is tuneful and ranges from raucous riffs to gentle passages, often with little transition yet sounding quite natural. "Cooking Time of an Egg" is a delightful mellow piece with plenty of acoustics, delicate flutes, winsome vocals, and a subtle melody. It reminds me of Hackett's "The Virgin and the Gypsy" which it nonetheless pre-dates. "Next Conceptions" starts off even folkier but quickly becomes a Jane-like affair particularly in the style of lead guitars and the manner in which they are framed by mellotron. Even the vocals recall Jane, yet Madison Dyke somehow seem more genuinely symphonic and less bluesy.

The title cut clocks in at over 16 minutes and contains some more interesting dynamics, such as the highly melodic opening lead guitar lines, a rollicking bass, and expertly inserted and syncopated vocals which are semi-spoken at times. The later part features some nostalgic moog runs. Even if the track is a bit too lengthy for its import, it's still a winner.

The bonus tracks are a mixed bag with "Walkin" being in a straight rock style and not particularly interesting, and "Dice-box" could have fit in well on the original album, and features clever yet accessible changes of rhythm and a certain hard rock sensibility juxtaposed to their trademark flutes.

Madison Dyke produced an excellent album for its time, on par with what many of its longer lived contemporaries were doing. Recommended for fans of German symphonic prog.

The opening track "First step" (10:05) has too long and repetitive mellotron work in spacey style. Because it's too long, it makes me "bored". Luckily the melody is quite okay when the lead singer starts to enter the music. There is nothing so skillful in terms of each member's skills that is obvious from the song. The melody line reminds me to the music of Camel. "Cooking time of an egg" (4:09) (what a title! - does not sound prog at all) starts off with a simple guitar fills overlaid by flute work. The whole song is basically an exploration of guitar fills, flute and vocal. "Next conceptions" (6:18) sounds like a continuation of "Cooking time of an egg" as it starts with acoustic guitar work and flute during introduction. The music flows in Camel style with mellotron, guitar and bass.

"Zeitmaschine" (16:40) is the concluding track which serves as an epic. The band has tried to make the song as epic as possible as it was common trend at that time. Unfortunately this epic fails to manage the cohesiveness of each music segments into one thing. Each transition does not sound natural, there are chords and notes that are forced to fit the song. The double guitarist line-up does not help improve the whole track. The bass lines are not that inventive and tend to be annoying. However, this is not a bad epic, it's just lacking on some elements of composition.

This album serves good for those of you who want to make a journey to the past. The past when all of it began and nourished, during the glory days of the 70s. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW