ODIN

In local mailing list, i-Rock! googlegroups, one of the members posted a question about Odin couple of weeks ago. I then checked with my review at this site because I was so sure that I wrote one altogether with CZAR (because I got the CD of these two bands almost at the same time). In fact I have not reviewed it here. I then decided to spin the CD. What I experienced was - in the middle of spinning relatively new prog CDs like ACT "Silence" - having a full nuance of 70s sound where the sonic quality was predominantly midrange and less treble and bass. But, I do enjoy vintage analog record even though the hi-fi quality is not that good. It represents the sound of 70s really. The CD sleeve is also quite minimum as it contains one folded paper as cover which copies the LP cover, I think. The CD was reproduced in 2000 by Living In The Past, Germany. Thanks God, I can now enjoy a true 70s music in its raw form.

The album starts with "Life Is Only" (10:55) which has a combination of hard-rock and symphonic prog composition. Ray Brown, the bass player, plays his instrument dynamically and it lays strong rhythm section coupled with stunning guitar solo by Rob Terstall. The vocal department has two singers : Rob Terstall and Ray Brown. The beuty of this song is its structure - not quite straight forward, in fact it has multi styles - as well as Hammond / keyboard work. The keyboard work reminds me to vintage rock music. Next is a short instrumental track "Tribute To Frank" (1:58) which has vibraphone work and a bit reminds me to Gentle Giant but with less complex arrangement.

"Turnpike Lane" (3:43) is basically an instrumental track because the singers are basically not singing any lyrics, as they do singing ini "aaaa . aaa.." instead of lyrical verses. The key characteristic is the combined vocal and guitar work. I do enjoy the stunning guitar solo in the middle of the track. Oh yeah, the bass lines are as usual, excellent! "Be The Man You Are" (2:45) is basically a ballad and I don't favor this track - because it has repetitive and boring chords.

"Gemini" (8:54) is another proggy (sort of) track. The music reminds me to bands like Frumpy, Atlantis or Babe Ruth but the vocal quality is similar to Cuby + Blizzards (Dutch) blues band. The structure of the song is basically hard-rock but the keyboard work combined with guitar solo remind me to symphonic prog kind of music. In terms of composition, this is as good as opening track "Life is Only". The soaring keyboard work that accompanies guitar solo is really nice. Having played as rhythm section, the keyboard performs its solo like Jon Lord performs in Deep Purple.

Overall, Odin has laid down quite a solid debut album. It has good songwriting, arrangement and performance. Unfortunately this was the only album they have ever produced and was only distributed in Germany. It's recommended to all of you who want to explore prog music in the old days - vintage prog rock. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

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