DAY 2

I am usually suspicious about reunion albums by artists regardless of style or genre. Too many fall flat on their head, embarrassing themselves. It often leaves me with a money-grubbing bad taste in my mouth as it's clear they don't have it in them anymore. Remember Jefferson Aiplane in 1989? I remember "Planes" getting some minor radio airplay, and an unfavorable review in Rolling Stone (two and a half star rating, and named as "Most unwelcomed reunion in 1989" or something like that, in a different issue), and before 1989 even ended, no one was talking about it, as (although I never heard it, aside from "Planes") it was apparently a pretty bad album. Earthrise really has nothing to lose for a reunion as they really never got more recognition outside the NJ/Philadelphia-area they hail from, as their debut album only received a small pressing of 400 copies, only to end up as a major collector's item. They tried to reunite around 2002 and reissued their debut as a CD-R and attempted to record new material, but it seemed to have came to a halt. Until now. 2017 comes Day 2 with the same lineup that recorded the debut, Greg DiDinato, Kenn Pierog, and Bill Drobile, and trust me, these guys really did their homework, so instead of creating something embarrassing sounding like they no longer had it in them, that actually improved, which is a big shock! I love their debut, but this one has a more rock edge to it, without ever sacrificing the symphonic prog element. Guitars are more dominant, but Bill Drobile still provides wonderful keyboard work, with many vintage keyboards still being used like the Moog and Hammond organ, but he also includes sampled Mellotron (as I hadn't seen any photos of him with a real one) which is a nice addition. Only two songs use vocals, "Inside My Dream" and "The Challenge", but what blew me away is the vocals are still completely recognizable as the same band of 1977. That same 1970s American style prog vocals. Much of the jazz influence had disappeared, relegated to "Reverie" (still a great piece). Even the music has a '70s feel to it, sometimes I wondered if this was material that's been hanging around since the 1970s that they never got to record then, or it was brand new stuff. I can't believe I'm saying this, but not only is this one of the best reunions albums I have ever heard (given my low expectations, given how bad reunion albums frequently are by other artists, like the aforementioned 1989 Jefferson Airplane album), it's even better than their debut! If you have trouble finding this, visit Bandcamp. Really worth your time.

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