HERE IT IS

Instrumental symphonic prog from Germany with two keyboard players dominating. Some include Here It Is under Neo Prog for its use of very familiar ELP-, CAMEL-, and GENESIS-like structures and sounds.

1. "Venice" (4:31) a mix of FOCUS and GENESIS before turning ELP at the 2:00 mark. High quality sound and musicianship. (9/10)

2. "Breakthrough" (6:04) despite the very Mike Rutherford-sounding bass play, this song draws from other bands as well as the band's own originality. Could be American band HAPPY THE MAN. (9/10)

3. "Changing Scene" (9:17) opens with some GENESIS- but more CAMEL-sounding music; it's as if one keyboard player is trying to be TONY BANKS while the other PETER BARDENS or KIT WATKINS as the bass player does his MIKE RUTHERFORD thing. A nice song with pleasant melodies and challenging time and chord shifts but, in the end, it feels like an exercise in imitation--of Genesis and Camel. (18/20)

4. "Andy" (6:10) organ, cymbals, and synths open this before it turns neo-classical in a CAMEL/NEKTAR kind of way. The Hammond turns out to be the lead instrument in this ELP-like classically-influenced weave though a clavinet also plays an important roll. Some riffs and motifs are almost exact duplicates of ELP passages. The drumming sounds very much like Camel's Andy Ward. All in all this song feels more like a study of ELP. (8.75/10)

5. "Crowed" (12:42) a very CAMEL-like instrumental epic, with lots of sudden ELP-like shifts and passages with occasional TONY BANKS isms. (22.5/25)

6. "Encore" (0:33) high-energy RUSH-like outro. (4.5/5)

Total Time (with bonus material): 45:06

I really appreciate the wonderful clarity and distinctiveness of the sound engineering of this album.

4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music; an excellent album that probably deserves more credit for its outright symphonic composition instead of its influences and inspirations.