ATLANTIS

Tuneful and rather seductive is Earth and Fire's Atlantis, a big heavenly album full of bright vocals and blithesome atmosphere you'd expect from Yes at their most trippy, the Beach Boys, and the distinctive Northern European affectations later heard in Isildurs Bane. The sweeping nine part title is a well-planned collection of movements that samples symphonic rock, ersatz folk, romantic pop and Giorgio Moroder-like drama. Jerney Kaagman's soaring voice captivates all the way through the album with the Koertz Bros. firm compositions and more than competent vocal harmonies. 'Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight' is a good meeting of pop songsmithing with ELP's pageantry, and things slow way down for lugubrious 'Interlude' and 'Fanfare', helped by chiming 'Themes From Atlantis' as it parades proudly.

Not necessarily something to put on the wish list but the music is satisfying generally, and Holland's Earth and Fire represents a time when this kind of grandness was, at least in Europe, welcomed by many with open arms.