THE INTERNATIONAL STORY

A live "best of" that satisfies even those that are not big German prog lovers... and that would be me.

Oh, I've listened to some Eloy (good Grobschnitt comparison) and others, but I'm not a big fan...so keep that in mind while reading along here. I like this album, though, for a few good reasons: The vocals (mostly English lyrics) are sung well with a slight accent, the dual guitarists are very good, and there are plenty of lush symphonic prog passages (and close to 160 minutes of music!). There is a theatrical, clownish side to some of their songs at times (think Nektar's "Down to Earth" cd), but those tend to be more the exception than the norm. Nice overview of the band's output, from early 70's thru early 80's - earlier stuff probably appealing more to seasoned prog lovers, while later stuff more for prog-pop enthusiasts. The first disc includes the 57-minute version of "Solar Music", along with two other epics that are equally enjoyable. The second disc starts out with 27 minutes of some excellent samples from the wonderful "Rockpommel's Land" cd, but the 1980's stuff that completes that disc is pretty good too. These cds come in an attractive digipack with an informational 16-page booklet about this band (who's name literally means "rough cut"). Worthy.