THREE PARTS TO MY SOUL

DR. Z were a trio out of the UK led by keyboardist Keith Keyes who composed and produced the only album they would release in 1971. This really is different from anything I have heard before. Many mention that it's dark and while that may be true of the lyrics that touch on the occult and the evil of mankind, I would suggest the instrumental work isn't dark at all but it is different.

Piano, harpsichord and beats lead the way instrumentally and what is specifically different is the aggressive harpsichord play. Militaristic, played in anger(haha) hard to say but dominant when combined with piano and percussion. Vocals add to the mystery as they are almost sinister sounding at times and without question lots of character and done by Keith Keyes.

This isn't a bad album by any means but for me three stars fits the bill perfectly. We get a couple of long tracks at almost 11 and 12 minutes respectively. I like that they tried some different stuff here besides the harpsichord play like the wind blowing to end "Too Well Satisfied" that continues long into the the closer "In A Token Of Despair"(such a sad song). Or the gong to end "Summer For The Rose" or the heartbeat to end "Spiritus, Manes Et Umbra". We get what sounds like flute on "Burn In Anger" although it isn't credited.

Certainly this one-off is different but this just isn't my music. A lot of negativity and sadness here.