ZOUP

1. "Zoup" (7:14) great groove that feels as if it is really just the bare bones for something great--like a tame, two-dimensional Ozric Tentacles or Jean-Luc Ponty. They try hard--especially when Martin Kasper's keyboards join in--but it's just not enough. (13/15)

2. "Rainy May" (3:36) vocals! (8.66667/10)

3. "Überstürzter Aufbruch" (4:45) nice drumming as well as electric guitar solos in the third and fourth minutes. REminds me a lot of the MANNA / MIRAGE albums Dave Newhouse has been putting out over the past ten years. (8.75/10)

4. "Weit und Breit" (4:19) pleasant enough but not very exciting. (8.66667/10)

5. "Twisted" (4:57) more singing over pretty straightforward near-pop rock music. (8.5/10)

6. "Norwegen Dia" (5:04) like a remake of a ROLLING STONES song ("Satisfaction") or Tom PETTY. Cool mid-section: groove, rhythm gtr and lead synths. (8.75/10)

7. "A Skyful of Veils" (4:26) nice, fairly original song, but still in a raw, "unfinished" state. (8.7/10)

8. "Plain Vanilla" (4:38) I thought (with no little excitement and anticipation) this was going to be an homage to the pair of Focus songs, "Soft Vanilla" and "Hard Vanilla" from 1975's Mother Focus, but it's not. Still it is one of the more polished albeit bluesy songs on the album with multiple layers of interesting things going on at once. (8.75/10)

9. "Bikinian Rhapsody" (4:10) definitely dreamy, island-like music. Could've/should've been developed more. (8.7/10)

10. "Aus allen Wolken" (4:08) The main melody in the chorus sections (coming from the fretless bass) sounds so much like THE POLICE's "Wrapped Around Your Finger." (8.75/10)

11. "Norwegen Dia" (Acoustic Version) (5:07) another song using an old Smooth Jazz Pop remake/cover melody line. (8.6666667/10)

Total Time 51:24

An album that sounds like a bunch of old guys getting together occasionally to jam, occasionally liking one of their jams well enough to process, produce, and release it. The work of both the drummer and the bass player are quite solid and often interesting.

B-/3.5 stars; a very pleasant easy-listening album that many older prog lovers may love but, for all intents and purposes, offers nothing new or exciting to the lexicon of progressive rock music.

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