KENSO II

KENSO were an interesting band out of Japan, releasing a dozen studio albums or so from 1980 to 2014. I have a handful of their records, and this second release from 1982 along with "Fabulis Mirabilibus..." from 2002(20 years later) are my favourites. Listed here under Jazz/Fusion this band really dips their toes in the Symphonic sub-genre along with Prog-Rock in general.

Yoshihisa Shimizu the guitarist and second keyboardist composed all the music here, well except for "Four Holes In The Ground" a bonus track and PFM cover done live. I don't usually comment on bonus tracks but this is faithful to the original and it's just too much fun and almost 8 minutes long. They are a five piece with guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and flute. Some guest vocals and woodwinds as well.

And when I say Symphonic you need to check out the opener "Shining In The Sky" which is the best example of that. A beautiful sounding piece with the synths and majestic melodies. The best Fusion reference is "Brand Shiko" which is a nod to BRAND X, and I mean you would think it was really them playing. The closer is called "Goodbye Prog" and remember this is 1982, and when bands or people said that back then they were actually watching it happen.

A relatively short record at 38 minutes that just draws me in. There's something uplifting about this recording, it's always a pleasure spinning it. A mood changer this one.