TIME TO TURN

Time To Turn was always one of my favorite Eloy albums of all time. Although I only owned this CD in 2003, I´ve been listening to it constantly since then. The similarities with the cover of their previous one, Planets, is not a coincidence, since Time... is the continuation of the same sci fi story. Likewise, the music here is - not surprisingly - quite similar too, although the guitar has more room to appear (even if Hannes Folberth´s synths are still overwhelming). It is also interesting to see how much clavinet-like sounds are found among the keyboards, making this album very out of synch with the general plastic production of the 80´s. It might have come up oddly by the time, but its elegant and futuristic timbres also gave it a timeless aura to both records that we seldom ever heard of anything released at the period.

The band in general, but Frank Bornemann in particular, are in fine form and full of inspiration. Which is quite strange since prog rock was much a has been in 1982: it was released before Marillion´s Script For A Juster´s Tear and the whole neo prog movement show the world that symphonic prog was very much alive and well (and marketable). The success fo this record and the title song were a very nice surprise for all progheads around the world (believe it or not, it was actually played on the radio in my hometown in Brazil). Ok, Time to Turn (the song) owns a lot to Pink floyd´s earlier hit Another Brick On The Wall, but sitll is a great song, with clever lyrics and a female chorus that enhances the powerful melody line.

As with the previous record, Time To Turn has no weak tracks and I like to hear it form beginning to end without skipping a single track. The CD has a great unified feeling that is even slightly superior to the one I felt on Planets. The line up had a small, but significantly, change: out goes english born drummer Jim McGillivray, in comes a returning Fritz Randow (who had left at the time of The Power And the Passion). The Planets saga finishes with a rare acoustic song Say, Is It Really True. A very nice ending for one of the finest concept albums of that era.

With an excellent prodcution, the album still sounds fresh and exciting after all these years. One of the very few early 80´s works that stood the test of time so well.

Rating: 4,5 stars. Highly recommended!