3:47 E.S.T. [AKA: KLAATU]

I consider myself a prolific progressive rock fan who has already covered most of the classic years material and am now looking forward at the movement's future. With that in mind, I was quite surprised when a colleague at work asked if I knew a little '70s act called Klaatu. After a quick search on ProgArchives it turned out that Klaatu had indeed somewhat of a following, especially their second album Hope which seemed to stand up as their masterpiece.

Since I found the 1999 two album compilation called Two Classic Albums From Klaatu on Spotify, that featured Klaatu's two first albums, I decided to hear them in the chronological order. 3:47 E.S.T. starts off with the gorgeous ballad titled Calling Occupant Of Interplanetary Craft and it's quite understandable why most people associate Klaatu (or The Carpenters) with this composition. California Jam and Sub Rosa Subway prolong my enjoyment for a few more minutes until we finally dive into the sea of completely forgettable material. It's not that songs like True Life Hero or Doctor Marvello are hideous in any way and a few more spins made me discover some of their charm. Unfortunately the album as a whole doesn't manage to hold together all that well due to constant shifts between the Beatles sounding compositions to pure rock & roll numbers. It's clear that Klaatu still haven't found this style on 3:47 E.S.T., luckily it wasn't long until they actually did!

Even though I can't feel sorry for the fact that Klaatu arrived too late to a scene that was flourishing in the early '70s and that was almost completely dead by 1976, their debut has a few great tracks that most fans of the '70s sound will enjoy. Still, it's really no use to pity such a great act, especially considering how well they managed to bounce back with their followup release!

***** star songs: Calling Occupant Of Interplanetary Craft (7:14)

**** star songs: California Jam (3:01) Sub Rosa Subway (4:36) Little Neutrino (8:25)

*** star songs: Anus Of Uranus (3:16) True Life Hero (3:25) Doctor Marvello (3:37) Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III (3:22)