ANDROMEDA GIRL

Yeah, I know... look at that album cover. Unfortunate perhaps, and I did cringe a little when I first put it on, especially with the electronic drum sound and Jerney Kaagman's voice sounding a little more robotic and detached than it has in the past. If the prior album, "Reality Fills Fantasy" was their slick L.A. soft rock album, then this one is their new wave album. Can't really blame them for trying to keep up with the times - just because it's not cool now doesn't mean it never was.

And while I concede this album does have a few disposable tracks, it's also got some real winners that rank among my favorite Earth and Fire tracks. The opening song, "Dream", has a deceptively complex melodic line, a neat piano theme (sounds like a real piano, anyway) between the verses, and a well-executed vocal by Kaagman. It's pure pop, but you can tell these guys still haven't lost their prog chops. "Singer in the Rain" has a very predictable synth riff underpinning it, but undergoes a beautiful transformation in the chorus that still surprises me. "What More Could You Desire" is an admittedly pretty funny synthesized "tough rocker", but dang, it's not bad at all.

Then there's the title track, "Andromeda Girl". At 11 minutes long, it's often seen as the "last remaining gasp" of prog from a decent prog band who took a long painful fall. Which I think is very unfair. I really don't think they were ever a prog band per se. From the start they were a pop band, and an excellent one at that, as evidenced by their stunning series of singles released in the 1970s. This pop band tried on some prog for size, wore that hat for a while, decided to get a little funky, then dabbled in disco and Europop... all perfectly valid avenues for a 1970s band to take. But because (outside of Holland, anyway) they're mainly known as a prog band for the 2-3 albums they made in that vein, everything else that isn't in that style is written off as if the band stopped caring and just decided to sell out. Not so! They deserve more respect than that. Accept them for what they are: a talented Dutch pop band with ambition and a willingness to embrace contemporary styles.

Anyhoo, back to the title track. Have you ever heard of Flash and the Pan? How about Sparks? This lengthy two-part epic reminds me of those bands -- stiff, quirky, synthesized art rock. Beginning as a fully orchestrated number, with Jerney putting in one of her sweetest vocals ever (in stark contrast to the more new wavey sound of the rest of the album), this is baroque orchestrated pop that I just love. The second 2/3 of the song introduces a fast tempo and a little less melodic interest, but don't let anyone tell you it's disco. I swear, you could put this back to back with a "cool" Sparks or Flash and the Pan song and no one would be the wiser. Excellent track.

The remaining tracks aren't much to scream about, but this album with the unfortunate cover has enough good-to-great songs to warrant an easy 3 out of 5.