MAGENTALANE

This is definitely a pop album with some psychedelic approach. No one would argie that this band was heavily influenced by The Beatles and probably the early years of Pink Floyd. In terms of composition, all tracks were designed with straightforward structure: intro-verse-chorus-verse-outro or something similar like that. The use of acoustic guitar augmented with keyboard and vocal harmonies are the characteristics of Klaatu music. As for my taste, this album does not stimulate something emotionally. I feel that everything moves so flat from one track to another. Probably, there is only one track that has nice melody and vocal harmony, ie. "Maybe I'll Move To Mars". It does not necessarily mean that this is a bad album. I truly believe that the musicians have carefully made their best efforts to craft good music for all of us.

"A millions miles away" (3:45) is an acoustic guitar rhythm and keyboard music with vocal harmony and medium tempo style. "The love of a woman" (3:30) is typically an R&B music with string arrangements. The melody is quite nice for most people who like pop music. "Blue smoke" (4:38) is a pop-rock outfit in rock'n'roll style. "I don't wanna go home" (2:50) uses acoustic guitar fills and vocal harmonies. "December dream" (4:06) has melodic string quartet intro with mellow vocals. "Magentalane" (2:33) is Beatles influenced song with acoustic guitar fills and McCartney-Lennon style of vocal harmonies. "At the end of a rainbow" (3:25) and "Mrs. Toad's Cookies" (3:07) are also other Beatles influenced compositions. "Mrs. Toad's Cookies" reminds me to "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" by The Beatles.

Overall, this album is good for collectors who really want to have collections of vintage bands. The music of Klaatu has been mostly influenced by The Beatles. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW