The fourth Momentaufnahme album, and probably the last as I feel like now the band is kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel with these archival releases.

You can only do so much of these albums before you kind of run out of juice, that's why this is probably one of the only Momentaufnahme records that I consider to be 'mid'. Not bad like the first one, but this certainly doesn't end this little saga of albums with a bang.

A lot of the songs here are pretty alright. I wouldn't say any of them are too bad, aside from Schwindebek III and Beglückte Schlagbohrmaschine, but also there is nothing I'd call stellar. I think 25 Yellow Doors and Das Meer might be a bit better than most of the tracks here, mainly because they are a bit interesting compared to the rest of the record. We Are The Hollow Men is also neat, almost having this proto-hip hop beat and rhythm, which I think is pretty funny since years later they would actually make a rap album. There are certainly no boring songs on here, but I do not think I quite like them as much as other songs that Faust has made.

Apologies for the more negative review, it's just I think the band is running the well dry here, and I kind of want to see more actual new recordings from them, rather than stuff that was put on shelves 50 years ago. At least this year they did release a live version of Border River off of ,,Daumenbruch'', which is pretty neat.

Best tracks: 25 Yellow Doors, Das Meer, We Are The Hollow Men

Worst tracks: Schwindebek III, Beglückte Schlagbohrmaschine

I've never been certain why this album has always, since I acquired it in 1978, maintained a very high place on my all- time list of Favorite Albums, but now, after examining it from the critical perspective of a music reviewer I think I have a better grasp of it.

1. "The Woods" (4:23) a wonderfully atmospheric, psychedelic, even appropriately-comedic collection of sounds and melodies to open Chick's 1977 rendering of Charles Dodgson's famous story. What a great, perfect opening (overture). Like a soundtrack to a book-on-tape. (10/10) 2. "Tweedle Dee" (1:10) piano and cello & strings; sounds very much like one of Yo-Yo- Ma and Edgar Meyer's "Goat Rodeo" pieces from the 21st Century. (5/5)

3. "The Trial" (1:43) Gayle Moran's singing of The Queen Hearts' famous line "Who stole the tarts was it the Kind of Hearts?" is fittingly quite annoying. Perfectly appropriate for this story! (5/5)

4. "Humpty Dumpty" (6:27) great jazz jam that sounds coming from Chick's piano, Eddie Gomez's double bass, Steve Gadd's drums, and Joe Farrell's tenor saxophone that feels more based in the realm of true jazz due to the double bass play but, it does cross over into the J-R Fusion style with Farrell's sax style and Gadd's nuanced drumming palette. The song also does kind of an "overture" job of presenting melody themes that will come up (repeatedly) in later songs. Awesome high-energy, melodic jazz piece! Man are these artists skilled and talented! One of the most tightly composed and performed (recorded) songs I've ever heard! (10/10)

5 "Prelude to Falling Alice" (1:19) Chick's piano, strings, metal percussives, and Gayle Moran (and, later, horns) present the ephemeral framework of the song that follows. (5/5)

6. "Falling Alice" (8:17) Horns are the opening mood and melody setter for this before Gayle brings us into the story. Chick's electronic keyboard play in the instrumental solo sections is at its absolute best but Gayle Moran, Joe Farrell (and the horn section), Eddie Gomez, and Steve Gadd's contributions make this one of my absolute favorite J-R Fuse songs of all-time. It's even better than any RTF song! (20/20)

7. "Tweedle Dum" (2:54) Chick's piano with the strings complement (with Jamie Faunt on double bass) and Gayle Moran's ghost-like vocalise make this an excellent buffer between the album's two highlights. (1010)

8. "Dear Alice" (13:06) Chick's piano arpeggio provides all the support necessary for both Eddie Gomez and Chick's right hand (not to mention Steve Gadd's amazing subtle support on the drum kit) to issue forth two minutes of some of the finest soloing you'll ever hear. At 2:45, Gayle returns to move forward the Alice story before stepping back to allow one awesome flute solo from Joe Farrell (while Chick, Eddie, and Steve continue to provide their amazingly nuanced support.) I LOVE Chick's rhythmic Latin melodies in the background! At 6:40 we bridge into Chick's turn at the lead. It takes a few cycles for him to warm up, but once he gets cooking in the (eighth minute) it's epic! And the support from and Joe, Eddie, and especially Steve is phenomenal. While not quite as mind-blowingly perfect as "Falling Alice" this is, for me, another highlight of the Jazz-Rock Fusion's "Classic Era." Steve's drum play over the final two minutes not only rivals, in my opinion, that of the famous "Aja" sequence but surpasses it! (24/25)

9. "The Mad Hatter Rhapsody" (10:50) Chick and Herbie going toe-to-toe using some of the album's previous themes and patterns. Chick is on piano and Herbie is playing a Fender Rhodes with Eddie, Steve Gadd, and the Joe Farrell-led horns (mixed masterfully with Chick's synth horns) bringing us a rollicking race-track tune with great solos from Chick's Minimoog, Herbie's Fender, The rhythm section is so tight--even when the dance rhythm turns slightly Disco! I'm not crazy about the little Latin motif in the eighth minute, but I LOVE the way they tie it up with Gayle taking us back to the "main melody" of the Alice songs. (19.25/20)

This is an album that I find so hard to find fault with. It may not be as free and unstructured as Bitches Brew or the Mwandishi albums but this musicianship of the very highest order as well as inspired compositional genius. It will be of no surprise to me if the metric ratings for this one come out extremely high.

A+/five stars; one of the finest jazz, jazz-rock fusion, or prog albums I've ever heard/known. In a rather unexpected twist of fate, The Mad Hatter is my highest rated and one of my Top 10 Favorite J-R Fuse albums of the "Classic Era"!

Drummer Billy Cobham's sophomore effort at bandleader.

1. "Spanish Moss - A Sound Portrait" : - a. "Spanish Moss" (4:11) human-generated wind sounds (synths and cymbals and gongs) open this one before the whole band jumps into a highway-driving cruise through New Jersey or the Taconic Parkway. Beautiful scenery A gorgeously-constructed song with subtle and heavily-nuanced performances from all of the performers--especially Billy, Lee Pastora, and keyboard artist George Duke. (9.25/10) - b. "Savannah The Serene" (5:14) some gentle drums and bass over which Randy Brecker solos in the first minute. I adore John Williams' sensitive bass play on this song. Also George Duke's expert and mature--and innovative-- keyboard work. (9.75/10) - c. "Storm" (2:52) George Duke wind synth washes with Billy's heavily-flanged tom-tom and cymbal play taking over in the second half of the first minute. Interesting. Did Billy have fun with this? In the end, it must have been hard to feel satisfied. (8.75/10) - d. "Flash Flood" (5:08) how could this movement be from the same suite as the previous experimental piece? Musically, they have seemingly nothing to do with one another. At the same time, the polyphonic and polyrhythmic Latin rhythms and horns are wonderful. John Abercrombie's heavily-effected electric guitar solo in the third and fourth minutes is unfortunately contrasted with "real time" Fender Rhodes and, thereby almost lost. Too bad cuz it's a rather nice solo. (9/10)

2. "Pleasant Pheasant" (5:21) constructed over a funk bass line with clavinet and Fender Rhodes and straightforward drumming we get solos from Michael Brecker on sax and then Randy. It's a solid brass rock instrumental with great pace and energy but, unfortunately, it's just one of those songs that feel like they're a dime a dozen; nothing special here except for solid performances. In my opinion a 35-minute album should showcase new and exciting musical ideas not just high quality renditions of things that have already been done. (8.5/10)

3. "Heather" (8:40) very soft and mellow atmosphere, like something for late night radio, created by George Duke's sensitive Fender Rhodes play and John Williams' bass while Billy accompanies without drawing any attention to himself. Michael Brecker's sax gets the first solo--and a thing of beauty it is. Then George gets to tinkle the upper ivories of his Fender while Billy begins to show a little more life beneath--for a minute, but then everybody just kind of backs off--including the soloist! Again: It jsut feels kind of strange (and wastefful) to dedicate almost nine of your 35 minutes to a song of this minimal dynamic I mean, I get the textural nuance and maturity of restraint it takes to perform--and feel this kind of music, but when your reputation comes from being one of the most talented and dynamic drummers who ever held sticks, this seems a waste. (Kudos to Billy and George for having the courage to incorporate this one into their album--and to Columbia Records for sponsoring it!) (17.375/20)

4. "Crosswind" (3:42) Lee Pastora comes out on top with regards to who draws the most of my attention on this one. (Which is a backhanded way of saying, "What a waste!") (8.5/10)

Total time 35:08

I have to admit to being quite disappointed in having given this album so much of my attention today--this despite some fine work from innovative keyboard artist George Duke and rock solid performances from the Brecker Brothers. Billy gave up a lot of prestige to offer this to what I expect was his expectant fan base. After such a fine start with the wonderful Spanish Moss sound portrait, the rest just didn't live up to the same standard of dynamism.

B+/four stars; an inconsistent album of jazz-rock fusion in which a ridiculously-average or overly-subtle Side Two failed to live up to the expectations set by the wonderful Side One suite.

Bass guitar legend Stanley Clarke's debut foray as a band leader.

1. "Vulcan Princess" (4:00) great whole-band jazz-rock with horn section and a bit of the RTF feel in the rhythm section. How to find fault with this? Maybe it lacks a little in the melody side. And drummer "Anthony" (Tony) Williams doesn't get much chance to shine. (9.25/10)

2. "Yesterday Princess" (1:41) slowed down for Stanley's vocals. (4.75/5)

3. "Lopsy Lu" (7:03) another song which amply displays Stanley, Bill Connors, and Jan Hammer's skills but seems to severely restrain those of Tony Williams. The musicians all feel at such ease that at times it feels as if they're kind of just dialing in their performances--especially Jan By the time we get to the fifth minute it's feeling like a drawn out version of JEFF BECK's "Freeway Jam" (which, I know, came out later). Tony finally gets to show off a bit in the sixth minute but even there it feels dialed in. (13/15)

4. "Power" (7:20) okay, finally Tony Williams gets to show his stuff! A full minute of just him, tout seul! When the rest of the band joins in they settle into a fairly (and surprisingly) steady funk pattern of surprising simplicity. Its spaciousness allows plenty of room for Bill's rhythm guitar and Jan's soloing to be heard even if Stanley's four chord bass line is getting really old. Luckily, he begins to change things up--add riffs and plucks--while the electric guitar and Moog take turns playing around up front. Tony is steady but even he gets lots of room to embellish and fill while Stanley seems to hold down the fort--until the sixth minute, that is, when he starts to get antsy. Then there is a shift in motif at 5:30, this one shifting Stanley's gear up a notch or two as Bill and Jan (now on electric piano) trade solos. This section sounds much more like that which is to come in the next RTF albums. (13.25/15)

5. "Spanish Phases for Strings & Bass" (6:26) opening with two minutes of impressive acoustic bass play, Stanley stops and then Michael Gibbs' string section joins in for a bit to support Stanley, but then disappearing while Stanley goes back to exploratory improvisation on his now-electric bass. Another bridge at 4:15 of strings before Stanley unleashes a fury of chord strumming. I can see how this song might be very exciting and inspiring for other bass players--aspiring and otherwise. I only wish there had been more time committed to interplay/layering of the bass with/within the strings. (13.375/10)

6. "Life Suite" : - "Part I" (1:51) time-keeping piano left hand with bowed double bass and full orchestra. (4.75/5) - "Part II" (4:12) and now we're off to the races. Awesome orchestral support. And bass play. Becomes very Chick Corea-sounding as it goes on. About halfway through there is a switch in motifs as a gentle Latin foundation settles in with very engaging bass and rhythm guitar play over which Jan Hammer performs a very Chick-Corea-like Moog solo. Love the horn accents. (9.125/10) - "Part III "(1:03) a return to swirling piano play with strings and bowed double bass carrying the main melody. (4.75/5) - "Part IV" (6:41) gently repetitive rhythm track once again allows for space for other instruments to solo and for accents and flourishes for those instruments waiting in the wings (for their turns). Bill Connor's first solo builds and builds into what sounds so much like the solos that Al Di Meola will become so celebrated for--and he gets over three minutes to perform! At first warming into his space and spotlight, his solo becomes something for the ages. Now I think I finally understand why this guy is so revered! Even Tony Williams' drumming seems almost lame in support and comparison! Jan Hammer gets the final minute to solo but this has really been a Bill Connors display--and a very giving and selfless act of band leader Stanley Clarke to offer up. (9.75/10)

Total Time 40:31

This is Stanley's album but don't miss Bill Connors' work in the final movement of the "Life Suite."

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion.

— First review of this album —

Tangle took form in 2019 in Bergamo with the aim of experimenting with new sounds drawing inspiration from jazz rock, fusion, prog rock and artists such as Porcupine Tree, Plini or The Aristocrats. The name of the band refers to their compositional style in which they blend many genres to play a music that, in their own words, is "rich in variations, dynamic excursions and tempo changes". After a good live activity on the local scene, in 2023 they self-released an interesting debut album, entitled "Entangled", with a line up featuring Fulvio Marcarini (guitar), Manuele Mariani (bass), Francesco Locatelli (keyboards, synthesizers) and Matteo Locati (drums). It's a completely instrumental work that tries to evoke images, suggestions or stories in the listener and the art cover gives an idea of the musical content...

The beautiful opener "Splash" begins with a slow pace and a dark, threatening atmosphere that might recall Goblin's Profondo Rosso but after a couple of minutes the deep red colour turns into pink giving room to a section that reminds me of panther walking out from a cartoon on the notes of famous theme by Henry Mancini. Then it's the turn of a rock part with the electric guitar in the forefront before pulsing bass lines and powerful organ waves take the lead for a vibrant finale...

The frenzied "Chronicles Of A Chicken Thief" is a short piece that might recall bands such as Calibro 35 or La Batteria and the soundtracks of "poliziotteschi" films, a subgenre of crime and action films that was very popular in Italy in the seventies, full of scenes of car chases and bloody shootings...

The mysterious "Arrakis" features Eastern influences and is named after a fictional desert planet featured in the "Dune" series of novels by Frank Herbert. The music seems to invite you on a journey across exotic landscapes to experience a dangerous cosmic adventure...

The dreamy "Restless" starts with a nervous drum pattern, then goes through many changes in rhythm and mood with classical inspired piano arpeggios and Latin guitar solos à la Santana, calm passages and a final surge of dark energy...

"Kizaru" is a colourful piece with strong funky influences. The title refers to a character from the manga and anime "One Piece", a Navy admiral who appears as a careless, absent and forgetful man, usually speaks in a very calm and composed manner and never gets upset, even when faced with problematic situations, in which he often feigns fear or amazement in a sarcastic way...

"Hoketi Poketi" begins with funky bass lines in the forefront that conjure up the funny magic of a 1963 animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney, "The Sword In The Stone", and that seems to depict a very strange way of packing your bags for a fantastic trip to unknown realms...

"Red Sky" begins with a dreamy piano pattern soon submerged by a threatening rhythm and dark atmospheres. When the storm calms down an almost romantic section follows, classically inspired, that leads to a new dawn full of hope and good intentions...

On the whole, an interesting work that deserves a try.

The third and final album from this stellar group of brass rock musicians.

1. "Weird Music No. 1" (5:38) as if trying to meld several style/traditions together at once--over a kind of Spanish foundation. Weird? Yes. Remarkable. Also yes. Great (and inventive) horn arrangements with the weird synth (and keyboard) work of Wally Yohn. I love the big horn build up around the four-minute mark before backing off for bass and tubular bells to fill beneath as more weird keyboard sounds gradually join in. Interesting. (8.875/10)

2. "Run Back To Mama" (3:11) a BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS revival/update song. (8.75/10)

3. "Twinkles" (7:12) swirling piano arpeggi with beautifully melodic flugelhorn soloing over the top. bass and drums join in in the second minute. At the four minute mark everybody backs out so that the bass player, Dartanyan Brown, can have an extended solo all on his own. The others slowly rejoin in the fifth minute, at first in support but then merging into a variation of the song's original Alice Coltrane-like motif. (13.25/15)

4. "Bochawa" (5:47) uptempo blues-rock music with weird synth and support from the band of horns. Nice horn solos between two trumpets as the other trumpets accent and support from behind. The song builds and builds in intensity into the fourth minute before a very funky Hammond organ solo takes over the lead. The horn section gradually rejoin--at first as if far in the background, but then stepping closer and closer to the front. Pretty cool stuff! Did I mention how great the bass and drums are? It seems as if everybody is screaming at the top of their volume scales in the last minute. Great horns and solos over kind of standard musical foundation. (8.875/10)

5. "Love Is On The Way" (3:45) okay vocal song probably meant to be radio-friendly. (8.5/10)

6. "Close Up Tight" (7:36) built over a funk groove from the rhythm section that sounds as if it were lifted from CHICAGO's "Introduction" from their 1969 debut album, Chicago Transit Authority. Not up to the dynamic and enthusiastic standard set by the original. I love the experimental synth sound used by Wally Yohn in his extended solo in the fifth and sixth minutes: it may, in fact, have saved the song for me! (13.25/15)

Total time 33:39

This album sounds far more commercial and radio-oriented and far less Stephen Schwartz-like.

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you love amazingly tight arrangements of top notch brass sections.

Review Nº 768

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a Dutch songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Arjen started his career in 1980 in the Dutch band Bodine. His next band was Vengeance, a band formed in 1984. Arjen considers his time with them quite enjoyable. He had more freedom to do what he wanted and compose songs. After a successful tour in 1992, Arjen parted from Vengeance. A few years later, in 1995, Arjen released an album titled "Ayreon: The Final Experiment", in which he sang, wrote every song and played most of the instruments. The album leads to the creation of the extremely successful project Ayreon, which established him as a notable composer of rock operas. Following Ayreon's success, Arjen has been involved in many other projects. He is the creator of Star One, Guilt Machine, The Gentle Storm, the currently inactive band Ambeon, and of Stream Of Passion. In 2012, Arjen released "Lost In The New Real", his first solo album since "Pools Of Sorrow" and "Waves Of Joy". On "Lost In The New Real" he sang all leading vocals, wrote all lyrics and played almost all instruments. The album is better than his two first attempts as a solo artist.

The line up on "Lost In The New Real" is, besides Arjen Anthony Lucassen (vocals and instruments), Rutger Hauer (narration), Wilmer Waarbroek (backing vocals), Ben Mathot (violin), Maaike Peterse (cello), Jeroen Goossens (flute), Liesbeth De Weer (vocals and Hammered dulcimer), Ed Warby (drums) and Rob Snijders /drums).

"Lost In The New Real" is an album with two disks. The first one is a loose concept album and the second one feature songs that tie into the story but couldn't quite be worked in chronologically, as well as a selection of classic rock covers that are tangentially related to the themes of the story. It gives us an insight into how Lucassen tackles music by other people. His covers of Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, The Alan Parsons Project, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa are second to none. So, Lucassen proves himself in one more different role. The man is really a gifted and talented person.

The story of the concept follows the thoughts of a man known simply as Mr. L who, after being cryogenically frozen to prevent his body from succumbing to an incurable disease, awakens several generations into the future. After being cured, he comes down with the world's worst case of culture shock, and the story follows how he deals with the progress and changes, for both better and worse, that humanity has made. To help him deal with being thrown without foothold into this vastly different reality, he is assigned a shrink named Voight Kampff, played by none other than the also Dutch actor Rutger Hauer. Those of you more film literate no doubt already picked up on the film "Blade Runner".

"Lost In The New Real" isn't really wandering too far afield for this prolific Dutchman. I think that anyone who is a fan of the man's previous works will hear immediately who it is that has written this music. But, what Lucassen seems to be going for here is a strange and very referential mix of the melodic progressive rock with all the music and culture European, primarily English, but also American. Not counting the five covers on disc two, including of Led Zeppelin's classic "Battle Of Evermore", the references to the 60's and 70's rock are very thick, making of it a very eclectic album.

Musically, the first disc shows that Lucassen has lost none of his potency when it comes to writing strong and memorable music. There are lots of cool synth lines and guitar solos. But Lucassen is also able to surprise with a more back to basics approach. Thus, he honours us with moments of folk and Medieval music and even pop. In any case, the man doesn't shy away from any challenge and it came off for him marvelously, displaying his amazing ability to turn just about anything into gold. Besides the standard space rock influences we've grown accustomed to with Lucassen's projects, we are treated to a variety of other styles as well, like folk and Medieval music, pop, hard rock, metal and so on, as if this whole science fiction concept album was a tribute to the music of the past this traveler in time came from.

Conclusion: All in all, "Lost In The New Real" is really a wonderful conceptual album, a great mix of all of Lucassen's sounds, and a worthy follow-up to Ayreon, Star One and Guilt Machine. This is a very solid album from start to finish, full of inspired moments. The album is serious in its intention and execution, but Lucassen has a lot of fun with the music as well, making several amusing references to the music we all know and love. Aside from the dated references, "Lost In The New Real" is a remarkably enjoyable prog rock album from one of the brightest musical minds of our generation, highly recommended nearly and instantly as a classic album worthy of carrying on Lucassen's huge musical legacy. Whichever name he decides to go he can usually be relied upon to deliver the goods. The man still has the magic touch and we can only hope to hear more new music from him sooner rather than later. A special reference to Hauer's fantastic voice. Man, that guy had a great voice. A final mention should also go to the beautiful hardback book style packaging with Claudio Bergamin's stunning retro sci-fi artwork perfectly capturing the mood of Lucassen's work.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

If the Don Ellis Orchestra produced Blood Sweat and Tears and they composed for Broadway musicals.

1. "Open Up Wide" (3:48) amazing full-throttle brass rock. (8.875/10)

2. "Livin' In Heat" (2:54) a little Broadway musical feel to this one (as well as BS&T). I guess the lead vocals hear must be attributed to Dennis Johnson. (8.875/10)

3. "Hello Groceries" (2:56) R&B brass rock. Jerry Van Blair's lead vocal is pure R&B. (8.75/10)

4. "Handbags and Gladrags" (3:23) slowed down New Orleans funereal music start turns into New York City open air style jazz-rock. Love the wavy, layered horn arrangements in the back ground. Lead vocalist Ted Piercefield sure sounds like David Clayton Thomas. (9/10)

5. "Get It On" (2:59) (8.666667/10)

6. "Boys and Girls Together" (2:56) Ted Piercefield again in the lead vocals. (8.666667/10)

7. "Invitation to a River" (14:13) so much like the soundtrack and arias from a single act of a Broadway musical. Even so, it would be considered great, moving theater music. (27.75/30) - a) "Two Minds Meet" - Dennis Johnson again on lead vocals? - b) "Stay" - slow and atmospheric with choral background vocals supporting Dennis' plaintive lead. - c) "Paint It Sad" - there's that David Clayton Thomas sound and feel again. - d) "Reflections" (ad lib) - Astounding horn play--especially from lead trumpeter Bill Chase. - e) "River" - more akin to the slow and plaintive music and lyrics of the second movement.

Total time - 33:09

The horn play is amazing throughout this album but the songs aren't always as engaging and are rarely inventive or forward-thinking as some of the other J-R Fusion artists of the day. I feel that Bill and company's compositional and stylistic orientations are quite similar to the music Stephen Schwartz was doing for musical theater.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of theatric brass rock.

— First review of this album —

The Japanese band's sophomore album--released in the same year as their debut but feeling quite different.

1. "Take Me" (4:19) sounds like a song by JOE SAMPLE or TOTO's "Georgy Porgy." (8.75/10)

2. "Flying" (4:51) incredible bass play beneath syrupy Yacht Rock/Smooth Jazz. I'm not liking the new tone that the electric guitarist is using. (8.75/10)

3. "Dune" (4:51) a slowed down variation on/version of JOE SAMPLE's "Midnight and Mist" from his 1979 album, Carmel. (8.75/10)

4. "Asayake" (5:05) competent but does little to engage me. (8.75/10)

5. "I Love New York" (4:08) anthemic song with vocoder lyrics. Could've been a R&B radio hit. (8.875/10)

6. "Sailing Alone" (4:41) another melodic BOB JAMES-like Smooth Jazzer that feels a bit too familiar. (8.75/10)

7. "Olion" (3:20) now here we have some high-powered Jazz-Rock Fusion in the RTF J-LP tradition! Great song with some astounding individual performances. (9.25/10)

8. "Magic Ray" (4:42) like a late 1970s cover of some syrupy/romantic radio hit. (8.5/10)

9. "Mighty Mouse" (3:09) disco funk jazz with some excellent structure, synchronization, and horn support but it's still sounding more and more like Florida lounge jazz. (8.75/10)

Total Time 39:06

The band's slide further into the realm of Smooth Jazz renders this album far inferior to their debut--this despite continued great compositional skill and virtuosic musicianship.

B/four stars; a very nice exhibition of instrumental mastery given away to Smooth Jazz.

Turbulence with a very good 3rd album.

'Static Mind' minimalist intro, Leprousian synth, oriental air, a little electronic to set the stage with a refined vocal before 'Theta' tumbles in, yes that's the word with a djent riff; Omar's haunting vocals and nervous shredding paired with the complex melody; this mixture of softness and brutality is stunning, the ambient break before the return of synths and guitars which squirt, which swell; the slap launching 'Time Bridge' and its provided instrumental, between djent riff and violins; the suite fusing metal with oriental sounds is pure joy; 'Manifestations' follows with Alain and Mood setting fire to the guitar and keyboard in staggered fashion; complex, varied, energetic piece between Dream Theater and Haken for a modern prog metal full of musical amphetamines including a dreamlike jazz-metal sequence; airy, robotic, aggressive final break before starting again with captivating choirs and letting 'Ternary' close this Dantesque introduction in 5 phases; Omar returns smoothly on soothing crystalline guitar; warm choirs, pleasant guitar solo and the final crescendo on Morgan's pads which take it to a stunning musical level.

'Binary Dream' eponymous title in memory of a musical theater; heavy sound, heavy bass in mid-tempo, Hakenian air, we hear Woody; fresh, young, captivating piece, smelling of oriental, powerful djent; the stacked breaks give a swirling synth solo before another oriental full of sensitivity, on the Balkans; a jazzy moment then the sound returns to the intimate vocal-keyboard climate, it regains strength with a velvety Floydian sound before the finale, slap. 'Hybrid' modern electro intro, bass, energetic drums and shredding for a nervous, heavy track; ambient break and his guitar solo from 1001 nights. 'Corrosion' for the ballad of the album, orientalized acoustic guitar with moving spleen; reminiscence of a slow Scorpions, an Eagles intro; Omar takes it up a notch by offering a Purplenian hard rock mantra. 'De Erosion' for the happy ending instrumental, crystal clear sound of an Oceansize to settle down.(4.5)