MINORISA

Pros:

Unfathomably talented musicians playing everything from Canterbury inspired jazz rock to lush grandiose symphonic prog.

Eclecticism.....and then some! Just around the upcoming corner a new and altogether different melody lies in wait. Fresh time signatures kindly handed over to the listener by what must be one of the most breathtaking rhythm sections I've come across in recent years. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was a close cousin to the one on offer in the French purveyors of teutonic fusion, Magma. More than once during this album, I'm reminded of Jannick Top's boisterous bass booms as well as Vander's energetic tom work.........so close and still soooooo far away.

The electronics. Now many have described these as sounding particularly close to those of Tangerine Dream, and I couldn't disagree more. What you get with the electronics on Minorisa is an entirely unique kind of progressive electronic that is as adventurous and sharp in expression as a robotic shark swimming through myriads of small Lego soldiers. This somewhat strange facet does only show itself during the last cut, but you are most likely going to catch it - that is if your ears aren't made of seaweed and old Volvo parts.

Pomp and gusto! Oh yeah baby! There are some fantastic sections spread out during this album that'll cater to even the pickiest of prog afficionados. Be that the ending mellotron breezes of Ebusus that waft overhead you like diamond dust specks caught on the air, the sporadic ELP like moog flourishes or the overt shapeshifts that take place every once in a while, - if you're a proghead, then there's surely something to your liking on Minorisa.

Cons:

The musicians are so good that they tend to forget about the music. The first cut Ebusus takes so many strange and unforeseeable turns during it's 19 minutes, that you're in real danger of going numb or confused during it's first leg. A lot of this album feels like a project - a challenge. How many different and seemingly unrelated pieces of music can we string together in order to make a grand whole? As a result of this, I get irritated when those beautiful and powerful sections suddenly come to a hault, by the flick of the switch, and then run galloping in the other direction - now sporting an entirely different tune on it's lips.

Bewilderment........and not the good stuff. People who know me well will probably also know about my affinity for getting lost...and preferably stay there for a bit. I think it's healthy and it teaches you about the dark alleyways of life - all the stuff you often overlook for the in-your-face experiences that often only last the time they appear. On Minorisa though, there's a bewilderment on offer that doesn't take me places. It doesn't make me deliriously happy about the fact that we just went from a hundred miles an hour Canterbury inspired fusion to a warped version of Emerson fondling up his keyboard. It just confuses me, and that's actually pretty hard to do. I work with children and am often in charge of some 50 kids all on my own - each of em jumping and screaming for my attention. Yet that' s just fine with me, and I keep my cool.......Minorisa then manages to trump 50 kids on sugar and an incessant 'love-me' trip.

Electronics.....yep those were indeed also part of the cons, but here I am not referring to the last deranged de-constructed piece of prog electronic. No here I'm talking about the slap dash synths that ever so often pop up during the music, either to embellish on already existing atmospheres or to kick your arse with an earthshaking solo taken straight out of the ol ELP cookbook. The problem is not how they're played though, it's the sound. Damn..........I keep getting these mad images of a longhaired Spaniard trying his best to be virtuosi on Casio keyboards and other such Toys r Us instruments. I can't help it, but they sound so synthetic and plastic like. Often when I'm supposed to be experiencing Goosebump's City with soul orgasm and shivers alike, I get a smirk on my face and start laughing in short uncontrollable bursts.

So there you have it. Fusioon's third album Minorisa is just about the most confusing album I know of. It's very good at times - heck it is even wonderful during some sections, but then again it is also unbelievably irritating. If you can imagine the musical aesthetics of Gentle Giant transcribed onto ELP and Egg, then you're not that far off, and even making that comparison doesn't give them the full credit they deserve, because what this band has going for it, and has in spades, is uniqueness. You certainly won't find anything out there that sounds remotely close to this album.....for better or worse.

Share this FUSIOON review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Guldbamsen
• Report this review (#1153554)
• Buy FUSIOON music online with PA partners
• Show all FUSIOON MP3/Stream
• Go to FUSIOON page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Minorisa page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for FUSIOON related discussions