LIGHT FANTASTIC

I never thought of Ramses as the most minblowing band out there, but I do very much enjoy their first two albums, La Leyla and Eternity Rise, demonstrating that you can still make decent prog in the late '70s. Eloy proved great prog can still be had in the early '80s with Colours, Planets, and Time to Turn. I only wish I could say the same for Ramses, since 1981's Light Fantastic is like too many other '70s prog bands who couldn't really seem to make the transition into the new decade. With another great sci-fi cover, looks like the same artist who graced their previous two albums, it looks like it's up there with their previous two, sadly that's not the case. This album finds them recording largely more pop-oriented material. Some stuff like "Transport of Joy" really push me over the edge. That one is pretty insipid. "Carry On" starts off nicely, but then the chorus and synth kicks in, and it's pretty cheesy. "Force of Habit" and "Earth into the Dark" aren't bad, and "Across the Everglades" is a pretty nice instrumental, a bit in the Alan Parsons Project vein. Of course, if you own the CD reissue, you notice that "Noise" is considerably better. This song was included on the American release of La Leyla, which was basically "War" with lyrics changed to addressing noise pollution and environmental destruction. Apparently their American label Annuit Coeptis didn't feel comfortable about a song addressing the Vietnam War, which was still too fresh in American minds in '76 so the band was forced to record a new version of the song. Light Fantastic is like too much I've heard from the early '80s. Stick with their first two albums and give this a pass.