LACK OF LIGHT

Lack of Light is the seventh and at the time that I´m writing this review the last studio album from Danish progressive jazz/ rock act Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe. Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe are mostly known for their first three progressive jazz/ rock albums from the late sixties and the early seventies. The rest of their discography is not as significant or important in the history of progressive rock and that includes Lack of Light. It´s been eighteen years between their last album called Shorts which was released in 1980, and it´s obvious that Lack of Light is from the nineties as it has a very different sound compared to Shorts. I found Shorts to be a terrible disappointment and overall a very weak album, so I wasn´t expecting much from Lack of Light.

The music hasn´t got much to do with the progressive jazz/ rock that made Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe such an exciting band in the beginning of their career. There´s a definite modern nineties pop/ rock touch to the sound and the songs are generally very commercial and not the least progressive IMO. I think Karma Cowboy ( with lyrics by the famous and sadly deceased Danish poet and author Dan Túrell) and the instrumental Jammin´ My Animal with the very distinct didjeridu, are partially enjoyable while I can´t really find much joy in the rest of the tracks.

The musicianship is excellent as usual but the music is not as challenging or focused on instruemental sections as was the case on the first albums from the band.

The production is professional but not really to my liking.

I can´t say that I´m very excited about this album and my rating lies somewhere between 1 and 2 stars. There are a few enjoyable momemts here and there so I´ll stretch and give Lack of Light 2 stars. Lack of Light is just a notch better than Shorts but overall it´s not very recommendable.