SEA WOLF

As soon as the great opener starts (''Sea Wolf''), one blieveves that the continuation of their heavy-prog which is seriously influenced by a strong keyboards play is well in hand. It ranks in my all-time fave from this band. But this song is almost orphan here (with one exception). The great feeling of ''Titanic'' is not so much present here.

As it could be also noticed in their debut, some tracks are not on par and ''Confusion'' is one of them. Nothing wrong, but nothing special either.

Now is the time for my absolute fave from the band (and one of my all-time fave tout court): the great, the jewel, the immense ''Sultana''. How a band from Norway could deliver such a rich, warm, latin-oriented track will always remain a mystery to me. And it all started in '71 when I purchased the single. Actually, ''Sultana'' was the B-side (while ''Sing Fool Sing'' was side A). But the one song that got the airplay was ''Sultana''.

It sounds as a true ''Santana'' track. Heavy keys in the vein of the best from Rolie and superb percussions. What differs ''Sultana'' from ''Santana'' is that there are no guitar here. A major point would you say?This is an incredible track and I highly recommend anyone to listen to it. THE highlight.

After this track, it is of course difficult to do better (or even just be on par), and the second half of this album is quite disappointing even if the acoustic ballad ''Scarlet'' is pretty enjoyable (as the almost similar ''Exiled'' which is emotional and reminds me of the sublime ''Refugee'' from VDGG (for the concept).

The CD version adds the ''A-side'' of ''Sultana''. A heavy-psych rock song with a serious beat and a catchy chorus. A good addition for those who don't have the single.

This album is a bit of a deception in comparison with their huge debut album. Still good though: three stars.