BLUE DAWN

Since there is little new material released by the band after the turn of the century, one could only be satisfied with some earlier unreleased material which were brought to life much, much later.

It was already the case with the good and ambient "Kyoto" and this one is on par as well. No masterpiece of course (these belonged to an even older period), but a solid effort which mixes ambient music with some more "electric" parts. Notably the excellent "Riding The World" which offers a wonderful and passionate guitar section.

This album took its roots in the late eighties (which was not their best period: "Optical Race", "Lily On The Beach") and is frankly above average when compared to these albums. To cosider that it was not to put it on the market is strange. Anyway, this is now corrected and allows the fan to discover another angle of this period; it also offers a brighter perspective in terms of quality music even if "Thunderheads" is maybe too repetitive.

One of my fave is "Eagle's Crest" which combines different elements: a tranquil atmosphere, delicate synth touches and very melodic guitar. A highlight. In terms of guitar, the introduction of "Food For The Gods" is also very interesting. For the first time in their long career (if my memory serves me right), Edgar plays some flamenco oriented noteswhich are truly convincing and original. The remaining section is a quite classic TD song but the whole should please lots of fans (new as well as old ones).

There aren't memorable music on this album ("World Away from Gagaland") but I would consider the title track as a highlight: there are heart and soul in this and after a beautiful and melodic intro, the upbeat second half is an extremely good moment to share with the band. An orgy of keys and soaring guitar; nothing ambient: pure and devastating symph prog. Great.