ELOY

Mixed opinions about this hard-rock styled debut from Eloy. The main criticism seems to be a lack of originality. It's one I can sure subscribe to. The song-writing is fairly standard early 70s hard rock, somewhere between Uriah Heep, Hawkwind and most obviously Jethro Tull, not only due to the bluesy guitar riffs but also due to Erich Schriever's vocals. His voice and approach resemble Ian Anderson's wail from Stand Up and Benefit a lot. It's all a bit flat and predictable though, sometimes even ripping off their examples such as on Dillus Roady, which is more then just a nod to UH's Gypsy.

The sound has a spacey and slightly psychedelic feel, and that's why the album sure can't be discarded as entirely unoriginal. Uriah Heep and Jethro Tull never had that German kraut-feel that is quite strong on this album. The band tried to integrate the UK heavy rock with their own German roots, a mix that I also hear on the first two Scorpions albums by the way.

Nice hard rock album with a space vibe and not as dramatically bad as the ratings would have you believe.