WORLD THROUGH MY EYES

The first time I listened to this album I was disappointed. I wasn't familiar with Germany's best prog band of the moment but I did read some reviews full of recommendations. Didn't know what to expect. In this style of music we know that some records need several spins but I keep forgetting it. The melodies on "world through my eyes" are quite sober and the listener needs time to get into this. For one reason or another I kept on this listening to this album for quite a while until something strange was happening. The melodies were starting to please my ears and I started to notice many details in the wall of sound. And there's enough layers of different sounds or instruments to spot over here. It can't be a coincidence the cover art shows a skyline as this the image often comes to mind listening to this album. RPWL uses conventional song formula. There's not much complexity in the song structures. So the proggy thing is in the arrangements and the sound effects on the background. There's plenty of influences from Pink Floyd's last especially on the opening track "Sleep" which has a mysterious eastern rhythm section and a Floydian background choir. Nowadays I can't believe I didn't enjoy that wonderful song right from the start. There's more than some similarities between the sound of the vocals of RPWL vocalist Yogi Lang and David Gilmour. Listening to the piano parts of "Everything was not enough" the work of Tony Banks comes to mind and there's also some noticeable Hackett influences in the acoustics at the end of "Start the fire". However those influences don't give you the impression this band is a copy cat, there's plenty originality in melodies and sound. The thing I do miss every now and then is power. "Roses " has its up-tempo moments. Once again, the excellent guitar parts are reminiscent to Gilmour and once again the keyboards are referring to those ambient sounds which were used for Floyds "Keep talking". The voice of guest singer Ray Wilson is suited perfectly for adding some powerful vocals but nevertheless this track fits in perfectly. Like "everything.", "3 lights" starts like another ballad. Maybe every now and then the band uses the honeymoon feeling once too often, especially the vocal harmonies are close to cheesy. Fortunately the second part of the song is showing some fantastic keyboard and guitar playing, also the sound of the mellotron is awesome, as always. I do regret there's not more of these instrumental breaks which aren't dominated by the vocals. The beginning of "Sea-nature" drifts on a psychedelic sound which has been updated to today's standards. It's good to notice some bands found a way to use 'old' influences in an updated sound production. This surely is one of the albums stronger moments even if the repetition of the chorus seems endless... Up-tempo atmospheres are interrupted by floating instrumental interludes on which Richard Wright could have been a guest musician. Another highlight is the title track. It combines all the qualities of the band. The longest song on the album shows many different atmospheres and a great chorus. Some of it have a big sound which slowly moves on. This is suitable to be played in stadiums so there's time for the music to reach the people in the back of the large venue. I'm not sure RPWL will ever be able to do that. But no kidding, this track is great.

There's 77 minutes of music on this disc. If this album was issued in the seventies it would have been a double package. Double albums are rarely played from start to finish. Usually people listen to one side of the album at one moment in time and save the rest for later. The problem with cd's is, you always want to listen from start to finish but on many occasions you never reach the end cause there's not enough time available or you'll get bored. I strongly advise listeners to listen in parts. Otherwise you won't be able to get used to the elaborate songs and that would be a pity cause every track is well crafted and enjoyable. I don't believe this album includes any bad material but maybe it is balanced too well, it's too even. Some up-tempo tracks could add some variety. Like it is now, this simply is too soft for my ears but maybe that's personal. Another remark I would like to make is about the great instrumental interludes. I wonder if it's necessary to have so much vocals even if there's nothing wrong with the voices. Less vocals would create more space for the instrumental highlights to shine through. But please don't get me wrong, I would like to recommend this album for fans of the latest version of Pink Floyd and fans of melodic music in general. three and a half stars