YOU & I

Amenophis' self-titled album was a decent enough symphonic prog album - perhaps inclining a little heavily towards Yes worship, but a reasonable listen if that's the sort of thing you're really heavily into. Their second effort bears a title - You and I - which might make you think more Yes- inspired symphonic material is to come, but it was not to be - it seems that the band were making an effort to clamber onto the neo-prog bandwagon, but weren't quite sure how to go about it.

The songwriting is simplified compared to the symphonic intricacies of the debut, but lacks the hooks and the flair which the real masters of the neo-prog style brought to the table (and the idea that neo-prog is super-simplified prog is, in itself, an oversimplification - the fact is that this material often isn't even as intricate or embellished as a typical Marillion track of the era). In addition, the lead vocals from Elke Möhrle pitch for a Jon Anderson vibe but fall hopelessly short of the mark. Perhaps it's best all round if we just kept our attention on the band's debut album and quietly forgot about this one...