SUMMER IN TOWN

"Summer in town" is the delightfully named first (of 2) album by this short lived Russian band, who subsequently disappeared without trace. With just three tracks and a running time of 37 minutes, there is a superficial similarity with "Close to the edge" by YES, and while there are occasional similarities with the music of that band, there are other stronger influences.

Of the three tracks, the opening "Snowballs" is the weakest. This 8 minute piece just never seems to get going, appearing to be a succession of good introductions to a structured piece, but without the substance necessary to make it interesting. The staccato start is indeed reminiscent of YES, giving way to some IAN ANDERSON style flute, and perhaps a nod towards PFM's "Four holes in the ground".

"Chaconne" is for me the best of the three. Here, the theme builds far more constructively, sounding a little like STEVE HACKETT's "Shadow of the Hyrophant". Indeed the GENESIS influences are clearest throughout this track, the strong guitar and keyboard performances complementing each other well. Towards the end, there are pleasing hints of FOCUS' "Hamburger concerto".

The feature (title) track runs to some 19 minutes, and is in three defined sections each of which is given a classical sub-title (March, Minuet and Toccata). Here the influences are perhaps more GENTLE GIANT, the slightly jazzier orientation leading to a rather messy sound at times. There is a certainly a diversity of sounds, ranging from concert hall organ, through Focus like yodels and quirky flute, to circus themes and solo piano. For me though, the track does not hang together as a complete piece particularly well, the melodies being undistinguished and unfocused.

On the plus side, the performance is exemplary throughout, the album showing the band had potential in bucket loads, sadly largely unfulfilled.

If you got this at the time (and unfortunately outside their native Russia relatively few would have) it would have been a pleasing and worthwhile purchase. Whether it is worth seeking out now is more dubious.

Share this HORIZONT review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Easy Livin
• Report this review (#87755)
• Buy HORIZONT music online with PA partners
• Show all HORIZONT MP3/Stream
• Go to HORIZONT page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Summer In Town page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for HORIZONT related discussions