ELEMENTS

In a very short time too much went on in Flame Dream's bedrock.Firstly came the departure of guitarist Urs Waldispuehl, while the remaining members decided to move on as a quartet without a guitarist.Second came the change of label with the band leaving Phillips and signing with Vertigo.Nevertheless most of the compositions were written by keyboardist Roland Ruckstuhl, who wrote all of the material of the band's sophomore effort ''Elements''.The album was released in 1979, this time not only in Switzerland but also in Italy.

The new album of Flame Dream offered four long and sophisticated arrangements (along with a nice sax/organ-based short outro), obviously more keyboard-driven than on their debut without any guitarist in the line-up anymore.Additionally the role of sax/woodwind player Peter Wolf became more significant and dominant.The result is an album that recalls the best moments of CARPE DIEM, totally uncommercial and following the best Prog traditions.The music remained very much symphonic-oriented with huge piano preludes, fascinating synth acrobatics and old-fashioned Hammond organ runs in the style of TONY BANKS with little personality but an incredible performance.This keyboard-driven style is often accompanied by some elegant flute parts and heavy sax interventions, like if GENESIS and YES were jamming with VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR.The abscence of guitars is hardly detected, as the sound of the band remained rich and melodic, full of professional interplays, very tight orchestrations and impressive shifting climates.The vocals are pretty mediocre, without being annoying, seems the group was aware of it and ''Elements'' contains mostly extended instrumental parts with evident Classical inspirations, blended with some Fusion touches, characterized by numerous technical still memorable passages.

Very strong effort during Progressive Rock's twilight zone.An instant purchase for all fans of demanding Classic Prog, which is sure to reward anyone going after it.Highly recommended.