KÉT ARC

East came into existence in the second half of the 70s as an improvising trio playing in small clubs. Their approach to performing extended instrumental works was clearly influenced by the hugely popular Polish band SBB. Contrary to their popularity and loyal fan base, there is no recorded material of that era as the authorities (the country was still under Soviet occupation then) were wary of any "underground" appeal.

"Bread and butter" issues saw the band undertake a Pop-Rock approach following almost constant line-up changes. Only then were they able to start recording, by which time the music bore no resemblance to the original Eclectic-Prog style.

The following years saw a number of talented musicians come and go, contributing to an increasingly mediocre material on offer and their involvement didn't really lift the game to any convincing extent.

To brand this live album as Neo-Prog is rather generous. Even Crossover would be borderline. This remarkably bland and boring music may have some appeal to the "uninitiated", but in Prog terms it's a non-event. Not strong enough even for commercial appeal and too weak to be considered as quality Rock by any measure. One foot here, one foot there and the end result is falling in between two chairs.

The vocals are somewhat disturbing and indeed rather embarrassing, representing the weakest part in the performance. Frankly, the "voice" is just not there and singing in key alone is not sufficient to provide much satisfaction. Only the female back-up singers offer a degree of relief in places, but that's hardly what Prog is about. Odd instrumental passages, guitar fills are few and far between and whilst can be pleasant, they are not the dominant aspect of the works on offer.

I wouldn't recommend this album to anyone expecting quality music in any genre.