GAMES

Compared to the first 2 records, this one has definite electronic beat and drums. Because of that, it seems the keyboards are sometimes slightly more in the background. Those keyboards often sound a bit like Tony Banks' ones on his solo albums, but they are less melodic and quite colder here. One track particularly has retained my attention: "Delta four": You hear a violin-like keyboard solo that is barely bearable, which gives you a pretty scary feeling, especially if you turn up the volume! After this infernal cold sound, comes a smooth, subtle & floating background keyboard that sounds so good, because of this previous hysterical pattern: just experience it!! Let's say Larry Fast here is quite less symphonic than on all the previous records: he often experiments rather curious & fatty futuristic sound textures.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Fast experiments with new synthesized sounds. The melodies are not always prominent, but why should they be. The violin impression he creates is quite interesting. Many musical themes recur, emerging and fading. His string section impressions are mellow and provide relief from some heavier material. His favorite tool is clearly the sequencer; well it never hurt Tangerine Dream. This collection seems to fit into a natural progression of improvement in style and technique. For electronic music enthusiasts, this album will be very enjoyable, it has genuine feeling, but perhaps not enough for most other progressive rockers. Finally, it almost goes without saying that Larry doesn't fill Games with any vocal tracks, but that's the way this dish is served. Four stars for electronic music listeners, three stars for everybody else.