THE COSMIC REMEDY

Hungarian combo THE COSMIC REMEDY started out as a solo project by Bogati-Bokor Akos when he started rummaging through various demo recordings and song ideas and developed them into finished compositions. This developed into an international recording project, with sound files distributed through the internet, and with friends and band mates from Bogati-Boko's band Yesterdays also helping out. The finished result was released through the Finnish label Seacrest Oy in November 2013.

"The Cosmic Remedy" is an interesting band that blends progressive rock and elements from that style with whimsical and uplifting pop and rock songs that appear to draw inspiration from a fairly expansive canvas of 60's and 70's pop and rock. It is a well made production on all levels; the compositions are well developed, some of them breathtaking, although arguably not all that original. A quality production that merits a check by those with a general affection for elegant, sophisticated pop and rock from around 1970, and especially those amongst that crowd who also have a taste for progressive rock.

COSMIC REMEDY was, I presume, a one-time album project of the Hungarian guitarist and songwriter Akos Bogati-Bokor (YESTERDAYS). The virtual bunch of musicians involved in recording his songs grew and grew as the music files flied through the internet. The closest partner -- "without his help this album couldn't happen!" -- was Finnish drummer Kimmo Pörsti (Samurai of Prog, Mist Season, Paidarion), and the guests, mostly vocalists, were Italian, Brazilian, German and Hungarian.

Let's get it straight right away that this is a light-hearted POP album much more clearly than a prog album. This is good to remember when listening to this 54-minute work divided (on paper, not exactly audibly in any sense) into four "suites" with three or four tracks. Because if you keep on expecting the big prog twists, you'll be disappointed. In fact, the opening instrumental 'Overture' is by far the proggiest moment of all, and sadly it's the only track featuring keyboards not played by Akos himself but by József Orosz-Pál; they're excellent! Admittedly Akos isn't bad on keyboards either, but on the course of the 12 vocal songs that follow -- one other tiny instrumental piece amidst them -- I gradually began to feel that the album gets too SONG-oriented and poppy after the promising prog start. The two songs in the first suite are sung by Ulf Yacobs and they somehow remind me of American catchy prog-pop such as FLYING COLORS.

'Susie and Me', 'I'll Be Your Friend' and 'I Don't Have to Run' are sung by Tico De Moroes. These are rather Beatles-like songs with a hint of 10cc flavour. The latter has very nice flute parts to make the track more interesting, and also some fine Mellotron and guitar. "Lost Marbles Suite" contains four songs with female vocals. 'Daylight Dreaming' with Vera Klima's vocals is a beautiful, harmless pop song with a cultivated, slightly proggy arrangement. 'Story of a Prince' is quite dull: I could imagine it to be the obligatory filler song on a Suzanne Vega album that I always skip. Julia Pardau sings also 'Blue Sea' that sounds better with its Mellotron sounds. 'Song Without a Home' sung by Hungarian Sissy is the dreamiest and the most charming.

Aftr the female section it comes as a slight let-down to me that the final three songs are again sung by Tico De Moroes. Very brief and pretty 'Welcome to the Pepperland Lounge' is followed by two average pop songs that don't do good to the aftertaste of the whole album. All in all, this is good but totally non-essential, pop-oriented album, with few highlights.