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BINGO

Ekseption

Eclectic Prog


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Ekseption Bingo album cover
3.70 | 39 ratings | 4 reviews | 5% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1974

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. From Ekseption (9:05)
2. Nightwalk (3:45)
3. Smokey sunset (5:11)
4. De fietser (1:51)
5. Sabre dance (2:56)
6. Brother rabbit (3:26)
7. Sunny revival (3:50)
8. The death of Ase (2:20)
9. Bingo-bingo (6:40)

Total Time: 39:04

Line-up / Musicians

- Hans Jansen / piano, Hammond, Fender Rhodes, harpsichord, ARP synths, percussion
- Jan Vennik / soprano & tenor saxophones, flute, clarinet
- Rein van den Broek / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Cor Dekker / bass guitar
- Pieter Voogt / drums, percussion

With:
- Hans Hollestelle / electric & acoustic guitars (7), electric violin (9)
- Bert Paige / string arrangements

Releases information

Artwork: Jan H. van Uden

LP Philips ‎- 6413 501 (1974, Netherlands)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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EKSEPTION Bingo ratings distribution


3.70
(39 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(5%)
5%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(46%)
46%
Good, but non-essential (38%)
38%
Collectors/fans only (8%)
8%
Poor. Only for completionists (3%)
3%

EKSEPTION Bingo reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by greenback
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars This record has outstanding, clean and expressive rhythmic trumpet arrangements, a bit in the genre of early Frank Zappa (Grand Wazoo, Waka/Jawaka), but more dynamic, funky and rhythmic: it gives an ambience of winners! there are trumpet, saxophone, clarinet and flute, so that these wind instruments take a huge place in the music. There are also omnipresent & complex electric guitar, keyboards (Fender Rhodes among others) and very elaborated bass & drums. It is jazzy with all the catchy & rhythmic rock elements, plus some progressive tendencies. It is a very joyful music: you play it after a victory, a success or just simply for the joy of feeling happy. It will induce positive and pleasant moods. There are really fast parts, and the music is rather loaded; the omnipresent rhythm is very changing: it is never dull! Hard to believe they are a Dutch band. The sound can be very American funky jazz rock. There are not enough bands like that!

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review by Gatot
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars It's quite funny that I found the cassette of this album yesterday at the secondary market. When I saw it I was not aware that Ekseption has ever made an album with this name 'Bingo' and unfortunately I could not search the net for information due to bad or weak signal of my mobile phone. Interestingly no one seemed interested to buy this cassette so finally I decided to purchase it. It turned out from the net that this album was the first one from the band without the involvement of one of its founding fathers Rick van der Linden (keyboard) who left the band to form Trace. His position was then replaced by Hans Jansen (1974- 1977).

As we all know that Ekseption was a Dutch progressive rock ensemble with changing membership, active from 1967, with the embryo of bands named as The Jokers and Incrowd. The group started out playing jazz, pop and R&B covers, but, impressed by a gig of The Nice, Rick van der Linden (keyboard) decided to concentrate on producing classical rock, modern re-interpretations of classical works with bass, drums and horn charts. Most of their albums contain both original songs and re-interpreted classical pieces.

Having known the departure of van der Linden I then did not expect a lot with this album. But I was wrong because I can assure you that this Bingo album is actually as good as its predecessor Trinity - I would say. And the most important thing is that the album still maintains the character of original Ekseption music with great opening of 'From Ekseption' with great dynamics and composition. The music flows typical of Ekseption with great combination of jazz, rock as well as classical music. The usual use of trumpet backed with keyboard still show good musicianship of the members. There is quite a long and interesting drums solo in the middle of the track. The following track 'Nightwalk' is a mellow one with key dimensions of classical music represented by keyboard work. You will also find the famous 'Sabre Dance' demonstrated in anenergetic way with great combination of keyboard and trumpet in relatively fast tempo. 'Brother Rabbit' is a short track with nice opening of percussion work followed with music in mellow style with some sudden changes of tempo during transition pieces of trumpet work.

Overall, this album is an excellent addition to any prog music collection. The composition has nice melody that flows nicely from track to track with many tempo changes in the middle or during transition pieces. Despite the changes of tempo and sometimes style the music still have a solid structural integrity so that it demonstrates as one cohesive whole. Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Review by GruvanDahlman
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars In the first half of the 70's there seems to have been quite the lucrative market for pop-ified interpretations of the classical masters. ("Bach goes pop" and what not.) Ekseption was certainly one of the grestest of them all in the genre where the merging of classical and pop took place. We would, supposedely, call it prog. Others pop. No matter what, it seems pretty fitting that classical and rock would meet. It wasn't that uncommon, Jethro Tull had been doing it and Ritchie Blackmore surely found inspiration among the masters of old, but interpreting classical music in the way Ekseption (and others) did was all about bringing them up to date and reminding everyone that the works from ages ago could stand the test of time, rather than including elements of classical music into newly written material.

I am just as fond of Ekseption as anyone. I mean, I like them as an entity but I rarely listen to their albums. I get bored. It is not because the music lacks in excellence. The musicians are all top notch and the execution flawless. It's just that I am not one for classical music. At times I come across something that catches my eye (or ear) but on the whole? I am sorry. It doesn't appeal to me to the extent I'd wish it did, unless it is intertwined into progressive rock of any kind. So, having said that I will conclude to elaborate on classical music and head straight into "Bingo!".

A change in direction might prove fatal but it can also be very rewarding. I don't know much about the politics in the bandcamp, other than that Rick Linden got the boot. The remaining members decided to take a rather different path and the shift from classical into all out jazz-rock with infectious grooves is quite a daring leap. Not that jazz-rock was lacking in their past but this time the material was mostly selfpenned and focusing on that rather than the old masters works.

There are some hints to the past, as in "Sabre dance", and despite what I've said previously I find it to be working very well. I suppose the truth being that I have a hard time swallowing an entire albums worth of classical music, progressive or no. For the most part the music would fit well in with any (then) contemporary crime-series on TV. It is very much the jazz-rock of the 70's, making head and body twitch and nod at every beat, stab on the keyboards and wah-wah laden guitar. The opener "From Ekseption" is a very good example of this. It holds everything dear to me in the genre of jazz-rock. The frantic, fast paced rhythms in the first section, the heavy riff and delicate electric piano and the groovy drum solo. It is the best track on the album but the rest of the material is nearly as strong. "Brother Rabbit", "Sunny revival" and the "Bingo-Bingo" than ends it all. This is an album of extremely competent and swinging music.

To me this is the finest album Ekseption made and I have listened to the previous ones on several occasions. I find it that, many didn't I suppose, this is where it all came together. Blending jazz-rock and throwing in the odd classical bit to even things up is a stroke of genius. Ekseption was never better than this. I love it and it grooves ever so nicely. "Bingo!" is a very nice and spirited album, well worth listening to, if you're into groovy jazz-rock from the 70's.

Latest members reviews

3 stars After the album 'Trinity' Rick van der Linden was removed from the band Ekseption because the other band members wanted to have more individual freedom and did not like Rick's stronghold on the music and the development of the band. This turned out to be a BIG mistake, because Rick's successor ... (read more)

Report this review (#32846) | Posted by | Saturday, September 25, 2004 | Review Permanlink

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