LOTUS

"Eelas-Ooles" has an aggressive intro with the guitar and drums really standing out for me. Organ takes the lead after 1 1/2 minutes. "Bonnalat" features relentless drumming and check out the guitar 1 1/2 minutes in. "At El-Yago 9-3" is the one I like the least although I do like the organ to end it. "Zero" is much better with some great guitar. Organ takes over the lead role for a minute. "Mac" is a guitar led tune with some nice bass. "Musen" is really the only laid back song on here.

"Ungersk Dans" is the song the keyboardist composed and he leads the way with his organ before keys and bass come in sounding really good. "Gatta Gatta" has a good raw sound to open as the guitar and drums lead the way as the organ floats in the background. Great song. "Marschvals" sounds amazing, especially the guitar solo that goes on and on to end it. "Chico's Shuffle" reminds me of the DIXIE DREGS early before the piano arrives a minute in as the bass throbs. The guitar then comes in lighting it up. Chico by the way is Anders (the main guitarist) nickname. I like the story in the liner notes of him playing as a guest at this pub and blowing everyone away with his loud and ripping blues styled playing. He was 16 years old.

This is an energetic Jazz / Fusion album with a unique charm.

Their debut self-titled album of two years prior was great and I gave it four stars. I think I like this second one even better. Whereas the first album's shorter punchier songs were more immediate the marvelous Vera is more mature. These songs are longer with more room to expand, slightly more refined, moving more towards jazz fusion but no less exciting. This album ROCKS and the playing is incredible. All of these guys, but especially guitarist Chico Lindvall, have to be some of the most criminally under-rated musicians of their day. I keep having to lift my jaw back up after it hits the floor. But, this is not just a technical noodle-fest, the songs are very pleasing and emotional. As Chico said, "you can play any note you like, but you have to know why you're playing it." Exactly!

We start with the longest song "Dance Hall Frenzy" at near 8 minutes with a mid tempo groove. The jamming begins as the solos are traded back and forth from guitar to keys with ease. The bass is well to the forefront on this recording and the drums not so overwhelming, kind of the opposite how they do things today when you generally hear all drums and whimpy bass. Next is "Conflicts" and this is mostly a keyboard showcase with the big bass again. "Poor Man's Beat" picks up speed and keeps rolling, first with keys and then Chico lets rip with the electric. We even get a funky bass solo in this track! "F-ck, I Give Up" is next (title edited for modesty!) and features some nice alto sax, piano, and acoustic guitar in a laid back traditional jazz mode. "Rain" begins with piano mimicking the sound of falling rain I suppose. Just after two minutes the band comes roaring in and we get some wild solos over driving rhythms. Some of the nuances this drummer pulls off just thrill me. "For Jenny" is a short expressive guitar showcase (electric and acoustic) no doubt inspired by someone special to Chico. The man can play magic. "The Fountain" is a very tight jazz rock number. "Bah Bah Little Lamb" is a strange one-minute joke that shows the boys may have toked up a little before the session. "Red Whortleberry Jam" is an even shorter acoustic guitar ditty to close the regular album.

Two bonus tracks are included on the 2004 reissue. "Oh No I Give Up Again" is another acoustic solo piece that is quite nice. "Last Rehearsal" sadly appears to be just that. A poorly recorded live studio piece that was likely their last jam? It features a nice Chico solo. Very sad that this marvelous group made only two albums.

This is an album that deserves a proper reissue. The 2004 DYM version sounds OK but features a criminally lame slip cover and nothing else! They don't even give you an inner sleeve for the disc. Just the outer cardboard cover.

In this effort Lotus lets the jazzier side of their music become much more prominent. Gone are the seemingly too short song structures that I loved about the debut. Tracks average around 4 minutes here as opposed to 2.

However fans of the debut need not be dissappointed, as the musicianship and songwriting is just as good as it was there. The album just relies more on the standard extended jazz-rock jams and indulges on them much more often. For this reason I wouldn't call it a classic, but I'd still call it a great addition to any jazz-rock collection.

Great for those who enjoyed jazzier side of the debut, or fans of jazz-rock in general.

This great fusion album out of Sweden starts off strong with Eelass-Ooles, which gives a good taste of what you can expect throughout the album. The songs are short for fusion tracks averaging about 2 to 3 minutes each, however this is certainly not a bad thing as the songs follow a unique and progressive format. Most of them will start with the band playing a jazzy hook that makes the song stand out well. The hooks are generally guitar driven, though Ungersk Dans uses keyboard for the same effect. This format gives each song a unique feel to a pretty general sound. Whenever I re-listen to this album and a new song comes on, I always find myself thinking "oh I love this one". Having an album that does that is a rare thing.

After these hooks the band will solo and the jazzier feel of their sound will take over. All of the musicianship is great in each song and is never weak. Despite the short structures, the songs still sound complete and whole. Each one ends properly and not too suddenly. Standout tracks include Eelass-Ooles, Mac, Ungersk Dans, and Chicos Shuffle, but all of them are pretty good.

I'd recommend this album to any fan of good fusion, though it probably will appeal to those who go for Symphonic/Art Rock as well.

So says Chico Lindvall, guitarist of Lotus. Good advice for up and coming guitarists who are obsessed with speed playing. I cannot believe this fabulous instrumental album has but one other review.

This is a monster of melodic, grooving fusion instrumentals. What a shame that these Swedish lads never reached a wider audience. Their material is compelling and well played, they sound like an early version of what are today referred to as "jam bands." This is one of those vocal-less albums where the individual playing is colorful enough that you never miss singing.

The remastered CD versions includes 5 live bonus tracks recorded in 1975 along with a band history. As the bio says, if you enjoy energetic dual guitar rocking fusion played with obvious joy, you must hear Lotus.