RUPHUS

Just figured I'd throw that out there before I give this album some general assessment. What we have here is the debut from one of the first prog bands from Norway, and man does this thing cook. The opening track sets the tone, essentially a hard rock tune with a generous amount of Hammond organ banging to compliment the heavy guitars and bass. A pretty sweet rockin' riff too, with only the slightly jazzy style of the drums keeping this song from full Deep Purple worship. But there is also the vocals...and that's what sets this band apart.

I don't tend to give such a high score to an album, even if I really dig it, unless it has something unique to offer or something I haven't heard before that endows the album a with specific individual vibe. In this case it's the dual male / female vocals sung with a wide-eyed enthusiastic passion. Gudny, without a doubt, is one talented and maybe more than a bit crazy vocalist who has no time for terms like subtlety or restraint. From her introduction on the first track, she's already reaching for ridiculous high notes in an almost unhinged fashion, but damnit she sounds great with a killer tone. Rune, for his part, does the male foil role more than adequately, dishing out strong vibratos and taking the lead in some of the tracks. The overall vocal dynamic is great and adds a lot of character to the album.

Talent-wise the band can certainly jam, but some little gaffs can be heard here and there, such as the bass player's occasional struggle with the difficult runs during the title track, but it's a small trifle. What's more important is that I can feel the wild enthusiastic aura permeating from each of these songs. This gang took inspiration from Purple to Yes to King Crimson to Uriah Heep and swirled them into their own blend, keeping tunes varied, unpredictable, and especially engaging. Seriously, some of these tracks are teeming with fantastic hooks and exceptional melodies flowing through them.

Again, though, "Trapped In A Game" is some next level thing. A sort of prog-torch song with a ton of soul and a bizarre organ mid-section that morphs into some drumming fury, it's one of those go-to songs when I'm in the mood for some serious female pipes soaring over rock music of any kind. A Gudny Aspaas showcase, she puts on a damn clinic straight from the heart, really reaching for those notes with powerhouse lungs. A spectacle in itself.

Other highlights include "Scientific ways", which reveals the more adventurous 'proggish' nature of the band after the more straightforward rockin' opener, the smooth saxophone soloing displayed in "Still Alive" (which also boasts a groovy bass-line and some oddball lyrics), and "Day After Tomorrow" ends things on a suitably bombastic note. If there's anything this album doesn't possess, it would be a dud. Every cut is essential. Granted, I will say that the vocals may not be for everyone...in that I can imagine some folks would find them overbearing, but I love them. New Born Day is great stuff performed with sheer exuberance, and deserves a high recommendation for anyone interested in the roots of Scandinavian progressive rock.

The basic problem with Ruphus seems to have been that they were a technically proficient group who had no real clear idea of what a Ruphus album was meant to sound like, and as a consequence kept changing styles between albums, sticking with no particular sound for long enough to really master it. My overall recommendation is to stick to their debut album, which at least has them playing a style that they appear to actually care about rather than a sound they're mimicing for commercial purposes.

Aslec Nilson makes the occasional bid to mimic Chris Squire's distinctive bass sound and almost succeeds, but all this does is underline how far they fall short of their target. Likewise, Rune Ostdahl is no Jon Anderson, no matter how much he cribs from Anderson's lyrical focuses and vocal style.

I have no objections to bands that try to recapture the classic sound of earlier groups - hell, I wouldn't be as fond of neo-prog as I am if that were the case - but I only dig clone groups if they're able to actually approach the standards of the band they are imitating, or if they bring their own ideas to the table to spice up an otherwise played-out formula. As it is, Ruphus achieve neither on this album, and the only thing they accomplish is the loss of the more interesting sound of their debut album. This is a crying shame.

The opening track actually reminds me a bit of the title track from Renaissance's Prologue album...not as fast, but the style of singing and the general prog meets jazzy approach to the music gives "Sha ba wah" at least enough similar aspects to be possibly inspired by that Renaissance track. The musicians are certainly talented, and the soloing is quite good if not mind-blowing, while Gudny sings like a young and rather unpolished Annie Haslam. A pretty endearing start. The rest of the album bounces around between shorter ditties and longer jams, with the title track being the most memorable for me since it's the only song here with actual lyrics. It's pretty catchy too, and despite the length it flows by pretty well although I should say it's somewhat similar to the opening track musically.

"Corner" sounds like an instrumental take on a Pablo Cruise song with a severe case of "progitis". Clearly this tune is for the proggers who want to show their lovers what tiiiiime it is before gettin' buzzay to a strange time signature on a leopard skin rug (or maybe a rug with a big picture of that Tarkus tank on it). The smooth grooves are followed by the "Second Corner", which is another instrumental with a faster jazzier vibe...gettin' jiggy to this could result in a sprained ankle or something. Be careful tiger.

"Brain Boogie" incorporates lots of funkiness to the prog rock and has a wild chorus with Gudny bustin' out some orgasmic notes without lyrics getting in the way of her controlled caterwauling. You gotta dig the name of that song too.

I found the album kinda fun as a whole, although some of these short numbers really don't add anything except album length. This certainly isn't essential, even by the band's standards, but if by some utterly deranged reason you want to mix prog with your sexual conquests, here is a soundtrack to a night of prog passion. Groovy.

"Coloured Dreams" has this excellent guitar intro then it turns fuller quickly. Dual vocals on this one. Nice guitar solo 2 minutes in as well.The organ is prominant late. "Scientific Ways" opens with strummed guitar as reserved male vocals join in.They do become more passionate. Female vocals before 1 1/2 minutes and she sings with passion after 3 minutes. Flute after 4 1/2 minutes to the end. "Still Alive" has a good heavy sound with the bass digging deep.Vocal melodies follow then the male vocals lead as it stays heavy.The organ sounds good too. Sax after 3 minutes then the themes are repeated. Great tune.

"The Man Who Started It All" opens with piano as flute joins in then it picks up before a minute.Vocal melodies then male vocals come in. Great sound. Female vocals come in too then piano only ends it. "Trapped In A Game" opens with drums then it kicks in. It settles back quickly with female vocals.The focus here is on her singing. Organ only 2 1/2 minutes in then church organ takes over in a powerful way.The vocals are the focus again 4 1/2 minutes in while guitar takes the lead a minute later. "New Born Day" opens with organ as the bass then drums join in. It's building. Squire-like bass here.Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. I really like the drumming but the bass is stealing the show here. Nice guitar after 3 minutes that goes on and on.Vocals are back. Amazing tune ! "Day After Tomorrow" inspired the movie. Okay not really but this is the epic track at almost 9 minutes in length. Drums and organ lead the way early and the guitar comes in before a minute making some noise. A calm follows as male reserved vocals come in. Female vocal melodies too.Intricate sounds before 4 minutes after the vocals stop. It settles with female vocals after 6 1/2 minutes then kicks back in. An intense finale.

I wasn't expecting this to be that good but it fits my tastes really well. I'm impressed.

"Frysja" is an interesting number though, a mellow but sometimes funky instrumental that calls to mind Gerry Rafferty's "The Ark" on 'City to City' that released the same year as this record. And "Early Riser" starts off promisingly enough with a blast of guitar and Sylvi Lillegard's strong vocals, but quickly morphs into the same sort of laconic fusion that dominated the band's third and fourth albums. The title track is more of the same although I will say Kjell Larsen is more inspired on guitar than I've heard him since their second record.

"The Rivulet" is more laid-back and jazzier, but features some very complex violin work from guest musician Trond Villa, apparently a Norwegian journeyman who has also appeared on albums by Folque and Shine Dion. "Joy" is heavy on keyboards with vocals I can't quite follow as they tend to be buried by the guitar and keyboard mixes.

The closing "Moody Moments" is the longest song the band recorded since "Brain Boogie" in 1976, and features more scat scaled vocals and lengthy funk guitar and almost new-age keyboard passages. The song doesn't do much for me personally but I suppose it does show the band was capable of putting together an epic length (if not epic-sounding) track.

After two consecutive heavy fusion records the band seems to have decided to try and expand their sound a bit, and as a progressive group they deserve some credit for that effort. The results are mixed, but mostly on the strength of "Frysja" and the opening "Footlovers Diet" I'm going to go with three our of five stars for a rating and a mild recommendation, especially considering this was a 1978 release and as such was better than most of what came out that year simply because it wasn't boogie rock, punk or disco.

peace

Like I said the sound here is quite similar to 'Let Your Love Shine', and in fact on the opening title track I had to check to make sure I was listening to the right CD. The songs on this one are all mature and developed as opposed to the prior record which included a couple of brief transitional snippets of instrumental music as interludes between longer tracks. The more rhythmic and poppish sounds of the latter seventies start to emerge here with songs like "No Deal" and "Left Behind", as they would with just about every other progressive rock band by the time the decade winded to a close.

But the light jazzy vibe is present throughout, particularly on the final two tracks which feature lengthy piano/guitar passages as well as stilted electronic keyboards. Fans of the bands have written rather glowing reviews praising Ms. Lillegård's vocals and the band's mature sound, but I honestly can't really get into this record at all. Musically the production is solid, competent and professional but there is little spark or innovation to draw in anyone other than hardcore fans of the band. And that is the definition of a two-star album, which is what I'm going to say this record is. Recommended to fans only and I should note now available on CD since Pan Records reissued it a few years ago.

peace

Gudny Aspaas is back on lead vocals and is the only vocalist other than a few very minor backing bits supplied by the remaining (male) band members. This is a good thing as she has a very warm voice that seems to blend in with the music quite well. The one thing worth noting on this album though is half of it is instrumental, and when Aspaas does sing she quite often offers only wordless vocals so some of her charm from the band's debut is lost here.

That said, "Corner" is an instrumental consisting of a fairly simple piano progression on which the guitarist Kjell Larsen and percussionist Thor Bendiksen build. This one seems like it's about to take off at any given time but never really does, and in the end is a pleasant but unremarkable piece of music. Same goes for "Second Corner" (another instrumental) although Larsen does offer a thread of interesting guitar riffs throughout the middle portion that are quite jazzy and would have sounded even more so had they been played by brass instruments instead of guitar. Bassist/flautist Asle Nilsen, who had a dominant presence on the band's second album, is more subdued on this one except for a few places like on this song where his playing is quite lively and takes center stage toward the end.

Aspaas returns on the title track which sounds an awful lot like the opening song except a bit longer and with more bass. "Grasse" is a brief interlude that sounds more like a sound check, and then the band kicks into their closing "Brain Boogie", yet another fusion number which is mostly instrumental and drags on for a bit too long at more than nine minutes. At some point I began to picture the open-air, free-form jazz concert scene from 'Spinal Tap' although in this case the music would be better placed in a lounge setting.

This is an okay album I suppose, although it did nothing for me personally and I don't really get the impression the band spent as much time and effort on it as they did either of its predecessors. Fans may find this record worthy, but even though there's nothing substantially wrong with it, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in particular either. That's what is known as a two star album in case you're keeping score at home, and recommended only to fans of the band who may not have heard it yet.

peace

There are a few differences, albeit mostly minor ones. The opening track isn’t nearly as heavy as “Coloured Dreams” from ‘New Born Days’, and the band manages to deviate from an obvious Yes-influenced style with the almost Styx-leaning (and decidedly non-prog titled) ballad “Easy Lovers, Heavy Moaners”. The vocal harmonies on this one remind me just a bit of Spock’s Beard as well, although the lyrics are pretty much repetitive and disposable.

As with their debut there is a heavy emphasis on keyboards of all sorts, yet with this second album the band does spend a bit more time at least trying to give equal billing to Kjell Larsen’s guitar and (quite noticeably) bassist Aslec Nilsen, who is also credited with the flute but doesn’t really play it much except on “Pictures of a Day”. A second guitarist and flautist from the first album is gone, as is the band’s original lead vocalist Gudny Aspaas which is too band because I liked her voice. The band also had a second keyboardist (Håkon Graf) who has apparently left as well, but they have added a new vocalist in Rune Ostdahl.

While the first album settled into a very period-appropriate heavy prog groove after the opening track, this one balances guitar riffs with synthesized keyboard forays and just enough multipart vocals to sound more like early neo-prog than its heavier predecessor. This is most evident on “Fallen Wonders” and the closing “Back Side” though, while the rest of the album is characterized by the same sort of decidedly mid-seventies as the albums that preceded and followed it.

My understanding is the band took more of a fusion direction toward the end, but if you are one of the many folks who still appreciate that seventies symphonic-meets-art-rock sound, this record may appeal to you. Reissued on CD in 1999, you can still find copies pretty easily although in the U.S. at least you’ll have to import it as I doubt you can find this on many record store shelves. Three stars anyway; a pleasant enough diversion on a late autumn evening or perhaps even a lazy summer afternoon. Recommended for nostalgic types I suppose.

peace