ACHE

Ache left aside the sidelong suites of the debut for the sake of shorter and more flexible compositions, however their style was more or less the same as in ''De Homine Urbano''.They still sound extremely similar to BEGGARS OPERA and THE NICE in a Proto-Symphonic Rock style with strong Psych overtones, which included massive organ waves and a powerful rhythm section, while the vocal parts evoke the style of PROCOL HARUM.Their sound was unbelievably energetic and dynamic regarding the time of the album's release with the guitars of Finn Olafsson supporting constantly the keyboards of Peter Mellin in pounding rhythmic parts.A couple of compositions like ''Shadow of a Gipsy'', which even became a great hit, or the eponymous track still retain a late-60's feeling with even stronger psychedelic vibes along the lines of PROCOL HARUM, featuring melodic organ textures and guitars and choir-like vocal lines.The general style is not actually competitive for today's standards and the new Ache album seems to lack any killer moments, though the talent of the group is more than evident

Good release, fans of early-70's British Progressive Rock will love this album, though the band was Danish.The monster organ moves and the overall very passionate sound is the biggest achievements of ''Green man''.A bit dated yet recommended.

If you look past the first track, which sounds like a bad attempt on a Beatles sounding single,there is indeed some very catchy music to be had here. The harmony vocals are strong,with a very crisp guitar and some great keyboards plus the a great rhythm section.Yes the music and singing/lyrics do become a wee bit twee on occasion,but the greater parts far outweigh the twee. As mentioned Styx could be a reference if you like their Equinox and Crystal Ball albums,which I happen to do.

The song 'Roses' which you can hear here on Progarchives is very good example of this album in general.It moves gently around between different moods.Nice

I can't really add more that has not already been mentioned except that I might be a touch generous,so between 3 and 4 *'s.

Ache was a very good band who operated somewhere between ELP, jazz/rock and space rock. Both these albums is very good.

De Homine Urbano = Two tracks, thirty seven minutes. The rosy smell of symphonic prog. To be more precise, the type of symphonic prog touched by Keith Emerson. ELP ? No. This is far more The Nice than ELP. But it is not quite The Nice either.

Green Man = References to the likes of Deep Purple, Beggars Opera, The Nice and The Beatles. Unfortunate, Ache have included a pretty substandard version of their song We Can Work It Out. The rest of the album is filled with Hammond organs and distorted solo guitars. But mostly Hammond organs and the guitars is just used to add textures. The drums and the bass is excellent too. The vocals is good. The music is pretty hard at times. But it also slows down and becomes Beatles like on several occasions.

In short; this is a two for one album worth checking out if you can find it.

3 stars

The instrumental title track is an excellent piece of early organ driven symphonic rock with a very natural rocking sound, close to bands like Focus and the Nice, and it should sure please fans of those bands. The piece is engaging all the way through, only the finale part, which mainly consists of the riff Deep Purple also used on Black Knight, is a bit disappointing. The second track is an improvisation around Every Little Thing She Does from The Beatles and it doesn't offer much thrills. The flat vocals and the drawn out instrumental extensions are rather dull.

De Homine Urbano is a promising but not entirely convincing career start that doesn't immediately motivate me to investigate this band much further beyond this. Not bad but for gem-hunters only.

The DNA profile of Ache is still very much present on this album. Excellent Hammond organ passages is scattered around this album. The symphonic prog elements has been replaced with a more jazzy type of pop rock though. I think this is called going commercial. Which is fair enough. The jazz elements here is a good replacement for the symphonic prog elements. There are even some good guitar solos here.

Despite of this, the stuff is pretty good, but nothing more. There are some interesting melody lines scattered around the album, though. This inbetween the dull run-of-the-mill stuff. The Hammond organs and the jazz elements saves this album from being another pop rock album from 1977.

This is a good album, but not as good as their first two albums.

3 stars (barely)

Ache continues with their symphonic spaced out pretty heavy flower power music. The references to the likes of Deep Purple, Beggars Opera, The Nice and The Beatles. Unfortunate, Ache have included a pretty substandard version of their song We Can Work It Out. The rest of the album is filled with Hammond organs and distorted solo guitars. But mostly Hammond organs and the guitars is just used to add textures. The drums and the bass is excellent too. The vocals is good. The music is pretty hard at times. But it also slows down and becomes Beatles like on several occasions. I think this is a good combination. The best songs here are Shadow Of A Gypsy, the title track and Accheron. In short, if you like this kind of music, Ache and their albums is something you need to purchase. I have my reservations. This album is just cosy in my view and just that.

3.5 stars

Not that the music inside is not good. I found it to be quite pleasing in many parts and it is obvious that those musicians are skillful (the piano and guitar parts are the highlights). Besides, you don´t hear too many bands coming from Denmark at that time, do we? So I guess it is a kind of first in a time most rock bands were either from US or the UK (Holland and Italy aside, prog wise of course). However, this concept album is quite short (39 minutes) and it fails to generate much excitement. It sounds like they could have be a little more bolder and innovative, but they were holding back somehow. That´s the feeling I got. Several tracks seem to go near that prog direction you expect something symphonic or extraordinaire, but rarely it comes near to that. A pity. Production is quite good for the time.

The band would however do a beter job on their next Bla Som Altid.

Rating: 2,5 stars, really, but I will give it an extra half one for the concept and the good musicanship of all involved. 3 stars in total. Good, ok, but maybe essential only for the Danish prog scene sttory.

Two tracks, thirty seven minutes. The rosy smell of symphonic prog. To be more precise, the type of symphonic prog touched by Keith Emerson. ELP ? No. This is far more The Nice than ELP. But it is not quite The Nice either.

The dominant instrument here is Peter Mellin's Hammond organ. He also does the vocals, but there is not much vocals here. He is supported by Finn Olafsson's guitar solos in addition to the usual drums and bass setup. This is in other words a full band effort where all members contributes on equal footing. This is not a Hammond organ ego trip by Peter Mellin.

If we take the basis in The Nice, the music on these two suites is also influenced by psychedelic rock, pomp pop and a lot of classical music. In other words, Pink Floyd, Genesis (Trespass), Procol Harum and Ludwig Van Beethoven. The music is also pretty dark and brooding throughout.

The problem is the strength of the material. This album only have flashes of brilliance now and then. The rest of the material is good, but not particular great. The sound is though dark throughout with the electric guitars acting as a wall of sound at times. This is a very interesting album, but not an essential album. But it runs a four star award very close in my estimation. This is a good/great album which deserves more attention.

3.75 stars

The music here is a mix of heavy rock with some folk inlfuences, plus a little bit of jazz and symphonic elements. Sometimes they sound like Deep Purple MK I (around the time of their self titled LP), sometimes like Uriah Heep or Jethro Tull, but most of the time you can say they have a personality of their own. Their main feature here is the guitar talents of Finn Olafsson: the guy is very good. I also loved the keyboards (lots of Hammond!). Vocals are only average, but some backings are very well done. Production is ok. A shame this CD is so short (35 minutes)

Their songwriting is quite good, but not exceptional: there are no fillers, all tracks are good and varied, with tasteful arrangements and nice perfomances by all involved. Nothing is very complicated or bombastic as one might expect from a symphonic band, but it is still good. If you like 70´s prog rock with the aforementined highs and lows, you should check this out. Ache definitly deserved more exposure. Rating: 3,5 stars.