LIKE WENDY

LIKE WENDY is the Dutch musical project of Bert HEINEN, mixing progressive rock with symphony since 1998. In line with a neo-prog at MARILLION, IQ or PALLAS as a reference and GENESIS or PENDRAGON for guitar playing. More a concept than a group since he released his 10th album still solo after a remarkable 'The Fisher' in 2021.

"Flight" neo-symphonic intro reminiscent of the flights of ARAGON; the guitar gives the heavy, monolithic, brightened, dark, oxymorian rhythm; the solo wants to be higher in notes, airy and solemn. "Shine On Memory" for one of three ballads over 10 minutes; I find there the melody to BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, flights to DICE, in short, art rock with convolutions to stop time and stay in a world far from noise; it's long, hypnotic, vintage. "Ivory Tower" acoustic guitar for a melody with the voice in front; light bucolic sound effects; the final guitar solo stretches and goes on a BJH or even CAMEL trip. "Creation" ARAGON for the electro synth, the guitar a bit of Bert, it's like even him who plays! A break with keyboards giving freshness, liveliness on this monolithic title; a second break à la GENESIS for the flute, the guitar, the atmosphere; it is at this moment that the sound specific to LIKE WENDY finally falls into place. "Apocalyptic Sun" in the same vein with electronic drums, why I was talking about ARAGON, which can disturb the fan hooked on the rock spirit and the musicians who give with their hands; good at the hands level, another solo that melts between melodic, atmospheric, intimate, meditative. "Birth" second long piece which begins as a sequel to the previous title; don't expect a striking COLLAGE intro, like a little LANDS END melody; wait a bit and the guitar solo comes, which actually does Bert's body; the break with fluid monolithic synth bringing the guitar is one of the most successful of the album, the second with synths à KELLY des MARILLION.

"Running Scared" intro typed, latent, dark on keyboards and a spleen guitar; a slow descent to the sounds of retro yesteryear that ooze from all floors, it doesn't hurt; it is at the end of the title that the atmosphere takes on its full body. "Wings of Icarus" continues on the same tempo, cascade of notes falling to infinity; the final spleen of phew, for young people who would read. "End of Daylight" BJH ambiance without the voice on another synthetic tune; be reassured the solo which arrives is well stamped with a rhythm which goes up on the end. "Prince X" flowing melodic ballad, in the same vein, still as beautiful for the prog declination, redundant too. Finally "Live Forever" arpeggios like interlude ballad rhyme, to rest your mind for a while. "Wreck of the Dancer" for the last long title which makes my ears suddenly prick up; we feel the hints of MARILLION, GENESIS between boxes, superb; the mid-term break, a time on the SUPERTRAMP goes back to the Fishian era, tonic, bewitching; the keyboard is well placed and navigates between the two decades, a bit of CLEPSYDRA there, in short neo I warned you.

LIKE WENDY tries to make us dream by revising our memory on the titles that speak of a number of referenced groups to which I add the BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST for the melodic side, the long guitar flights; yes Bert is a very good guitarist. A long album which has beautiful pieces, others less engaging, quite repetitive which are repeated and risk losing interest in the end, danger. An anachronistic album where the intros are common, the tunes common but where the digressions become intense, full of feeling and emotion.

LIKE WENDY is the Dutch instrumental project of Bert Heinen, created in 1998. Known from the year 2000, I remember a good neo-prog at MARILLION as references but lacking pure creation. He tells on his 9th album a part of his childhood on the stories of fishermen of yesteryear, hence the title; an album with two great tracks to dive into this sea of ​​foam of memories, it's gone.

"The Fisher (Part I)" with the first of two long tracks from the album, for a Mark KELLY-style intro, set in motion with a crystal-clear, airy, smooth rhythm guitar right in the middle of progressive rock? also reminding me of APSARAS and its reverberating air melodies; drawers there will be some with Floydian sounds, a bluesy break halfway through and stretching guitar notes; fusion David GILMOUR, Nick BARRETT and Gary MOORE, acceleration of notes, return to a slower tempo, meditative, intimate, Genesis synths, passage tinged with spleen, meditation, final on the atmospheric acoustic guitar, on CAMEL for a romantic ballad , very well composed title. "Stormbound" for a rock with a slow tempo, calm voice accompanied by a magical Mellotron and fruity guitars, a little bluesy again, a caviar interlude in short on a very 70's tune. "The Cross" starts off with melodic prog-rock, associating chiseled and fruity guitar with vintage notes of keyboards ranging from Moog to Hammond; sound of Nolan here, delicious atmosphere in fact, Génésisienne on "And Then There Were Three"; the break starts with a fight between frippian guitar and various keyboards, then it starts again with a slide guitar and a sound straight from the 70's, psychedelic. It's simple, it's agreed, it's beautiful too and well composed.

4. The Fisher (Part II) for the second long piece, direct attack with phrased and acoustic voice a la "Animals", then its bluesy, Mellotron again; paf break with the limpid, divine, introspective piano, seagulls, oh yes we come back to the stories of fishermen; the tone is more melancholy, meditative, hovering, progressive in the sense of improvisation. The second part starts in the introspective, the emotional but with a melodic side and solos suites; a little Bjørn RIIS for the meditative progressive cold side; the finale introduces a slightly confusing trumpet, a harmonica reminiscent of the country of the slide guitar, then again these analog keyboards which make the ox with the trumpet! A title more complex than it looks. "Brand New" and a Floydian acoustic ballad, a simple title, refined as if to land smoothly from the boat ride in which we got on well. "Dune" for the extra song in a country crooner variation, acoustic continuing the previous title at the start, which suddenly explodes to change to warm-voice prog rock that you could listen to on a certain Route 66 there; the presence of yet another velvety guitar solo well placed to convert you.

LIKE WENDY places at the start of the year a melodic, symphonic, simple and effective progressive rock sound, agreed and limpid, more in the footsteps of a PENDRAGON or an IQ than a MARILLION. Long instrumental passages that depart from the aforementioned groups to show that Bernt has progressed well and widened his sound space. An album that has nothing to do with its timid previous releases, an almost concept album that hits the prog anthill with big kicks because it's really brilliant, fresh, inventive. A melting pot, an atmospheric, symphonic and melodic rock mix that is worth its weight in gold.

This is a musical project by fellow Dutchman Bert Heinen, in 1998 the debut album The Storm Inside was released, it got a lot of praise from the progrock reviewers all over the world. I wrote about it "Like Wendy is a Dutch musical project by multi-instrumentalist Bert Heinen, this debut album sounds pleasant and elaborate with flowing shifting moods, lots of compelling solos, including sensitive, often howling guitar runs and sparkling keyboards. Don't expect complex or original prog, this is music that will please the many fans of early Marillion, IQ and Pendragon. A big hand for this fellow Dutchman that managed to sound as a band!" In 2005 I wrote about the album The Endgame from 2002 "If you like mid-Genesis, IQ, Pendragon and Barclay James Harvest, this one is yours!". And now anno 2020, 15 years later, Like Wendy produces his studio-album # 10, with fellow multi-instrumentalist and long time collaborator Mark-Jeroen Heek.

So it was 15 years ago that I had my last musical encounter with Like Wendy, listening to this new album anno 2020 I conclude that Like Wendy has matured in song writing, and that the sound is less derivative. The music is very melodic and harmonic, the atmospheres are mainly between mellow and slow rhythms, wonderfully embellished with the unsurpassed Mellotron, and often intense guitarwork.

The titletrack Part 1 (15.40) shifts between slow rhythms and mid-tempo accellarations, with elements from mid- Genesis (twanging guitars and synthesizer flights) and Pendragon (guitar sound). Halfway a moving guitar solo, supported by soaring Mellotron violins, simply beautiful! In the second part the guitar sound develops into a kind of bluesy David Gilmour, very compelling. In the end melancholical vocals in an atmospheric climate, to me evoking early U2.

Next Stormbound, a very short song (3.07) featuring a wonderful blend of melancholical vocals, majestic Mellotron violins and sensitive electric guitar runs, in a slow rhythm.

Then the mid-long The Cross (9.53). It starts with dreamy vocals and again intense guitar work, topped with varied vintage keyboards (Mellotron, Moog and Hammond). Halfway a break with a slow beat, warm vocals, spacey sounds and excellent slide guitar. And finally an awesome Mellotron violin sound.

Now the second part of the titletrack (14.10). First a blend of Mellotron violins, rhythm guitar and warm vocals, then a tender piano part, beautiful. The music turns into a slow rhythm with melancholical vocals and piano, then sensitive guitar, and swelling Mellotron choirs. Now the music slows down into dreamy with twanging guitar and melancholical vocals, and finally a moving guitar solo with soaring keyboards, what a wonderful emotional prog music.

The final track is a short ballad (2.17) with rhythm guitar and warm vocals, emphasizing that Like Wendy succeeds to make varied and pleasant, very melodic prog.

My rating: 3,5 star.

Like Wendy started to become the hottest name in the catalogue of LaBraD'or Records.Although Marien appears to have been removed from any duties, Heinen wrote, played all instruments and recorded the fourth album of the project ''Summer in Eden'' with the help of Mark-Jeroen Heek on additional vocals (same man, who took over the artwork of the album), while LaBraD'or Records' boss Marc Brasse helped on mastering.The album came out in 2002.

Heinen was no stranger to situations like being alone in the studio and recording an album on his own, so ''Summer in Eden'' was yet another nice little treasure of romantic still intense Neo Prog with well-crafted arrangements and excellent instrumental mix.Compared to the previous albums, this is definitely the most retro-sounding release of Like Wendy, the album contains lots of soft organ themes and Mellotron snapshots in the process along with some flute strings, while the PINK FLOYD influence dominates the album, the display of some psychedelic flavors next to the more symphonic material is the best proof.The tracks are quite long, although no extreme epics are included, with some beautiful guitar solos in a DAVID GLMOUR style and efficient melodies and vocals, creating a slightly melancholic and atmospheric background.The next moment mid-70's GENESIS start to become the prominent source of inspiration, more symphonic orchestrations and strong use of synthesizers are always welcome and off to a hot start for grandiose and pompous instrumental textures.The album flows mainly in a low tempo with focus on soft instrumental lines, deep lyrical deliveries and twists between FLOYD-ian atmospheres and MARILLION-esque palettes.Very good partition of instrumental colors, piano, guitar and organ are mostly the leading forces with lovely Mellotron injections and some symphonic synthesizers thrown in.

Not topping the quality of the previous albums, but this is a very nice work of FLOYD-ian Neo Prog, Heinen is definitely a skillful composer, singer and musician, another item in his catalogue sounds like a full-band effort, containing atmospheric music with evident references to the 70's.Warmly recommended...3.5 stars.

What a find! I was searching for a melodic new prog band and I found exactly what I was looking for -and more. Almost all the tracks of the album are mellow (in a nice way -not overtly melodramatic) and it is also more straightforward and fresh than most new prog albums, which often tend to be irritating, in my humble view. It reminds me of melodic bands from Denmark like Saybiaand I Got you on Tape. It might not be a masterpiece but it is a most pleasant album, surprisingly enough from a band that is (unfairly) almost unknown -although it has released a number of good albums.

Surprise! Surprise! One of the first things that strike me is the Collage like guitar sound on the first track, while also the use of keyboards and the melody itself also comes close to Collage's "Moonshine" (a 5 star album). The following quiet vocal part however sounds less derivative. The vocals are, although a little accented, quite good and especially the precise use of multiple voices is well-done. The mood of the song then changes quite dramatically with loud ruffles and the style of Arena is evoked. In this rather short song quite a few moods are evoked, but although all of the parts are nice, the parts are maybe a little too unrelated. Still, top notch melodic progressive. The moodiness of the first part of "Another Day" goes into a part that also features the string-like sounds of Marillion's The Space, while the second part contains a vocal melody reminding me a lot of Collage again. "Falling Star" sounds more original and is a very melodious ballad with great singing. After this rather short song, we come to the next 10+ minutes track, "Birth". Again, a very striking vocal melody, this time with some acoustic guitar in the back. Later on this track picks up speed with alternating solo's on the keyboards and guitar. After the strong build up (on guitar) in "Prince X", the title track opens with a cackling typewriter, acoustic guitar and soft keys. After this somber opening, the music becomes more up-tempo and rather Kelly like, while halfway Pendragon peeks around the corner and the music becomes very positive sounding. The song ends majestically. "Never Abandon" reminds me quite a lot of the time that Jens van der Stempel sang with Egdon Heath. This seems a rather ballad-like track with varied vocalization. "The closer", again, passes the 10 minute mark and the title may remind you of Pink Floyd, but to my feeling it's mostly Pendragon here. Barely an original album that owes a lot to progressive bands such as Marillion, IQ, Pendragon and Collage, but to be honest, if the quality of the songs is so high throughout, I don't mind. This applies both to the compositions, melodies as well as playing and singing. As such a recommended album, where you'll hear some familiar echoes, while enjoying the music. For me it's a 4.5 star rounded-up to 5

Neo prog with hints of space. Abundant prominence of keyboards, and acoustic guitars. Clearly, Heinen is better as a keyboardist who as a guitarist, and his voice and singing style fits well with the music. The production is quite good, much better than the first disc in particular. The songwriting is less than The Storm Inside and Rainchild, which contain memorable melodies and choruses. Something always happens to me with Like Wendy albums, the similarity of the tracks, it becomes monotonous hearing the same completely.

The Falcon Suite is the most important here. An extensive song that begins with a captivating piano melody with well developed, and is running through different musical passages, all delightful and well related. A Kin's Epitaph and Live at Armageddon are the other two songs i enjoy moderately.

Bert Heinen seemed unstoppable regarding his rhythm on writing music during the first steps of Like Wendy and in 2000 he returned with the third and most ambitious effort so far, the album ''Tales From Moonlit Bay'', released again on Marc Brasse's LaBraD'or Records.This time his partner Marien contributed also some vocal parts apart for his drumming and keyboard performances.

Heinen decided to give it a shot on arranging a very long 21-min. epic, the ''Falcon Suite'', and the result was way beyong sufficient.This is an absolute Space Rock/Neo Prog masterpiece, with the first part captured by spacey piano interludes, intense lyrical moments, sensitive guitar work and a very deep atmosphere, while the second part is even better, featuring bombastic organ breaks, distorted guitar solos and strong groovy parts, like a cross between MARILLION, CLEPSYDRA and PINK FLOYD.The rest of the album follows more or less the same vein, divided into short, semi-long and long compositions, without though reaching the inspiration of the opening epic.Still this is very solid Neo/Symphonic/Art Prog in the style of FLAMBOROUGH HEAD, GALAHAD and CLEPSYDRA with beautiful vocal parts, long and sensational solos, acoustic hints, heavier moments with spacey synths and even symphonic instrumental textures, full of grandieur.The production remains strong, the mix is clear and satisfying and the moods Heinen can create is definitely a trademark of his music.

If this album had a couple of tracks close to its epic's unique inspiration, we would be talking about a classic of the genre.Still ''Tales From Moonlit Bay'' belongs among the nicest releases of Neo/Symphonic/Art Rock and deserves a great fame.Highly recommended.

Third album from their catalogue Tales from the moonlit bay issued at same label LaBraD'or records in 2000 is maybe their best record from all albums they offered across the years, but with all that they didn't change much in manner of compposing keeping the same attitude on almost every piece. This album is in same direction as previous works melodic neo prog with nice yet totaly un inventive guitar and keybords parts. The album is saved overall by the mosnster opening track - the epic Falcon Suite, clocking around 21 is by far the best piecs of the album and why not one of the best pieces they ever done. Lots of changes in mood and tempo, with melodic guitar lines, nice keybords interluded and a warm pleasent voice coming from the master of the band Bert Heinen. The king epitaph is another worthy piece from here. The album is ok , good no doubt , it suffers in dynamic passages, at least is how I see it, is to much time mid tempo to slow moments and no really much vein in instruments. 3 stars again, ok, enjoyble but nothing more, I guess these two LIke Wendy albums will stay another 5 or so years on the shelf untill I rememeber that I have it.

Like Wendy is one of those neo prog bands that for some reson never made me listning to them again and again like other bands from this genre. I get as present two of their albums 8 years ago , this one , their second Rainchild and the next one Tales from the moonlit bay, listned couple of times and then I putet them on the shelf never touch the CD until quite recently when I want to re memeber the atmosphere they created. Well, the second album of this dutch band from 1999 - named Rainchild issued at small label LaBraD'or records is the kind of neo prog that a really don't dig a lot, not bad overall but to melodramatic for my taste and to much slow moments on every piece, the up tempo and more energic ones are almost totaly missing here. Anyway the band, the two members did a good job here, specially Bert Heinen who is responsable for some good guitar works remind me of Hackett and some ok keybords melted with the rest of the instruments, mainly the keyboards are more intresting then anything, even are not spectacular moments. Some Pendragon meets Genesis meets Hackett meets Collage is what they offer here, a mellow melodic kind of neo prog, as I said not bad for sure but to much same linear arrangements to my ears. The voice is pretty much ok most of the time, nothing really to talk about the tone of Bert Heinen voice, is ok nothing more. Forte pieces for me is Drowned, Colours of the summer and maybe one or two tracks from the ending album. So, Like Wendy is ok, they offer a pleasent neo prog yet quite unintresting for my ears, 3 stars is best I can give.