ELOY

The bad side of Visionary is that of the new songs: too much vocals (not one of their best aspects in any record) and not really convincing themes and arrangements. The playing is as fine as ever (great bass lines by Klaus-Peter Matziol, good guitar parts, very good vintage sounding keyboards). The main problem seems to be a lacking of boldiness like they did on Ocean 2 and The Tides Return Forever, where they again plowed on familiar ground but still delivered strong and relevant material. On Visionary the tunes are ok, but you have the strong impression you heard it all before and done in a better way: The Challenge for instance, is almost Time To Turn with another set of lyrics.

Conclusion: Visionary is a pleasant album, if you´re not a too demanding fan. Rating: somewhere 2,5 and 3 stars. Good, but not essential in any way.

What makes this album a bit less interesting in comparison to Ocean are the shorter track lengths which take away the opportunity of establishing an atmosphere which is a must have when it comes to space rock! Gone is also the magnificent drum work by Jürgen Rosenthal that made Ocean into a real treat.

On the positive note the album doesn't sound all that much like an 80's release although it doesn't have the 70's sound either. It's mostly a mix of the two and I like it! Overall it's an enjoyable space rock title and a must-have for most genre enthusiasts. I also believe that Planets can be a good introduction album since the shorter track lengths can actually be easier to digest for anyone who is new to space rock.

***** star songs: Sphinx (6:50)

**** star songs: Introduction (1:58) On The Verge Of Darkening Lights (5:37) Point Of No Return (5:45) Mysterious Monolith (7:40) At The Gates Of Dawn (4:17) Carried By Cosmic Winds (4:32)

*** star songs: Queen Of The Night (5:22)

Even by the standards of the pseudo-philosophical story lines, the lyrics here are weak, playing on incessant rhyming of words that end in "ation" or "ery". I wasn't surprised by anything until a pixie was mentioned in the final track. Never has there been an Eloy album as vocal dominated as this, which I assure you is not a plus, since the band's prime strength has been its instrumental fireworks, mostly absent here. I have always counted myself as a fan of Frank's voice because he can sound angry and shift to caressing, but here he mostly sounds robotic, clearly unable to squeak out of an increasingly narrow range. The backing of Anke Renner and Tina Lux on most tracks was a smart move, but not what fans clamor for.

After 11 years, we get a mere 42 minutes running time, with one of the tracks being a modest alteration on the classic "Time to Turn". Others sound very similar to some of the work on "Ocean 2", the best of these being "Edge of Insanity", as much because it rocks out of the stupor too common elsewhere, but also due to spirited synth work by Michael Gerlach. "Summernight Symphony" is a reasonable attempt to repeat the "Childhood Memories" motif from "Tides Return..", while the opener is notable for pleasant acoustic guitar and Renaissance flute otherwise dressed up in a typical latter day ELOY outfit. Both parts of "The Secret" are simply too dirge like to appeal to most long time fans, particularly Part 2, which drones on ad nauseum, even the moderately appealing bass line being almost a verbatim steal from "The Challenge".

If you are looking for top notch German space rock, you may want to try Leipzig's DICE who appear to have usurped the crown from ELOY. I feel like the traffic officer who listened to my pathetic excuse for running a stop sign a few years ago, ridiculed me mercilessly, and then inexplicably pardoned my ticket. It's sad to see such a waste of talent and exploitation of fans, but what's disappointing ELOY is still good music that knows how to generate a spacey ambiance, aural visionaries that they are. 2.5 stars undeservedly rounded up.

Well now that we got that out of the way let's talk about Ocean! The album opens with the amazing Poseidon's Creation which is truly a magnificent composition and is performed flawlessly by all the musicians involved. I would like to give a special shout out to the drummer who blew me away with the polyrhythmic drumming and bass sounds!

Where does the album lead us after such an impressive introduction? Well to tell you the truth I felt quite underwhelmed by the other three track the first few time I heard them. Eventually I got used to them more and more but still they never reach the intensity of the first composition.

Although the rest of the album is below the level of the great first track Eloy still manages to keep the album afloat. Most of the compositions don't overstay their welcome which can be a big problem when dealing with space rock, although the last composition could have been shortened down just a bit, but now I'm just being picky.

Overall Ocean is a perfect introduction for anyone interested in German space rock! The music itself might not be that original but the jam-moments definitely make up for those flaws in my book.

***** star songs: Poseidon's Creation (11:38)

**** star songs: Incarnation Of The Logos (8:25) Decay Of The Logos (8:15) Atlantis' Agony At June 5th - 8498, 13 P.M. Gregorian Earthtime (15:35)

This is what I would call symphonic space prog probably due to the mellotron usage; it's very abundant on this album along with various synths. The bass is another instrumental factor here as it's very present and powerful. The track ''Incarnation of the Logos'' is the best showcasing for the bass. The guitars and drums are a bit more discrete, but get the job done which is all I really care about.

It can get problematic vocally; Frank Bornemann's timbre is of an acquired taste as it is quite nasal to put it lightly. There's also supposed to be some story about Poseidon, Atlantis and humanity's obsession with technological progresses, but I really never bothered too much other than the fact that the story is pretty cheesy. And it seems all of the vocal sections sound the same.

My biggest complaint is the track partially titled ''Atlantis's Agony''. It's fifteen plus minutes long, but the first 7-8 are spent inside of a drone with the cheesiest announcer at the beginning of it. I wouldn't mind the long droning if the payoff was great or there was no payoff, but Eloy try to make an exquisite ending that for my money doesn't exactly work. That pretty much lost the album a star right there. Now, I've made more complaints for OCEAN than warranted, so let me conclude by saying that ''Poseidon's Creation'' and ''Incarnation of the Logos'' are top quality progressive rock tracks.

Last words: Not bad space prog that can really appeal to the symphonic progsters out there.

Although there are no spectacular revelations, Eloy's prophetic ruminations of past lessons and the challenges of the future, remain as poignant as ever and are presented with a very uplifting philisophical tone that even gets into catchy grooves at times. Incorporating folky elements, hypnotizing bass rhythms, a girlie chorus and well placed instrumental sections with lush synth backdrops, Visionary is remarkably balanced and fluid. There are no orphan tracks and each one establishes it's own individual mood while remaining integral and synchronous to the collective endeavours of the work. 40 years on, Bornemann's vocals ( which have come under scrutiny in the past ) also acquire a certain astute quality making him sound more like a distinquished prophetic orator than an ageing rock star. His guitar has also mellowed with age and can be appreciated here in smaller doses, mostly playing background rhythms as opposed to the single-minded blowouts of Eloy's days gone by.

Although some older fans may deride them for the lack of pomp and flash here ( which is not entirely absent ), Eloy, along with bands like Nektar and Uriah Heep form the last bastion of the old school progressive rock institution that remain steadfast to the classic convictions of that era. On Visionary, Eloy have never sounded more together and might even attract new listeners with a suprisingly enjoyable, thoughtful and inviting work.

4(-), because that's what this deserves. Not entirely pure prog, but nice "almost-prog" music. Their most innovative flame should be out (I still don't know for sure, don't forget that I never heard their other music), but sparks remain. And after all, it's maybe blasphemy, but I think I can enjoy this kind of music more than their early years.

This is definitely a worthy sequel to Ocean, which is also worthy of a 5 in my opinion. Although the two do not sound exactly the same, which is good. Overall the album can get a bit hard rocking under all of its wonderful sounds and textures that it creates. It's a very spacey and ancient feel... something reminding you of ancient civilizations and starmaps and all that stuff. It's really neat.

Some of the greatest things in this album come from the choruses, which feature female vocals in a way that just makes it sound so epic and majestic. The progressiveness in this release comes from its complexity in song structure and originality along with its very surreal sounding keyboards. The lyrics are astonishing, with imagery of spacey and ancient origins, much like the first Ocean. I also thought that the drums sounds very defined and clear.

When I received the album, I thought the album artwork was pretty amazing as well. I haven't seen that surreal of artwork in an album since I finished collecting ALL Pink Floyd albums and many of their bootlegs. In fact, after collecting everything by Pink Floyd, I despaired that I had nothing more to collect, but luckily Eloy has emerged as another I'd be interested in getting everything by.

Much of what makes this album amazing is in common with its ancestor Ocean. The majestic imagery and sound that it paints in your head when you listen to it. This album also adds in the beautiful choruses of female vocalists to give you a futuristic feeling of perfection... it's hard to explain. I feel as if it comes from a higher being, like some form of angel or extraterrestrial. This album is also harder rock than Ocean, with louder guitars.

Definitely a landmark I think. I totally believe it deserves a 5, no matter how much I have tried not to rate something a 5 unless it really deserves it, I think this album is worthy. If you like progressive rock, just go and buy this album. You don't even need to hear anything, you'll love it, I'm sure.

Listening to it now I'm inclined to look on it a bit more favourably and there is a certain amount of prog on show but I would describe much of it as symphonic pop, if there is such a thing. Some heavier guitar riffs here and there add a rock element, with an emphasis on melodic tunes pushing it into AOR territory here and there.

Side 2 of the original vinyl version is far superior to side 1 and is likely to be of greater interest to progheads due to Follow The Light and Nightriders almost hitting the 10 minute mark and deviating from the eighties synth pop style evident on some of the album. Both songs, particularly Nightriders, plod along with a kind of Led Zeppelin Kashmir groove pace, though not sounding like I hasten to add, the former bringing Pink Floyd to mind in the quieter sections. The only song from side 1 that captures my interest is opener Escape To The Heights for its infectious poppy melody, though toughened up a bit with a heavier guitar riff.

The worst thing about this album though is the very dated eighties production; the synth sounds that were prevalent amongst so many synth pop bands at the time and that fat synthetic drum sound which I've never liked. Of all the production sounds over the years the eighties has been the one that has fared the worst with time. No doubt Eloy were looking for a bit of commercial success with this one.

Some decent moments then, but three good tracks out of seven doesn't make a good album so just about hovering around the 2.5 star mark I think.