CONQUEST

Their last studio work was really poor and I wondered what I would discover with this one. During the opening number, Sloman sings several times "And now I've reached the point of no return". Is this premonitory ? Actually this number is rather good, with a great Box on the guitar. Not in the foreground, but solidly displaying his talent in the background.

"Imagnation" is a bizarre track. Quiet at times with good bass playing (but this is at least a consistency within the band), it gets more nervous here and there. Not a bad song. Rather different that what we are used to. Not hard, not AOR. Just bizarre. With "Feelings" we make a trip in time. The poor chorus sounds as"Stealin' " but the verses are much better. Same poppish kind of songs than what they released with "Fallen Angel" but a bit better. Intro and finale sounds like if it has been played life (fake audience I guess).

I quite like the intro of "Fools". Keyboard work is very subtle. It is actually a good rock ballad. This record is not as bad as I expected. No boring stuff as on their previous releases. This song features as well a brilliant guitar solo. Mick still has the faith of his twenties... Sloman even tries to sound as Gillan in "Child In Time" at the end of the song. The best number so far. It has been a while since the Heep wrote such a nice song.

"Won't Have To Wait Too Long" is another good rock song : good backing band with again an outstanding Bolder on the bass. I have the same feeling again with Sloman at the end of "Out On The Street " : he's trying to simulate the screams of Gillan (in a much, much smoother way). Again this song is quite pleasant.

The very quiet and peaceful "It Ain't Easy" closes the original album quite nicely I must say.

This album is definitely different from all the other Heep ones. No brilliant songs but no rubbish either. A good rock album. Compared to "Fallen Angel" it is a nice surprise. IMO the descent to the infierno has been put (temporarily ?) to an end. I don't have the impression that this album is AOR or even hard-rock (only some of the bonus tracks have these flavours). It is only rock music. And good one to my standard. I guess some of you will be surprised that I rate this album with three stars, but that's the way I feel, so ...

There are five bonus tracks on the remastered version. Two singles (both sides) and an outake from these sessions. Most of them will not add value to the original album. Still I like "My Joanna Needs Tuning" : very much in line withthe rest of the album. Actually, since the album was not very long, it could have fit pretty well there. So, it is only justice to get it now. "Lying" is also a good song : a bit Supertramp oriented. Quite nice I must say. Good rythm and very pleasant melody.

It has been ages that the Heep did not produce an effort that pleases me so much. Let's hope they will keep on like this. Unfortunately, this vocalist will only be featured on this album.