TRIP THE LIFE FANTASTIC

Review #22 Drifting Sun released their first eponymous album in 1996. Two years later they released the very good 'On the Rebound', and then they disappeared! Now, almost 17 years later, they re-appeared again, with a brand new album which is a true jewel! From the old members only Pat Sanders is remaining, who found new musicians and decided to start all over again. This new line up sounds so fresh, and it includes some very good musicians.

Now, let's take a closer look on the album' 'Trip the Life Fantastic' includes 10 songs + 1 demo, and has a total running time of almost an hour. The album opens with the title song, which is one of the best moments of the album. It's a typical Neo - Prog song, with the keyboards having the leading role before the 3rd minute on which guitar takes over. 'Trip the Life Fantastic' is followed by the (2 -minute long) beautiful and melodic instrumental 'Peach Blossoms'. Next comes 'The Wizard' which is another typical Neo - Prog song, with mellow passages and very good guitar riffs. Another small instrumental piece comes next, the melodic 'Sunsets' with keyboards and acoustic guitar. (I must say that I really enjoyed the idea of putting small instrumental pieces among the songs, because they seem to work as a 'bridge' between the songs). The album continues with 'Lady Night' another beautiful composition, which includes some excellent guitar work. I'm not going to continue writing for each one of the songs, but I would like to mention which songs I like the most: Trip the Life Fantastic, The Wizard, Tormented, and Last Supper. Especially 'Last Supper' is the "progiest" track of the whole album.

The most important thing is that 'Trip the Life Fantastic' is one of those albums which you listen from the start 'till the end, without having to skip any of the songs. Surely there are stronger and weaker moments, but all the songs are of high synthetic standards. I strongly recommend this album to all those who are fans not only of Progressive Rock or Neo - Prog, but Rock in general. It is a very enjoyable album! As for my rating, this would be 4.0 stars...