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Solaris - Solaris 1990 CD (album) cover

SOLARIS 1990

Solaris

 

Symphonic Prog

3.68 | 123 ratings

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Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
3 stars This is very good flute / keyboard led instrumental music from Hungary. I was a little disappointed that the guitar wasn't as prominant as it was on their "Nostradamus Book Of Prophesies" album. The keyboard seems to have taken that prominant role on this one, after the flute of course.This is a double cd with a lot of previously unreleased and live material. It flows quite well though, and the playing is very good.

Disc One starts off with "A Viking Visszater" an upbeat tune although the tempo changes back and forth on this one. Some nice guitar 2 minutes in. Lots of synths after 3 minutes. "Ellenpont" opens with some amazing piano melodies, although the flute ends up dominating the sound. "OZ" is one of my favourites with spacey synths followed by flute and drums. Guitar 2 1/2 minutes in returns 2 minutes later and it's even better the second time around. "Mickey Mouse" is an uptempo synth led track. What else ? "Eden" is another favourite of mine. I like the atmosphere that comes and goes. A tasteful guitar solo 1 1/2 minutes in followed by flute a minute later. The guitar returns a couple of times before this one is over. "Hullamok" is a bonus track with some organ. "Egeszeges Optimizmus" is the other bonus track. It's fairly catchy with spoken words that come and go. "Los Angeles 2026" is a side long suite at over 23 minutes. It has a dramatic and epic intro before it levels out. Some excellent bass 4 minutes in. Piano 6 1/2 minutes in. Bass is back 11 1/2 minutes in. Flute leads the way 13 minutes in. Some JETHRO TULL-like moments at this point. Some good guitar late as it ends with an amazing sound.

Disc Two starts off with "Ejszakaitarlat" as keys and flute lead the way early.This one gets quite intense before settling down to a calm 4 minutes in. After each odd numbered track is a short song, each called "Kozjatek".The first one of these features a lot of electronics. The second is the best as the guitar is plucked. The third has the sound of blowing wind. Then there is the fourth and fifth. Back to the longer songs. "Szabadjatek" opens with some mellow flute for 1 1/2 minutes. A full sound of drums and synths mainly 2 minutes in. "Ejfeli Valcer" has this waltz-like rhythm throughout. "Jozsi Mateszalkara Megy" is a bit of a mixed bag with the flute, drums, guitar and synths each taking the spotlight. "Ejszakaitarlat V." is slower paced with lots of atmosphere. Drums and flute lead the way. "E-Moll Concerto" is all over the place, slow, fast, noisy, calm. Some vocal melodies even. The bass is great. "Paella" sounds like a Spanish guitar solo throughout. "A Kigyo Szive" has a nice full sound with flute and guitar shining bright. "Ez Nem Kan-Kan" is less then a minute of different sounds coming and going. "Magyar Tanc" is a cool sounding uptempo track. Lots of intricate sounds. They're just showing off late in the song. Haha. "Duo" is mostly flute and acoustic guitar. That is probably why it's called Duo ?! The final song is "Solaris 1990" and we get snippets of famous movie soundtracks and classical music pieces.They are all pieced together while what sounds like a drum machine keeps a beat going.

Over a 100 minutes of music here from "SOLARIS". I just don't think it's essential. I would suggest you get your hands on "Nostradamus..." or "The Martian Chronicles" first.

Mellotron Storm | 3/5 |

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