AND THE WATERS OPENED

Between's second album (this time released on the Vertigo swirl label) is another sumptuous adventures in the many realms of musics, ranging from classical to world/ethnic to medieval, among others. This album was released some two years after the debut and leader P-M Hamel had spent much time in India (and worked with Agitation Free), while Eliscu played with Popol Vuh and percussionist Black with Niagara. By recording time of ATWO, the group was now only a quartet, Stranz and Galway having understandably moved on. With a stunning colourful artwork, unfortunately not reproduced on the recent Wergo re-issue (which prefers a midnight sun photo montage), ATWO resembles much Einstig musically-speaking, but it is completely acoustic and has a few choirs/chants.

Starting on the cosmic/free form lengthy ATWO track and later on Syn(both filled with low freq drones from Detrée's moto-cello, the listener is reassured right away that he will find the same kind of superb unclassifiable fusion of musics found on Einstig, musics that originally don't have much to do with each other. Uroboros moves between Arabian, with Eliscu's oboe moving effortlessly on a tabla-led raga, something leading the listener to think of Third Ear Band. Aerial choirs open Devotion, soon joined by tabla and organ, the whole thing turning into esoteric chants that would probably be the rage during the new age music boom, some 20 years later. The lengthy Happy Stage returns to an Indio/Arabian that was laid out on Uroboros, with an extra acoustic guitar strumming along. Samum is more of the same ethnic realm, but this time fused with the spacey drones, which allow for the album to end as it had started. .

Oddly enough, the Wergo Cd reissue opts to start on a bonus track preceding the album, but Journey To Ixtland is actually quite well in place with the original opening title track, both being very close to Cosmic "rock" (lack of better word) as electronics, wild percussions and free form improvs make Ixtland a perfect intro to Waters. The other two bonus tracks close the album, both again very much in line with the album, both on the classical/medieval and Indian realms. All three bonus tracks date from early 76, which is chronologically questionable, but artistically it bodes well, and is really unnoticeable without the liner notes.

AZTWO is just as essential as Einstig, minus the then-surprise of the debut, but it is a bit calmer and concentrating a tad more on the Indian music, for obvious travelling issues of leader Hamel.