ANIMATION

This LP belonged to my brother when I was 12-13 and started to listen to the vinyls in our home. There were also some other influential albums including Yes: 90125, Rush: Signals, plus some Saga and Asia, that had something to do with prog -- of which I at the time didn't know yet. Of all these albums Animation had the strongest impact on me; more precisely, it was the long title track. It simply blew my young mind and transferred me into new magical spheres of music, the kind I had never heard before. It was PROGRESSIVE instead of normal verse/chorus/verse song structure. So I could say it all started right here (honorary mention goes to 'Telegraph Road' by Dire Straits).

'Animation' is still written in my memory even if I have listened to it very rarely since 80s. It must be the deepest existing expression of emotions about childbirth -- by a man who "was there". Some chaos, pain (described by instrumental sections), and after all has settled, love and amazement of life's wonder. "There is nothing like seeing the birth of a child." It is wonderful, but probably only if you totally surrender to it emotionally.

The rest of the album always remained less important to me. I liked some other songs too, e.g. energetic 'Olympia' about sports spectacle, pastroral 'Boundaries' and colourful 'Much Better Reason'. Without the title track I might say this is well produced -- rather 80-ish, though -- and arranged, but nothing very special, in the same category as 90125, or actually less interesting in compositions. But since it has that 9-minute 'Animation', it has a special place in my heart. (3,5 stars rounded up.)

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