LALLE LARSSON'S WEAVEWORLD - NIGHTSCAPES

With "Nightscapes" Lalle Larsson concludes his Weaveworld trilogy, a series of 3 superbly played instrumental albums, all drafted in the same way. Instrumental progressive rock, solidly rooted in premeditated jazz-rock. All albums have the same line up: Lalle Larsson on keyboards, the incredible Richard Hallebeek on both electric & acoustic guitars, Jonas Reingold, one of the most remarkable bass players in the progressive scene on both fretted & fretless bass, the multi talented Walle Wahlgren on drums and a solid rock bottom of guitar riffs is supplied by Stefan Rosqvist.

After Weaveworld and Infinity Of Worlds, Nightscapes is the album which is strongest embedded in jazz rock harmonies and therefore has the sternest sound. The romanticism that adorned Infinity Of Worlds has faded and made room for a more technical approach, making it necessary to listen the album more often in order to discover all its beauties.

Don't think all romanticism has gone, just listen and enjoy "Rainbow's Gold", showing all melodic and harmonious talent of Lalle in all its splendour, one of my personal favourites.

In "Zero Hour" we understand why Stefan Rosqvist is present on the album. He supplies the song with a solid tuned down heavy guitar riff, thus representing the necessary rock ingredient on the album.

Nocturne gives us a moment of relaxation presented by Richard Hallebeek on his acoustic guitar and Lalle principally on his grand piano, an oasis of introspection, before the magnum opus of the album, title composition "Nightscapes Suite" starts off in a mysterious mood and resuming once more in one single piece the genious of Lalle Larsson and his compositional skills and playing qualities. Again I am amazed by the guitar playing of Richard Hallebeek, to me one of the revelations of this Weaveworld project. This suite, taking more than 24 minutes, is technically the most complex of all Weaveworld compositions and its worth to discover ali its hidden beauties, all the brilliantly conceived harmonic progressions and the exquisite melodies, the dark and brooding guitar riffs provided by Stefan Rosqvist widely contributing to the often sombre and melancholic mood of the piece.

The project seems to end in a quiet and introspected mood with the fretless bass of Jonas Reingold and a very melancholic piano and some smooth string sounds supplied by the synthesizers of Lalle Larsson. When the last sound seems to have died down, a silence of several minutes follows, before just for a short moment the atmosphere of the opening track Insomnia and the restlessness that characterises so many of the Larsson compositions is revived, the conclusion of a fantastic album and the end of a brilliant trilogy. One may wonder what mister Larsson will be coming up with next.

Advisable to everyone who is prepared to listen concentrated to a new album more often !! Thank you mister Larsson for this great set of three albums !!!

Erik de Beer