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Eloy - Ra CD (album) cover

RA

Eloy

 

Psychedelic/Space Rock

2.79 | 253 ratings

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octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
3 stars Not as bad as it could be.

I mean, what could you actually expect from any album released in 1988 by a band active since the early 70s? I've heard and read all the possible bad about it, but I have to say that I like it. Eloy is a band that even with a distinctive sound, thanks also to the voice and the strong German accent of Frank Bornemann is always been a bit derivative. Since the first albums, influenced by the Uriah Heep, passing through their Floydian period (their best IMO), now are somewhere between Genesis and Yes. Unfortunately the Genesis of Abacab and the Yes of Big Generator, but the result is really not bad.

"Voyager Of The Future Race", despite the very 80s sound and an initial remind to Mike Oldfield is a typical Eloy song. A real drum kit instead of the electronics would have made it suitable for a seventy's release.

"Sensations", in the heavy electronic drums has a bit of Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer, but the chorus is closer to the Yes. There's also another thing that I can't identify, a sequence of notes which sounds familiar and points me to the late Genesis. Well, it's surely not a masterpiece but it's a nice song.

What about "Dream"? Another influencer of this album, at least in the sounds used is Alan Parson's Project. Listen to believe. Add female vocalists as in Waters' Radio Kaos and high pitched choirs. They are not Anderson and Squire, however the link with YES will become clearer in the following song. This song could stay on a Parson's album even maintaining some characteristics which clearly identify it as an Eloy song. Especially the guitars.

"Invasion Of A Megaforce" is my favorite track here. The one closer to the YES also in the choirs. Of course I mean the Yes of Trevor Rabin, so whoever dislikes 90125 to ABWH can probably skip this track.

"Rainbow" is the melodic moment of the album and another very nice song. Probably in this case having Bornemann singing quite overriddenby the choir and the back vocalists is an improvement. Very 80s but nice. As I have written since the beginning, there are no masterpieces, but there are goos dongs. Unfrotunately this one ends fading off. Something that I hate.

"Hero" is a decent closer. The mood is Floydian but the backing guitar and the keyboard sounds seem coming from Genesis. A nice song also this, apart of the chorus that doesn't appear very much inspired.

I think there is still enough of the classic Eloy in this album to make it enjoyable. Probably it should have been a moment of transition. The bad thing in the 80s was that apparently who wanted to sell albums had to adapt the sound to the mode of the times: electronic drums, fairlights and so on. The decade of the "look" pretended to impose its fashion to the music, too.

Filter out those bad feelings and you'llhave a decent three stars album.

octopus-4 | 3/5 |

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