CONCEPT

Inspired by the concept of the ALAN PARSONS PROJECT as well as artists like KATE BUSH and RENAISSANCE, keys man Phil Nel and vocalist Claire Whittaker assembled skilled hired guns from the South African scene of the end of the 1970s and produced this one-off recording of uniformly pleasant and accessible progressive pop. Apart from Whittaker's sultry voice, Nel's keyboards are the predominant instruments, warm synthesizers that bathe the arrangements, a musical salve for those difficult times. The at times soaring guitars of Paul Woodley and Mickey Woitynek and the bass of Ashley Kelly also predominate and accentuate the appealing melodies, one of the best of which is "And the Moon be as Bright".

Sadly the loose aggregation never took to the stage, and no sequels were forthcoming. I'm not sure if they were aiming for epic with "Concept", and, while they do fall a few notches short of that stature, this toned down quality also suits the era where only the dinosaurs seemed unaware of their imminent extinction. Interestingly, the Alan Parsons Project attained their commercial pinnacle a few years later with this leaner approach and, of course, a whole lot more financial backing, a concept that remains familiar to this day. Recommended to fans of this style.