ZEE: IDENTITY

First of all, it's NOT a Richard Wright's solo album. Dave Harris did a lot of composing, however some ideas coming from this album can be found with a bit of attention on Broken China. I would have expected to find it under ZEE. This is a very dated album. It's from the 80s and lacks of originality as a lot of its contemporary. It was an era during which the choice of sounds seemed to be the most appealing factor, so many artists did their best, or their worse to appear very "80s". I just want to mention Camel's Stationary Traveller or Mike Rutherford's Acting very strange as examples. Another must of the period was the Fairlight: it dominated the 80s sound toghether with the Yamaha DX7 and the Rolands, and does it in this album as well. All the percussions are electronic and mainly based on disco rhythms. "Confusion" could be played in a disco also today, but it's not so bad as it could seem. It's not worse than other more appreciated songs of that period, but of course one could expect more than this from Richard Wright. "Voices" is a dark track. It's where Broken China is from. Totally electronic, but don't forget that Richard is a keyboardist. "Private person" is back into commercial, but not properly disco. I don't think that dancing on this rhythm is possible. Not the best track of the album in any case. "Strange Rhythm" is what its title says: strange. Personally I like it. The voice is similar to Bryan Ferry with a touch of David Bowie, so very in line with the era. Not worse than some electronic songs of the white Duke. "Cut like a diamond" is the only Floydian track. The intro is typical from Wright. The sounds is different, but the chord's sequence comes directly from Wet Dreams. The guitar riff could have been played by Gilmour if only he was used to play one octave lower than usual. "By touching" is the track i liked less when I bought the album, however listening to it now, I can recognise the link to Broken China "How do you do it" is the weakest track of the album. Put Michael Jackson's voice on it and you'll have a perfect soft-disco track. Skip it. "Seems we were dreaming" is the most melodic song of the album. A chill out song, very relaxing, even if totally in the 80s as well.

What to say of this album at the end? It's between 2 and 3 stars. A true Pink Floyd fan must have it. It's non-essential for sure. Some tracks are good enough, but some are very weak. I go for 3 stars in memory of Rick and because of the link to Broken China. If you have enjoyed it, you can give a try to this album. If you didn't like Broken China, there's no chance to like this one.