WHOSE DREAM?

My best mate recently sent me a copy of this CD as a gift! Now I remember why he's my best mate! I liked the album from the first time I played it, but, the second time I played it I liked it a bit more and so it went on until now, a week or so later, I have given it a good solid workout and I must say it has grown on me to the point where I have trouble turning it off! The cover makes for interesting reading too with a fairly tongue-in-cheek account of the band and the album's history, along with all the lyrics.

The first track, BunChakeze is a very lively, but in my opinion too short, instrumental which grabs your attention immediately and shows off the abilities of the musicians. The singer's abilities are well represented in subsequent songs!

The second track, the album's title track, is a masterpiece with thought provoking lyrics, which showcases all members of the band. A very dynamic piece which starts off fairly softly and gets more aggressive as the mood builds.

Track three, Walk in Paradise, while completely different, seems to follow the same recipe of dynamics allowing all members of the band to shine through.

Track four, Handful of Rice is a song about children's hopes and dreams as they grow up, sometimes in disadvantaged circumstances, with the message that it's OK to dream, in fact, if you don't have a dream you may have nothing to strive for.......

Track five, Flight of the Phoenix is a song about sky diving and the range of emotions one might go through, from the embryonic dream to actually going through with it.

Track six, Midnight Skies is a song about the way the white man took away the red man's dream of freedom. Kind of sends chills up your spine this one!

Track seven, Long-Distance Runner is a song about aging and the importance of following your dreams in order to avoid regrets. Spotted a theme yet?

Track 8, The Deal starts off very reminiscent of Welcome to the machine. The absence of drums in this one provides a very eery, early Pink Floyd kind of sound.

Track 9, Whose Dream (reprise) is another instrumental which I think should go on for longer. The potential is there for a Genesis style big finish but, alas, it ends too soon.

In summary, this is a "must have" album. Considering it was put together in the 1980's on a shoe string budget, it is a quality piece of work. Sure, the keen ear may pick out a couple of small things but studio time is expensive and without the financial backing of huge record companies these guys have done an amazing job. They have proven they can play their instruments and write thought provoking songs which rival the best. Tempo changes, time signature changes, key changes, you name it, it's all in this album. I find it hard to pick influences on a song by song basis but overall I would have to say Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd are all present but everything is combined to form a very unique sound. Every instrument is a feature, nothing is suppressed or placed in the background and the dynamics are almost Dire Straits style.

Listen to the words and it seems as though these guys are really into dreams and fantasy. Let's hope some live perfomances aren't just a dream!

Please be aware my comments and interpretations are mine alone and you are free to interpret the lyrics in your own way.

I commend this album to the Prog Rock enthusiast and leave you to immerse yourself in the music and lyrics of BunChakeze. Enjoy!