THE NECK PILLOW

A rather unknown band from Germany named INQUIRE has recorded one of this year's best albums. This is the follow up to their debut CD "Inquire Within" (1999) and it's a concept album inspired by the movie "Die Bettwurst" (The Neck Pillow). "The Neck Pillow" tells the bizarre love-story of two unusual individuals who failed in society and seek to escape the threat of destruction into an ordinary life. The lyrics are in English while a lot of the narration is in German. They're excellent musicians whose music is a blend of EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, GENESIS, GROBSCHNITT, PINK FLOYD and RUSH without being clones. The song-writing is similar to a big part of these bands 70's production, with lengthy instrumental passages and complex time changes, while the sound and the musical approach is more modern. Overall the album has a very crisp and professional sound for being a self-financed release. The highlight is the opening 20 minutes GENESIS influenced "Die Bettwurst part one". My only criticism is that although the artwork is both beautiful and funny (well, there's a lot of humour in the music too) it's rather ugly too. I think that an artwork such as on the GENESIS albums "Foxtrot" or "Nursery Cryme" would've illustrated the music better. If Inquire hasn't become one of the big bands in Progressive rock within a few years, then it's a real shame. Because this is a true masterpiece!