WHOSE DREAM?

Jings! This is an album! Before you go on to say "Well, obviously it's an album", I say "It's not just a collection of songs, it's an album. It should be listened to as such, not just a collection of tracks. Once it gets going, it feels like it has been written as a whole work, a suite (which to my mind is how albums should be). That said, I'll make points about the individual tracks as they come up.

Another thing, you have to listen to the lyrics: none of this going for the whole sound and forget what's actually being said. Reason being that, for me, one of the joys of this album is how the "breaks" continue the emotional story of what is being sung by the excellent Joey Lugassy: they're not there purely to show off what a great guitarist Colin Tench is (though there's occasional touch of that - he's a lead guitarist after all!)

Other reviewers have referenced Pink Floyd. I'd buy that, but mainly on "Whose Dream part one" (except that, to my mind, BunChakeze are better players). On occasion, there are flavourings of Deep Purple and Van der Graaf generator (that's to my ears. It may not have been intended, even subconsciously), but fundamentally, they are their own band.

The album starts off with Bunchakeze, a chompy, cheeky, joyous opening, which sounds almost like an overture. Full of changes of feeling, excellent twin guitar sounds. This leads on to

"Whose Dream" The Floydish track. I would almost say this is the track which is the one which could be taken out of the albun as the single, were it not for the fact (or should that be opinion?) that it, lyrically, sets up the rest of the album.

"Walk in Paradise" Touch of the Deep Purple, interjections of Van der Graaf, with a fantastic instrumental break which, if anything, I would wish a tad longer (I can see that, live, it would be). Smashing bass work from Gary Derrick . Handfull of Rice/Flight of the Phoenix Great instrumental sections, the latter I wanted to go on an on at the end

Midnight Skies About the Indians (The American Indians) ? a terrifying middle break and lyrics which left me thinking ? My God, are we that close (temporally) to all of the stuff that happened to them?

Long distance runner This links to the last in the running theme. It starts with a jolly, cheeky, joyous chord sequence. And the break, like the others, carries the story on. Great work with a chanking ending which I wanted to go on and on!

The Deal Feels like a finish, but links, lyrically, to "Long distance runner" (There is stuff like this all over the album: things which hark back to other tracks: that's why you have t listen to it as an album) with a terrifying break????it's the end, but not quite

Bunchakeze Brings us back to what brought us in, an instrumental version of "Whose Dream", and back to Earth.

You may conclude from this that I'm mighty keen on this album, and you'd be right. In spite of the fact that all the players are probably on their bus passes by now, I'd like to see them live. This is a good album (my opinion only perhaps) with a lot to say. Lyrically, it's hopeful. Listen to it, again and again.

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