RING OF CHANGES

The use of Orchestra didn't really make this a "Prog"-Album again, but if you like the "lighter side of BJH" it can please you as well as me, cause from a personal point of view, "Ring of Changes" deserves 4 Stars for one last time... ranking the BJH- catalogue "without Woolly", this album makes Number 2 for me.

Bias Boshell seemed to be a good choice for guesting on Keyboards... and the songwriters, both Lees and Holroyd, delivered fine material ( with one exception to be easily forgiven: "Just a day away" sounds like the Eagles WITHOUT the Eagles and shouldn't have been a hit... it'd best be forgotten ), from the starting "Fifties Child" ( great String-Intro for the Album by Producer Pip Williams ! ) to the final Titletrack, I like them all... though the album cannot be compared with the 70s masterstrokes and with the next Bias Boshell was proven to be NOT the best choice to go on with.

Back to songs: "Paraiso dos Cavalos" sounds like a kitsch-postcard on record, you can almost see Winnetou and Old Shatterhand ride towards the setting sun ( in South Africa, though... ) and if you LOVE Winnetou you have to love that special feel as well as the kitschy atmosphere, so these words weren't written to put it down.

"Teenage Heart" is a hearty, nice one, too ( far better than "Just a day away" ) with great harmony vocals... you have a lot of great vocal-harmonies on the whole album anyway.

"High Wire" - fine chord structure and fine lead-guitars ! - is a catchy Pop-Rocker and the groove of "Waiting for the right time" is swingin' gently... light as a feather ( Mel Pritchard - I LOVE you ! ) and one of the album's highlights... on which, all in all, the title track is the standout-cut.

3 Stars only just because this is a "Prog-rock-Archive" and I'm taking the instructions of its Headmasters seriously... to me, it is 4, but I'm repeating myself already... Rupert