ENTREE

I'm a little surprised that there's no written reviews for this one, especially since it has been re-issued on cd at least once since the original album came out in 1973. And I thought for sure that Guldbamsen would have been one of the people to review it since he's from Denmark as well, but to go even further I thought that this might be his favourite record to come out of his great country. Why? Well, it's very humerous, adventerous and filled with personality. Clearly Frank Zappa and possibly SUPERSISTER were influences as this is quite jazzy and Canterbury flavoured. Besides the usual instruments we also get violin, vibes, trumpet, sax, moog, piano, flute, trombone and congas from this rather large band of around ten people or so.

"Opening" is the insane 25 minute suite which is divided into eleven sections, and they throw everything but the kitchen sink at us. Many feel this suite is too "all over the place" and disjointed but this is a top three track for me. It's entertaining if nothing else but to my ears it works. It's catchy to start with bass, vibes, drums, flute and more as the vocals join in. Insanity follows with spoken words then it kicks back in to that catchy sound. Guitar to the fore after 2 1/2 minutes then a drum solo before 4 minutes. A change before 5 1/2 minutes as a beat and horns lead the way. A calm a minute later with percussion and strummed guitar. Flute joins in at 7 minutes. Another change before 9 minutes and this is my least favourite part of the album with the fast paced vocals and sound along with that repetitive guitar melody. Another calm follows after 10 minutes with bass, drums, vibes and a jazzy sound. Keys too followed by horns. Nice section as the vocals join in. l love the guitar sound before 12 minutes and the electric piano that follows. It picks up with vibes and more. This is catchy and fun as the vocals and horns also join in. Hilarious vocals 15 minutes in, too funny. It then kicks back in with bass, vibes and horns. They're jamming now. The flute plays over top around 19 minutes in. Some strange laughter then what sounds like clavinet kicks in. A catchy section arrives after 21 minutes. So much going on, so many intricate sounds. Impressive! Vocals are back late to end it.

"Samelam- Samelam" is another catchy piece with horns, drums, guitar and bass standing out instrumentally. The vocals will come and go and the organ comes in late. "Entrees" features plenty of vibes and horns in this instrumental. "Spring- Time- Summer- Theme" is an energetic jam full of vibes, piano, drums, horns and more. I like this better than the previous instrumental. Catchy stuff and a top three for me. "In The Morning" is my final top three, in fact it's my favourite song on here. This has to be influenced by CARAVAN, this sounds so much like a CARAVAN track it's not funny, so uplifting. Even the vocals remind me of that great band. There's a flute solo half way through. It sucks that it's only 2 minutes long though. "Desserts: Flower- Picking- Prelude" opens with piano, bass, horns, drums and more. It picks up before a minute as the flute joins in but the tempo will change often. It becomes more determined a minute later with horns over top. Lots of percussion here as well. The guitar comes in lighting it up but it stops before 6 minutes as we get another change. The tempo picks up here and we get silly vocal melodies and more. Piano and the sound of birds ends it.

What a talented band, and they certainly had a lot of great ideas. A Prog lover's delight in my opinion. A solid 4 stars.

The 1970s produced a wealth of progressive rock bands on both sides of the Atlantic and while it may seem like only a few countries churned out the lion's share of the best known acts (yeah, talking about you England, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden), the fact is that even the smaller countries were getting in on the act. Denmark may not come to mind amidst a fertile progressive rock scene but nevertheless was home to a few well known acts such as Culpeper's Orchard, Secret Oyster, Alrune Rod and Ivanhoe. One less known band that emerged from Roskilde not to far from Copenhagen was the obscure rarity in the form of DR. DOPO JAM which hosted a large number of musicians and engaged in a very jazzy style of rock with an emphasis on a huge brass section that included trumpet, tenor sax, soprano sax alongside the flute, sort of like the Danish version of Chicago only infinitely more zany and adventurous.

Formed all the way back in 1968 by Kristian Pommer with the original moniker "Dr. Dopo & His Khana Bees," this strange band emulated many of the greats of the day with an extra emphasis on the goofy rock cabaret antics of Frank Zappa married with a rather schizoid meandering approach best carried out by Supersister. Accordingly the band's debut album ENTREE wends and winds through unpredictable passages that exhibit a very Mothers of Invention sort of humor and overall jocularity while hop, skipping and jumping all around musical genres in no predictable fashion. The band formed in the 60s therefore this eight piece band also exhibited a very 60s psychedelic hippie sound (reminds me a bit of Brainchild) as well with lengthy jamming sessions augmented by the progressive rock regalia of the day, therefore there are meanderings through Canterbury tinged jazz-rock pastiches as well as more festive runs through traditional Scandinavian sounds similar to Samla Mamas Manna Pastiche. There are even moments when the guitar parts and percussion emulate jump into Santana turf.

The band only released three albums in their career. This first one ENTREE in 1973, a sophomore release "Fat Dogs And Danishmen" in 1974 and then broke up. A couple members would reunite and release the 1981 album "Cruisin' At Midnite" under the DR. DOPO JAM band name and tried to regain the magic of these early days but was unsuccessful and retired the band for all time. Pommer, himself, would eventually create a funk rock band named Tequila but that funky beat presents itself on ENTREE which makes this album an easy listening experience despite the genre skipping antics. Like many unsuccessful bands of the day, DR DOPO JAM had many lineup changes as can be imagined with such a huge roster of musicians however despite its brevity, DR DOPO JAM cranked out some incredibly original music even within the fertile and creative times from whence it emerged.

While ENTREE may prove to erratic for many as it seems like it has no rhyme or reason to its labyrinthine layout, i have to say that despite this musical maze, these guys really played tight together with one seemingly endless melody after another never missing a beat and retaining a catchy jazzified melodic march throughout especially on the multi-suite 25 minute opener aptly titled "Opening.". Pommer's vocals often remind me of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown accompanied by the big brass of early Chicago laid out in a Supersister meets Zappa format. There are bursts of super progified time signature outbursts as well as luscious vibraphone runs. While schizoid in nature, ENTREE is never boring for a second and captures the adventurous zeitgeist of the early 70s to a T and certainly the most adventurous music i've heard to have emerged from Denmark from the period. One for the more adventurous prog addicts out there who don't mind an supreme serving of brass.

Wonderful theatric psychedelic avant-garde jazz music from Roskilde, Danemark.

1. (25:04) a very entertaining and enjoyable adventure in musical theatre. I have to admit to being quite surprised at how well it flows, how well recorded it is, and how engaged I remained throughout. I love the forward mixing of all the instruments and the stellar clarity and definition of each and every instrument. The music does get a little too-rock 'n' roll at times--especially in the Elvis-like final movement. (47.5/50) - a. Opening "HELLO" - b. Essentia I, Sanquine - c. Essentia II, Choleric - d. Essentia III, Melancholic - e. Essentia IV, Phlegmatic - f. Qvinta Essentia: VITA - g. Overture: Absorbia g.a. Heart-Theme, Solaria g.b. Brain-Theme, Lunaria g.c. Liver-Theme, Jupiter g.d. Kidney-Theme, Venus - h. VI: The Complete Pentagram

2. "Samelam-Samelam" (4:10) blues-rock feeling as if resuscitated from the late 1950s. Great in the instrumental portion after Lars says, "Sock it to me, Baby." How can I help but not like this music?!(8.875/10) 3. "Entree's" (3:54) a little 1960s game show theme music or else an overture to a peppy moralistic hippie-happy stage musical. Whatever this is, it's delightful! Keyboard artist and band leader Kristian Pommer should get more credit for his wonderful clavinet playing here. The rhythmists Bent Clausen and Niels "Vejmand" Christensen as well. Heck! Everybody is spot on with this one! (9.25/10)

4. "Spring-Theme-Summer-Theme" (3:55) a delightful piece of music very much in the vein as Billy and Gene Page's big 1964 hit, "The In Crowd." (9.3333333/10)

5. "In The Morning" (2:01) another gorgeous piece that feels as if it would be a perfect fit for the American Tribal Love- Rock Musical, Hair. (5/5)

6. "Desserts: Forest-Flower-Picking-Preludium" (7:29) sounds very much like something SUPERSISTER would have been putting out at the same time: quirky yet sophisticated and driven by the attention span of someone with Attention Deficit Disorder. Nice extended lead (fuzz) guitar work from Lars Rasmussen Probably the weakest total package on the album (it feels like a bit of studio jamming filler)--both compositionally and sound engineering-wise--but still better than 95% of the stuff out there! (8.75/10)

Total time 46:33

While never too complex musically, the ideas are quite wild and expressive in an almost-spontaneous way. All the music is actually quite melodic, pretty, and even quite danceable. Well recorded and engineered, lead singer/vocalist Lars Bisgaard is quite talented--blessed with a beautiful voice and a perfect English accent. The comparisons to the music of both Frank Zappa and the Canterbury Scene artists are quite warranted as well as Brass Rock bands like Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears. The musicianship is quite high with all instruments being present with absolute confidence and competency. I'm going to have trouble grouping this album with the true jazz-rock fusers yet the amazing number of styles and sounds experimented and fused with here definitely deserve some kind of major recognition, however, at the same time, I will understand all of the people who will exclaim that if I admit this album into my J-R Fuse compendium then Frank Zappa's stuff should be as well. Maybe I will!

A/five stars; an excellent masterpiece of chameleonic music theater from some pretty focused musicians.