METROPOLITAN SUITE

Metropolitan Suite was my introduction to Synergy, an electronic project by synthesizer man Larry Fast. I previously knew Fast primarily from his longtime contributions to Nektar that go back as far as their Recycled album from 1975 but also from his presence on Peter Gabriel's early solo albums. Synergy is, however, an entirely different beast and is closer to the type of music made by Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre, but more symphonic and melodic and less minimalistic.

The best part of the album is definitely the Metropolitan Suite itself which is made up by the first five tracks. This suite can be described as sounding like a piece of Classical symphonic music being performed entirely on synthesizers. As it is a wholly instrumental affair, the only guide to the concept of the piece comes from the track titles and the mood set by the music. There is a triumphant and somewhat bombastic feel on Steam And Steel Towers which is probably intended to represent the industrial era or something similar.

The other side of the album is less interesting, though Into The Abyss is a quite good piece in the style of the Metropolitan Suite. The remaining tracks fall rather flat and momentum is lost. The over eight minute long West Side Nights is the worst of the lot with its uncomfortable lounge-Jazz feeling and a quite horrible synthesizer-generated saxophone sound. Here you can really tell that this was recorded in the 80's. Still, this is a reasonably pleasant album and a good introduction to Synergy.