00:04

By 1971 singer Steve Allet had left Ekseption and from this point on the band would more or less switch to a fully instrumental sound.Leader Rick van der Linden would travel to London, UK and record ''Piccadilly sweet'' with the support of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Command Studios.Additional parts played by the rest of the band were recorded as long as the tapes were back to The Netherlands.The fourth album of Ekseption was titled ''00:04'', released in October 1971 on Phillips.

This was yet another convincing mix of Classical Rock with Jazz for Ekseption, side A features some of the sweetest melodies ever produced by the band, always highlighted by a deep Classical background and flavored with spicy, jazzy instrumentals, based on saxes, trumpet and horns.Van der Linden makes another memorable performance, especially lovely are his harsichord parts, but there is some incredible work on Hammond organ and piano to be found as well.The music alternates between a FOCUS-like symphonic grandieur and easy-listening Jazz/Horn Rock with some psychedelic and even Avant-Garde atmospheres thrown in for good measure.The second side is more of the same, ''Choral'' is absolutely great Symphonic/Jazz Rock, the only piece to feature some dramatic choirs, sitting next to the Classical melodies and the loose middle-part with the piano and the trumpet in forefront, ''Partita No. 2 in C Minor'' actually sounds like old LE ORME, with strong use of synths next to a psychedelic rhythm section, showered again by good sax and trumpet plays, but the real deal comes with the 13-min. ''Piccadilly sweet'', this piece is what for this album is known for in the first place.You can't expect something else than Classical-drenched music, often having a cinematic feeling, where Van der Linden is often lost in the storm of the backing orchestral instrumrnts.Closer to contemporary Classical Music than Prog Rock to say the truth, but this is another example of Van der Linden's top Classical education and composing ability.

There is maybe too much Lounge Jazz in here to place this among the peaks of Ekseption's discography.A bit uneven on the way with straight Classical and Jazz parts, but also containing some monumental symphonic movements.Recommended overall.