MELLOM OSS

Having not heard the original 1981 release, I cannot comment on whether the re-recording does it justice, but I can say it sounds great and crystal clear. It's a beautiful symphonic album with plenty of references to the softer sides of Camel (especially in the lead guitars) and Focus, but with more of a folky and upbeat melancholic, Norwegian bent. Mellom Oss is mostly instrumental but does contain vocals in a few tracks.

The title track opens things up in a representative way. Jangling guitars, languid leads, diffuse keyboards and bouncy generally simple melodies all characterize the sound of this album. "Tröstevise" contains somewhat aggressive vocals set to a eastern European sort of motif. Quite fascinating. "Ostenfor Ord" is one of the real highlights, as it plays to all the band's strengths. It contains a very emotional tune, bluesy lead guitar, crisp 12 strings, and a gentle viola solo by Tormod Gangfløt, backed by convincing percussion. "Hvem Snakker Til Meg?" is another song in a similar vein to "Tröstevise" but contains a harder rhythm guitar that seems to be having fun playing off the organ and drums/bass. Some fantastic runs here. "Elegi" is short for elegant as far as I can tell from its arrangement.

By far the longest track is "Mens Tiden Forgar", which seems to alternate between early 80s style KC guitars, Camel-like flutes, and varied reflective vocals as it goes along. It's a qualified success and certainly does contain a number of interesting moments, taking a few listens to really digest. "Marius" and "Parademarsj For Jubilanter" are both jaunty tunes, and the first sounds like some vocals would enhance its effect. In general if there is a problem here, it is the preponderance of such types of instrumentals. The group could have stretched out more, and it would have helped all the material to be in more diverse company.

Nonetheless, this is a highly worthwhile Scandinavian prog album from a long lived band. Between us, I think it merits 4 stars.