HOPE

Somewhere out there in the annals of prog history, there is an album that combines the Yellow Submarine/Magical Mystery Tour Beatles with Bohemian Rhapsody Queen and adds a touch of Final Cut Pink Floyd all performed in a way that sometimes sounds like a children's fantasy movie for adults. This quirky production belongs to Klaatu, a trio of musicians to emerge from Canada with a sound that was so uncannily like the Beatles at times that in the beginning that they were mistaken for a secret reformation of the legendary band under the guise of an obscure alias.

"Hope" is the simple title of this musical number and it is either two stories that are part of the same tale or two separate stories told over the course of eight tracks. Two of the first three songs, "We're off You Know" and "Around the Universe in Eighty Days" are about space travel, a theme already covered on their debut album. The track in between these two, "Madness" could be related either to these two or the story that comes after.

The main story here is the tale of an ancient advanced civilization called Politzania which seems to have existed on another world from ours. They were a proud people who thought themselves the highest of all civilizations but fell in some disastrous war with another race, or so I gather. The track "Long Live Politzania" is told mostly by a stuttering archaeologist who speaks like a dithering British professor without the accent. This can bit a bit detracting from the music at times, especially the part about reclaiming the brains of non-believers in Politzania's superiority, but the music is very dramatic with orchestra and band. Different voices and different styles of music make this seem like a musical soundtrack. "The Loneliest of Creatures", "Prelude", "So Said the Lighthouse Keeper", and "Hope" all help tell the story through lyric and music, and the whole package is quite a decent production.

The one track that will stand out is "Madness" which has what I've decided is "Flying V rock". This is because each time the music gets heavy and the electric guitar comes rocking in, I imagine that the guitar is a Flying V. I can't help but imagine that this kind of music must be played on a Flying V. It's my favourite song on the album, too!

A little bit cute in a way, this is an impressive performance nonetheless. There are some who call this one of the little known must have albums. Maybe picture "The Neverending Story" or "Dark Crystal" or something like that with Muppets but about a lost civilization on another planet. Some great music here and imagination, too.