INGET NYTT UNDER SOLEN

Apparently Kaipa were a quite late entry in the prog world, but this fact did not prevent them from becoming succesful in Sweden.During the spring of 76' they launched a great gig tour for promoting their debut album, which surprisingly exceeded the 10,000 mark of sold copies.They also introduced to the public a pair of new songs written for a second album, while Ingemar Bergman used costumes on stage, making the GENESIS comparisons even more evident.At the end of June 76' Kaipa revisited the Marcus Music Studios in Stockholm and recorded ''Inget nytt under solen'', their sophomore effort, through a 10-day schedule.The album was eventually released during the autumn of the same year.

''Inget nytt under solen'' contains one of the best prog epics ever to be written by a Scandinavian band, the almost 22-min. long ''Skenet bedrar'', maybe the Swedish answer to GENESIS' ''Supper's ready'', an absolutely highlight of Kaipa's repertoire and a symphonic piece of untold beauty.Stolt's guitar touch is unmistakable, deeply emotional and extremely melodic, mixing with a great rhythm section, dramatic Swedish vocals and Lundin's majestic keyboard parts, very Classical-influenced, with sharp moog synth flights, dreamy organ and haunting Mellotron passages and delicate piano lines.At the end of the day it feels like ANDY LATIMER has joined GENESIS with STEVE HACKETT in the background.Beautiful and sensitive Symphonic Rock with great variations and extremely solid melodies.On the second side of the original issue, the inspiration is still there, it is just divided in shorter pieces.GENESIS, CAMEL and FOCUS remain the biggest influences of the group, although some Scandinavian flavor is evident through the vocals and a few Folk-tinged textures.The emotions created by the masterful keyboards of Lundin and Stolt's guitar playing are hard to explain.Virtuosic but also melodious music with symphonic tendencies, nice interplays and unique climates unfold a fairytale atmosphere of smooth Progressive Rock with hardly any flaws...except maybe the strong GENESIS vibes.

Failing to meet any international success and having realized that the Swedish lyrics were hard to swallow for the worldwide public, Kaipa started a brief stint with singer Lars Hoflund, who had a great, non-accented voice.Lyrics were translated by American student Kevin Fickling and thus four tracks were recorded in its English versions.These pieces along with a live performance of ''Skenet bedrar'' are available in the CD reissue of Musea Records.Success though never knocked the door of the group, as these tracks were sent to England, soon to be rejected by Electra's British department, which never believed the group could be succesful.

Do yourself a favor and grab this album immediately.Masterful Swedish Symphonic Rock with amazing guitar solos and ethereal keyboards of the greatest quality.Maybe too much GENESIS-influenced, but again, if this album was produced by GENESIS, we would be talking about a masterpiece.Not to be missed...4.5 stars upgraded.