HAND MADE

For the third Passport album, Doldinger changed the entire line-up again, only to arrive at an album with exactly the same type of jazz-rock songs as on any of the previous albums. A small change in keyboard arrangements can be noted. After all it's 1973, and the organs, piano and clavinet of old are further broadened with some synths and mellotron, mainly played by Doldinger as well.

The same formula is applied to pretty much every song: at the heart sits a steadily swinging bass-line and a an agreeable mid-paced rock or funk beat, the songs start with a couple of memorable sax leads followed by solos for piano and/or sax and ending with the main melodies again. Does this ring any bells? Yes it does, it's exactly the same formula that Ozric Tentacles would apply 20 years later. On the ensuing Passport releases, the extended use of synths makes the correspondence even bigger.

Hand Made is a fine but safe album where Doldinger abstains from trying much new things. It has some nice melodies but also some rather flat ones, it has a couple of cool jams but also dull ones. Still a good album overall, on par with the first two.