SUMMER IN TOWN

A wonderful lost gem. Not only was it 1985, but they were in Soviet Russia! That a prog album of this calibure was produced in those combined circumstances is nothing short of amazing. While not being exactly a masterpiece, nor being totally original, it is certainly unique. The first track exudes Yes quite strongly, but still manages to sound original (the guitar sound and the overall structure are what give it the Yes feel I belive). The second track is more spacious and strange, but still has bursts of the melodicism and Yes similarities of the first track. The final epic, is nothing less than an avante garde classical rock composition. While it does seem to meander at times, and one might suspect that they were making it up as they went along, it is still quite good. For myself, I enjoy the more off the wall prog bands and styles, so this is no problem for me. An easy 3.5 stars, which I will round up to 4 just for the fact they were able to do this in 1985 Soviet Russia.