goldtri album reviews

Rainbow Serpent - Voyager

Reviewed by John Christian
Running Time: 62:01
Label, Number: Ardema-Musik. AM 965984.
Distribution: Eurock, Neu Harmony & Ardema.

This album had been getting a great deal of praise, and been selling very well, so I thought I'd buy it on spec. and see what the fuss was all about.

The album is actually one long track, but it is split into three parts, which are in turn divided into sections between 3.5 and 8.5 minutes. These seem quite aribitrary; the index points are always where the track changes, but there are lots of other places they could have chosen.

I'll start with my biggest critisisms, as they are very close to their strengths. A great many of the sections show very strong influences. There is a textbook Steve Roach track, with ethnic percussion and those slowly opening chords overlaying a Schulze-like sequence. There are more KS moments, a Babylon 5 bit, some Jarresque chords and 'plops', even echoes of Rolf Trostel and Laserdance. Some of these may be coincidental, but it does give a derivative flavour.

My other complaint would be that the transitions are sometimes a bit abrupt. This is especially true of the first 3:30 section which manages to jump between 4 or 5 quite distinct feels in that short time. None really have the time to develop, and the cuts are unsettling and abrupt. This may be deliberate - it is called Overture, and it may be trying to pack in a variety of themes and moods to pick up on later, but it didn't work for me. If anything it makes the later changes (which are less frequent and less extreme) seem worse than they are.

But both of these complaints have flipsides. The bits that seem derivative are very well done, especially the Roach-like section "Ritual" (bizzarely, the next section is called "Return of the Dreamtime" and sounds nothing like Roach), and there are plenty of sections that don't remind me of anything (e.g. the quirky echoey melodies of track 3a "Visualities Laboured For Thousands Of Years"). The different feels are a good thing, even if I'd rather they combined more smoothly. You can't easily pigeon-hole the album.

The production is smooth, creating a great atmospheric soundscape (bar a couple of sounds which I find don't really fit), the sequences are uniformly excellent and not too static. The melodies are good (but certainly not the biggest strength of the music) and feel like part of the whole rather than any old tune being slapped on top of the backing. The whole thing has a feeling of depth.

I hope this hasn't been too overcritical. It's easy to do this when something gets over-hyped. But it's also because this is a very good album, and I'm taking it seriously. It's painfuly close to being a classic, so the minor flaws annoy. But overall, I'd recommend it, and I'll be keeping an eye on them.

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