5.0 out of 5 stars
more amazing kraan, Jun 27 2009
By Bill Your 'Free Form FM Print DJ "bill nicholas" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wiederhoren (Audio CD)
Kraan formed in 1967, and before long, art rock was the order of the day. Their early 70s albums featured long jams, and prog elements that were way above average. This band was funky, and did not indulge in a lot of the meandering other prog bands did. Even their covers were good. No tiger faces comming out of melting palm trees on Venus.
By 1977, when WIderhorn came out, music had changed. Rock became glossier and prog seemed like a dead limb of the hippie dreams body. Punk was staging its conter revolution.
Kraan's answer to this was to update their sound without selling out or appealing to trends. On this album, the band tighten's their arrangements, and comes out with an energetic jazz-rock-funk stew. The production is polished but never slick, and the instrumentals are as advanced as ever. The number are long, as are the solos, but Kraan was always talented enough to sustain this without self-indulging.
There is also some great "pop" here. "Let's Take A Ride," is a beautiful fender rhodes cooker that would not be out of place on a Steely Dan record.
Obviously, I think this is a great record and would be a great introdution to Kraan if you don't already know their work .