REVIEWS - THE SYMPHONIC DREAM
ENGLAND
Zeitgeist - The Rocker UK
Danish composer /keyboards player, Lars Boutrup, has been recording since the seventies, although his first all solo album, "Music For Keyboards" only came out about 5 years ago. This new release follos on from that with eight new progressive insttrumentals, which hark back to the glory days of keyboard based progressive rock.
As such, it has a limited audience, but prog fans who enjoy dense, instrumental prog will probably have a field day here. It's not all show-off stuff, although Mr Boutrup quite rightly goes a bit doolally in a few places. Which is his prerogative, as it's his solo album and his tunes. And he's hasn't forgotten the tunes, as there are plenty of melodies here that the more casual listener can hang on to.
It's a fine mix of synths and organ, especially on 'June', which slowly builds into an impressively emotional work. But it's the title track, 'The Symphonic Dream', that really lives up to its billing, as the amazing keyboard work is helped along by an impressive (real) rhythm section. Elsewhere, there are some nice piano lines galore, and just to show he knows how to rock, he turns it up on 'Eddy Will Not Be Ready'.
If you liked the seventies sounds of Tangerine Dream and Vangelis, souped up with a dose of ELP, then this record is well worth checking out.
Reviewed by: Zeitgeist
Score: 
Get Ready To Rock
LARS BOUTRUP'S MUSIC FOR KEYBOARDS - The Symphonic Dream (2011)
As the name suggests, Lars Boutrup is a keyboard wiz from Denmark who has been on the Scandinavian music scene for a number of years - both playing in various bands and composing music for films.
'The Symphonic Dream' is his second outing as a solo artist. His first, 'Music For Keyboards', was a completely solo effort, but this time he has employed a couple of bass players plus a rather fine drummer to energize proceedings.
So, does it work? Well, yes and no really. Sorry to get all Liberal Democrat on your arses but it really depends if keyboards are your thing.
This is an eight track, completely instrumental album and, as such, really needs to lead the listener by the ears in a number of different aural directions - a classical theme here, a swell of synths there, a touch of Keith Emerson here a bit of Jean Michel Jarre there, and to this end it just about succeeds - though it's touch and go at times.
There's no doubt whatsoever that the boy can play, and at times here he sounds absolutely inspirational, but there are also times when he labours the point with the over-repetition of themes and riffs and you find your attention wandering.
Best track on the album by a country mile is the title track which sounds very similar to the music used by the BBC in their coverage of the 6 Nations rugby this year - a very Jarresque theme and some tasty Hammond thrown in for good measure.
If the rest of the tracks had been at this standard, five stars beckoned. As it is, it's very good but just lacks that je ne sais quoi that makes a good album great. Fans of the aforementioned ELP and J-M Jarre will find plenty here - the rest of us will have to wait for album three which, if he could just vary things up a bit, could be a corker.
***
Review by Alan Jones
