Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Eloy
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1973
Rating: 3.5/5
On their second album, “Inside”, Eloy turned their sound toward the multidimensional world of space rock and dropped most of the hard/blues rock that permeated their self-titled debut. It was also the first album where guitarist and band boss Frank Bornemann took over the vocals, and he’s never let go of the lead singer role since, even though some prog rock fans still aren’t exactly thrilled with his voice and point to it as the main reason Eloy never won their hearts. Frank ended up on lead vocals after parting ways with original singer Erich Schriever, over differing musical directions and Erich’s radical left-wing political convictions. Erich was admittedly a technically much better singer than Frank, but in my view he wouldn’t have fit the band’s new sound all that well, where album after album you could feel less and less blues influence, even in Bornemann’s guitar work. His heavy German accent annoys plenty of people and is considered their main flaw, but it doesn’t bother me personally. It’s distinctive enough, it’s never front and center in the production, and besides, it’s one of the things that makes them instantly recognizable. On top of that, from “Inside” onward the band put more and more emphasis on longer instrumental sections than on the vocal harmonies they later experimented with quite a bit and tried to flesh out. And let’s be honest, few German (prog) rock bands of that era could boast dazzling vocals, never mind a proper Anglo-American accent. The naive left-wing lyrics of the debut, which were very much a product of their time, have thankfully vanished, making room mainly for sci-fi themes, which fit the changed sound and darker mood well.
The key sonic difference from the debut is that Frank’s guitar, with its trademark bluesy solos and punchy riffs, sits noticeably further back this time, though it’s still a major driver of the heavier passages. The hard rock sound is far from gone, and most of the transitions are still soaked in a mix of hard-hitting guitar riffs, bouncing rhythms and booming organ. What’s gone, though, are many of the debut’s blues rock motifs, replaced by longer, often psychedelic-tinged and unpredictable instrumental sections with more emphasis on Wiezorck’s organ (he used no other keyboards on this album), which often builds a mystical atmosphere. Original drummer Helmut Draht was successfully replaced by Fritz Randow, who later made a name for himself in the heavy metal world as a member of Victory, Saxon and Sinner. The upgrade behind the kit is obvious, and Fritz’s massive fills, with no shortage of cymbal work, are one of the main sources of the overflowing punch in individual sections. If the debut was shaped mostly by hard/art rock bands like Uriah Heep and Deep Purple, here you can also hear a considerable Pink Floyd influence, which will grow with every following album, and in places a bit of Jethro Tull too.
The 17-plus-minute “Land Of No Body” is their first longer space rock epic, full of unpredictable tempo changes and energetic interplay between rhythm section, organ and guitar. After a dark opening guitar riff that sounds quite Black Sabbath-ish, the organ suddenly crashes in, deepening the bleak mood of a soulless world wrecked by nuclear catastrophe. A dramatic shift follows on bouncing drums and a strong yet elegant bass, plus a fiery guitar riff, where you can clearly hear their influence on the development of heavy metal (which most listeners have, of course, completely overlooked). Spicy hammond organ and guitar passages keep the tension up the whole way. The space rock effect really comes alive in an excellent instrumental section with plenty of dramatic organ passages, backed by the mighty lines of Stöcker’s bass guitar. Wieczorke’s organ textures are primarily “to blame” for the numerous obscure, psychedelic sounds and the resulting gloomy, apocalyptic vibe. The middle section brings a dramatic build-up on organ and bouncing drums and a great solo on Frank’s guitar. Frank also surprises vocally this time, belting out some quite high, screeching lines that trace back to parts of Uriah Heep and Deep Purple and later became an important element of heavy metal. The closing section, with melancholic interplay between organ, bouncing rhythm and guitar riff, incredibly echoes a motif from the Iron Maiden classic “Phantom Of The Opera”. I seriously doubt the Maiden guys ever heard of Eloy, despite their boss’s proven fondness for prog rock, but the similarity is almost stunning. Camel also used a similar melancholic-dramatic motif in one of their early pieces. Length is never a guarantee of quality, not even in prog rock, but in my opinion this is still definitely the best piece on the album.
Next up is the title track “Inside”, which opens with bells ringing and a gorgeous, melancholic melody on acoustic guitar. After this romantic, psychedelic intro, almost “possessed” layers of organ suddenly crash in and burst the romance like a soap bubble, creating an almost eerie atmosphere. You can hear that Wieczorke has clearly improved on the organ since the debut, while Frank’s guitar talent was never in question, and he doesn’t skimp on melodramatic riffs and solos this time either. The arrival of an excellent, melancholic guitar riff, backed by an extra rhythm guitar, is a real treat for the ears. A fiery passage follows, with energetic guitar lines blending into the organ. The melancholic vocal also does its job well as the narrator of a story about humanity’s eternal urge to reach for the stars and break free from Earth’s shackles. The individual transitions truly manage to conjure the futuristic mood of someone lost in the gray, robotized everyday life of humans.
If the album has sounded fairly original up to this point, on “Future City”, especially in the opening and closing sections, there’s a more than obvious Jethro Tull influence, particularly their hugely popular and then-current album “Aqualung” (1971). That’s shown not just by the gloomy opening rhythm and obscure percussion effects, but also by Frank’s vocal, which here very clearly (and unsuccessfully, of course) tries to nail Ian Anderson’s tone. The many transitions between electric and acoustic sections strike a good balance between drama and dreaminess. The middle section features an excellent Latin-flavored instrumental passage on “shamanic” percussion and drums, plus a great guitar solo with obvious wah-wah usage. After a dramatic build-up on psychedelic percussion, that opening obscure folk rock motif comes crashing back with a dirty riff and Frank in the “role” of Ian Anderson, though he still sings too much through his nose to pull off that unique “minstrel” tone. Still, it’s a rather fun experiment that not many bands dared to attempt, and with a bit of flute it might even have partly come off.
The closing “Up And Down” has a psychedelic-tinged intro on booming organ, loads of psychedelic effects and mighty guitar passages, first backed by a slow, calm rhythm before an epic-dramatic motif kicks in with the first tempo change. Frank again sings in a different voice here (clearly he still couldn’t decide how to sing, well aware of his vocal shortcomings), but it fits the space rock waves and energetic guitar-and-organ interplay nicely regardless. The track gets really interesting with the arrival of an excellent motif of bouncing drums and guitar, joined by the solemn sound of organ. An epic rhythmic build-up on drums, bass and organ follows, and together they create the futuristic mood once more. At one point a narration drops in too, which sounds rather unintelligible thanks to the heavy German accent. The closing section, with fiery organ passages that Wieczorke runs through a special effect creating an echoing sound, plus a march on bouncing drums, leads the piece to its abrupt end.
With “Inside”, Eloy improved in every way and showed far more sonic originality and unpredictability than on their hard rock debut. The album flows superbly throughout and offers complex sections with just the right balance of punch and dreaminess. It’s also successful at building the futuristic atmosphere that has always been essential to good space rock. Though there are only four compositions, every one of them is very good, with the longest piece among their best ever, and even though much better albums than “Inside” followed, it’s certainly their most important one, launching them from obscure art/hard rock underdogs into the ranks of the best German progressive rock acts. Mr. Bornemann has since done nothing but refine his visions of space voyages through unknown galaxies and mystical cities at the edge of the imaginable. And his accented vocal, however controversial that may sound to some Anglophile, has served well all along for telling sci-fi concepts and as one of the band’s main trademarks, so nobody could wrongly brand them some kind of German Pink Floyd or Yes.
Lineup
Frank Bornemann – vocals, guitar, percussion
Wolfgang Stöcker – bass guitar
Manfred Wieczorke – organ, percussion, backing vocals
Fritz Randow – drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, flute
Production
Eloy
Track list
1. Land Of No body (17:14)
2. Inside (6:35)
3. Future City (5:35)
4. Up And Down (8:23)
Bonus tracks from the reissue:
5. Daybreak (3:39)
6. On the road (2:30)
Album length: 43:07
