Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Eloy
Label: SPV Records
Release: 1988
Rating: 3/5
Cult German space rockers Eloy were in a temporary creative lull at the turn of the eighties. After four years of rest, though, their boss, guitarist/vocalist Frank Bornemann, decided to resurrect the band that had brought him his biggest creative and commercial successes in the second half of the 70s. There was never any doubt that Bornemann had been the leader of this legendary German progressive rock outfit practically from day one. When Frank booted all his previous bandmates four years before this album came out, they “took revenge” by recording the soundtrack “Codename Wildgeese” (1985) under the Eloy name, for an action B-movie starring Klaus Kinski. That project was a pretty big flop, but Frank didn’t lose much sleep over the “desecration” of his band’s name, nor did he bother with the idea of suing his former colleagues over rights. He stayed good friends with his longtime bassist Klaus-Peter Matziol, and the two even picked up working together again in the 90s.
At the time, Frank’s plan was to bring Eloy back with a (for those days) modern sound, while holding on to their trademark space rock essence, which had always been a very particular blend of heavy rock punch and hypnotic ambient curtains. Playing space rock the heavy rock way, wrapped in all sorts of sci-fi lyrical concepts, was what Eloy were usually best at; the only serious competition was perhaps Nektar, who were a lot less consistent at it (the same went for Hawkwind, who were getting more and more hooked on electronics around then).
“Ra,” a concept album about the birth of the Egyptian sun god (it was recorded long before the Stargate movie and TV series), was the product of Frank’s collaboration with keyboardist Michael Gerlach, whom he met by chance while wandering around Berlin. Gerlach knew his way around what was then still fairly new digital sampling technology, which was a good way to save some cash and, in Frank’s case, to dodge possible creative clashes with other musicians. Sadly, the band’s sound noticeably lost its organic feel this way, especially in the rhythm section. The drums were almost completely replaced by a drum machine. Frank swapped the rest of the instrumentalists for a bunch of session players (among them guitarist Tommy Newton, a member of German metallers Victory, and today best known as a producer for the likes of Helloween, UFO, Kamelot, Elegy, Ark, and so on). And once again there was no shortage of sexy backing vocalists, whose “angelic” voices kept up the band’s long tradition of female backing vocals (among them was the cult German melodic rock singer Joal, who, besides Eloy, has worked with Glenn Hughes, Roger Daltrey, Letter X and Victory, and also with the aforementioned Newton and Gamma Ray honcho Kai Hansen on her solo album).
All the supporting musicians do a quality job on “Ra.” The main flaw is the programmed rhythm line alone, above all the unnatural drum sound, which robbed the album of a good chunk of its organic feel and heavy rock punch. Still, the album doesn’t skimp on traditional Eloy elements, which kept up with the times thanks to Frank’s modern production. Once again, first and foremost there’s Frank’s recognizable, German-accented vocal, which was never to everyone’s taste, but with its distinctiveness was always indispensable to this band. On top of that, his singing had improved noticeably by this point, both in expression and technique, especially in the falsetto department, which gave his voice such a fresh airing-out that it occasionally sounded almost like a German Jon Anderson (Yes). The same goes for the male backing vocal harmonies, which in tone often lean toward Yes. Above all, though, it’s Frank’s excellent, sensitive electric guitar solos and punchy riffs that, along with the varied keyboards, rescue the album from gray mediocrity. Lyrically, Frank got help this time from Diana Badley, who also contributed spoken word on one of the tracks.
There’s no truly long prog rock epic on “Ra,” or at least none longer than ten minutes. Many of the tracks seem, at the start, like they won’t develop into anything smart or atmospheric, but in the end almost all of them flow nicely and pleasantly surprise. The opening epic “Voyager Of The Future Race,” which kicks off with ambient nature sounds and a dramatic female address, confirms that Eloy kept their tradition of crafting complex yet melodic space rock epics that can send the listener’s mind off on a long cosmic voyage. Gerlach’s thick wall of synthesizers, packed with plenty of digitally processed samples (which often cover the traditional bass guitar lines too), is a reminder that the sound moved with the times (the late 80s). Rich curtains of keyboards soon start to intertwine with Frank’s traditionally punchy guitar riffs, building up an epic, dramatic mood. After a short vocal moment comes a longer ambient section with an excellent slide guitar solo. Meanwhile the synth curtains nicely create an atmosphere that conjures up a journey into the depths of space.
The solid “Sensations,” which is essentially a hard rock number thanks to its hard-hitting guitar riff, pushes the digital samples and programmed drums even further forward, and here they sound rather monotonous and unnatural. Still, the song is saved by a good melody, quality ambient keyboard curtains and an epic chorus. Frank’s singing deserves special praise here, as it’s one of the best of his career, as does his superb guitar solo in the second half of the track. “Dreams” has a gentle guitar intro before shifting into a sawing electric guitar build-up. Suddenly an ambient section kicks in, with digital samples mixing in the background and giving the track a slightly futuristic touch. In between come spoken female words delivered by Diana Badley and “angelic” backing vocals that create an ethereal mood. The sawing riffing returns a few times, but the central melody stays remarkably tender throughout and fits beautifully with the excellent Yes-style vocal harmonies. It all wraps up very nicely with a splendid slide guitar solo and ambient synth sounds.
The mystical epic “Invasion Of a Megaforce,” easily the best piece on the album, is another intriguing space voyage with loads of digital samples and rich layers of keyboards. The energetic, remarkably interesting first passage is especially impressive, taking the track to a whole other level. The mystical mood is boosted by numerous samples, rich curtains of keyboards and vocal harmonies, and sensitive electric guitar passages. A much more organic-sounding rhythm section certainly helps too, this time featuring real drums by Udo Dahmey and bass lines by Stefan Hols. Frank’s vocal is once again enriched with gorgeous “Yes-like” backing vocals. Joal’s female vocals occasionally break through to the front and give the track a whole other kind of subtle energy. And Frank again doesn’t forget to slip in a short guitar solo. The melancholic-mystical “Rainbow” is one of the most refined creations Eloy recorded in the 80s, and it even has a slight pop charge. The many ambient digital keyboard samples and Frank’s falsetto vocal really come into their own here, sometimes almost shamelessly channeling Jon Anderson (bassist Hols adds his bit with backing vocals that often lean toward Chris Squire, and occasionally even Trevor Horn). The track has a very pretty, melodic and melancholic chorus. That feeling gets amplified further when Joal’s excellent female backing vocal comes sweeping in. The closing epic “Hero” is soaked in digital samples, rich synth curtains and a pulsating rhythm line, and of course there’s an epic chorus too. Oddly enough, you can even detect a slight new wave flavor in this track, which creates an interesting atmosphere together with its power metal-style lyrics and mighty guitar riffs. It all ends the way the album opened: with spoken female words and ambient nature sounds.
Captain Bornemann and his first officer Gerlach were never exactly a dream team in the vein of Captain Picard and Data from Star Trek, but to be fair, with this album they pulled the band out of a total creative abyss and collapse. “Ra” could easily have come out as a Bornemann solo album, but luckily he decided to keep the Eloy name, the band that brought him his greatest musical standing and over the years established him not just as a great guitarist but as one of Germany’s best producers (soon after “Ra” came out, he became the producer for cult German heavy metallers Heavens Gate, who were the first band on his newly founded independent label). Even though “Ra” was far from their best work, mostly because of the rather cold, unnatural sound of the dominant artificial drum rhythm, it was still a thoroughly decent, if not very solid, record, comparable with the better prog rock releases of the time. For a band that barely survived the 80s, that was certainly no small feat. And when the 90s rolled around, Eloy’s future once again looked bright.
Lineup
Frank Bornemann – vocals, guitar
Michael Gerlach – keyboards, drums, bass synthesizer
Diana Badey – spoken word (3)
Udo Dahmey – drums (4)
Achim Gieseler – keyboards (4-5)
Paul Harriman – bass guitar (2)
Stefan Höls – bass guitar (4), backing vocals (3-5)
Tommy Newton – guitar (2)
Joal (Annette Strangenberg)- backing vocals (3-4-5)
Darryl Van Raalte – fretless bass (3)
Sue Wist – spoken intro (1)
Production
Frank Bornemann
Tracklist
1. Voyager Of The Future Race (8:51)
2. Sensations (4:46)
3. Dreams (8:05)
4. Invasion Of A Megaforce (7:42)
5. Rainbow (5:21)
6. Hero (6:51)
Total running time: 41:36
