Record Heaven/Transubstans Records is pulling all sorts of neat progressive rock rarities out of the vaults these days, and the 1977 album Mellan Tre Ögon by Sweden's Mr. Brown is another wonderful little gem they have unearthed for us, and the first appearance of this album on CD. This happened to be the only release from Mr. Brown, and that's a sad thing, because the album is filled with plenty of elements that most fans of the genre love, and it would have been interesting to see if they could have built upon this foundation further.
The opening song "Suicide" recalls many of the giants in prog rock history, namely Pink Floyd, Eloy, Yes, Genesis, and PFM. Dreamy, melodic guitar passages permeate the thick wall of keyboards (ARP Synthesizer, Logan string machine, Hammond organ, and piano), while a lazy sax meanders its way through the mix underneath some thickly accented but effective English vocals. I'm again reminded of early PFM or even Nektar on "Recall the Future", a song that features some stinging guitar, majestic piano, melodic flute lines, and wonderful Moog and Mellotron sounds. "Resan till Ixtlan" is a short showcase for keyboard player Anders Nilsson, and "Universe" is like a charming mix of Genesis and ELO, with plenty of string machine washes and piano, plus some nice melodic vocals. The band kicks it up a notch on the Jethro Tull & Focus inspired flute/piano romp "Kharma 74", a more upbeat piece but still very majestic sounding and quite melodic. I'm again hearing some Genesis influence on "Liv i stad utan liv", a song that has some really rich sounding synth waves as well as pastoral guitar.
Mellan Tre Ögon is one of those long lost classics that you listen to today and wonder why it has been kept locked away for so many years. Fans of lush and symphonic 70's progressive rock are going to simply love this album, now available on CD for the first time. Don't be fooled by the fact that the band was Swedish, as their music was more iinfluenced by the great British and Italian bands, although you can also hear some similarities to vintage Kaipa here as well. Either way, this is highly recommended stuff!
Track listing
1. Suicide (6:53)
2. Recall the future (9:25)
3. Resan till Ixtlan (3:18)
4. Universe (3:38)
5. Kharma 74 (5:45)
6. Liv i stad utan liv (6:58)
7. Tornet (0:54)
8. I'll arise (2:34)
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