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VIPER THOUGHTS
Vertigo are a trio composed of Frans Herman, lead and backing vocals and bass; Maarten Huiskamp on guitars and keyboards - he also arranged, produced and engineered this album - who recently appeared on 'The Reading Room' CD; and lastly, drummer Fred Salious.
The artwork on the album shows a variety of arid desert scenes portrayed in harsh acidic colours - this is in complete contrast to the music which is rich, warm and welcoming.
The album begins with the fairly uncharacteristic title track. 'Viper Thoughts' is a fast moving, prog influenced instrumental piece which is brimming over with keyboards.
Much of the rest of the album is more inclined towards an AOR feel. Tracks like 'Too Much Trouble Living', 'You Make The Devil Smile' and 'Losing You' are fast paced, bluesey-type rock songs with a great
bubbling bass sound, vocal harmonies and a strong keyboard undercurrent.
There are slower, more laid back songs with a steady rhythm and lots of flowing keyboards like 'Raining In My Heart', 'One Step Behind' and 'No Change Of Season'.
As a contrast to these there's 'Time Won't Heal', a sensational rock ballad, a duet with guest artist Leny Caanen. The two voices are initially underpinned with soft romantic piano playing and orchestral sounds
- they sound great, their voices both alternating and intertwining - Leny's got a really fabulous voice.
After the main vocal sections the obligatory guitar solo rings out pure and clear, continuing through to the end of the song beneath the last few sung lines.
'Never The Same' is a very laid back track with a pretty moody feel and it makes for very easy listening.
Lots of vocal harmonies (Marc Brasse provides backing vocals), lovely guitar work and sparkling keyboard sounds turn this into something really special. A very mellow song ... just chill out!
The last track of the album is 'Wonderland' which is much more prog influenced than any of the other songs to be found here.
Strong, swirling keyboards feature throughout the song, supporting the layers of vocals (both Leny and Marc supply backing vocals for this track). While the gently throbbing bass work fills out the sound ... lovely stuff!
The ten tracks of this album give a variety of moods, all with a sophisticated sound. All in all, a very enjoyable album.
Marisa 17th May 2000
Available from CDistributions (see links page).
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