And so, another forgotten
AOR album is unearthed, dusted down, polished up, and dragged out into the light.
Blinking, glinting, stretching its muscles after 27 years suspended in aspic, '
Air Raid' proves to be a genuine find, a veritable nugget of solid gold
AOR, containing some genuine touches of genius, and yes, the occasional flaw.
The band's mainman - songwriter, keyboard player and vocalist - Arthur Offen now has a new band, Flag. More on that later.
Offen's one and only
Air Raid album was recorded back in 1980, produced by the legendary Eddie Kramer, with Rick Hinkle, Tom Walker and Rick Brown on guitars, bass and drums respectively.
Considering this is overtly an
AOR recording, Kramer's firm grasp of dynamics - he was Led Zeppelin's producer through the seventies - ensured each and every track was soundly built on thumping, rock solid rhythms.
The band's various influences, the aforementioned Led Zep, Yes, Jefferson Airplane, Procol Harum, Genesis are all subtly worked into the music - the stitching on the colourful patchwork quilt of sounds woven by Offen and his band.
But often, you'll recall Steve Walsh and Kansas, and sometimes Johnny Dee and Honeymoon Suite.
Many of the tracks have an epic sweep and an arcing lyrical ambition. '
Longships' obvious Viking reference has an almost cinematic quality, taking us on a journey of discovery on an ocean of keyboards, pianos and guitars, punctuated by crashing drums and a rolling bass.
The subject matter of openers
'Nowhere Without Your Love' and '
You're Mine' is much more prosaic, but these songs are blessed with fabulous melodies, wiry, tightly strung axe solos and expressive vocals. They could stand head to head with anything produced by the band's "heroes", anytime.
Further on, '
Mystery Man' and
'Soldiers Of Fortune' borrow lovingly from Paul Kantner/ Jefferson Airplane and Kansas/Kerry Livgren's more esoteric moments, though the first of the two echoes Procol Harum's '
In Held Twas In I' in places.
That said, these are far from carbon copies, rather heavily stylised tracks bearing the stunning imprint of a new band incorporating its own high flown, highly effective ideas into an established genre.
Instrumental closer '
Air Raid / Drill' is a space rock indulgence, out of kilter with the preceding material, though others may see it merely as an extension of what has come before. In any event, this album is so good it would take a lot more than a momentary musical stumble to spoil it.
In more recent times, Offen's band Flag have recorded two albums, '
Across The Stars' (2000) and '
Book Of Conquest' (2006). Both of which have been reissued. Reviews will appear in the next week or so.
Written by
Brian Monday, September 3, 2007
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