Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Rick van der Linden
Kayak – Starlight Dancer (1977) (@256)
21 Aug 2008
(Review from connollyco.com, progarchives.com)
“Starlight Dancer” is a charmer, chocked full of clever arrangements and interesting musical themes. Elements of Genesis, Queen, Alan Parsons Project and Camel appear throughout without being derivative of those bands, and yet the most similar band is late 70s era Renaissance. Both bands fell to the left or right of progressive’s front echelon but will be remembered for carrying the standard when the front-rank fellers were fallen (or fiddling around). And both had a facility for incorporating orchestral arrangements into appealing melodies and making use of classical themes without sounding overly pretentious.
There is certainly a diversity of styles here, including The Beatles / Paul McCartney (“Daughter or Son”, “Golddust”), 10CC (“Let down”), and City Boy (“Turn the tide”). Ballads such as “Where do we go from here” and “ May” work well, often sounding similar to those of the Alan Parsons Project. The occasional instrumental interlude or even entire track (the beautiful, cascading “Irene” featuring some fine sax) show the band to be competent in that field, although they never appear to push themselves into anything which might be described as adventurous.
Line-up:
- Ton Scherpenzeel / pianos, synthesizer, organ, harpsichord, vocals
- Charles Louis Schouten / drums, percussion, marimba, vocals
- Johan Slager / guitars, vocals
- Max Werner / Mellotrons, percussion, vocals
- Theo de Jong / bass guitar
with
- Fred Leeflang / soprano saxophone (5)
- Rick van der Linden / Yamaha GX1 synthesizer (6)
Track List:
01. Daughter or Son – 3:36
02. Starlight Dancer – 4:59
03. Want You To Be Mine – 3:37
04. Letdown – 2:48
05. Irene – 4:24
06. Golddust – 2:38
07. May – 4:21
08. Turn The Tide – 3:36
09. Dead Bird Flies Forever – 4:18
10. Sweet Revenge – 3:33
11. Where Do We Go From Here – 4:39
12. I Want You To Be Mine (Bonus) – 5:13
13. Irene (Bonus USA version) – 4:22
Link in comments.
Trace – White Ladies (1976) (@256)
21 Nov 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, amazon)
By The White Ladies, Trace had become the sole preserve of Rick van der Linden. It includes a new rhythm section, a second keyboard player and a saxophonist. With three ex-Ekseption members in the line-up, the band resembles Ekseption much more than Trace.
With this album the band deviates from the original Trace concept, which was completely keyboard dominated, and introduces sax, strings as well as a female singer. Thus, the album sounds very different from the previous Trace albums, the music is more structured and refined, and the ‘wild’ element is restrained in favour of nuance and melody. It features a string section and is therefore more symphonic and impressionistic. More melodious themes and richer arrangements melt classical music with rock & jazz.
The album is a concept piece, it’s based on the Dutch legend of the White Ladies, who steal a farmer’s wife away from her husband and child. The White Ladies are nymphs who lure humans into the woods with their music. Any human touches by them is freed of worries and wants to dance away the rest of his or her life.
Despite good albums, great concerts and worldwide recognition, Trace didn’t work out the high expectations and the band dissolved after this album.
Line-up:
- Rick Van Der Linden / keyboards
- Cor Dekker / bass
- Peter de Leeuwe / drums
- Dick Remelink / saxes, flute
- Hans Jacobse / additional keyboards
- Hetty Smit / vocals
- Harry Schafer / narrato
Track List:
01. Legend Part 1
02. Interlude 1
03. Confrontation
04. Interlude II
05. Dance of the White Ladies
06. Doubts
07. Trace I
08. Witche’s Dance
09. Surrender
10. Interlude III
11. Parthétique
12. Legend Part 2
13. Interlude IV
14. The Rescue
15. Trace II
16. Back Home
17. Meditation
18. Flash Back
19. Conclusion
Link in comments.
Trace – Birds (1975) (@256)
20 Nov 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
Pierre van der Linden left the band and was replaced by future Marillion-drummer Ian Mosley. Their second album “Birds” stayed true to the sound of the debut-album.
Side 1 of the album was pretty much what you could expect: classical covers with a few self-written tunes thrown in between. The version of Bach’s “Boureč” is fresh and energetic with a cool clavinet-break in the middle. The version of “Opus 1065″ (another Bach-composition) is a bit more ambitious, and features a guest appearance from Curved Air’s Darryl Way on violin. Interestingly enough there’s also a short cover here of a tune by one of Linden’s very first musical influences: Bix Beiderbecke.
What really makes it worth having is undoubtedly the 22-minute “King Bird Suite”. It’s a very glorious and impressive piece of keyboard-based progressive rock, and it was next to “Gaillarde” probably the best thing the band ever did.
Line-up:
- Rick Van Der Linden / keyboards
- Jaap Van Eik / bass, guitar, vocals
- Ian Mosley / drums, timpani, gong, tambourine
with
- Darryl Way / acoustic & electric violin on 4
- Coen Hoedeman / assorted monkeys on 1
Track List:
01. Bourree (2:27)
02. Snuff (2:28)
03. Janny (In A Mist) (1:15)
04. Opus 1065 (7:46)
05. Penny (2:53)
06. Trixie-Dixie (0:38)
07. King-Bird (22:01)
08. Birds (Short Edit) (3:41)
09. Tabu (Second Version) (4:14)
Link in comments.
Trace – Trace (1974) (@256)
19 Nov 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
Rick van der Linden formed Trace after he left Ekseption in 1973. The rest of the trio was made up of Jaap van Eik on bass and former Focus-drummer Pierre van der Linden. Musically they were a very solid, tight and energetic classical-influenced, keyboard-based progressive rock band, but of a more conventional kind.
Their debut album opens with their maybe best recording ever in form of the 14-minute “Gaillarde”. This fantastic jam is partly based on some passages from Bach’s “Italian Concerto” (but not the same ones that Ekseption did on “Beggar Julia’s Time Trip”) and goes from the most energetic organ-solos you can imagine and to beautiful and majestic melodies. This track will surely make any fan of keyboard-based progressive rock drool.
The rest of the album never reaches the same heights again, but is still good most of the way. The adaptation of Grieg’s “Ases Dod” is very tasty, and demonstrates well all the different sounds in Linden’s impressive arsenal. “The Escape of the Piper” is based in a fast theme played on piano, and is broken up in the middle with a synth-part that sounds like bagpipes. “Once” is a more organ-based piece with a very energetic and jazzy mid-part. “Progression” is a 12-minute jam with a flawless, very fresh and energetic performance. “A Memory” is a beautiful piece based in an old folk-melody from Sweden. The closing number “Final Trace” is as typical Rick van der Linden as he gets, but it features nothing that he already had done in Ekseption.
This album is a must-have for all fans of keyboard-based progressive rock of the classic kind.
Line-up:
- Rick Van Der Linden / keyboards
- Jaap Van Eik / bass, guitar
- Pierre Van Der Linden / drums
Track List:
01. Gaillarde
02. Gare Le Corbeau
03. Gaillarde
04. The Death Of Ace
05. The Escape Of The Piper
06. Once
07. Progression
08. A Memory
09. The Lost Past
10. A Memory
11. Final Trace
12. Progress
13. Tabu
Link in comments.
Ekseption – Live in Germany (1993) (@256)
17 Jun 2007
(Info from progarchives.com)
Ekseption is a Dutch band that was famous during the late sixties/early seventies for the way it combined themes from classical composers with contemporary rock and jazz in a blend of dominating, virtuoso keys and trumpet plus sax(es).
Ekseption’s only live album was recorded during two German concerts in November 1993. Ekseption had a reunion for some live performances.
If you’ve always wanted to listen to Ekseption live, here’s your chance.
Line-up:
- Rick Van Der Linden / Farfisa 1-3 +5 and Grand piano
- Rein Van Der Broek / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Max Werner / drums
- Frans Muys Van Der Moer / bass
- Dick Remelink / soprano & tenor saxophone
Track List:
01. Toccata (5:23)
02. Your home (4:51)
03. Peace planet (3:43)
04. Concerto (4:02)
05. Haydn (3:08)
06. Air (3:57)
07. Rhapsody in blue (4:45)
08. Thoughts (3:57)
09. Summertime (2:50)
10. For example (9:43)
11. The fifth (3:12)
12. Italian concerto (4:03)
13. Sabre dance (3:35)
14. My pianoman (2:45)
Links in comments.