FLAMBOROUGH HEAD - LOST IN TIME (2013 ALBUM)

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Top quality CD for anyone looking for a perfect example of semi-instrumental, melodic Symphonic Prog featuring vintage keyboard sounds & tuneful guitars!

We’ve recently re-introduced the magnificent Dutch keyboards driven instrumental Prog band TRION into the CDS Towers repertoire, and now we bring back FLAMBOROUGH HEAD to the fold with their magnificent 2013 Symphonic Prog album: ‘Lost In Time’ and the common link between them is the Polish record label releasing them and the brilliant keyboard work of Edo Spanninga, who incidentally is a big exponent of the Mellotron!

FLAMBOROUGH HEAD are a well-established Prog band with six earlier albums under their belt that started back as early as 1998. With influences ranging from the likes of MARILLION, PENDRAGON, RENAISSANCE and ARENA, this is a fantastic band that has a truly melodic and emotional approach to their music. ‘Lost In Time’ has been hailed as their best effort to date and especially recommended for fans of Symphonic Neo-Prog – We would wholeheartedly agree with that!

Past FLAMBOROUGH HEAD albums have passed me by to a certain extent, and having heard ‘Lost In Time’ – the group’s 7th album, I can’t quite understand why, because their music is “right up my street” as they say.
This is an extremely competent Symphonic Prog band that I would rate very highly indeed, and quite frankly can find nothing negative to say of them at all! A good deal of what they do on this album in instrumental, but when the vocal parts are there they are excellent – female and very much from the Annie Haslam RENAISSANCE mould of the past and Christina Booth of MAGENTA in the present day.
The band favour lengthy instrumental intros to their tracks with a tendency to feature extended instrumental passages in between the vocal parts. Their playing is keyboards/guitar (acoustic and electric) driven with occasional flute and a fine rhythm section, and the result is music that as good as it comes in the melodic symphonic rock genre – A total joy to listen to!

The FLAMBOROUGH HEAD musician line-up for ‘Lost In Time’ is: Edo Spanninga (keyboards), Gert Polkerman (electric and acoustic guitars / backing vocals), Marcel Derix (bass), Koen Roozen (drums) and Margriet Boomsma (vocals / flute / recorder).

Here are some brief track-by-track comments to help you get a feel for the ‘Lost In Time’ album…

‘Lost In Time’ – Excellent melodic semi-instrumental opener clocking up over twelve minutes of solid, emotion fuelled Symphonic Rock! Structured in several movements and with loads of great keyboard work (Mellotron / string synths etc), it sounds a little like GREENSLADE meets RENAISSANCE with fine melodic electric guitar parts, some nice flute work and an excellent female vocal in the middle and towards the end.
A Symphonic Prog fan’s dream track for sure!

‘The Trapper’ – A faster and very tuneful track with a catchy guitar lead that instantly reminded me of early PENDRAGON with its melodic electric guitar running over a sea of symphonic string synths.
As the piece continues it becomes more like a piece of RENIASSANCE story-telling and all eleven minutes plus are thoroughly enjoyable.

‘Dancing Ledge’ - A nine-minute instrumental that opens with sombre keyboard chords which include wailing Mellotron strings, then the electric guitar lead strikes up and the track takes off at a more sprightly pace, with organ and synths joining the Mellotron filled backdrop. A beautifully serene flute & 12-sting guitar part follows, then a high-register melodious electric guitar flies high in the heavens and from there you get more changing passages of the same that will fulfil the hunger of any Symphonic Prog fan with fever pitched crescendos and the likes – Brilliant stuff!

‘Damage Done’ - A ten-minute+ medium paced track that opens with singing, high-register electric guitars taking the lead over a warm bed of keyboard textures. As the track continues you will hear beautiful wistful flute work, and after the three and a half minute instrumental intro concludes, there’s an excellent female vocal. After that there’s some brilliant organ work, then the heaven-bound guitar tunefully sails in again to deliver a dream like solo, followed by more fantastic symphonic keyboard layers, and so it goes on to even more top-notch instrumental Symphonic Rock to totally blow you away as it climaxes in a sea is synthesizer melodies then slowly fades over the horizon.

‘I'll Take The Blame’ - Comes in at pace with the rhythm section driving a fuzzed electric guitar lead along. This is followed by flute and all the while the keyboards are forming a warm, misty sound in the background. This time the vocals come in early at around the minute and a half mark (!!!) and it’s another fine performance from Margriet Boomsma – She really has a fine voice for Symphonic Rock music!
There’s even more lovely flute work to follow and that’s set over a backdrop of Mellotron strings and makes for a fine rocking closing sequence.

‘Andrassy Road’ – Closes the album with over nine minutes of creative Prog, opening with flute and keyboards (mainly Mellotron) in a melodic marriage from heaven, before lead acoustic guitar takes its turn with an equally tuneful movement. The vocal comes in just after the two minutes of instrumental excellence and again this music is reminiscent of RENAISSANCE at times, telling a story with Mellotron and flute providing extra atmosphere, and ending a fine album on one mighty high!

FLAMBOROUGH HEAD: LOST IN TIME Track List:

01. Lost In Time (12:15)
02. The Trapper (11:48)
03. Dancing Ledge (9:04)
04. Damage Done (10:57)
05. I'll Take The Blame (6:37)
06. Andrassy Road (9:56)

TPT – 60:39