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Review:
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This is a musical project by Dutch keyboard player
Jack Langevelt, a huge fan of the Seventies symphonic rock
and the late keyboard wizard Rick Van Der Linden. Between
1981 and 1997 Survival existed in its first line-up, then
disbanded but fortunately Jack didn’t give up and now we
can enjoy the Musea release of his first album entitled
Crusader (2008).
From the very first moment I listened to this instrumental
album, I was carried away to Vintage Keyboard heaven, what
a wonderful and often compelling keyboard driven symphonic
rock: a tight rhythm with a lush and powerful, Jon Lord-like
Hammond sound, fiery guitar and propulsive drum work in
The Holy Land, orchestral keyboards in the melancholical
Lamentation, a long and swirling Hammond solo and howling
duo-guitar in the titletrack, a slow rhythm with pitchbend
driven synthesizer work and lush Hammond organ (like Procol
Harum) in I Cried For You, sparkling piano, exciting Hammond
and synthesizer play and splendid Gilmourian guitar in Exceptional
Friend, majestic church organ in The Knights Templar, sensational
interplay between keyboard (including a choir-Mellotron
sound), guitar and rhythm-section with lots of great solos
on keyboards and guitar and a compelling duet between synthesizer
and guitar in the long Montsigard and a dreamy final track
entitled After All featuring beautiful interplay between
warm piano and soaring keyboards. It's a subtle conclusion
of an often bombastic and compelling sounding album that
frequently reminds me of Trace and Japanese progrock band
Gerard (but I wonder or Jack has ever heard of that Japanese
progrock band).
Anyway, a big hand for Dutch formation Survival and
big alert for the vintage keyboard aficionados!
www.progwalhalla.com
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