Flame Dream: Elements (reissue)

There's more to the Swiss than cheese and Patrick Moraz! Flame Dream existed on record from 1978 to 1986, three of their six albums sculpted by the nucleus of keyboardist Roland Ruckstuhl, bassist Urs Hochuli, drummer Peter Furrer, and vocalist & woodwind player Peter Wolf (no, not that Peter Wolf). 1978's Calatea and 1980's Out In The Dark had fifth members, both guitarists: Urs Waldispühl on the former, and Dale Hauskins (who lives in California, now) on the latter. 1986's abysmal 8 on 6 featured four guesting musicians. Elements (1979) is considered by many to be their best outing, and was reissued but months ago by Tachika Records as a Japanese miniature (mini-LP format CD).

The remastering process has breathed new life into this [loose] treatise on the four elements, a truly rewarding experience for keyboard lovers: with more room to work within, Roland Ruckstuhl stretches out into sonic corridors once occupied by Waldispühl. Ruckstuhl rolls in the usual suspects: Moog (and other) synths, Clavinet, Mellotron, Solina string synth, organ & acoustic piano. A fantastic soloist, Ruckstuhl's style is closer to that of Jobson or Moraz—no bluesy sendoffs like Emerson's, not many classical pastiches a la Wakeman. Loud 'Tron choirs, snappin' Clav grooves, thick analog pads, and dexterous piano effluxes are what Roland's about—a nod to that enticing organ ostinato on "Sea Monsters," also. Urs Hochuli's bass-playing is a tad more economical than expected—no lead lines, a complementary disposition, and a solid, clear tone that lends itself well to dualling Ruckstuhl's left-hand Clavinet parts. Listen for that kind of magic on the thirteen-minute "Sea Monsters," over which R.R. soars with a great, short, righthand synth part. Ruckstuhl quickly bursts into a solo piano interlude, then back into the tandem with Hochuli! Peter Furrer's drumming is above the realm of subtlety, but also less flashy than many of his contemporaries—fear not, he definitely keeps things interesting on his end. In fact, the rhythm section of he & Hochuli succeeds in this manner, versus dealing a bouillabaise of random, extra percussive notes here & there.

The make-or-break factor for many may be the lead vocals of Peter Wolf—who also performs on woodwinds and saxophone—which are of the nasal, noticeably-accented type (though not badly so). His moderately high pitch doesn't really vary, yet works quite well within the Flame Dream context. Imagine Jon Anderson, two octaves lower, or Kit Watkins—had he actually been able to sing, that is. The vocal verses of "A Poem Of Dancing" are decidedly Gentle Giant-like, sans a longshot. Lyrics reside in the cosmically ambiguous department, which will help draw comparisons to Yes. Come to think of it, Elements isn't too far from what may have resulted in a second Yes album with Moraz and without Howe, plus the addition of a woodwind player. This is easily Ruckstuhl's platform, though; the man can really go off, but knows when to drop in a surprise, as when manually tweaking LFO & filter parameters for some unearthly tones, or dropping in a 'reverse bell drone' (heard on certain Tangerine Dream albums) under Wolf's sax part on "Earth Song" (the brightest, most uptempo piece, and at seven minutes, the shortest).

Interestingly, no information is given for the fifth (bonus) instrumental track, but it's most likely a post-Elements number, and only 75 seconds in length! More of a curtain-dropping outro than anything more.

Note: Presently, this item is only available from Syn-Phonic for $20. It's well worth the pocket change. Link: http://www.synphonic.8m.com

Also, Flame Dream appears to have no dedicated official or fan-supported website. In the meantime, click the link below.

Added: September 1st 2003
Reviewer: Elias Granillo
Score:
Related Link: Flame Dream – Unofficial Discography Page
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Language: english

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