It has been a while since Hans Spitzen joined the Dutch progressive rock act Flamborough Head. His first contributions with the band could be enjoyed on the album Jumping The Milestone (2022, see review).An album on which he was presented as the new guitar player. However, Hans is not only a master on the guitar. He can be seen as a real multi-instrumentalist. He has proven this once again on his second solo album About Time. Just like on his debut Fingerprints (2015, see review) he was responsible for everything which you can hear on this album. Except for some guests which you will read about later on. Furthermore, he composed all the songs, recorded and produced the album by himself. The title of his new album About Time seems to be very obvious when there's a gap of 10 years between both solo albums. So, it was about time he came up with a new solo album. But the album title has also another meaning. Because some of the songs on this album deal with the subject "time". So they are about time. But it is for the listener to discover as Spitzen wrote on his website. The years between two solo albums is certainly a long time. But I can tell you it was certainly worth the wait. Because when you hear the five songs on this excellent album you know why. Let me tell you why and therefore I will go through those five songs separately. The Curse. On this piece of music, you can enjoy a strong vocal performance by ex Leap Day lead singer Hans Kuypers and therefore the music sounds a bit like Leap Day. Also, the excellent guitar and synthesizer parts move towards the musical direction of this wonderful Dutch band. Camel also come to mind several times on this excellent opening tune. Jumping The Milestone. The first epic and one of the longest compositions on this album is the title track of Flamborough Head's latest studio album and is a song which Hans composed for the band. But this version is different. For instance, the beautiful flute playing is this time around done by by Rosalie Vrijhof. On the FH version it is their female lead singer Margriet Boomsma who plays on this instrument. Also, the instrumental parts are here stronger and have more variety. The instrumental break with a fine synthesizer solo is really stunning. Just like the climax of the song. Only the male vocal parts are less compared to the vocal parts of Boomsma on the FH version. But this doesn't prevent me to tell you that I prefer this version to the version recorded by Flamborough Head. Of course, it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy that version as well. Out Of Here. A rather mellow relaxing tune. Most of all performed on the keyboards and bass guitar. It's a beautiful resting moment on this album. In between the songs which seem to be more up tempo in general. The Little Prince. The second epic piece and the longest track on the album. Again, mainly mellow with strong instrumental parts but also sometimes more up tempo can be heard. With Camel and Pink Floyd kind of guitar parts. Another excellent song! Before It Is Too Late. On this instrumental composition you can hear excerpts of the speech which the Swedish political activist Greta Thunberg did at the UN Climate Change COP25 - Climate Emergency Event. The song is of course about the warning of how we take care of our own planet. But there is still time before it's too late and we can't do anything about a healthy planet Earth. With a subject like this the music is of course very dramatic and sometimes very bombastic. The speech accompanied by the strong instrumental music works very well for me. The song is without any doubt one of the musical highlights on the album together with the new version of Jumping The Milestone and the opening piece The Curse. Spitzen can be very proud of what he has achieved music wise on About Time. His second solo album is rather entertaining with no weak compositions at all. Each track sounds very strong and will most of all be loved by lovers of neo prog and retro prog. Which means fans of Leap Day, Flamborough Head, Camel and Pink Floyd will love it all the way. Well done Hans! Hopefully it doesn't take another ten years to come up with a follow up! **** Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
