HE LONG-LOST SONGS
Good classic rock, it seems like a dying phenomenon. At least, if we use the limited attention in the mainstream media as an indicator. Nonsense of course. If you look carefully, you will find gems. Sometimes just a stone’s throw away. The album The Long-Lost Songs by prog and rock king Arjen Lucassen and singer Robert Soeterboek is even more than a gem. The two found each other in the early 1990s, years before the start of Ayreon. Ideas were exchanged and some songs were written. But current events at the time made us decide differently. Arjen grew into a true phenomenon and Robert remained a singer with international vocal qualities.
Two years ago there was suddenly contact again. The songs were dusted off and edited, but the original DNA remained intact. This still appears to work perfectly almost 35 years later. Together with top performers such as guitarist Marcel Singor, drummer Koen Herfst, bassist Peter Vink who was originally there and the phenomenal producer/keyboardist Joost van den Broek, a true masterpiece was put together in Arjen’s studio. While Arjen often goes for elongated compositions in his own projects, this album is full of catchy songs.
The instrumental level is high, internationally high. Take Get Down To Bizniz for example, a song where everything fits. The cool guitar riff of Singor, the wonderful voice of Soeterboek who easily alternates the humor of The Sweet’s Brian Connolly with the power of Ronnie James Dio and the blues of David Coverdale. In the drawn-out Before The Morning Comes, completely different qualities are addressed. This subdued song would not be out of place on Rainbow’s Rising, for example. The fast Let It Ride has the looseness of Van Halen and the groove of Deep Purple.
In the song, Singor and Van Den Broek are given every opportunity to showcase their virtuosity. The choirs are also an absolute plus. The single Ice On Fire is again AOR rock at its finest and would have been a real hit in the early 1980s. This also applies to the Styx-like Gimme Me The Night, where Soeterboek once again shows what a great vocalist he is. It makes The Long-Lost Song more than just a nice flashback project.
We say: go, the studio and create more of this beauty.
