Genre: progressive
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title:  Inside
Company: Janus
Catalog: JLS 3062
Year: 1973
Country/State: Cologne, Germany
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: US pressing; gatefold sleeve; cut to right corner
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6389
Price: $30.00

Following a series of personnel shake ups that saw original drummer Helmut Draht and singer/keyboard player Eric Schriever head out the door, Eloy's second album saw the revamped band (now featuring the talents of singer/guitarist Frank Bornemann, drummer Fritz Rabdow, bassist Wolfgang Stocker and keyboardist Manfred Wieczorke), introduced to the American market via a distribution deal with Janus Records. Self-produced their sophomore release saw the quartet all but abandoning the leftist political stance that dominated the 1971 debut (anyone expecting to hear something along the lines of 'Voice of Revolution' was going to be disappointed). With Bornemann stepping into the creative forefront, this time out the emphasis was on musicianship and while none of he four tracks was particularly original, each was worth hearing. As lead singer Bornemann wasn't any great shakes. His heavy German accent was clearly an acquired taste, but given a chance, you quickly grew use to it. Rather than the accent, the fact of the matter is he simply wasn't gifted with a very strong voice. That put the emphasis on the quartet's musicianship which was never less than professional, but seldom showed a great deal of originality. These guys had clearly been listening to lots of British progressive bands and it didn't take a lot of effort to discern influences like Genesis, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd and even Uriah Heep. While that may not make this sound like a very promising album, the set was actually surprisingly entertaining. Yeah, the side long 'Land of No Body' would have benefited from some judicious editing, but it was still worth hearing and side two (with three shorter compositions) was quite enjoyable.
- Clocking in at over seventeen minutes, the side long 'Land of No Body' was hard to accurately describe. Opening up with a vaguely ominous air, Bornemann's heavily accented vocals were an acquired taste, but his voice quickly grew on you and since most of the song was an instrumental, in the end it didn't matter all that much. Judging by the mid-section of the song, Bornemann was a pretty good screamer. Fact of the matter was that large segments of the song spotlighted Wieczorke's keyboards - anyone who likes Hammond organs should treasure this set. And while the song had a heavily progressive orientation, Wieczorke displayed a surprisingly light touch on the organ. At times his work recalled early Focus (albeit without the whistling and flutes); in other places there were echoes of Uriah Heep at their most experimental, or perhaps a German-version of Jethro Tull; (particularly the last minute or so). Other than the opening vocal section Bornemann was pretty low keyed, though he ripped off a nice guitar solo about three quarters of the way through the song. Full of melodic and rhythmic twists, the song wasn't particularly commercial, but still managed to be engaging enough to make the 17 minutes pass by quickly. I'm sure others will disagree, but to my ears, the song's secret weapon was actually bassist Stocker who kept everyone on track, but was also responsible for some of the songs more melodious segments (check out the last minute of the song). rating: *** stars
- Starting out as one of the prettiest Krautrock songs I've ever heard, 'Inside' opened up with some nice Bornemann jangle guitar and then abruptly shifted gears into the album's most commercial rocker. The song was also worth hearing as the one selection on the album where Bornemann's double tracked guitar stepped into the spotlight. rating: *** stars
- Complete with plenty of percussion and acoustic guitars, 'Future City started out sporting what sounded like Ian Anderson and company exploring a raga rock. The song then shifted gears into a piece with a tropical feel that served as a great spotlight for Bornemann's overlooked guitar chops. Perhaps the album's weirdest, but most enjoyable performance and it clocked in at just over five minutes. rating: **** stars
- Opening up with some blues Hammond organ, 'Up and Down' found the band taking a stab at a mixture of smoldering blues-rock and psychedelia. This time around Wieczorke handled the vocals and to be honest his English was even more heavily accented than Bornemann's. The funny thing is I actually found his voice better than Bornemann's - well until he got to the spoken word narration part of the song. Powered by some stabbing Uriah Heep styled Hammond, it was quite a trippy way to end the album. rating: *** stars

A good place for the casual fan, or someone merely curious to start.
 
"Inside" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Land of No Body (Eloy) - 17:14

(side 2)
1.) Inside (Eloy) - 6:35
2.) Future City (Eloy) - 5:35
3.) Up and Down (Eloy) - 8:23