01	Kojinteki Kikyu						08:59
	02	Negai Kanaeru Kodomo Wo Tsurete Yukou						05:14
	03	Kohan Nite						01:20
	04	Zaiya Karano Kikan						05:01
	05	Chishiki Wo Koete						02:20
	06	Gips						04:03
	07	Theegg Of Joe						04:05
	08	Chronos Ouranos Esoptron						02:12
	09	Sou No Hiai						06:14
	10	Release Yourself						04:27
	11	Kiraku Ni Ikouze						02:19

Kenso - Esoptron

Released: 1999
Label: King Record Co. Ltd.
Cat. No.:KICS 741
Total Time: 46:14


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, March 2000
For those used to the prog-jazz leanings of Kenso you'll be surprised when the first track on this disk starts - Kenso have taken a page or two out of the Led Zeppelin song book, though track one actually sounds more like LTE (or at least Petrucci) jamming on Zeppelin material. Though Zep isn't the only influence in there, as you can add a dash of ELP and a dash of metal, too. Oh, and then about seven minutes in, you'll get blues guitar becoming a Hendrix/Page hybrid becoming a Lifeson/Lee/Peart-like workout.

Track 2 begins with some gentle jazz guitar (with a slight Page colouring), but is mostly Rippingtons-eque jazz-rock, only to pick up the pace and become something of an UK-neo/IQ-like progressive jam, bulking up again into a Rush-like mode ("YYZ" comes to mind)with ELP like keys. And yet, it all hangs together, is well played and makes for a very dynamic release.

Track 5 is atmospheric keyboard swirls over electronic percussion with ethereal voices floating about - kind of a mellow bliss-out, as you can imagine psycheldelic twirling patterns dazzling you on the ceiling. "Gips," (track 6) is Black Moon-period ELP with heavy percussion and dark keys, contrasted by more keyboards jamming on top.

"The Egg of Joe" is so eerily like "A Whiter Shade of Pale," I had to listen carefully to see that it wasn't in fact the Procol Harem classic with a different name. When the high-pitched keys take the lead, the track becomes a bit discordant:not entirely pleasing at that point, though it's brief.

"Chronos Ouranos Esoptron" is Middle-Eastern meets Peter Gabriel meets early Genesis - I don't know how else to describe it, except to add that there's a bit of a techno beat to it toward the end.

"Release Yourself" has an Eric Clapton/Cream feel to it : I'm thinking of "Crossroads" here.

Overall a really good release, but because of they seem to be wearing influences on their sleeve - or rather, on their fingertips - not an entirely original one.

More about Esoptron:

Track Listing: "Track 1" (8:59) / "Track 2" (5:14) / "Track 3" (1:20) / "Track 4" (5:01) / "Track 5" (2:20) / Gips (4:03) / The Egg of Joe (4:05) / Chronos Ouranos Esoptron (2:12) / "Track 9" (6:14) / Release Yourself (4:27) / "Track 11" (2:19)

Musicians (at least this was the In The West lineup):
Yoshihisa Shimizu - guitars
Kenichi Oguchi - keyboards
Kenichi Mitsuda - keyboards
Shunji Saegusa - bass
Masayuki Muraishi - drums

Contact

Website: www1.u-netsurf.ne.jp/~kenso/
Note: will open new browser window

Email: ken-mail@dp.u-netsurf.ne.jp

Discography

Kenso (1980)
Kenso II (1982)
Kenso III (1983)
In Concert (1986)
Self Portrait (1987)
Sparta (1989)
Yume No Oka (1991)
Live 92 (1993)
Early Live Volume 1 (1994)
Early Live Volume 2 (1995)
Zaiya Live (1996)
In The West (1999)
Esoptron (1999)
76/77 (2000)
Ken Son Gu Su: 25th Anniversary (2000)
Fabulis Mirabilibus De Bombycosi Scriptis (2002)





Kenso - Esoptron
Country of Origin: Japan
Format: CD
Record Label: Musea
Catalogue #: FGBG 4310.AR
Year of Release: 1999
Time: 46:22
Info: Kenso

Tracklist: Kojinteki Kikyu (8:59), Negaikanearu Kodomo Wo Tsureteyukou (5:14), Kohan Nite (1:20), Zaiya Kara No Kikan (5:01), Chishiki Wo Koete (2:20), Gips (4:03), The Egg Of Joe (4:05), Chronos Ouranos Esoptron (2:12), Sou No Hiai (6:14), Release Yourself (4:27), Kiraku Ni Ikouze (2:19)

When I first read the booklet of Kenso's sixth studio album Esoptron I assumed that the band's style would be close to other japanese bands like Gerard and Arsnova who are very much influenced by Emerson Lake and Palmer, because Kenso's line up boasts no less than three keyboard players! Nothing could be further from the truth though, because it is the guitar played by band leader Yoshihisa Shimizu (responsible for writing most of the material) that dominates Kenso's sound, and while there are many influences on this album, ELP is not among them.
On this album, Shimizu is joined by keyboard players Kenichi Oguchi and Kenichi Mitsuda, bass player Shunji Saegusa and drummer Masayuki Muraishi.

Opener Kojinteki Kikyu is with its length of nearly nine minutes the longest piece on the album and is Kenso's ode to Focus, the famous Dutch band of the early seventies. This is in large part due to the very Akkerman-ish guitar, and the structure of the song, which reminds of Hocus Pocus (no jodeling though!). After five minutes the track seems to end, only to continue with some jazzy guitar before going back to the first half of the rack.

Steve Hackett is the inspiration for the following two tracks, the first of which could have been on any of his early studio albums. This song has some very nice melodies, and while not calm or simple, is a lot easier to digest than the previous track, which seems to overdo it at some points.

The short Kohan Nite reminds even more of Hackett, but this time the period would be around Genesis' Nursery Cryme album. The track is carried by acoustic guitar overlaid with those typical Hackett-ish distorted guitar effects.

For the heavy Zaiya Kara No Kikan Alex Lifeson seems to have walked into the studio to lay down some rhythm tracks because these sound a lot like those he did on Rush albums in the latter half of the seventies. Other than that this track does not have too much to offer, mainly because the rhythm guitar is a bit too high in the mix, drowning out the other instruments.

Chishiki Wo Koete, written by keyboard player Oguchi, is a collection of samples and weird noises and an occasional melody. Even though, this could have been a nice track if not for the hideous drum computer, which turns this otherwise interesting track into something that sounds like the results of someone trying out his new Casio keyboard.

The track is followed by Gips, which has the same rhythm, but this time done by a real drummer which leads one to wonder why the live drummer wasn't used on the previous track as well! The first part of the track is very complex, but after two minutes things quieten down with one of the nicest melodies on the album.

The Egg Of Joe starts out as a ballad, with electric guitar doing the vocal melody, an effect I like very much. The feeling of this track is Floydian, due in large part again to the Gilmour-ish guitar. A really nice keyboard-solo forms the 'chorus' of the track. The only small complaint about this track is that the drums are extremely monotonous, almost irritatingly so.

Indian flute sounds (think of the snake in the basket) form the intro to Chronos Ouranos Esoptron. For this track a drum computer has taken the place of the live drummer again, but the job is done much better. This is probably the most experimental track on the album.

The first part of Sou No Hiai reminds a lot of Yes, with Howe-ish guitar and those delicate moog sounds that were Rick Wakeman's trademark at that time. Later on the influence turns to King Crimson and Robert Fripp. This track sounds a lot like one of those jams that KC frequently plays. The second part of the track is completely different, and is more jazzy in nature.

Release Yourself features an additional guitarist. The first part is reminiscent of King Crimson circa 'Discipline' while the second part is more AOR-ish. Around the third minute Shimizu can be heard playing the Theremin. I've seen this instrument played live (Dutch band The Gathering use one) but I can't remember how exactly it worked.

Closer Kiraku Ni Ikouze is jazzy, but some parts are more in the vein of 'Wind and Wuthering' era Genesis.

Judging from this album, Kenso is not one of the most original bands around. Influences of band leader Yoshihisa Shimizu can clearly be heard in most tracks. Having said that, this is still a very enjoyable album produced by a group of musicians who certainly know their way around on their instruments. So if you're into older (seventies) prog, you'll have no difficulty liking this album.

Conclusion: 7 out of 10

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