Laserdance Strikes Back
May 05 '01
The Bottom Line Forget the whales, save the synthesizers!
There are no Laserdance albums listed at Epinions here, and it's not surprising. You damn near have to jet to Holland and shake down Erik Van Vliet for copies. Well, it's not quite that bad. About a half dozen of their newer efforts, including this one, are available from CDNow.com.
I'll start by giving you a little history on the sound of Laserdance. The ancestors of modern synthesizers were developed around the 1960s. They were a quirky, hard-to-enjoy kind of sound, but there were those who made music entirely on the synthesizers. One such artist is Wendy Carlos, who played classical music --by hand, without the aid of preprogramming-- on synth keyboards, and brilliantly scored the Disney computer animation landmark Tron. It was always a very esoteric genre, never gaining popular appeal. Synthesizers didn't gain wide acceptance in popular music until a band called Van Halen weaned us on to the sound in their towering, energetic megahit Jump. It wasn't until the mid 90s however, that the electronic genre, sans guitars, really took hold in the popular music scene.
Now imagine if you will a world in which the synthesizer sound did catch on, and rose to prominence. One that never relied on rock 'n roll stigma to drive its success. One that stayed purely in the realm of synthesizers* without ever relying on analog instruments or human vocals. A world where the robots sing while we dance. Laserdance makes that world a reality.
*I want to mention before I go any further, that Laserdance did dabble briefly with the 808/909 generic dance beat engines that no self-respecting modern pop band could be without. The flipside of their 1995 album Guardian of Forever is stuffed with infectious beats and rich, meaty bass. But it's not synth. I couldn't say for sure, but I don't think this album was very popular, even for Laserdance. That's probably why you can't buy it for less than $30. Incidentally, track 3, The Pits of Hell is a classic Laserdance tune and definitely worth an honourable mention.
The band's sound has evolved steadily since their beginnings somewhere around the late 80s, but has also adhered to some pretty strong roots, probably due to the fact that Laserdance has operated most often with a sole member: Erik Van Vliet.
On to the album review--
Strikes Back is a long overdue re-assertion of Laserdance's dominance of the genre. Silent since 1996, Van Vliet has bided his time to create a masterpiece of composition and editing. There are no vocals on this album at all, except for robotic voices speaking the track names in some of the songs, such as No Escape and A Space Trip. This album is mixed better than most Laserdance albums, so you shouldn't have to turn up the bass at all. This album would make a fine soundtrack for an anime movie.
Here are my feelings on the individual tracks:
1. The Lost Battle - 6:31
One of the most inappropriately-named songs ever. The tense, excited opening suggests anticipation of something great to come. I can't say enough about the opening of the song. It's cleverer than most music ever written. The song is also far less repetitive than the usual dancy Laserdance fare. This is a tune I would like to play before going on a long journey or an interesting date.
2. No Escape - 5:40
This is a beaty, fast-paced dance tune. Very tight and smooth.
3. Reconnaisance Expedition - 5:55
This strikes me as a great highway driving tune. The rapid beat and steady changes keep you interested.
4. Voyage of Discover - 5:55
That has to be a misprint in the title. This song is happy and chirpy, set to a hoofbeat rhythm.
5. War Between the Stars - 6:47
No credit is given to John Williams, but this is nothing more than the Star Wars theme -- Laserdance style. It's cute and amusing for Star Wars fans. In a moment of comedy in the middle of the song, Van Vliet "accidentally" slips into the E.T. theme before coming to a screeching halt and correcting himself.
6. The Experiment - 5:45
Slower than the rest of the album, and not really remarkable, except that the sounds used are the most representative of typical Laserdance.
7. Fly Over the New Territory - 6:42
The lead-in to the song almost sounds like electric guitars are playing, but it's just synthesizer noise. Fast-paced but it has a very long melody. Another great song for driving.
8. A Space Trip - 5:38
I think this one ties with The Lost Battle as my favourites. Very danceable, very happy.
9. Warriors Action in Unknown Territory - 6:11
How delightful, a cowboy theme for the 21st century!
10. A Content Creature - 5:14
A slower, chirpy tune full of synthesized clips of human vocalizations (nothing more than "la" or "HMM!").
11. Unidentified Object in Japan - 6:33
A fast-paced tune incorporating authentic-sounding traditional Japanese music styles.
12. Party For the Home-Coming Warriors - 5:49
I can't be sure, but I think they sampled Goofy screaming in old Disney cartoons for this one. A heavy pace, but light sounds to close out the album.
I'm almost ashamed to say that it took downloading this whole album off Napster before I decided to buy it, but without Napster users' help, I would never have discovered Laserdance at all.
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Epinions.com ID:
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Member: Live Wire
Location: Vancouver
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