Modrigue
The weakest ELOY studio album of the 80's. During the late eighties, Frank Bornemann and keyboardist Michael Gerlach met in Berlin and planned to resurrect the band. If the musical style can be to linked to the previous studio release, "Metromania", the overwhelming presence of the programmed drums give to "Ra" a cold artificial aspect and, above all, a terribly dated sound. The songs go back to a more progressive format, but unfortunately the inspiration has not been totally recovered yet. By the way, in case you're wondering, the music has no relation with Râ, the Egyptian god of sun.
The mini-epic "Voyager Of The Future Race" opens with an ambient "Tubular Bells"-ish introduction to then unveil a nice space progressive rock song. Not great, but pleasant. "Sensations" is clearly the best track of the record. Although the keyboards are more present, this well structured tune is both aggressive and futuristic. A potential hit single. These were the only interesting moments of the record.
The rest is forgettable and does not resemble typical ELOY. To be honest, it can merely not qualify as space-rock. Despite its 8 minutes duration, "Dreams" is soft and dull, while "Invasion Of A Megaforce" sounds rather flat. "Rainbow" could have been enjoyable, but its lengthy arrangements make this song finally average and cheesy. To finish the record, "Hero" is quite transparent and useless.
"Ra" is not a very coherent record as well as a deception. Only the first third - the space-rock one - of the album is worth listening. One more time, the band does not really succeed in trying other genres. ELOY's genuine resurrection will have to wait...