MAX WERNER : RAINBOWS END

1. Rainbows End
2. Beware Of The Dog
3. Tale Of Tenderness
4. Sir Dance-Alot
5. Help Me To Do It Alone
6. Longsleeper
7. A Deadly State Of Mind
8. Secrets Of Mother Earth
9. Life's Serenity
10. Medicineman
11. A Glamour Story

Label : Bovema Negram

Time : 41:33

Released : 1979

Review (Planet Mellotron) : Max Werner was vocalist and sometime drummer for Dutch progressive popsters Kayak, standing stage-front with an M400 to his right, in an almost unique set-up. Rainbows End (sic) is his first solo album, from '79, standing up very well against Kayak's contemporaneous albums, with better tracks including the title track, the instrumental Sir Dance-Alot, Secrets Of Mother Earth and closer A Glamour Story. The sleeve is far more mid- than late-'70s, too, possibly giving some idea of Werner's inspiration for the album. The album utilises modern technology, including sequencers and what sounds like Prophet brass riffs on several tracks including Rainbows End itself and Beware Of The Dog. However, rather surprisingly, Werner's Mellotron crops up on several tracks, although he only uses the choirs. The title tracks sounds more like a Roland Vocoder, although I think it's the real thing on Tale Of Tenderness, Sir Dance-Alot, A Deadly State of Mind and Life's Serenity; unexpected, but welcome. Overall, Rainbows End is a pleasant surprise. Yes, it's (progressive) pop, but so are Kayak, and they produced some fine material, better than, say, Earth & Fire's more mainstream efforts. None of the Mellotron work here is exactly essential, but nice to hear on an unexpectedly decent album. Unsurprisingly, though, there's nothing to be heard on his successful follow-up, 1981's Seasons.