Dutch Treat's Tranquility, 1979 by request

 

One-off from this Dutch band who, forgivably, misspelled tranquillity.  

Similar to so much late seventies softer fusion from the same country such as the recently uploaded Spins.   As usual there is the European tendency to add classical sounds into the fusion.

A track called Unexpected Tidings:

I encourage you to post requests, those that I don't have sometimes turn out to be wonderful surprises of course, for myself, those that I do have I can usually fulfill.

Sharon Chatam's 1973 Fantasy Library LP

Here's a wonderful library album with some really gorgeous hidden compositional gems, although mostly stuffed with cover versions that are of much much less interest. No info relating to the artist on discogs, somebody out there knows far more, as usual.  The two tracks I've listened to over and over again repeatedly for years now are sample below.

E poi:

Quel che non saprei etc.:

Daniel Ruyneman in Hieroglyphs, with lossless

 

This was suggested by a commenter a long time ago, with regards to its similarity to Albert Alan Owen's Keyboards music my old 'masterpiece alert' favourite from 3 years ago.  The database info for the composer, Daniel Ruyneman, is limited and likely incomplete.

And it indeed is highly similar, at least the one composition called Hieroglyphs, but the other 2 on the record unfortunately are generic atonal style modern classical.

Information for this record can be found here.  And here is the Hieroglyphs:

I find the arrangement absolutely fascinating in here.  The flute plus the harp, piano, and that high pitched keyboard (a koto?) produce such an amazing sound.

Famed Band In Spe in Bonus Tracks

Well these guys created one of the most amazing pieces of music I've ever heard in my life with their Typewriter Concerto, literally in terms of creative accomplishment, using an old typewriter as a musical instrument surely breaks all records for inventiveness, especially when coupled with such engagingly perfect composed fusion music-- not just classical European music.  I never get tired of listening to that typewriter go and the ingenious way the composer added every sound from it to the music like the return of the head's whir or the bell's tinkle.

The first album, obviously, also just such a lovely cover with the girl on the beach.

To my surprise, appended to one of their CD releases, came a bunch of really impressive bonus tracks and I have no idea where or when they were made.  I'm guessing they are from a third unreleased album. If anyone has info please let me know.

For example the last track, called Charlotte, is as good and as beautiful a composition in the lighter chamber fusion as any I've ever heard:

Overall this set of songs has a more rock-oriented direction though, with the opener giving you an idea:

Topos Uranos' Suite Mistica from 1992

Discogs info here.  Just a magnificent opus we have here, surprising from such a late year.

It's sad that these folks only made the one remarkable album which clearly is wholly influenced by the traditional keyboard prog style of the late seventies with symphonic touches everywhere, like the German Ocean two I posted long ago on these pages or the well known SFF of Symphonic Pictures fame, or the great Trilogy.  Instrumental, dissonant keyboard passages, multiple instruments to add colour and occasional chamber sounds with quite interesting chords and those arpeggiated riffs.

Duende combines a kind of proto-video game soundtrack with the classic 70s style of dissonant keyboard symphonic:

Sad we don't have a better resolution cover scan to provide too.