From: Adrian the Rock  
Subject: Dutch band PTS and their latest album 'Campaign' 
Date: 09/13/97; 6:36:08 PM 
 
Hi everybody 
 
I went to see Dutch band PTS last night (12/9/97) at their first gig 
over here in the UK. They played a very enjoyable set at the Orange 
Club in Kensington in support of Grey Lady Down. I have come across 
better acoustics than the Orange's, but PTS coped with it well and 
managed to convey their hallmark power of delivery without resorting 
to just winding up the volume to the maximum possible. The quality of 
the music help up well in what must have been very difficult 
circumstances - not only had they been working to a punishing schedule 
with very little sleep over the last two days, but they had just lost 
their manager. 
 
Their latest album 'Campaign' is far and away the most outstanding 
new CD I have listened to for some time. Very much in your face, its 
raw unbridled passion reaches right down into the centre of my heart 
with enthralling sensuality and sensitivity. Its textures are replete 
with subtle touches which easily withstand the loud playing that best 
suits its direct, bombastic style. Had this come out somewhere around 
1973 it might easily have been a massive hit. 
 
Lead vocalist and chief inspiration Marco de Haan has a very 
distinctive and effective vocal style which he combines with being the 
band's drummer. Ron van Kruistum projects piercing moods from the 
guitar, often in an interplay with Simon Veenhuis, on keyboards. But 
part-time sax player Erwin Werring makes perhaps the biggest impact of 
all and it is his playing that makes 'Walk With Me' one of the most 
outstanding tracks on the album. (Unfortunately he couldn't make the 
London gig, so they sadly but wisely decided to leave this track out 
of their set list.) Bass is provided by Dario Pozderski, and Danielle 
van Es and others provide female backing vocals. 
 
The compositions might perhaps have done with being a little bit more 
complex, but generally the listener's interest is maintained by the 
sheer pace at which things unfold and the intensity and commitment of 
the playing. 
 
A concept album, 'Campaign' is outwardly about war and the grim 
life of being a plain soldier at the bottom of the command chain. But 
this concept is used as a stunningly brilliant metaphor for its real 
subject matter, the rough-and-tumble of life and a guy who succumbs in 
the end after finally accumulating a lethal number of knocks. 
 
'Walk With Me', for example, is about a guy seriously torn between 
whether to continue into a relationship or to remain on his own. His 
torrid thoughts are presented in the lyrics: 
 
        Inside, it boils and it burns 
        It twists, and it turns 
        It rattles and it shakes 
        It all collides and breaks 
        I can't decide which way to go... 
 
Meanwhile the musicians combine perfectly to evoke precisely the right 
mood for the passage, as they do with consummate skill throughout the 
entire album. 
 
Now a _very_ interesting project might be to shoot a film to accompany 
the music... 
 
Unfortunately I don't have the latest release/distribution details 
for 'Campaign', but I certainly know it's listed in the latest GFT 
catalogue. 
 
Have fun 
Adrian 
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Adrian the Rock                        
Horsham, West Sussex, England      http://www.roscalen.demon.co.uk/ 
 
------------------------------ 
 
From: Mike Taylor  
Subject: Rock of Gibraltar Playlist 
Date: 09/14/97; 9:59:41 AM 
 
"The Rock of Gibraltar" airs every Saturday evening from 6-8pm on WTUL 91.5 
FM in New Orleans, Louisiana. The format alternates weekly between 
Progressive 
and Psychedelic Rock. LP and CD submissions for the radio show canbe sent to 
the review submission address near the top of this issue. 
 
13 September 1997: The Progressive Rock of Gibraltar 
==================================================== 
Delerium: El Lago de Cristal (El Teatro del Delirio) 
Caja de Pandora: Luz en la Obscuridad (Caja de Pandora) 
Iconoclasta: Soliloquio (Suite Mexicana/Soliloquio) 
 
Banda Elastica: Perversos Polimorfos (Banda Elastica 2) 
Decibel: El Fin de los Dodos (Contranatura) 
Humus: Tus Oidos Mienten (Tus Oidos Mienten) 
Lochness: Geecofia (Ox) 
 
Supersister: Energy (To the Highest Bidder) 
Frank Zappa: Inca Roads (You Can't Do That...Anymore Vol. 2) * 
 
Focus: Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers! (III) * 
Arachnoid: Le Chamadere (Arachnoid) 
King Crimson: Tight Scrummy (The Great Deceiver) 
 
------------------------------ 
 
End of Gibraltar V7 #25 
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