A few years ago, when the long out of print albums from Dutch seventies progressive instrumental maestros Finch were finally released on the digital format, I was able to interview the band. Mind you I had to do this in two separate sessions. Leader/composer/ guitarist Joop Van Nimwegen still thinks Finch is a sin from his childhood days whilst the rest of the band still regard the band as one of their absolute highlights. A very weird situation and certainly not a good sign for a reunion. Of course we hadn't taken into consideration the existence of the "dusty attic" where not only a splendid live concert from '76 was found but also some authentic demo tapes from the Galleons Of Passion sessions. In all, about three unreleased studio recordings have now been added to the band's output, plus a live rendition of the equally unreleased Necronomicon. Especially, the latter is a true "find" what with its 17:48 playing time. So from now on you can cherish the double album The Making Of … Galleons Of Passion / Stage '76 Live. A professional band such as Finch made sure they rehearsed every detail before they entered the studio to record. Studio time was expensive and no one had a home studio like today. That's why the songs from the Galleons Of Passion album we all know only slightly differ from the demo tapes on offer here. Of course there has been more attention for the recording of the drums, and here and there we hear different keyboard sounds, yet, to be honest, there's not too much difference. So all of our attention is focused on the "new" songs. 'Dreamer' is exactly like its title implies: a dreamy song, that gets very close to the material on the early Solution albums. "Night Walker" is based on a playful military rhythm, whilst "As One" is composed following the "traditional" recipe which is "constructive," layer on top of layer, instrument by instrument, in resulting in the true homogenous Finch sound. By means of the Fender Rhodes piano the song gets a 'funky' atmosphere yet it's once again the unique sound of Joop Van Nimwegen's guitar which sets the tone. The "tame" demo CD is alternated with the "rough"' live CD, which brings us two (long) songs from the Beyond Expression album, two songs off of Glory Of The Inner Force and the already mentioned unreleased Necronomicon. The latter is composed in the same style as the "other" well known material, so for me it's difficult to understand why it was never recorded in the first place. There's a constant battle between Van Nimwegen's guitar and the many keyboards, courtesy of Ad Wammes, whilst Beer Klaasse drums like never before! This song that has been composed in collaboration with bass player Peter Vink also houses a lot of Rickenbacker sounds so it's as if the great Chris Squire is lending Finch a hand or two. Yet as a final view I don't have it at all easy with this kind of posthumous release. I'm convinced there will be a couple of hundred fans out there who will be very pleased with this release, especially what the unreleased material is concerned. Those of you who ever had the pleasure of attending a Finch concert all those years ago now get the opportunity to close your eyes so as to go back in time a mere 24 years. But I'm not sure about those demos. I mean, the entire Anthology hype around the Beatles has only been bought by the diehard fan that probably gave it a spin only once before they put it away in the cupboard in "mint condition." The only thing Finch could do to really amaze us all is consider a reunion, yet the stubborn Joop Van Nimwegen will soon take away all of our dreams. Too bad! Reviewed by : John 'Bobo' Bollenberg |
