Short Reviews [ Eloy - 1998 - "Ocean 2: The Answer" ]

After they familiarized themselves with the demo of "Ocean 2" (1998), the people at the established independent German company SPV Records refused to release it. And then Eloy joined a small "metallic" label GUN, a division of BMG Records. No matter how much I'd like to be the first reviewer of the new work by one of my favorite bands, I’m not inclined to write a detailed review of "Ocean 2". I think, this is the weakest album Eloy has ever made (I haven't heard only their untitled debut). What means this "answer"? Except for its cover artwork, it has nothing to do with "Ocean", one of the band’s best albums. Well, the bright compositions were made with the conservation of stylistic originality, but they're just showy. There are lots of female backing vocals with monotonous "ooh-ooh" sometimes for about five minutes! On "Ocean 2" these additions are very similar to some episodes from Pink Floyd or Manfred Mann's Earthband ("Solar Fire", for example), and there are very few intricate instrumental arrangements. So, it's an exceptionally simple work, showing that the once great band is currently in crisis, if not a creative collapse.

Vitaly Menshikov: October 11, 2002