20 CANDLES (E)

No Name stands for melodic symphonic music from Luxembourg and is to my knowledge the only band in the genre known outside their own country. In celebration of twenty years of the band, the band members ultimately decided that they would rather re-record the majority of the songs for 20 Candles - thus creating a sort of ‘best of’ - than composing a new album. The album had to feature one new track, as well as the first one they ever composed. Adding their live experiences and a more modern sound, the result is an album well-worth listening to. The voice of singer Patrick Kiefer always has and still reminds me of Marian Gold (Alphaville), but surely also of Yogi Lang (RPWL). The music shows many influences of that latter band next to influences from Genesis (late eighties) and the German band Novalis. Definitely you'll hear traces of Alphaville in the first previously unreleased track First Night. More progressive elements by bands like IQ can be heard in the second track. The third track, sang in their mother's tongue, could have been a song by Novalis in my perception, and a good one. Furthermore we recognize some Genesis in there too! A bit of Arena can be recognized at the beginning of The Man, followed by a sort of alternative Turn It On Again (Genesis), whereas the chorus sounds more like Arena again. The next song Merry-Go-Round contains partly a waltz tempo and characteristics similar to the hit Golden Brown by The Stranglers. It ends with lustrous keyboards before the waltz returns once more. The lengthiest track on this album is Orient Express blending traces of Kraftwerk (voices) with Genesis and IQ. Broken Heart contains melodic and slow symphonic music in the vein of a gentle Pink Floyd, followed by a more up-tempo piece featuring the saxophone of guest musician Fred Hormain, then the Floydian - or the RPWL sound is even better as a reference - returns. As far as there's something like typical neo-prog, Strange Decisions might fulfil all requirements needed with influences of early Marillion. The song with the longest title is in the vein of RPWL. More like early Marillion is the sound in Thoughts Pay No Toll, a mid-tempo melodic song with orchestral keyboards. In Battlefield you'll find a mix of RPWL and Arena with an unexpected contribution by the bagpipe of Jonathan Tilly. The final song on this delightful melodic prog album is called Uncompromising, which is a previously unreleased and pleasant mid-tempo song in the vein of RPWL.

Of course it’s a pity that Luxembourg’s prog pride couldn’t come up with a whole new album, but these reworked songs are a pretty decent alternative. 20 Candles is an excellent way of getting to know this band and even if one owns the existing albums, this would still be a valuable addition.