TRACE (1974), heruitgave, (E)

When Dutch band Ekseption found themselves in an identity crisis around 1973, the band didn’t want to pursue their career musically by hanging on to adapting classical pieces as bandleader and keyboardist Rick van der Linden wanted. Although Van der Linden eventually won the law suit as to who would be entitled to keep the name Ekseption, he was fired by the rest of the band and decided to pursue a different goal: his own band Ace. He asked highly regarded session musician Jaap van Eik (Cuby+Blizzards) to join and he also persuaded Pierre van der Linden (Focus, Brainbox) to be part of his super group. Pierre happened to quit Focus at the same time so when Rick’s offer came, fortunately for us prog fans, he stepped in. Because Van der Linden discovered that there was another existing band called Ace, he changed the name into Trace because he didn’t want to be troubled with more law suits. Many rehearsals and recording sessions followed, mostly in Rick’s home studio and the trio finalized their debut album at the Soundpush Studio in Blaricum with producer Richard de Bois. While Rick stated Ekseption was like going to college and now, after graduation, it was time to continue the study: Trace was the next step. Some forty years after the release of the works by Trace, all three albums were remastered and presented with extensive sleeve notes, a superb sound quality and a lot of interesting and previously unreleased material. They all do justice to the accomplishments of these tree master musicians. The eponymous album opens with Gaillarde a bit in the vein of Ekseption and based on themes from Bach’s Italian Concerto and a Polish traditional, but immediately it becomes clear that Trace are not solely playing adaptations from classical pieces. While Rick was eager to experiment with newly designed keyboards like synthesizer and Mellotron next to the grand piano and organ, he mixed the classical influences with his own compositions. The jazz element is much stronger than with Ekseption and one can also appreciate that probably jamming and experimenting were the fundaments of many parts on this album. Between the two parts of Gaillarde, there is two-minute piece by Jaap van Eik, basically a bass solo accompanied by the subtle drumming of legendary drummer Pierre van der Linden. Peer Gynt by Grieg was the source of inspiration for this beautiful track The Death Of Ace, full of lush keyboards and an important role for the Mellotron. Halfway the track there’s an interlude in which the style changes from melancholic, bombastic and classically oriented to a bit more up-tempo and rocking, before returning to Grieg’s melodies again. The Escape Of The Piper is a cheerful piece by Rick combining progressive rock with both some classical and jazz influences. Main instruments are the piano, synth and Mellotron. In Once there’s a very jazzy interlude with an important role for Van Eik’s bass guitar. The lead instrument in this interlude is the organ. Piano and a synth playing a bass part open the epic Progression but when Van Eik and Pierre join in, it’s Rick’s organ taking the lead. Again a lot of jazz influences and my impression is that a large part of this composition was actually composed while jamming. Between the jazzy soloing there are a few beautiful other themes, undoubtedly by some of the great classical composers. Jaap van Eik demonstrates his ability to play alongside Rick’s fast left hand, thus rendering a very powerful but classically oriented approach. The track is divided into different parts and one of them features Rick playing the harpsichord and the ARP synth. A Memory was based on a tune played by the guitarist from Nova, but the classical themes are probably adapted from works by Wagner or Brahms. The piece is divided into two parts separated by The Lost Path, an impressive drum solo by Pierre. The final track Final Trace was recorded in the ‘big church’ in Maassluis. The original album features Rick playing this majestic instrument. He later added solos by synth, some piano and organ.

The first bonus track is the single version of Progression, followed by a song from Ekseption days, originally penned by Dizzy Gillespie and released as a single in 1974. Bach-Atel was supposed to be the next single and this fantastic gem, based on Bach’s Largo, strongly reminds me of Ekseption. The only difference is the Mellotron instead of the brass section. Then Another World rewritten by Rick for the album Wild Connection (1979) with Jack Lancaster, another great rock tune based on some classical themes. This is also again a fine example of bass and organ playing the same melody. Gnome Dance is one of the songs recorded during the Trace-sessions, but the piece ended up in a different version on Trace’s last album The White Ladies. Closing off this first disc, is a demo version of Final Trace. This basic recording consists of piano, bass and drums.

CD2 opens with Fairy Tale, a bombastic classically oriented track in which we recognize several themes used on the original album. Rick plays foremost the majestic church organ, no bass or drums! Then an almost twenty minutes lasting version of A Swedish Largo, all classical themes adapted from works by G.F. Händel, are equally beautiful. On this version a similar version of the drum solo The Lost Part, put in between the two parts of A Memory on the original album as a separate ’song’, sounds very familiar to me, but is fully integrated. In fact this drum solo last longer, namely over five minutes. Then a slightly shorter and somewhat different version of Gnome Dance. A very precious gem is Nocturne  based on Cantata BWV 140 by Bach. This is great symphonic music with a similar jazz-rock interlude like in Once and a short drum solo by Pierre. Then a longer version of Bach-Atel follows, a very melancholic and melodic tune. Rick plays organ, piano, harpsichord, synth and Mellotron. Heavily influenced by The Nice, Rick plays his keyboards (Mellotron, synths and foremost organ) masterfully in the next track Another World combining some classical themes with contemporary rock influences from the seventies. In the longer version of The Escape Of The Piper there’s a gorgeous interlude, left out in the version that ended up on the album. Again, fortunately preserved to be presented on this re-release, the part originally left out appears to be a really nice section with a slower classically oriented theme followed by a more jazzy piece featuring Rick’s synth. Once – jam, is the living proof of a band at work and as I suggested, more than one piece from the debut album have probably been ‘composed’ while jamming. The band does really sound like Emerson, Lake & Palmer here, perhaps a bit more jazzy but at least as good! Basically a similar version of A Memory, including Pierre’s drum solo, is the next gem on this bonus album and a nice demonstration of bird sounds produced by a synth. The stunning edited version of A Swedish Largo includes van Eik’s electric guitar playing in both melodies as well as rhythmic parts. The delightful extra album is rounded off by a demo-version of Once, demonstrating the craftsmanship of these musicians. Cheer pleasure to hear this album after some forty years and apart from the enhanced sound quality, the extra material presented on this double album is truly a great and valuable addition.