Member:
AdmKirk
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by AdmKirk)
Date:
4/3/2005
Format:
CD (Album)
Ego Eimi is not a group, but the brainchild of Alexander Skorobogatov. He handles all of the instruments and wrote all of the music and lyrics.
The highlight of the record is without a doubt the guitar work. Skorobogatov is highly expressive on electric, but when he picks up the acoustic guitar, he's truly in his element. On the album's second track, "Underground Earl, Pt. II" he uses the acoustic to simulate a sitar to great effect. "Auf Deine Lidar..." features one of the best solos on the album along with nice heavy electric work and a solid organ sound.
After you get past the strong guitar work the album begins to show signs of trouble. Skorobogatov uses programmed drums and bass and the keyboards are possibly programmed as well. This leaves the album lacking the give and take dynamics that a group of musicians would provide and leaves Skorobogatov with no one to bounce ideas off of. A more organic approach would help this album greatly.
Another problem seems to be whether Skorobogatov actually wants this to be prog. The album sounds like he's scared to jump in with both feet and ends up being a Russian prog lite. Now, if he were to tackle an instrumental acoustic guitar record, it could be something special.
On the positive side, Skorobogatov consistently comes up with interesting places for the music to go. The 13 minute "Golem" is a fine example of his compositional skills and features more of his exceptional guitar work, alternating between acoustic and electric guitar quite seamlessly. The "da, da, da" vocals around the 8:15 mark even remind me of Mick Jagger (I kid you not). While the Russian vocals on the record can be a bit difficult, they never really take over the album so Skorobogatov can concentrate on the music. Highlights of the album include the aforementioned "Golem" and the title cut with finds Skorobogatov singing with an almost Bryan Ferry inflection.
While I find the lack of a band to be detrimental to the record, Skorobogatov's guitar work is outstanding throughout.
Bottom Line: Talented guitarist makes an OK album.
Bill
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