Klaatu – “Hope”

The Sleeve:

The Liner/Sleeve Notes:
None.

Personal Review:
 Well, firstly, I’ve never heard of Klaatu, or heard anything by them, all I know is one day I had two Klaatu albums.

 So, the album opens with the song “We’re Off You Know” and it’s a pretty decent track to open the album, it’s kind of like a Beatles song, but it’s not, because it’s Klaatu. After that comes the song “Madman” which is a lot better than the first track, it starts off a bit slow, but then it goes into some trippy beats, and it’s pretty cool. Then after that comes the track “Around the Universe in Eighty Days” and I’m pretty sure it would take a lot longer to go around the universe, but okay, so it starts off with some nice piano playing. The musicianship is pretty good, especially the guitar playing, but I’m particularly fond of the vocals. I’m confused as to why he sounds like a spaceman, but I’m not going to question it. After that the A-Side ends with the 9 minute track “Long Live Politzania” which starts off with some sort of big band style orchestration, then what sounds like a television voice-over (You know like Pink Floyd’s ‘Run Like Hell’) then we go into some pretty nice music, then back into the orchestration, and this album just has me all over the place. It’s actually quite an interesting with all the different instrumentalizations. It’s like crazy good. And hey, we’re back at normal vocals, not that weird grainy television sounding vocalization. I’m definitely loving this song the most out of all the songs on the album so far.

 The B-Side opens with the track “The Loneliest of Creatures” and it’s a pretty good way to open the B-Side, it has some nice synth playing, (I think), then the vocals come in, and well, it’s pretty amazing. I’m definitely particularly fond of the vocalization between the lead singer and what I can guess to be the backing band as a choir. The musicianship and orchestration is absolutely stunning though. Then after that comes the song “Prelude” which is just one big huge jam session and it rocks, a whole lot of great musicianship on this track. Then comes the track “So Said the Lighthouse Keeper“, which relates back to the first track on the B-Side, but then we go into what sounds like a ballad. It’s an okay track. The album ends with the title track, “Hope” and it’s a softer track, but it’s still a good one. I definitely really enjoyed this album. Yup. It’s good.

Interesting Facts:
None.

Track Listing:
A1 – We’re Off You Know
A2 – Madman
A3 – Around the Universe in Eighty Days
A4 – Long Live Politzania

B1 – The Loneliest of Creatures
B2 – Prelude
B3 – So Said the Lighthouse Creatures
B4 – Hope

Label:
Daffodil Records

Catalog Number:
9216-10057

Studio Musicians & Other Album Credits:
All selections composed by Klaatu

Other Albums I Own by Klaatu:
“3:47 E.S.T.”

Released:
1977

Related Vinyls:

Barclay James Harvest – “Octoberon” The Moody Blues – “This Is The Moody Blues” Chris De Burgh – “Spanish Train and Other Stories” Mike Oldfield – “Tubular Bells”