Taipan: 1770

Review

A lot can happen to a band in 3 years and after noticing the addition of a butterfly to the bands logo on the cover one could be correct in assuming that things have drastically changed in the Taipan camp since the release of their great NWOBHM sounding s/t mlp in 1982. The addition of a keyboard / vocalist & new guitar player has made a huge noticeable difference to the sound of this band. Instead of the ballsy straight up metal offering we have something that sounds somewhat technical & textured but watered down & lightweight. Opening hard rock number Rock In Motion has the most in common with earlier Taipan output although not as hard hitting the song grooves on a riff lifted from AC/DC's midsection to Live Wire. A swirling bass line introduces Waitin' For The Day a midpaced atmospheric number going through abrupt tempo changes and noodeling keyboard lines and This Is Oz is an 80's pop rock song sounds like the sound track to a TV commercial for Australian tourists. The 2 tracks on side B Astounding Standards (listen to those Floyd inspired female vocal wails in the quite section - yikes!) & Whispering Through The Trees (The Spider) verge on some unusual mix of jangly arty synth prog. Great musicianship but not as timeless and essential as the first s/t mlp - sadly this one sees the demise of a band who had the potential of being one of Australia's HM greats but somehow got misdirected & lost along the way.

Tracks
1) Rock In Motion
2) Waitin' for The Day
3) This Is Oz

1) Astounding Standards
2) Whispering Through The Tree's (The spider)