Tako's second album, christened with the of-the-moment name In the Sleeping Bag, is an almost perfect example of one of my personal favorite styles of progressive rock. That of what we used to call symphonic fusion. Quite simply instrumental progressive rock, but heavy on melody and tricky compositions - and no showboating whatsoever. It's a sound the Dutch perfected in the mid 70s, and was later adapted heavily in the late 70s and early 80s in France, Japan, and points unknown - like Serbia for example. Each individual track can be appreciated entirely on its own, without having to worry about its sequence within the album. The guitarist plays in a decidedly rough manner, a type of psychedelic hard rock sound. The keyboards are vintage 1980, which is a sound one expects to hear for the style. The fact that Tako keeps the album interesting throughout each minute is a testament to how strong they were as a functioning unit. The bonus tracks are just as enchanting as the album itself.
Personal collection
CD: 1998 Record Runner (Brazil)
LP: 1992 Kalemegdan (Germany)
I first heard this album via the Kalemegdan LP reissue. The German label is famous for unearthing and reissuing the best from the former Yugoslavia - and they were responsible for the two bonus tracks found here. Oddly the album was only reissued on CD in Brazil, by the excellent Record Runner label. They licensed the recording directly from Kalemegdan. Definitely recommend either reissue, for the bonus cuts, and the superior sound to the original Eastern European LP.
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