Neuronium - The Visitor. 1981 Spain

The Visitor is the 4th album by "psychotronic" Spanish electronic group Neuronium. On this album, the group is a duo of Michel Huygen and Carlos Guirao, who play no less than 15 different synthesizers. Surprising then that there really isn't that much tonal color throughout, and almost no sequencing. The canvas is more broad brushed, similar to late 70s Vangelis in that way, an artist Neuronium seems to look up to more than Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream. Guirao also provides acoustic guitar, a much needed sound in an otherwise sterile environment. Best of all is 3rd wheel member Santi Pico's electric guitar, and he has decidedly sharp edged tone that is much welcomed. Unfortunately his contribution is limited to two tracks, and both appearances are short at that. And then finally we have vocals here, an idea that I'm not philosophically against on an electronic album, but is rarely utilized properly. And Neuronium is no exception, as the gentleman they chose, Michel Guillamat, quite frankly isn't very good, and singing in English compounds the error. On the plus side, he's also infrequently used in the same manner as Pico's guitar. Overall a good entry for your progressive electronic collection, but if just starting out with Neuronium, go with their first 2 albums.

As luck would have it, I ended up with the original LP and the CD at the same time, and both have been sitting here neglected for over a year. The main reason for that is the CD I obtained is titled The New Visitor, which implies an entirely new recording. Since I could find no evidence to the contrary, I held off knowing I'd need to invest more time than usual in a full analysis. Well, there was no need for that, since the CD is a straight reissue of the LP. There's a new cover and it's "digitally remastered", but neither of these things warrant a new title.

Personal collection
LP: 1981 Auvi
CD: 1990 Tuxedo (Switzerland)

The packaging of the LP is quite nice, and comes in a fine gatefold. It looks and feels like a product from the mid 1970s. The CD is barebones all the way. Typically with electronic music, the CD is the better choice from a sound perspective, but in this case I preferred everything about the LP. And the quality of the album doesn't justify keeping both, so I'm selling the CD and sticking with the vinyl here.