Transition is the second and last album from Norway's Moose Loose. The album's opener 'Funky Hi-Way' had me thinking that I really need to stop buying albums like this. Don't get me wrong, I think it's very good, but this kind of fusion has been played many times over. Here they sound like a cross between No Mystery era Return to Forever and mid 70s Jean-Luc Ponty. And despite the song title, Moose Loose have definitely downplayed the funky aspects of their sound. In fact this first track does begin to tell the story of Transition, as the title of the album is also descriptive. Gone is heavy-on-the-Clavinet Brynjulf Blix (what a name!) and in his place is fusion keyboardist Håkon Graf, who we know best from the Blow Out album that shares his name. But more importantly, though, is the addition of violinist Trond Villa (another great name!). He adds a whole new dimension to Moose Loose. Things improve on the 10.5 minute 'Trees' where the solo instruments begin to shine (especially Jon Eberson's guitar), and the rhythms become more interesting. After two excellent interludes close side 1 and open side 2, the album really finds its groove on 'White' and 'Graf'. I first heard this album - like so many others - via a cd-r blitz a decade ago. They all started to blend together. Like with Ozric Tentacles, one must separate the listens over time to truly appreciate the contents on their own merit. So while I do miss the rawer psychedelic qualities of Elgen Er Løs, I find Transition just as compelling, even though its more restrained and, dare I say, professional.
Ownership: CD: 2021 Norske Albumklassikere. Recent online acquisition that replaces the cd-r mentioned above. Similar to Elgen Er Løs, this comes in a thin digi-file sleeve with liner notes in Norwegian. This is the first reissue of Transition.
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