GERARD - Empty Lie, Empty Dream(1985 Japan Neo prog )Full Album

Gerard biography Founded in Japan in 1983 - Hiatus between 1985-1991 and again since 2015 In the Eighties NOVELA was a pivotal Japanese band that gradually turned from heavy progressive into hardrock. Their keyboardist TOSHIO EGAWA left NOVELA to start his own band with a bunch of musicians from which guitarist and singer YUKIHIRO FUJIMURA (ex-VIENNA) was the most known. The first two albums "Gerard" ('84) and "Empty Lie, Empty Dream" ('85) are classic Japanese Prog with Toshio Egawa (his mother was a piano teacher) as the Japanese answer to the great keyboard players from the UK: he has the androgyn looks from EDDIE JOBSON, the elegant virtuosity from RICK WAKEMAN and the bombastic approach from KEITH EMERSON. Their third LP "Irony of Fate" ('91) was a good effort to create a more original sound but sound less symphonic. That's problaby why GERARD's next album "Save Knight by the Knight" and the mini-CD "Evidence of True Love" (both '94) were presented as Toshio Egawa's GERARD. It contains strong and impressive synthesizer play but the songs are a bit too predictable. In '96 Toshio Egawa's GERARD returned in the world of progrock with new musicians: ATSUSHI HASEGAWA (bass), MASUHIRO GOTO (drums) and the hugh Canadian singer ROBIN G. SUCHY. Their strong and compelling album "The Pendulum" ('96) is still highly acclaimed and their next album "Pandora's Box" ('97) is also a good effort. Then the singer left and down to a trio GERARD released the compilation "Meridian" ('98), the studio-albums "The Ruins of a Glass Fortress" (2000) and "Sighs of the Water" (2002), and the CD "Live in Marseille" (1999) and video Chaos (2000), both recorded during the European tour. This was an awesome initiative by Japanese #1 proghead NUMERO UENO and French progrock label MUSEA. Although the live recordings contains exciting and spectacular keyboard driven music the band gives the impression to run gradually out of ideas, it sounds less captivating and less inspired. They could use some fresh blood, for example a singer or a guitarplayer, like in the first line-up. In 2002 the compilation CD Keyboard Triangle II was released featuring TOSHIO EGAWA on keyboards, ATSUSHI HASEGAWA on bass and chorus, MASUHIRO GOTO on drums and SIMON NAKAJI on vocals. It contains renditions from 3 Classic Prog bands: 21st Century Schizoid Man and Lark's Tongues In Aspic Part Two from KING CRIMSON, Danger Money and Alaska Time To Kill from UK and Knife Edge from ELP. It took two before GERARD released a new studio-album entitled "Power Of Infinity" (2004), then there was a gap of six years, followed by the albums "Ring Of Eternity" (2010) and "Visionary Dream" (2011). Since 2018 Toshio Egawa has called Gerard a day and is now focussing on EARTHSHAKER (35th anniversary tour), playing in a RAINBOW cover band, and recently (2019) he was involved in reunion gigs with NOVELA and SHEHERAZADE. : : : Erik Neuteboom, The NETHERLANDS : : : Studio Album, released in 1985 Songs / Tracks Listing 1. The Acts of the Apostles 00:00 2. Conquest of the Dark 05:13 3. Wall 09:02 4. Empty Lie, Empty Dream 18:09 5. Hopeless Blues Star 23:09 6. Future 29:21 Line-up / Musicians - Toshio Egawa / keyboards - Yukihiro Fujimura / vocals, guitars - Yoshikazu Hatakeshita / guitar (3) - Masaki Tanimoto / drums - Yasumasa Uotani / bass