Remember Klaatu? No? Shame, anyone into progressive pop / rock should own their back catalogue, especially the album Hope. But anyway, one of the core member of Klaatu was Terry Draper, who continued to release music after the demise of the band in the early eighties. Recently we got in touch and he was so kind as to make this available to me.
I guess the “the lost 80’s tapes” sub title really tells you a lot. But what it does not say is that this is really a release on USB. It includes not only the 10 tracks from the album, but also videos, an extensive booklet and info sheet and no less than 12 bonus songs. Terry calls 2 of them an attempt at Euro-pop, 5 are songs about loved ones with female lead vocals, and 5 are demos in various states of completion.
Now, if you are familiar with the Endangered Species album from Klaatu, then I think the 10 songs will sound familiar as I think they come closest to that period in the Klaatu history. At that time there was more focus on straight songs it seems. And there is really nothing wrong with that as they’ve always shown a keen ear for melodies. That “The undercover Beatles” rumour from back in the day had to have a little root… Standout tracks for me are opener I Have A Dream, You Don’t See Me Laughing and closer and title track Window On The World. But I am sure that any song would have fitted well on any album.
So this makes me a happy man, and not only for the insights in the more obscure tracks!
