Universe - 1977 - Universe

01 Rock In The Sky
02 If
03 Touchdown
04 Dream
05 Oceans
06 Remember The Stars
07 Light From Above

Players:
Gary Paul Van- electric keyboards, vocals
Dennis Lee Askew- electric guitars, electronic programming, vocals
Walfredo Reyes- percussion

"Universe" 1977 (PBR International 7002)
The opening “Rock In The Sky” starts with a little acoustic guitar, then, wham! Synthesizers come in double barreled, with a loud bass-y one anchoring the song and a higher more unpredictable one soloing over it. THIS is a synthesizer song! It would only be a couple of years before digital synths would rule the world and the instrument would ruin a lot of otherwise good music, so it’s hard to remember how cool the early analogue synths could be. Here it’s as powerful and as mind expanding as any guitars. The mix of space-rock and Christian themes is unique, making this fall into the “I didn’t know Christians made music like that” category. [AM]