Beggars Opera - Pathfinder

The effort to make this combo, that hovers between prog and classical-rock, sound more commercial does not yield the right results. In fact, this is a step backward. Where "Waters Of Change" could convince through its cold fire and otherworldliness, much of its successor rings false. The overly commercial ''Hobo'' copies the production values of McCartney's Wings and the much-praised cover of ''Macarthur Park'' does not add anything to the well-known version by Richard Harris, technically attractive as it may be. The catchy riff of the title track is more persuasive, as is the cold emotionality of ''From shark to haggis'' that even transforms into fine folk-rock. The closing ''Madame Doubtfire'' unluckily falls prey to the fashion of the times with satanical overtones like chromatic choirs, bitonality, icy ranting and diabolical laughing, which all sounds contrived and untrue. A pity, as the previous album showed real promise.