Ekseption - Trinity (1973)

I doubted whether to give this album four stars or five stars, but I decided on four stars since the next album that Van der Linden would make with his new band Trace deserves that honour. Nevertheless, this truly is an excellent album which shows a fully matured Ekseption with its unique own mix of prog rock, classical and jazz. Of course, the classical composers are not forgotten: Bach's famous 'Toccata', Beethoven's 'Romance from his second violin concerto' as well as Rimsky Korsakov's devastatingly fast 'Flight of the bumble bee' are transformed through Rick's unique recipe into a unique, exciting cocktail.

Besides the classical composers there also are Rick's own compositions as well as a great piece of music written by Tony Vos, 'Dreams', where the brass is carrying Jan Vennik's flute. 'The Peruvian Flute' is based on a Peruvian traditional, but of course Rick places his own stamp on the music to such a degree that it becomes unmistakenly Van der Linden. In 'Improvisation', the longest track on the album, each of the band members is allowed a solo, and whereas usually this can lead to some boring showcase of the individual's mastery of technique, on this song everything blends ekseptionally well together.

The album ends with the beautiful 'Finale III', where members of the Dutch Chamber Choir sing their part as well, an inspired closing track to an uplifting album. I hope it will see its release on CD soon. This one definitely is a must have.

Linn LP12 with Lingo power supply
Ittok LV II arm
Ortofon MC 20 Super II Cartridge
Accuphase C11 Phono-pre
Pro-Line Silver interlink
Tascam US 144 ADC - Audioquest Coffee USB Cable
Wavelab 6 and CD Wave 1.95.2

Tweaks:
Noise Eater
Masterbase (under the feet of the turntable)
Boston Audio Mat 1 (*upgrade)