With melodic echoes from the past combined with the epic-rhythmic element more prominent in the previous Digital Wonderland instalments, this album conjures up and invites us to explore a brightly coloured world of fantasy creatures and landscapes - unicorns, dreaming elves, dragonflies on parade, fairy princes, sleeping centaurs, sunsets and falling stars.
But there is also a touch of gloom and agony in the heart of the light, danger lurking in a dark corner of the fairy tale; the sly scorpion, the killed dwarf, the dead or dying mermaid, the little fish about to be eaten... The majestic arrangement of The Devil Was Drinking My Wine lends an ominously dominant note that will later be alleviated by the joyful melodiousness of Catch a Falling Star and the extended live version of Dream a Little.
This is the work of a true magician of the keyboard. A riveting combination of nostalgic and "futuristic" elements - an alternately chilling and inspiriting musical "narration" where the prevailing characteristics are the sweetness of melodies and a reassuring solidity of the rhythms.
In all, a highly ambitious and interesting album, always a pleasure to (re)discover and listen to.
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