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Oh, this is fresh!  Take Pink Floyd, add some U2, mix in some Radiohead and you just might come up with RPWL, a stellar German progressive rock band that continues to impress with their latest release World Through My Eyes.  Since receiving the CD I have spun it many times and now my children are asking to borrow it, always a sign that a project is impressive.  World Through My Eyes features a mesmerizing mélange of great guitar tone, atmospheric keyboards, dreamy vocals, and touches of world beat rhythms (sitar sounds, exotic percussion, etc.).  Vocalist/keyboardist Yogi Lang shines with smooth vocals reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour (not surprising since RPWL began life as a Floyd cover band).  Yogi’s English is near perfect, but the slight hint of his accent (to this American’s ears) adds a splendid dimension and depth.

From a lyrical perspective, RPWL makes the case that we are chasing the wrong goals.  Lang states, “…the power of money has been, by default, the measure of satisfaction and happiness for a long time now.  We have replaced our need for intuition with material gain, resulting in the terrible fact that we are now controlled by outside forces.” To make the point, _World Through My Eyes_ refers to Hindu mythology, somewhat reminding me of the spiritual connection made in the music of George Harrison.  Here is a lyrical sample from the song “Start the Fire”:

Out in the land I heard some people say
There is no other way than to settle scores of age old grievance
Lost all belief in honesty and sowing seeds of want and greed
I am on my knees

Come and take me to a world full of kindness
I can feel something is going to happen to me
It can happen to me

Om jai, deva - all the love we have will take us higher

Om jai, deva - I believe that we will start the fire 

Visit RPWL on the web here: http://www.rpwl.de/ 

DJ Barry  1/27/2005