The Linnu Tee CD was one of a few LPs that was remastered and re-released on CD despite the enormous potential. The project came as a personal one for band members, with this CD being self-produced. Sadly, it remains one of the few CDs available of Estonian prog, as most are still stuck on vinyl.

But anyway, to the subject at hand. The material is rather AOR at most parts, as the band opted to use their then-newer material, as well as English lyrics. That was a horrendous mistake, since the lyrics are horrible and really take away from the music. Even the Ray Wilson-styled gravel voice of the excellent Indrek Patte could not rescue the dodgy words. The music bounces from a proggy Cheap Trick to that of ABACAB-era Genesis, as well as of Mike Rutherford's Smallcreeps Day.

The first track, "Don't Shoot the Angel," was already quite annoying. The pornographic moaning of the unknown lady in the background is a major distraction to the Cheap Trick-like song. Not a great start to the CD. The second song, "Hot Wet and Hungry," is a bit better, with a little bit of neo-prog mixed into the AOR sound. The vocals are good despite the words.

Finally it gets better with the strangely-worded "She's a Man." Heavy on keyboards, it brings back some sounds used by Anthony Phillips on Mike Rutherford's Smallcreeps Day solo effort. Again Indrek Patte sounds excellent. Then it leads into another good one, "Stop the Machine," which brings out the AOR again, but with excellent vocals and arrangement.

"Crazy Too Crazy" follows, which is a prog-influenced AOR piece. There are some bits of hard guitar-driven rock, like Alcatrazz or other '80s hard rock stuff. "Another Side" is a nice slower piece, with excellent keyboard and guitar sounds. The vocals shine well on this song, as well as the nice Duke-like music at parts. The ending instrumental section is one of the highlights of the CD.

"Neurophonie" is an anomaly in the CD since it is in German. But that also makes it a bit better, honestly speaking. The material is a strong AOR song yet again, but with a bit more creativity than the typical song on the radio. Then comes one of the two-faced songs, "I've Found a Way." The song itself is excellent, again in the AOR-prog vein. The best song on the album, with neo-prog influences, until...the final chorus, which brings it back to Cheap Trick again. Major disappointment.

Then all hope is not lost with "Still Life/Rockin' Tonight," at least not for a bit. The opening instrumental is brilliant, accented by excellent flute by drummer Tarvi Jaago and Rabin-like guitars from Raul Jaanson. Though it falls back into AOR for the length of the song, it is still a good song. The CD closes off with "Instincts." The song features Jaanson strongly on guitar, a cool little pop song.

Overall, it is difficult to put this CD into the prog category. It is closer to pop or AOR with prog influences. Sometimes the excellent playing is squandered by cheesy or annoying bits that eat away at the song. The lyrics are generally bad, which again makes listening to Linnu Tee more difficult. It is perhaps also sad that their better material from the earlier days, with much stronger lyrics in Estonian, remains unreleased.

Mel Huang
Tallinn, Estonia
14 June 1999

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