Liberty Project, Edward Reekers, LP

140 Gram Black Vinyl. History repeats itself. Haven't we heard that one before? (Which actually proves that the statement is true.) It's not only a frequently heard comment, it also happens to be the main theme of a new double album by Edward Reekers entitled 'The Liberty Project'. So what is it? A rockopera, a musical, a concept album? Yes. But we'll get to that in a minute. So what's it all about? Imagine there had been a second Big Bang. Would that have altered our evolution or even created a parallel world? And if so, what would that world look like, who would be it's inhabitants? "I wanted to create a story within a story so I introduced Thomas and Catherine, falling in love, splitting up and finding their way back together again. With a society in turmoil around them where politicians, bankers and journalists, amongst others, comment on the situation they're confronted with". Reekers turned to Joost van Broek, who he had met during his Ayreon perfomances, asking him to help him get the Liberty Project on it's way. The collaboration turned out to be a magical one. And that's not the only friend he's had a little help from. Arjen Lucassen played guitars and bass guitar on one of the songs. Mark Lennon of Venice did the leadvocals for a song, Harry Sacksioni delivered a guitarsolo and former Genesis member Steve Hackett contributed a guitar part. "The recording process was an overwhelming experience for me", Reekers confesses. "We had Vandenberg's Koen Herfst on drums, giving it his all, Mark Bogert on guitars, Johannes Adema on basses, a string section, a mixed choir and even a childrens choir. Having composed all the music and written all the lyrics for the project it really was a dream come true for me to hear it come to life with so many great musicians and singers giving me the benefit of their wonderful talent". A grand total of 17 tracks is the result of these efforts. And what immediately attracts attention is the diversity of the material. It ranges from ballads to heavy metal, popsongs, rock orientated powertracks, a genuine blues and almost classical instrumentals. So is it a rockopera? Yes. Is it a musical? Yes. Is it a concept album? Most definetely! First things first. Though Edwards name may ring a bell for many people, a little introduction might be usefull. His name first came up in the Dutch music scene in 1978 when he joined symphonic rockband Kayak as a leadsinger. On and off he made records and toured with the band for many years until 2014. In the mean time he'd been involved in other projects such as Arjen Lucassen's Ayreon, to which he contributed on several records and in a couple of live shows.