KLAUS DOLDINGER/PASSPORT — Infinity Machine (review)

KLAUS DOLDINGER/PASSPORT — Infinity Machine album cover Album · 1976 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Miler72
Used Passport LPs in my neck of the woods (I live in Veneta, Oregon, but have to buy my stuff in nearby Eugene) are a dime a dozen, so it didn't take me too long to build up my collection all the way up to Ataraxia (of course, their stuff pre-Looking Thru doesn't appear in Eugene, and I still don't have Second Passport, but I was surprised to find a copy of Hand Made in Eugene, but I had to get my copy of their debut online). I was completely blown away by Cross-Collateral, an LP I found at a St. Vincent de Paul in Springfield, of all places. So I had to get Infinity Machine. Well, while many feel Infinity Machine is frequently considered their final album worth getting, I, for a long time thought it was a let-down. But it's grown on me since. The opener "Ju-Ju Man" has a rather funky feel, and evidence of Latin rhythms showing up. The title track and "Ostinato" are certainly the highlights, where they attempt a more electronic approach, especially "Ostinato". On the other hand, I didn't think the album had quite the intensity of its predecessor. What I do get a kick off is that cover depicting the Earth as a cube. I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but seemed like the cover got spoofed in 1977 by an American band called The Fanz (featuring ex-Blues Image and Iron Butterfly member Mike Piners) on the album The Grand Illusion (coincidentally sharing the same title as Styx that same year). That album cover too featured a cube-shaped Earth! After hearing Igacu (has its moments, but drifted too much in smooth jazz, I had less troubles with the Brazilian sounds, though), Infinity Machine is definitely better. Still good, but I prefer Cross-Collateral, Hand Made, and the debut (and even, strangely some of the more interesting stuff off Ataraxia).

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