Birds
The second album by Trace -Birds- elaborated the styles of the first record. Bach provided the classical contributions for Bourree and Opus 1065, the latter even featuring the violin of Darryl Way (Fairport Convention?). The result was well made and polished music, although less original than the first album. The vocals in the track Preacher Bird from Birds were a bit incongruous in my opinion.
After that period Rick van der Linden made more recordings with Trace and an Ekseption revival, but I know little of that because I got a passion for classical guitar playing, so I ceased buying pop records (classical records were quite expensive and the budget was limited). Much later I have bought a few of these records (White Ladies, Ekseption ‘78 and Dance Macabre), but the magic was gone.
Going back in my mind that does not surprise me. The time of Ekseption and Trace coincided with my high school years. The music forms a background for a lot of let’s say childhood memories: just like film music invokes the scenes in your mind, the music by Ekseption and Trace invokes the scenes of adolescence, when I passed my days on high school. Consequently Rick’s music has a clear nostalgic value for me.