Trace - Birds (1975) {2014 2CD Limited Edition}

CD2 tracks 1-9 previously unreleased live tracks
Tracks 1-4 live on Swedish Radio, Stockholm, Sweden, April 7th, 1975
Tracks 5-9 live in Langelsheim, Germany, January 18th, 1976
Historic live recordings, they do not represent the usual fidelity of studio recordings

‘Ekseption was like going to college. After graduation, I decided to continue my study with Trace’, said Rick van der Linden. The band was his brainchild from 1974 to 1977, after almost ten years in Ekseption. Trace was a symphonic heavy pop group that made three albums full of classically inspired original material. With drummers Pierre van der Linden (Brainbox, Focus) and Ian Mosley (Marillion, Steve Hackett Band, Gordon Giltrap) and bassist Jaap van Eik (Cuby & The Blizzards, Solution, Panda, Vitesse), the keyboard maestro developed himself as a composer and performer on the albums Trace and Birds, while three old mates from his early Ekseption-days helped Rick on the final Trace album The White Ladies.

Now for the first time ever, the three Trace albums have been properly remastered (24 bit) from the original master tapes. In addition, each album contains bonus tracks, featuring outtakes, demos and live material. Trace has been expanded to a double CD, featuring over 100 minutes of extra tracks, while Birds contains a rare single edit of the title track and one hour of pure ‘Trace on stage’, recorded in Sweden and Germany. The White Ladies features some raw sketches and mixes of album tracks, as well as an overture Fugue on the pipe organ during one of the last ever gigs that the band gave in 1977. All three albums come in beautifully designed gatefold sleeves featuring rare photos and exclusive new interviews with Jaap van Eik, Ian Mosley, engineer Jan Schuurman and arranger Job Maarse. With these long anticipated reissues, the Trace story is now finally displayed in the most honest and correct way.