Great Escapes Eureka

• 1 Stepping Out 02:09
• 2 Animated World 04:00
• 3 Stolen Child 03:47
• 4 One Million Stars 03:57
• 5 State of View 04:09
• 6 Chase the Dream 06:33
• 7 Escape! 03:38
• 8 On the Run 04:03
• 9 The Big Picture 10:08
• 10 Solid Ground 04:49
• Total Runtime 47:13

Info for Great Escapes

It would be misleading to call Eureka a band, as most of the music and the vocals are performed by multi-instrumentalist Frank Bossert from Northern Germany. Eureka released four albums between 1997 and 2009. In 2010 a retrospective compilation came out, and then it was silent until now. Great Escapes, the fifth longplayer by Eureka, sees Frank Bossert in a more rock oriented way than in the past, where folk elements often played a major role in the band’s sound.

The two minute instrumental opener Stepping Out is an atmospheric guitar and keyboard intro that shows instantly that Mike Oldfield is one of Bossert’s principal idols. The first regular song, Animated World, is a melodic and downright catchy progressive rock trach in the vein of Eighties Rush, another band that has left an impact on the artist. It will be clear quite early on that Eureka play progressive rock, but in a way it was done in the Eighties. After the sometimes self-indulgent Seventies, a lot of the major players toned it down the following decade, which quite often resulted in success for unlikely stars like Yes, Genesis, Asia, etc. Let’s just call this post progressive rock.

This is of course a courageous step for Eureka, as vintage proggers often disdain the more accessible fare of the Eighties, while pop fans still prefer their simpler music. In the end Frank Bossert is a really good and talented songwriter, even if I also prefer my prog rock a bit edgier.

But let’s move on with the music. Stolen Child is a very personal song for Frank Bossert, dealing with his divorce and his separation from his son. Painful stuff, packed in a moving ballad where the vocals remind me at times of Feargal Sharkey, to allow for another Eighties reference. The following One Million Stars is once again a piece of catchy prog rock with an unforgettable chorus. There’s more stuff you might want to check out. Chase The Dream is an – of course – dreamy ballad about Bossert’s fascination with flying. Escape is a groovy instrumental piece on which Bossert shows off both his guitar and bass skills. With The Big Picture, we even get a ten minute long-track which comes with a 7/4 time part which is disguised to sound more straightforward. I wouldn’t have discovered it on my own though. Also the beginning comes with a very Celtic intro, hinting at the band’s more folk oriented past. All in all this is a song that offers a lot to discover, and in that way contrasts with the otherwise more straightforward material.

Let’s face it: Great Escapes is not the kind of progressive rock I usually listen to, but even I can’t deny that Frank Bossert has put a lot of effort, blood, sweat and tears into this fifth Eureka album which has been released on the artist’s own label. Songwriting is really good, the production gives equal room for every instrument. There remains only the fact that this is the kind of post progressive rock which shows parallels to Rush, Mike Oldfield, Yes and Marillion, all of them bands that were most successful in the Eighties. If you like those references, do support Frank Bossert and check out Eureka’s Great Escapes.

Frank Bossert, lead and backing vocals, electric, acoustic and bass guitars, Taurus bass pedals, keyboards, mandolin, tin whistle, bodhrán, percussion and drums (5, 6, 7, 9)
Steve Hanson, drums (2, 3, 4, 8, 10)
Cathrine Jauer, backing vocals (4, 6, 9)
Martje Johannsen, backing vocals (10)
Katharina Raschke, backing vocals (10)
Lena Wulff, backing vocals (10)
Odin Hansen, guitar solo (4)
Yogi Lang, additional keyboards (6, 10), mixing & mastering

Eureka
Frank Bossert is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and ever-restless creative spirit from the far north of Germany. Having grown up in Hamburg, he was musically educated in various rock bands gigging clubs like the legendary „Logo“ or „Knust“ in the late 80s.

In the middle of the 90s he started his own project, named „EUREKA”. Under this name Frank has been producing five CDs since 1997. Starting with his self distributed „EUREKA“ entitled debut record, Frank created a sound that mixed Celtic folk with prog rock and symphonic elements.

The second release „The Full Circle“ from 2002 was the first album that established the EUREKA sound in full flavour. The album features five songs and five instrumental tracks that form a unique blend of Celtic, world and ambient sounds. It turned out to be the signature album for EUREKA and brought Frank’s music to worldwide attention.

In 2005 „The Compass Rose” with the collaboration of nearly a dozen musicians was released. Flamenco guitars meet Celtic flutes, medieval drums arrange grooving races and keyboards melt with oriental percussion. „The Compass Rose“ is EUREKA’s most diverse recording and presents soundscapes rarely ever heard before. It gained some well attention in the prog rock press and was presented live in a release concert in front of the castle of Frank’s hometown Husum.

In 2008 after what could be called the „band period“ of EUREKA between 2003-2005 Frank decided to start the production of an album he’d planned since the very first days of 2000. It can be seen as the most exciting project his career has seen so far – "Shackleton's Voyage" is a concept album dealing with Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic voyage on the ship 'Endurance'.

„Shackleton‘s Voyage“ features prominent guest musicians Billy Sherwood (ex-Yes, World Trade, CIRCA:), Troy Donockley (Iona, Nightwish), Yogi Lang (RPWL) and a great artwork/booklet with impressive pictures taken by the Australian photographer Frank Hurley. The album was released in June 2009 distributed by InsideOut/SPV and received glowing reviews all over the world. It‘s been valued as a timeless work of art that pays tribute to the remarkable life of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

In 2010 Frank took a step back and decided to release a retrospective called „Silverware – The Best of EUREKA 1997-2010“. He re-recorded three tracks for the compilation CD and placed an early version of a new track on it as an outlook to what could be expected from EUREKA in the future.

From 2010 on Frank started to work on the new album called „Great Escapes“. It’s the first full blown rock album in the history of EUREKA and it’s the first album on which Frank iss the only lead singer. It is the most personal album he's ever done, featuring tracks like „Stolen Child“ a song about the „Parental Alienation Syndrome“ and the forced alienation from his son, „Animated World“ dealing with the story of a young gunman and „The Big Picture“ a long track staying in seven eight time signature for its entire length.

Frank says: "It took five years to make this album, a real tour de force and I’m very proud of it!"

This album contains no booklet.