Trace-Birds (1975)

Trace was a Dutch band from the city of Haarlem, founded by keyboardist Rick van der Linden in 1974. For several years, they enjoyed a remarkable career, releasing several albums of excellent progressive rock. From a young age, Rick van der Linden had taken piano lessons, undoubtedly influenced by his father, who was also a pianist. Later, he learned to play the organ and eventually enrolled in the conservatory in his hometown. From there, the young Rick joined various local bands, playing in nightclubs. Even then, his style was based on the influence of keyboardists such as Brian Auger and Keith Emerson. In 1974, he founded Trace with bassist Jaap van Eik and drummer Pierre van der Linden, both of whom had extensive experience playing in bands like Solution, Focus, and Living Blues. With Trace, Rick was able to develop his own ideas, creating a symphonic rock sound dominated by keyboards. That same year, thanks to the Dutch label Philips, they released their first album, "Trace", already showing similarities to early Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Both this debut and its follow-up, "Birds" (1975), offered a sumptuous and exciting symphonic rock sound, driven by Rick's wide range of keyboards (Hammond B3, ARP synthesizers, and Mellotron), with a primarily instrumental style where the aforementioned Mellotron and Hammond sounds are majestic, supported by a powerful rhythm section. A testament to this band's potential is the epic "King-Bird", a track from their second album, a progressive exercise in dazzling keyboard work, rhythmic shifts, electric guitars, and dynamic interplay. "The White Ladies", the third and final album released a year later, showed a lack of ideas. Despite being conceived as a concept album, it was a discreet continuation without the excellence of its predecessors, which would prematurely end the adventure of this formidable Dutch band.