Fool's Garden - The Principal Thing (EMI) Remember that song? The one that went 'turning, turning, turning, turning, turning around' in your head because it was played by disc jockeys and cover bands endlessly? Fool's Garden's Lemon Tree surely ranked as the cult hit of last year with cover versions in 17 languages.
The song catapulted the German band into the big league but it is difficult to say now whether Lemon Tree has been a blessing or a curse. While it started off catchy and rather infectious, months of having it blared at you sours the experience and is a rather strong deterrent for anyone remotely interested in picking up another Fool's Garden album.
It would be a shame if that happened, though, because The Principal Thing might just prove that there is more to Fool's Garden than Lemon Tree .
Fool's Garden is certainly trying for a harder edge in The Principal Thing ; while it keeps that lighthearted catchiness in their tunes, they do not induce the kind of mindless trances that their previous hit did. Neither do they descend to the insipid sweetness and saccharin of Michael Learns to Rock, thanks to Peter Freudenthaler's grittier vocals.
The Principal Thing sees the band dropping the last vestiges of their electronic sounds and adopting more acoustic ones and has allowed them to explore a few variations of their Euro-rock'n'pop genre.
The title track itself is far from Lemon Tree, the strong bass and guitar riffs which start the album off on a heavier rock note, remain throughout the album.