Jenny Randles
Author of the book 'Abduction'
November 1988
"Few mysteries can begin to compare with the cocktail of horror, fascination and bewilderment that is the alien abduction.
Ever since mankind crawled from the slime and gazed in awe towards the skies we have searched for another intelligence. Probing the cosmos in almost desperate hope that we are not alone. The Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind reflects the reality of that anticipation. But what a reality! Researchers have struggled for thirty years to comprehend what is happening. It has defeated everyone from the great scientific minds to the amateur detectives. We now have detailed information on several hundred abduction cases. They come from different continents and different cultures, but they share extraordinary patterns.
What C.E.IV have done in this album is truly remarkable. They have taken the many strands of this baffling enigma and they have conjured up a musical portrait of a space-age fairy tale. This was something very easy to do badly. To do it well must be called a stroke of genius, and shows not only comprehension of this “festival of absurdities” but also deep affection for the work and for the mystery.
I have studied these abduction cases in the real world for many years now. I have met people who believe that they have actually experienced what you are about to experience on this unparalleled album. Nobody knows whether the abduction is a product of outer space or inner space. We can only watch the side show as its drama unfolds and stare wide-eyed and bemused as our preconceptions crumble.
I suggest you take the earliest opportunity of locking yourself away with this incredible creation and let C.E.IV take you on a magical mystery tour through uncharted reaches of the universe within and the universe without...
But do keep in the back of your mind one awesome fact:
This may be music. It may also be genius. And it sounds like fantasy. But it is also - in some strange, unfathomable way - really happening out there every minute of every day.
And nobody is safe. Not even you!"
