NEUMOND

Well, I jump from Novalis' first record to a record late in their career "Neumond" from 1982. It is the band's eighth studio album and it was released nine years after the debut. After Novalis had done a yet quite progressive album in "Augenblicke", though with a clear touch of the eighties, they now two years after did a non progressive record which I have heard not. That doesn't mean the album was bad but still it was a further step down from their former heights. Also the cover making had taken a step down. Not it was almost just white but I suspect a face could be seen in the whiteness. Hartwig Biereichel plays drums, Detlef Job plays guitars, Fred Mühlböck sings and plays flute and guitars and variphon and Lutz Rahn plays keyboard. Help do also Heinz Fröhling(bass), Herb Geller(saxophone) and Gillian Scalici(song).

"Neumond" has many decent songs you can listen to a cold autumn night when you wan't some sounds of the eighties. The album is even. It hasn't the smashing highlights you probably want but it does not contain bad songs either. It is quite well done. Starting and ending with atmospheric instrumentals surround the record in a fine way(6/10). The second song has a wonderful saxophone that is a pure delight to hear and the song is a duet between Mühlböck and Scalici(6/10). "Frühsport im Sachsenwald" is almost an experimental pop tune with a minimalistic text. I really like the powerful guitars and keyboards here(6/10). "Du bist schön" (6/10) proves the great potential of Fred Mühlböck. I am so glad to hear his voice. He did it so great in the late seventies and he still made Novalis rock 1982. I'd say the same about "Kein frieden". The instrumental title track is a bit less interesting than the others (5/10) and the longest one "Nachttraum" has both interesting craftsmanship and passages I find boring.

If I would recommend songs from here, I'd do it with "Frühsport im Sachsenwald", "Du bist schön" and "Blauer Morgen". Then you get some different aspects of this band. Some wonderous aspects though are missing. They should be found somewhere else in the middle of the seventies. I am glad this is not a total disaster and if you listen carefully you'll find this record nice. I am confident to give it three stars. Now I look forward to continue my Novalis journey and go back in time.