FLOATING

Following in a very similar path than its predecessor "Inside", the repertoire contained in "Floating" has a plus point, and that is an increased sense of rocking energy: that is pretty obvious from the very first blow of sound that starts the opening, namesake track, and things keep on going hot and intense all throughout the forthcoming numbers. Definitely, the band enjoys jamming and that's what they mostly do in this album, pursuing to captivate the listener and make them part of the special fun of music: at times the guitar riffs and organ lines make my mind associate this sound to some of the stuff that early Nektar and early Uriah Heep did. Nevertheless, truth is that there are also two noticeable drawbacks here: one in the decrease of compositional creativity, and the other is the lack of variations and nuances which would have undoubtedly helped to make "Floating" less repetitive. Perhaps this emphasis on the energetic jamming comes out as a solution to the fact that there are not enough musical ideas to fill a whole album coherently. To be fair and state my opinions in a clearer way, let me add that this is not a filler collection nor a boring album. It's only that I find it slightly disappointing when compared to "Inside", and comparisons can't be avoided in this case, since the common family features are evident in both albums (although the lead guitar is more prominent here, indeed) - the promise of "Inside" got a bit worn out in this record, instead of matured and capitalized. Having stated what I feel about the pros and the cons of "Floating", I'll mention tracks 2 and 3 as the highlights of this album: the 14+ minute 'The Light from Deep Darkness' incarnates the major virtues of the album with full hard rocking splendour in a prog frame; 'Castle in the Air' exhibits a major dose of rocking enthusiasm with an Arabic-like twist in the dual guitar parts and a rhythm section that perfectly founds and completes the overall air of exotic joy. 'Plastic Girl' comprises the most interesting organ work by Wieczorke in the album: amazing chord progressions and soloing, as well as cleverly built layers with a Gothic-like twist. The closure 'Madhouse' pretty much recapitulates what has been done in the previous 4 tracks: a logical closure it is, but also incarnates the minus points I've mentioned earlier. While not excellent, "Floating" is still very recommended album from one of the biggest 70s prog acts from Germany.