BALLERMANN

Hilarious vocal introduction welcoming the listener to the new "Grobschnitt" album. One has to dare to do that ! But to be honest, "Sahara" is not my favourite song from the band even if it features lots of humour and nonsense.

"Nikel-Odeon" is of course different. It starts as a "Uriah Heep" song with heavy keys and powerful guitar. Special vocals will either please you or irritate you. Not because of the accent but more due to the exaggerated style which is performed. It is not a highlight but the guitar is very effective throughout these nine minutes.

"Ballermann" holds good music but I have to say that the first part of this CD is not as strong as their debut album even if "Magic Train" is a solid number. The virtuosity of the band is well illustrated (especially the drumming and guitar of course). Most of this song sounds truly symphonic (and yes, one can find some "Genesis" sounds as the end is a bit similar to the closing section of "The Musical Box" while some notes of The Knife could have have been noticed earlier on).

Actually, none of the songs are bad but the tranquil "Morning Son" and its theatrical lyrics isn't really attractive. Mostly due to the repetitive and monotonous beat. "Drummer's Dream" is a dual song which is at times mellow but it is rocking alright as well. During those moments, the drumming is again very effective. A pleasant song, but no more.

But all these songs sound just pale of course when compared to "Solar Music". I have to say beforehand that I am completely biased when I listen to this number. It is definitely a great prog musical experience, and the band will use this work extensively under the form of several live renditions throughout the time.

My opinion is that this long song fully falls under the psyche/space-rock genre; additionally, the brilliant tendency of "Grobschnitt" to improvise add a good dose of experimental sounds to it. Early live Floydian grandeur I would say. But reproduced in the studio which is quite an achievement.

The great "ASOS" stroke again. It already inspired several songs from German bands ("Eloy", "Jane", "Nektar") but this is maybe the most extra-terrestrial performance around this fantastic "thing" as Roger Waters used to say while he was introducing "ASOS" on stage.

Any fan of space-rock music will just love "Solar Music". It holds everything you can think of : spacey passages, crescendo and emotional build-ups, disjointed sections, improvisation of course and some genuine craziness which is one of Grobschnitt distinctive characteristics.

This work is the peak of "Grobschnitt" 's career of course. What a wonderful musical moment! Close to perfection my prog friends. From an average to good album before "Solar Music", this masterpiece just propelled this album to another .galaxy. As soon as I heard this song, I was just blown away. In my case, it was love at first sight. The last six minutes of this gigantic piece of music are so brilliant than there is only one thing to do : sit back, shut up, close your eyes and listen. And listen again, and again...

Four stars for the whole (but five for the great "Solar Music").