WEISSES GOLD

"Weisses Gold" is a studio concept album that tells the story of the development of world-famous porcelain in Meissen by the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682-1719) who, in his attempt to produce gold in 1709, invented the first white porcelain in Europe, the so-called white gold. Listeners who really dig keyboard-centric productions, will undoubtedly love this album. Passages are rife with nods to Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, and even a little Jean Michel Jarre, but most of all it reminds me of the work by The Psychedelic Ensemble on "Tale of the Golden King" -- layers of lush keyboards and synths to manifest complex compositions telling a unified story from the first note to the last. There are theatrical bits, dreamy parts, triumphant vocal lines, thunderous explosions, metal hammering, and a lot of musical imagery and drama. Track 5 "The Flight" and track 6 "Doubt" are the strongest. It would really be nice to have the lyrics for this album, as what is available on the internet does not correlate with what is recorded. Highly recommended, especially for fans of The Psychedelic Ensemble! Four stars.