NOVALIS

German band Novalis came back two years after their relative insipid debut with a superb sophomore work. It is n coincidence that they decided to entitle this LP after their name, like so many new bands do: the Novalis ofd 1975 is completely different from 1973´s Banished Bridge. Gone is singer Jürgen Wenzel (bassist Heino Schünzel took over vocal duties), and, more importantly, they added not one, but two guitarists to flash up their sound: Detlef Job and Carlo Karges (ex-Tomorrow´s Gift), who also plays some keyboards. They also had a much better production job at the experienced hands of Achim Reiche (of Embryo fame, among others). the result is quite astonishing compared to Banished Bridge: the once thin Novalis sound now is fuller and much more dynamic, helped by a combination of good guitar fillings, more mature compositions and better production. The decision of giving up singing in english was maybe a good one artistically, but it prevented them to break into the international market, specially in England and the USA, where prog bands, even if not as much as at the beginning of the decade, were still quite popular.

The music here is much more symphonic prog than on their debut and they already delivered at least two classic songs: Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hört and Es Färbte Sich Die Wiese Grün, both great epic stuff featuring several mood and tempo changes, terrific keyboards/guitar interplay and nice vocals, beautiful melodies and tasteful arrangements. I specially like some funky wah-wah guitar playing on some parts that make their sound quite unique (only Nektar seems to be using such device at the time). The remaining tracks are instrumentals that although not as good as the longer epics are also of high quality. My only gripe with this CD is its short time: only 35 minutes. It ends too soon and keeps me wanting more.

Conclusion: with their second release Novalis found its voice and delivered a beautiful symphonic prog album. Not really a masterpiece, but still an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection. Four stars.