MOTHER UNIVERSE

I have to write something about a very pleasant music experience I have had when I listened to this record: "Mother universe" by the German rock band Wallenstein. It was released one year after their debut "Blitzkrieg", now 1972 and we can see an old lady with shining hair on the cover. The design is very appealing and the row of six long songs are a perfect opportunity to hear some wonderful prog from the seventies.

Bill Barone plays guitar and sings, Jerry Berkers sings and plays bass, Jürgen Dollase sings and plays keyboards and mellotron and Harald Grosskopf plays drums and percussion. I most state three differencies with this record from their first. This record has much more vocals, it's much more progressive and much better than "Blitzkrieg". "Mother universe" is a lovely opener with both a wild progressive melody and a heavy and fine vocal(8/10), "Braintrain" is a powerful rock song with a splendid ending(10/10) and "Skakespearesque" has something from the baroque or the medieval time in the instrumentation(8/10). "Dedicated to the mystery land" is a varied and lovely piece with song in the end that closes it perfectly(9/10) and the poetic and richly sung "Relics of the past"(8/10) isn't bad at all. The closer is perfect also the best: "Golden antenna" is very melodic and perhaps a bit crazy, like Gentle Giant. It jumps around and entertains us(10/10).

This record isn't far away from being a masterpiece. The record is great and very full of progressive structures, fine and sympathetic as well as sometimes very heavy and cool. Wallenstein had developed a lot since their debut and this is an album I warmly recommend! 4,42= 4 stars