DER WEITE WEG

After their wonderful eponymous debut album and the tremendous second album, "Weisses Gold", I had high hopes that their third album, "Der Weite Weg" would be another step forward in the bands development as a notable prog band. It wasn't. It was a step backwards, and a large one at that. "Der Weite Weg" translates to "The Long Way", and in any long journey, there will be an inevitable pothole in the road. This album represents the pothole in their prog journey.

The first track has some decent synth work, but the vocals are mixed way to far forward, and are a vast stylistic departure from the melodic vocals on their previous albums. Track 2 has elements of light jazz/rock reminiscent of Passport (sans saxophone). Track 3 reminds me of Gentle Giant's "Think of Me With Kindness", but a little too sappy for my tastes. Track 4 is synth pop -- almost Kraftwerk-like. One German reviewer (Holger Grützner) said it best... "Awk! The first strike under the gustatory waistline. No real composition, just a few sing-along chords in an endless loop." Tracks 5-7 are an adaptation of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" -- a classical melody ruined by cheesy, amateurish synth play that reminds me of Jean Michel Jarre's "Rarities". Track 8 has an interesting jungle beat on bass and percussion, with some Depeche Mode influences on synth and vocals. Pleasant enough rhythms and melodies, but not particularly prog. Overall, the album has a few interesting passages, but they are few and far between. I'm left to wonder how this mish-mash of an album filled with cheesy synth patches could have followed the beautiful "Weisses Gold". What happened? A pothole happened. Collect your despoiled senses and move on. Two stars.