SOLAR MUSIC - LIVE

Grobschnitt was a live band above anything else. Their stageshows lasted for hours on end and the Solar Music suite was mandatory item in the set. The track first appeared on Ballerman but the live version captured here is at least twice as long, with lots of extra improvised and composed parts added on.

For Grobschnitt skeptics, I should start by advertising that the focus is entirely on the music here. Wildschwein throws in the occasional vocal but he never shifts the focus away from the music as he did on Jumbo and Rockpommel. A second difference with Grobschnitts studio albums is that the music is much more relaxed, with lots of free-form and improvised parts creating a spacious atmosphere that should appeal to space-rock and kraut fans. But the sound also remains fluent and melodious enough for symphonic fans. In fact, this piece sounds much like something Pink Floyd could have performed in the years following Meddle, when their space-rock experimentation became more melodious and polished.

This album is very different from any other Grobschnitt output. It has a much larger Floydian influence then their usual Yes meets Genesis sound. Their closest related studio album would be Ballerman from which the original piece stems. I have a personal preference for their debut but this is the kind of album I have in mind when I think of 4 stars! Mandatory listening.