GÖRLITZ

I find it hard to believe that this was previously rated with one star! I have all the Pulsar albums , which happen to be all of irreproachable quality and made their mark in Prog history. Yes, Gorlitz is very different from the three other symphonic monuments but it reflects a different time in the late 80's when Prog was for all intended purposes almost non-existant except for a few courageous artists, who later would pioneer the Prog Resurgence or Renaissance .

This is a great piece of nostalgic music , the title cut referring to the collapse of East Germany (and the Eastern Bloc as a whole) and the ability of these famously devoted Iron Curtain prog fans to finally obtain the right to travel wherever they would want without a damn Stalinist government telling them " NO". The themes expressed evoke both great sadness and utter joy , with grand musicianship led by Gilbert Gandil's heaviliy "Hackett" influenced playing abd Victor Bosch' steady, militaristic drumming. This stunning record fits very nicely with another East German bashing opus, the whimsical "Stationary Traveller" by Camel, one of Latimer's crowning achievements, equally critisized by some progfans. Hey! I am a history buff too, which explains my love for Prog and even Al Stewart's at times proggy recordings like "Time Passages" ," Last Days of the Century" and "Russians & Americans".

To each his own, after all instead of thrashing iffy prog albums, look at all the pop garbage out there that deserve one or no stars ! We could spend 24/7 getting all our frustrations and inner demons unleashed with choice words for the Spears, 50 Cents and all the other MuchMusic/MTV crap millionaires out there. Give this record a chance and you will be rewarded .

4 stasis