Biography
Novalis was,
in my opinion, the best of the German symphonic groups,
and one that tends to be overlooked from the perspective
of contemporary progressive rock collectors. The
band created very powerful and heavily symphonic progressive
rock built around brilliant guitar and keyboard themes.
Most comparable perhaps to bands like Eloy and Camel,
Novalis painted beautiful aural soundscapes, using soaring
guitars floating along on clouds of synthesizer, Moog
and organ. Like Eloy, there is definitely respectful
homage paid to Pink Floyd, but with much more of a keyboard
presence and a healthy dose of German romanticism. Their
best albums are highly emotional and engaging, and full of
gorgeous melody and musicianship. Unlike countrymen
like Eloy and Grobschnitt, Novalis sang in their own language,
which is a huge plus as far as atmosphere, as well as
eliminating the terrible accents that always sort of held
me back from fully enjoying those groups. Novalis
named themselves after the pen name of the German romantic
poet Karl Friedrich von Hardenberg and adapted many of
his German language poems into their music throughout
their career.
My experience
with Novalis is limited to what is reportedly their strongest
period, their first four releases, with the strongest
album being the classic Sommerbend. Brandung features
a new vocalist and a somewhat slicker, slightly more commercial
sound, but is still a good album. The rest of the
catalogue apparently declines in quality as the years
progressed, incorporating more and more of a commercial
edge, but supposedly everything through Flossengel
is of some interest. - Greg Northrup
[2001]
Banished Bridge (1973)
Banished Bridge is the first album from what
was perhaps the best purely symphonic progressive rock
band to come out of Germany. Though this was actually
the last of the band's prime albums that I ended up picking
up, I've found it to be thoroughly enjoyable, though marked
by some expected flaws. Banished Bridge is pretty
much essential for those who enjoyed the band's next two
albums, Novalis and the classic Sommerabend,
both indispensable slabs of lush, melodic, yet energetic
symphonic progressive, and is actually much better than
the comparatively disappointing fourth album, Brandung.
Although the debut has some stylistic differences from
"classic" Novalis, that is English vocals and no electric
guitar, the basic vibe of those records is definitely
present in a fully mature form. Instrumentally,
the band is dominated by Lutz Rahn's organ, which gives Banished
Bridge an earthier edge. The solemn, yet romantic
tone of the band's compositions is exquisitely developed,
and the album has an addictive melodic edge. So
what's wrong with it? Well, basically, the vocals
and lyrics are pretty rank, a common theme among German
bands attempting English lyrics. However, it's not
simply the presence of a heavy accent that makes them
poor, it's just that this guy can't really sing.
His voice is heavily treated with echo effects, and his
vocal melodies are unintriguing anyway, adding nothing
to the songs. Thankfully, the vocals are surprisingly
easy to ignore (unlike those from Eloy), probably due to their
relative unimportance in the structure of the songs.
Instrumentally speaking, the album is on par with Novalis'
classic subsequent efforts, and is a good change of pace
thanks to the predominance of organ and other vintage
keys in the band's sound, which always makes things fun.
The title track in particular is absolutely superb, as
grinding organ motifs build from grandiose orchestral
thrusts, complemented by deep mellotron colors, into driving sections
highlighted by whizzing Moog duels. A great record
that should be immediately acquired by fans of the band's
later work. - Greg Northrup [June 2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup
Info
Novalis (1975)
I can't
help it, I adore this style of symphonic prog. Novalis
crafts beautiful atmospheric progressive music with distinctive
touches and powerful melodies. After experiencing
their masterpiece, Sommerabend, I decided to go one album
further back and purchase their self-titled third album, which
is where guitarist Detlef Job comes aboard and their brand
of "romantic rock", as the liner notes put it, truly gels.
The band places a huge emphasis on creating vast, morose
atmospheres not unlike those of Pink Floyd, but the emphasis
on keyboards, synthesizers and Moogs and melodic devices
brings them closer to some of the best work from bands
like Camel or countrymen Eloy. The vocals are decent,
and certainly much better than most German symphonic groups,
thanks in no small part to their being delivered in the band's native language.
However, here they are relatively sparse and lack the confidence they
would have on later albums.
The album starts
out with an instrumental piece, "Sonnengeflecht", which
is carried by a tremendous Moog riff. "Wer Schmetterlinge
Lachen Hort" struggles through a weak vocal melody
before exploring some fascinating and powerful instrumental
material. The true gems on the album are the last
two tracks, "Impressionen", which is an extraordinary
adaptation of Bruckner's 5th symphony, and the overwhelming
"Es Farbte Sich Die Wiese Grun". The song's lyrics
are based on a poem by early German romantic poet Karl
Friedrich von Hardenberg, whose pen name provided the
group with their namesake. The vocals here have a
much better melody to work with, and the band goes on into some
beautiful, dark instrumental material, making this song
a phenomenal close-out and a more than suitable lead-in to
their next album, the seminal Sommerabend.
This
is a must-have for fans of the group, but those previously unfamiliar
with Novalis should definitely start with Sommerabend.
Those that enjoy that album won't be disappointed
with Novalis in that it's very much in the same
style. -
Greg Northrup [2001]
Click Here for
Tracklist and Lineup Info
Sommerabend (1976)
This
was a pretty significant album for me, in that it was
a more "obscure" release that completely blew me away.
This led me to the conclusion that that there is really
no overestimating the depth of the progressive rock
movement, and that there are gems to be found around
every corner. In fact, I'd say Novalis is ultimately
the best symphonic progressive band out of Germany,
and Sommerabend is their opus. Think
Ocean-era Eloy but with a warmer,
more romantic and earthy feel, not to mention more
musical consistency. Another huge plus is that the
lyrics are all in German, which eliminates the cheesieness
and self-parodying accent that plagues other German bands
like Eloy, Octopus, Anyone's Daughter or Grobschnitt.
In addition, the album has very crisp production,
with lush Moogs, biting synthesizer, warm bass and
bright, emotional guitar solos.
"Aufbruch" is an instrumental
piece that opens the album in a promising manner, and sets
the tone for the remainder. Each of the three tracks
are quite long and explore a number of different themes
and melodies, and the album as a whole flows together beautifully.
"Wundershatze" is my favorite track, impeccably constructed,
with pleasant vocals and more concise feel than the still
brilliant title suite, "Sommerabend". I think that
any fan of slightly morose, atmospheric symphonic progressive
rock from any country would love this album. At points
the album even recalls the heights of prime Camel or Pink
Floyd. This is classic stuff that reminds me how good
progressive rock can really be.
-
Greg Northrup [2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup
Info
Brandung (1977)
The follow-up to the phenomenal Sommerabend sees
Novalis bring to the ranks a "real" singer in the person
of Fred Muhlbock. As a result, the album is slightly
more vocally based than the previous efforts, on which the
vocals were more of an afterthought. Still, Muhlbock's
singing is very good and fits in well with Novalis' brand
of somber and enchanting symphonic prog. Overall,
the production is slicker this time around, and everything
sounds more refined and professional, for better or worse.
Opening track "Irgendwo, Irgendwann" is a great track, but
definitely sounds like it was crafted as a hit single.
Though the track has an extremely catchy repetitive chorus
along with an abbreviated length, it is still a beautiful
piece of music if quite obviously condensed. The real
gem however is the closing track and album centerpiece,
"Sonnenwende". This track is a side-long epic in the
grand tradition, with lyrics once again lifted from the
work of the German poet Karl Friedrich von Hardenberg.
Here Novalis make all the right moves, and almost manage
to re-create the distinctive magic of the previous albums,
making Brandung a solid buy for fans of the group
and showing that they were still far from fully incorporating
pop influences. Brandung is worth owning
if already a fan, but those unfamiliar with the band's music
should definitely start with any of the previous three albums.
- Greg Northrup [2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
