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Review:
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The release of this CD evokes a lot of nostalgia to
me, starting in the early Eighties when I went on a ‘progrock
quest’ to the huge record-store Saturn in the German city
Cologne. There I succeeded to purchase the Neuschwanstein’s
LP Battlement (1979), a German progrock classic and one
of the most acclaimed Genesis-oriented albums. In the early
Nineties I did an interview with the French progrock label
Musea after their CD release of Battlement. Bernard Gueffier
told me the amazing story that Musea was searching for Neuschwanstein
(French) singer Frédéric Joos, eventually it turned out
that he lived only a few miles away from Musea their office
in Retonfey (France), incredible! Musea also told that me
the CD release (1992) of Neuschwanstein’s Battlement was
one of their best selling items.
In the booklet of Battlement you can already read about
the epic composition Alice In Wonderland (based on Lewis
Caroll’s famous book) that has been put on this CD: in 1974
it was premiered at a musical competition at the Saarbrucken
playhouse and Neuschwanstein won the first prize. Later
they band members were wearing monk suits during the performance
of Alice In Wonderland, supported by an elaborate light-show
and dry ice. Those were the progrock days but how about
the music on Alice In Wonderland, finally on CD after 35
years?! - Well, let me tell you that on one hand it’s unfair
to compare the highly acclaimed classic album Battlement
(1979) with the concept story Alice In Wonderland (1974)
but on the other hand I cannot avoid doing it because I
am sure that most progheads, including me, are expecting
music like on Battlement so high expectations! Listening
to Alice in Wonderland (8 tracks, running time around 40
minutes) I notice that at some moments Neuschwanstein sound
like ‘an embryonal version of Battlment’ but in general
it’s more in the vein of Seventies Camel and Focus and less
obvious mid-Genesis inspired. And the music is also less
elaborate, more laidback and remarkably is the omnipresent
flute play (reminding me of Camel, Jethro Tull and Solaris),
often accompanied by sparkling Grand piano work and coloured
with very tasteful vintage keyboards (ranging from warm
string-ensemble and powerful Hammond organ to fat synthesizer
flights and swinging Fender Rhodes electric piano) along
some sensitive electric guitar in the vein of Steve Hackett.
Most of the 8 tracks contain short German narration and
even some German vocals, it’s funny to hear words like “Wer
bist du denn?”, it reminds me of other German bands like
Novalis and Grobschnitt that also made albums in the German
language. My highlights on Alice In Wonderland are the long
compositions Old Father's Song (varied and dynamic with
lush vintage keyboards, swirling flute and beautiful interplay,
very harmonic) and Palace Of Wonderland (again lush vintage
keyboards, a wonderful Hackett-like guitar solo and lots
of bombastic eruptions). -
If I judge this album on its own merits (so no comparisons
with Battlement), I conclude that Neuschwanstein has made
a beautiful, very warm sounding album in the genuine symphonic
rock tradition with a classical undertone (flute and Grand
piano) and very pleasant vintage keyboards, the fans of
Seventies Camel, Focus and Genesis will be pleased.
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