01	Der Geigenspieler						08:18
	02	Zingaresca						05:15
	03	Manchmal Fallt Der Regen Eben Lang						03:53
	04	Vielleicht Bin Ich Ein Clown						06:26
	05	City Nord						06:11
	06	Die Welt Wird Alt Und Wieder Jung						04:38

Novalis


In late Autumn of 1971, bass player Heino Schunzel from the band Marquis and singer Jurgen Wenzel put an ad in a Hamburg daily: "Looking for drummer and organ player for new rock band." Hartwig Biereichel, who had played with Greenlight until 1970, and Lutz Rahn from jazz-rock group Capricorn replied to the ad, and when the new band played their first gig in the Fabrik in Hamburg in 1972, they were present on stage as well. The quartet called itself Novalis after the most important German poet of early romanticism. Their music, a heavy organ rock, was compared to the sounds of bands such as King Crimson and Pink Floyd.

On "Banished Bridge", Novalis played romantic rock without using electric guitars. Classic leitmotifs were dominated by the rich sound of playful keyboards while Jurgen Wenzel wrote and sang complex English lyrics showing a lot of fantasy. "Banished Bridge" made the music world sit up and notice. It also underlined the intention of the Brain label to remove the 'shady' Krautrock image from the new German rock music.

For the release of their debut album, Novalis toured Germany, playing together with Emergency and Jane. They were able to inspire a rapidly growing number of loyal fans. In late 1973, guitar player Detlef Job joined the band. Half a year later, the band fired singer Wenzel after a dispute and replaced him with multi-instrumentalist Carlo Karges, who had been previously with Tomorrow's Gift. For their second album, the keyboard rockers recorded verses by their namesake and convinced with luxurious, lavish, colourful and highly complex arrangements.

After only one album, Karges left Novalis again and later on became well-known as Nena's companion. He was replaced by Austrian Fred Muhlbock. The hard rock singer put an end to the "guitar-free" era of Novalis, who now developed into a real top German group.

The third LP, "Sommerabend", made Novalis one of the most successful rock bands of the nation. They sold 300,000 albums in Germany by 1978, and in Japan they were considered to be the second biggest act to come out of Germany after the Scorpions. Novalis are an excellent example of the continuous and systematic build-up of a rock group. They never stopped working on their concept and were able to perfectly transfer it onto stage, a fact proven by their high number of concerts per year.

After having been accepted as a professional top band, Novalis produced a total of ten albums until 1983. Especially "Brandung" (1977) and "Vielleicht bist du ein Clown?" (1978) found a large international audience. The ambitious musicians continued to develop electronic sound worlds consisting of a well-balanced mixture of elements of classical piano music, baroque organ visions and rock accents rich with effects.

The most popular romantic rock band expressed their concern over the endangered world of the whales on their 1979 album "Flossenengel" and donated one mark from every concert ticket to the World Wildlife Fund. "As a rock musician you have to be honest because the people see through you" (Hartwig Biereichel).

1980 saw another change in line-up for Novalis . Heinz Schicke - who had played with the trio Schicke, Fuhrs, Frohling - took over bass from Heino Schunzel and played an important role in creating the very compact, sometimes dynamic, sometimes familiarly romantic sound of the 1982 album "Neumond". That same year, Novalis celebrated their tenth anniversary with an extensive concert tour. Finally, the album "Sterntaucher" and an accompanying tour in the late autumn of 1983 ended the story of a groundbreaking German rock band that always communicated very intensively with their audience, but could not stand up to the overpowering onslaught of punk, new wave and NDW (new German wave).

Christian Graf
(Taken from the CD reissue of "Banished Bridge", Repertoire PMS 7050-WP)



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During the mid-seventies, the Hamburg-based band Novalis established themselves as leaders in the field of German-language romantic rock. Especially during the first three years of their career, their concerts radiated the flair of incense and candlelight. Starting with heavily organ-accentuated art rock a-la King Crimson (and on their debut, "Banished Bridge", including English lyrics), Novalis later developed their own unique style, a mixture of progressive, classic, folk and rock. As of 1975, their music was accompanied by their own poetic lyrics or texts by their famous namesake (Novalis was the pen name of Karl Friedrich von Hardenberg, 1772-1801, a poet of the early romanticism). As a reviewer of the "Soester Anzeiger" put it so adequately in February 1976: "The music by Novalis cleverly and discreetly opens the gate to a fairy-tale world without stressful hectic and all the daily hassle: If rock music, which in the end is only a means of entertainment, deserves the attribute beautiful at all, then it is in this form, a form that in spite of all earthly rhythms leaves the intellect room for associations."

Novalis was formed in the Autumn of 1971 in Hamburg. Founding members were singer Jurgen Wenzel, organist Lutz Rahn, bass player Heino Schunzel and drummer Hartwig Biereichel. In March 1972, the band played at a festival in Hamburg's Fabrik to an audience of almost 2,000 people. Among them was producer Jochen Petersen, who immediately got the band a record deal with German rock label Brain, a recently founded sub-label of Hamburg record company Metronome. Together with Petersen (who later joined the band Randy Pie as saxophone player), Novalis recorded their debut album with the line-up: Wenzel, Rahn, Schunzel and Biereichel. Apart from numerous keyboard instruments, acoustic guitars, bass and drums, you can hear six Hamburg choir girls as well. They had come to the studio to sing background vocals for the new single by German schlager singer Roberto Blanco, but then they changed their minds and decided to sing for Novalis instead.

In 1974, the quartet became a quintet when guitarist Detlef Job joined the band. Wenzel was replaced by guitarist Carlo Karges (ex-Tomorrow's Gift), who stayed until Autumn 1975 and later on was highly successful with Nena. When the band was in the studio again to record their second album (with all English lyrics ready for the songs), Karges and producer Achim Reichel convinced the band to use their own mother tongue for the songs. "The results are more of a surprise for the band than for some critics...", an amazed press noted. The change in direction resulted in an increasing popularity. Especially the following albums, "Sommerabend", "Konzerte" (a live album), "Brandung" and "Vielleicht bist du ein Clown?" made the band highly popular.

In 1977, the band was joined by Austrian singer Fred Muhlbock who can first be heard on "Konzerte". In the spring of 1978, the musicians proudly reported to the press: "Over the last three years, Novalis played some 350 concerts, changed their line-up on only one position, used up 12 roadies, even got to know a groupie once and now no longer is in debt. The whole thing starts to pay off."

Novalis were not only successful in Germany, but made fans abroad, too. They were even successful in Japan - not only as musicians, but in private matters as well: Guitarist Detlef Job married a Japanese fan in 1985! On their seventh album, "Flossenengel", Novalis took a stand for the endangered whales and donated DM 20,000 to the World Wildlife Fund. With the beginning of the eighties, the band's musical concept no longer worked. As the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) started to dominate the German music scene, LP's like "Augenblicke" (1980), "Neumond" (1982) and "Sterntaucher" (1983) no longer sounded trendy enough to be profitable for record labels, even though the music was brilliant. Another negative development was a long-drawn legal debate with Achim Reichel, their producer and publisher. In 1984, Muhlbock left the band and returned to Austria. After the twelfth album, called "Nach uns die Flut", the band dissolved.



Whereas the press once had raved over Novalis' musical efforts, magazines like the "Musik Express" started to carp that the lyrics were "twaddle" and that Novalis' music was "without any new or surprising elements". The musicians recognised the writing on the wall, but were unwilling to radically alter the musical concept of the band. Instead, they agreed to split up.

Matthias Mineur
(Taken from the CD reissue of "Brandung", Repertoire PMS 7069-WP)


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"Brandung" (1977, Brain 60.094)



"Brandung" was the first Novalis studio album featuring the band's newest member, singer Fred Muhlbock. Muhlbock joined the band in Autumn 1976 and, according to drummer Hartwig Biereichel, made Novalis undergo radical changes. Said Biereichel: "Until then we had been a band that might have looked professional, but actually had been a bunch of amateur musicians with rather mediocre technical qualities. In 1977, we all gave up our jobs and started working on and with ourselves." The preceding album, "Sommerabend", released in 1976, had been a major smash and sold more than 100,000 units in a couple of months. Another highlight of 1976 had been the fantastic concert at the Brain Festival in Essen, where Novalis had to play six encores! Accordingly, the band was exhilarated when they recorded "Brandung" in the Summer of 1977. Recording took place in the studio of comedian Otto Waalkes and clearly showed that the band intended to write shorter tunes with higher radio compatibility. Under that aspect, the opener "Irgendwo, Irgendwann" worked very well, and, after its release as a single, became a genuine radio hit, especially across Northern Germany. In "Wenn nicht mehr Zahlen und Figuren", Novalis once again used lyrics by their famous namesake. The next song, "Atlantis", became a much-requested live standard, not only because of the lavish pyrotechnical show accompanying the song. The second side of the album is dominated by "Sonnenwende", a typical Novalis concept song. The high vocals split the fans into two groups - the majority loved the song, but others thought it inappropriate. Apart from "Sommerabend", "Brandung" was the most successful Novalis album ever and sold more than 100,000 units. Very beautiful, by the way, is the cover that the band's "foster-father", Achim Reichel, chose for the record.

Matthias Mineur
(Taken from the CD reissue of "Brandung", Repertoire PMS 7069-WP)


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'Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown?' (1978, Brain 60.164/1977, Brain 60.094)



Novalis' sixth album, 'Vielleicht bist du ein Clown', was recorded during a time of great successes and overwhelming public reactions to their work, so, accordingly, it reflects the very positive mood that dominated throughout the band.

The year before, the band had been the celebrated highlight at the Brain Festival in Essen. Now the TV stations began to take notice, and the highly popular Stern magazine even published a feature story about the "Novalis phenomena". The concerts were very well attended, with an average of more than 1,000 visitors at each gig. Their previous studio record, 'Brandung', had been the last concept album. "Firstly, we didn't have any more long and worthwhile stories to tell", Biereichel recalls. "And secondly, the pressure by our label to write something more radio-friendly was increasing." Since singer Fred Muhlbock had quite a number of good songs in store, the switch to shorter, catchier songs was an easy one for Novalis.

The first number on the album is 'Der Geigenspieler', written by guitarist Detlef Job, who performed most of the vocals here as well. This song, with its dreamy melodies and multitude of tempo changes, was typical for Job's songwriting at that time. The second number, 'Zingaresca', one of the band's few instrumental numbers, was played quite a lot on the radio and even became part of the soundtrack of highly popular German crime series "Tatort". 'Manchmal fallt der Regen eben lang', written by Muhlbock, is, as Biereichel put it, "almost a schlager in the best sense of the word." The title track, on the other hand, turns out to contain very complex rhythm patterns with constant breaks and a lot of changes of tempo, making quite a lot of demands on the musicians. Even today, band members receive letters from fellow musicians who would like to know how to play the complicated rhythms. 'Clown' was a favourite at concerts.

Muhlbock secretly left the stage (while a dummy dressed like him stayed behind in his chair) to turn up in the middle of the audience with a remote microphone. Such technical gadgets were still a small sensation twenty years ago. 'City Nord' was written by keyboarder Lutz Rahn and is the second instrumental on the album. On 'Die Welt wird alt und wieder jung', Novalis translated a poem by Friedrich Schiller into music, thus closing the circle to the texts of von Hardenberg they had recorded on earlier records. Also worth a mention is the fact that the impressive cover artwork was done by British pop art artists Hipgnosis, who became famous through their work for, among others, Pink Floyd ('Dark Side Of The Moon', 'Wish You Were Here') and Led Zeppelin ('Houses Of The Holy', and others). The New Musical Express discovered "Keith Emerson-like Hammond sounds, Wishbone Ash guitar phrases and spherical sounds reminiscent of Yes" on this record. What a comparison!

Matthias Mineur
Taken from the CD reissue of 'Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown?', Repertoire, Germany, 1998, PMS 7076-WP


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An important and long-lasting German exponent of 'romantic rock' (in their own words), Novalis was formed in Autumn 1971 by Heino Schunzel (bass), Jurgen Wenzel (vocals), Lutz Rahn (keyboards) and Hartwig Biereichel (drums). The latter had previously played in a blues-rock outfit named Greenlight (releasing four tracks on the 1970 festival sampler, "Love & Peace"). In 1972, Novalis gave their first concert in their hometown Hamburg as the warm-up act to Cravinkel at The Fabrik. "Banished Bridge" (recorded in January 1973 at Windrose Studios, produced by Jochen Petersen) was one of the first examples of synthesised German symphonic rock. A very good album with a lyrical and melancholic atmosphere. The 17 minute long title track stands out as something very special - a very careful and understated composition with long 'ambient' passages full of bird whistles. Perhaps a good comparison would be PFM's first two Italian albums, and the vocal work is comparable to the first Jane album.

However, vocalist Wenzel left the band after some arguments in 1974. Detlef Job (guitar) and Carlo Karges (guitar, keyboards) were added, expanding the group to a quintet. Karges had previously been a member of Tomorrow's Gift. With completely different vocals (sung by Heino Schunzel), German lyrics and the added guitars, their self-titled second album (recorded February 1975 in Studio Maschen) understandably sounded very different from the first. It was produced by Achim Reichel (who also produced all their forthcoming Brain albums) and comprised five songs of fine keyboard-based, folk-inspired rock, written by Rahn and Karges. Best were "Impressionen", based on Brucker's 5th Symphony, and "Es Farbte Sich Die Wiese Grun", a symphonic folk song with adapted lyrics courtesy of the German romantic poet Novalis (Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg), written in 1798. Comparisons can be made with Holderlin's Spiegelei albums. Carlo Karges abandoned such music when he quit to join the new wave act Nena.

Novalis recorded "Sommerabend" as a quartet in February 1976. This was an even better work, combining and developing elements from their previous albums to a near-perfect, personal symphonic rock. The title track must rank as their most outstanding achievement ever: a lush and romantic opus with acoustic guitars, string synthesizers, choir, thoughtful lyrics (in German) and nature's sounds of a Summer afternoon. Just beautiful! In June 1976, the Austrian Fred Muhlbock (vocals, guitar, flute) was engaged as Novalis' new fifth member. His first album with the group was "Konzerte" (1977), a reasonably good live album compiled from concerts, which had taken place between January and April 1977.

Their next studio album, "Brandung", was recorded in October the same year, in Hamburg. Another fine work, though lighter and more commercial, courtesy of Muhlbock. Among the four tracks was the side-long "Sonnenwende", a sequel to "Sommerabend". For the first time, Lutz Rahn also used mellotrons to expand the sound. However, the sixth album, "Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown" (1978) marked a downward turn in their musical quality. The increasing success (300,000 albums sold in Germany) saw the group cash in on a lighter pop-rock sound with a wider appeal, building on the sweetest edges of the previous album. "Flossenengel" (recorded June-July 1979) was their first album for Achim Reicher's new label Ahorn, another light album (with ten tracks!), but better than the last, it was almost a minor classic! "Augenblicke" (1980) was the last album with founder bassist Heino Schunzel. His replacement was Heinz Frohling (bass) from S.F.F. Novalis' subsequent albums for Vertigo, if never exactly bad, failed to match their earlier work.

Albums:
Banished Bridge 1973 Brain 1029
Novalis 1975 Brain 1070
Sommerabend 1976 Brain 1087
Konzerte 1977 Brain 60.065
Brandung 1977 Brain 60.094
Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown? 1978 Brain 60.164
Flossenengel 1979 Ahorn 6.23980
Augenblicke 1980 Ahorn 69.109
Neumond 1982 Vertigo 6435 150
Sterntaucher 1983 Vertigo 812 597
Nach Uns Die Flut 1985 Vertigo 824 645

Compilations:
Sonnenwende 1980 Brain 40.173
Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort 1980 Brain 60.219
Visionen 1983 Metronome 811 535

Taken from Cosmic Dreams at Play - A guide to German Progressive and Electronic Rock by Dag Erik Asbjornsen, Borderline Productions, ISBN 1-899855-01-7







Novalis


Discography

Banished Bridge (1973)
Novalis (1975)
Sommerabend (1976)
Brandung (1977)
Konzerte (Live 1977)
Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown? (1978)
Flossengel (1979)
Agenblicke (1980)
Neumond (1982)
Sterntaucher (1983)
Nach Uns Die Flut (1985)

Compilations/Other Recordings
Sonnenwende (1980)
Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort (1980)


County Of Origin: Germany
Established: 1971
Styles: Symphonic


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]

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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
1. Banished Bridge - 17:08
2. High Evolution - 4:28
3. Laughing - 9:10
4. Inside of Me (Inside of You) - 6:39

Heino Schunzel - Bass
Jurgen Wenzel - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Lutz Rahn - Organ, Piano, Mellotron, Synthesizer
Hartwig Biereichel - Drums, Percussion

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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]


1. Sonnengeflecht
2. Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort
3. Dronsz
4. Impressionen
5. Es Farbte Sich Die Wiese Grun

Detlef Job - Guitars, vocals
Carlo Karges - Keyboards, Guitars
Lutz Rahn - Keyboards, etc.
Heino Schunzel - Bass, vocals
Hartwig Bierreichel - Drums, percussion

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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]


1. Aufbruch - 9:37
2. Wunderschatze - 10:41
3. Sommerabend - 18:19
a. Wetterlauchten
b. Am Strand
c. Der Traum
d. Ein neuer Tag
e. Ins Licht

Detlef Job - Guitars, vocals
Lutz Rahn - Keyboards, etc.
Heino Schunzel - Bass, vocals
Hartwig Bierreichel - Drums, percussion

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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]

1. Irgendwo, Irgendwann
2. Wenn Nicht Mehr Zahlen Und Figuren
3. Astralis

Sonnenwende:
4. Brandung
5. Feuer Bricht in Die Zeit
6. Sonnenfinsternis
7. Dammerung

Fred Muhlbock - Vocals
Detlef Job - Guitars, vocals
Lutz Rahn - Keyboards
Heino Schunzel - Bass, vocals
Hartwig Bierreichel - Drums, percussion





Novalis [Germany]
Banished Bridge (73), Novalis (75), Sommerabend (76), Konzerte (77), Brandung (77), Vielleicht bist Du ein Clown? (78), Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hoert (78), Flossenengel (79), Augenblicke (79), Neumond (82), Sterntaucher (83), Bumerang (84), Nach Uns Die Flut (85)

Late seventies German prog rock musicians churning out that familiar strings/ organ/bass kind of sound, but doing a fairly good job of it. All their lyrics are in German, unlike, say, Rousseau, but once you get past those, the music is quite listenable.

I know three albums Sommerabend, Brandung and Nach uns die Flut. The first two are typical "progressive" of that era, with Brandung being the better of the two. Sommerabend is a bit mechanical in the German way. The 1985 album is, you guessed it, straighter. Not fantastic, but a pleasent listen.

Novalis is another of the many competent progressive rock outfits from Germany who released a few albums of lush, keyboard-dominant prog rock during the seventies. They were quite well regarded in Germany, but did not make it much beyond those shores in terms of popularity. Sommerabend is one of their best releases, and features all the hallmarks of the prog sound, with melodic leads over churning organ/strings providing a minor-chord backdrop, punctuated with numerous changes in mood. Most of the music is instrumental, with some occasional, non-intrusive, vocals in German. The CD contains three tracks, the last of which is the side-long (excuse the anachronism!) title "suite" in five parts, and is one of the most pleasant guitar/keyboard/minimal-vocal pieces in the genre, reflecting very well the track title (which translates to "Summer Evening").

Acclaimed German band whose first album, Banished Bridge, explains why all the other band's albums have German lyrics. Singer/acoustic guitarist Jurgen Wenzel reveals an absolutely tenuous grasp of the English language in his pathetically bad English lyrics. His raspy but bland vocals leave something to be desired. On the other hand, keyboardist Lutz Rahn paints a lush stereophonic landscape with synthesizers, mellotron and lots of Banksian Hammond organ. His keyboard-colourings make songs like the 17-minute title song and "Laughing" especially come to life. Wenzel was out of the band after only one album. Two years passed before another Novalis album appeared. Bassist Heino Schunzel took his place on lead vocals. Added to the band were Detlev Job on lead guitar and Carlo Karges (ex-Tomorrow's Gift) doubling on guitar and keyboards. The self-titled album which resulted turned out to be the best Novalis LP, and among the best German prog LPs of all time. The album is primarily instrumental, with the odd light German vocal by Schunzel. The track "Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hort" is considered a German rock classic in Germany, but it's just one highlight of many on this album. "Impressionen" is a fantastic instrumental based on Bruckner's 5. Symphony. "Sonnengeflecht" sounds like something off of Camel's Mirage album, while the pulsating "Dronsz" is rather more typically German sounding. VERY highly recommended! Karges left after the great 1975 album, leaving the band a quartet once again. He eventually found himself guitarist in Nena of "99 Luftballons" fame! Sommerabend, while it does suffer from a thinner sound than its predecessor, is still a fine album with wall-to-wall keyboards, good Gilmour/Latimer-influenced guitarwork, and impressionistic musical motives, most easily observed in the 18-minute title suite. The band also begins to take its name to heart, the lyrics to "Wunderschatze" are based on a poem by Novalis, the 18th century German poet from whom the band takes their name. My favourite song, though, is the instrumental "Aufbruch." Also recommended, and the only one worth getting that you're likely to find on CD. (most of the band's 80's output is out on CD) Sommerabend was followed by a live album, Konzerte, which I haven't heard. Brandung from 1977 saw the beginning of a new era for the band. Another new member was introduced to the band, singer/guitarist/flute player Fred Muehlboeck. His singing is pretty much on the melodramatic side and may not be to everyone's taste. Two more tracks have lyrics based on Novalis' poems, and though I am no expert on the German language, the other lyrics (written by Muehlboeck) seem to be in a similar style. The 16-minute "Sonnenwende" suite, with its varying moods, seems to be the high point. On the other side, the close-to-9-minutes "Astralis" seems only half-written. Muehlboeck seemed to fit in better on the next album, Vielleicht bist Du ein Clown, which was graced by strange Hipgnosis cover-art. He wrote and played guitar on the instrumental "Zingaresca," which along with Rahn's Germanic-sounding instrumental "City-Nord" and the Genesisoid crowd-pleaser "Der Geigenspieler," is one of the album's high-points. "Vielleicht bin ich ein Clown" is another half-baked composition, but this time with a Jethro Tull-like flute solo. No Novalis poetry, although the closing track "Die Welt wird alt und wieder jung" is based on a poem by Friedrich Schiller. The band next released a compilation entitled Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hort, which includes live versions of that song and "Der Geigenspieler." One more live version of "Wer Schmetterlinge..." appears on the Brain Festival: Essen double album, featuring also Guru Guru, Message and others. I haven't yet heard either of these. I also haven't heard 1979's Flossenengel, the band's only other 70's album issued on CD so far, but reports say that was the last good one. Reviews of Neumond, Nach uns die Flut, Bumerang et al are generally appear to be generally unenthused. If you should find the self-titled LP or Sommerabend, jump at the chance to get them. Then get the rest of the '70s albums.

Novalis were a German symphonic prog band who released several albums during the '70s and into the '80s. The only album I have is Sommerabend which is considered by many to be their best release. It consists of three songs, two in the 10 minute range and the 18+ minute title suite. I've heard very little German symphonic but much of what I've heard has a spacy sound to it. Novalis is no different. In comparison, I am reminded mostly of Eloy with a strong guitar (electric and acoustic) and Hammond organ presence (less synth than Eloy; what synth there is seems mostly a string synth), Nektar and even Camel with the melodic guitar lines. The vocals are in German. The standout track is the title track, a very spacy and ethereal symphonic opus that features the moog, mellotron and sounds of water lapping the shore. The sound is closest to Eloy circa Dawn or Ocean. The only problem is that the music isn't always as engaging as you might like. Still, in all, it is a very satisfying album that fans of Eloy and Nektar should enjoy.

[See Tomorrow's Gift]





Novalis - Progressive Rock for Summer Evenings

The story of Novalis started back in the autumn of 1971 when bass player Heino Schunzel (who earlier had played in the band Marguis) and singer Jurgen Wenzel decided to start a band. Drummer Hartwig Biereichel (ex-Greenlight) and the keyboard player Lutz Rahn (ex-Capricorn) soon joined them. To underline the band's orientation towards "romantic rock" they took the name Novalis, which was the name of a famous German poet of early romanticism. Novalis played their first gig in the Fabrik in Hamburg in 1972 as a support act for a band called Cravinkel. Novalis was soon picked up by the label Brain (an underlabel of Metronome), and started to work on their first album. The result, "Banished Bridge", was released in 1973. The 17-minute title-track lived up to the band's intention of playing romantic rock. Sounds from a forest were mixed in with the sweeping, atmospheric Hammond organ and synth-work of Lutz Rahn and the mystical lyrics of Jurgen Wenzel. The other three tracks on the album consisted of keyboard-driven progressive rock based in strong themes and melodies. The album was well received in the music press, and the band then made a tour in Germany together with Jane and Emergency. Another member came into the group when guitarist Detlev Job joined Novalis in late '73.

Wenzel was kicked out of the band in 1974 after a dispute with the other members. He was replaced by guitarist/keyboardist Carlo Karges (ex- Tomorrow's Gift). The new line-up entered the studio to record the second album, which featured a new concept for the band. They rejected the English lyrics in favour of German lyrics. These lyrics were often based on the poems by the poet that the band had named themselves after. The album was released early in 1975, and was simply just called "Novalis". This was an absolutely fantastic album that featured some of the band's best material ever. "Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hцrt" and "Es fдrbte sich die Wiese grьn" were both amazing and beautiful symphonic progressive rock tracks with inspired instrumental parts and pleasant vocals by Heino Schunzel. "Impressionen" (based on Brucker's 5th Symphony) is still one of the best attempts of re-writing a classical piece into a progressive rock track. The other tracks on the album, "Sonnengeflect" and "Dronz" were both in a more typical, spacey German style. But Karges left Novalis later the same year, no matter how successful the album was.

When Karges left, the band was a quartet once again. However, it was this reduced line-up who recorded the best-known Novalis album: "Sommerabend". The album was released in 1976 and became a major breakthrough for Novalis, selling over 100.000 copies in a few months. Musically, "Sommerabend" was the band's vision of romantic symphonic progressive rock at its most fulfilled and completed. The 18-minute title-track takes the listener into a perfect summer afternoon atmosphere, dominated by floating, dreamy string synths and the band's great sense for beautiful themes and melodies. God knows on how many warm and hazy summer evenings I've been floating along to this wonderful track! The two other tracks on the album are also classic Novalis. "Aufbruch" was an excellent instrumental track, while "Wunderschдtze" was another wonderful, melodic vocal track with lyrics by Novalis. The band played several successful concerts later that year, and they had to play six encores on the Brain Festival in Essen!

The band wanted to stand as strong as possible when the success of "Sommerabend" was to be consolidated, so in 1977 they took in Austrian singer/guitarist/flutist Ferdi Mьhlbцck as a new member. The live-album "Konzerte" followed, and it was Mьhlbцck's first album with Novalis. In the summer of 1977 the band began to work on the important follow-up to "Sommerabend". It was released later the same year and next to "Sommerabend", "Brandung" became Novalis' best-selling album even if there's always been mixed opinions about "Brandung" amongst the fans. Musically it was a slightly slicker album than the previous ones and some of the melodies had a more catchy touch to them. But the music was fortunately still in the good old symphonic progressive rock tradition. All the vocals were taken over by Mьhlbцck, and his vocal style sounded quite different from Schunzel. Anyway, it included several favourites from the Mьhlbцck period of the band, such as "Astralis" and the 16-minute suite "Sonnenwende". "Irgendwo, Irgendwann" became a hit when it was released as a single, and it's interesting that a track based in a tasty melody and a beautiful Mellotron-theme could become a hit in 1977.


The fifth studio album was released in 1978 and entitled "Vielleicht bist du ein Clown?". Another very strong work of symphonic progressive rock. It featured several new Novalis classics, such as the beautiful "Der Geigenspieler", the instrumental "Zingaresca" (a track which reminded a little bit of early Camel), the catchy "Vielleicht bin ich ein Clown?" and the instrumental "City-Nord". By 1978, Novalis had sold more than 300.000 albums in Germany alone. And in contrast to most other progressive rock bands, they did very well both musically and commercial in the second half of the 70's.

To be continued...

Discography
Banished Bridge (1973 Brain 1029)
Novalis (1975 Brain 1070)
Sommerabend (1976 Brain 1087)
Konzerte (1977 Brain 60.065)
Brandung (1977 Brain 60.094)
Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown? (1978 Brain 60.164)
Flossenengel (1979 Ahorn 6.23980)
Sonnenwende (Compilation 1980 Brain 40.173)
Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort (Compilation 1980 Brain 60.219)
Augenblicke (1980 Ahorn 69.109)
Neumond (1982 Vertigo 6435 150)
Visionen (Compilation 1983 Metronome 811 535)
Sterntaucher (1983 Vertigo 812 597)
Nach Uns Die Flut (1985 Vertigo 824 645)


Novalis - "Banished Bridge" (1973)

Novalis was one of the best symphonic progressive rock bands to ever come from Germany in my opinion. They played a strongly melodic and atmospheric kind of symphonic progressive rock with German lyrics that often was based on the beautiful poems of the 16th century poet Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg ("Novalis" was his alias). But with clumsy English lyrics and no electric guitar, this debut-album is a little bit different than the later works by the band, and didn't show all that much what the group really was capable of. The album opens with the 17-minute title-track. This track has a quite romantic atmosphere to it, and Jurgen Wenzel's vocal style is sometimes in the Pink Floyd vein. There's lots of great sounding organ and synthesisers here, but the lack of really memorable melodies and themes makes it a bit tedious. The material on the second side is a bit stronger. "Higher Evolution" is a good song with a nice melody. "Laughing" is with it's long and floating organ dominated instrumental parts and acoustic, Pink Floyd-ish vocal part is probably the best track on the album. "Inside of Me (Inside of You)" is a melodic track in a late 60's progressive vein. A debut with some promising tendencies, but nothing special or particularly impressive compared to their later albums.


Novalis - "Novalis" (1975)

The band had already been joined by guitarist Detlev Job when Wenzel was kicked out of the band after a dispute with the other members. Carlo Karges replaced him on guitar and keyboards. All the vocals were taken over by Schunzel. The band had now also changed to their unique concept: German lyrics based on the poems of "Novalis", the German poet that the band had named themselves after. The album featured two of their strongest songs ever with "Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort" and "Es Farbte Sich die Wiese Grun". Both are lengthy tracks with beautiful, melodic vocal- parts and extended instrumental parts with lots of inspired and atmospheric themes. The rest of the album is entirely instrumental. "Impressionen" is an impressive adaptation of Bruckner's 5th symphony, and one of their best instrumental-numbers ever. The two other instrumentals, "Sonnengeflect" and the spacey "Dronz" sounds both like unfinished leftovers, and their presence unfortunately weakens the album a bit. Still, the strength of "Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort" and "Es Farbte Sich die Wiese Grun" alone makes the album essential, simply because both are amongst the best German symphonic progressive rock tracks ever.


Novalis - "Sommerabend" (1976)

Carlo Karges had left the band, reducing Novalis to a quartet. However, it was this reduced line-up who recorded Novalis' breakthrough-album "Sommerabend". Despite some technical shortcomings (like the muffled production on "Wunderschatze" and Job's horribly out of tune power-chords on the beginning of "Aufbruch"), the material was some of the strongest and most consistent the band ever wrote, making the album one of their very best ones. It opens with the instrumental "Aufbruch" and this track demonstrated the band's musical vision quite well with its warm, romantic atmosphere and strong melodic themes. "Wunderschatze" is a beautiful and mellow vocal-track with the obligatory instrumental break in the middle. And again, the music fitted perfect to von Hardenberg's poetry. The 18-minute title-track consists of several beautiful themes with lots of floating and dreamy keyboards that create a wonderful feeling of warm summer evenings. This album remains one of my personal favourites each time the summer comes around and I want some progressive rock that captures the mood and atmosphere of that season. "Sommerabend" marked the beginning of Novalis' winning streak that would last for the rest of the 70's.


Novalis - "Brandung" (1977)

Novalis was now a 5-piece again as singer, flutist and guitarist Ferdi Muhlbock had joined the band. He took over all the vocals, and his high and light voice sounded completely different from Schunzel. "Brandung" became their most successful and best-selling album, and it revealed that Novalis now had become a polished, well-produced and highly professional symphonic progressive rock band. The addition of the mellotron also gave the album a different feel and sound than the previous ones. The material was top notch from start to finish, and the band had carefully maintained their romantic style and atmosphere very well. The opener "Irgendwo, Irgendwann" even became a hit in Germany, and it's quite interesting that a song based in a beautiful mellotron-theme and folky vocal-parts could become a hit in 1977. This track is followed by the beautiful acoustic ballad "Wenn Nicht Mehr Zahlen und Figuren" where Muhlbock's emotional vocal comes to the fore. "Astralis" was the first track that Muhlbock wrote for the band, and it quickly became a powerful favourite on stage. This was also yet another track with lyrics by von Hardenberg. The 16-minute "Sonnenwende" is a well-written and carefully constructed suite in four parts that ranges from grandiose and melodic symphonic parts drenched in mellotron, organ and harpsichord to simpler, more rocking and catchy parts where the el-piano added a new dimension to the band's sound. The album was even acclaimed by the music-press, and that was not a thing that any symphonic progressive rock band could take for granted in 1977.


Novalis - "Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown?" (1978)

"Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown?" was another winner where Novalis consolidated their position as one of Germany's finest symphonic progressive rock bands. Job delivered one of Novalis' very best and most known tracks with the opener "Der Geigenspieler". This is one of those tracks that every symphonic progressive rock fan will love. Beautiful, melodic themes and an arrangement stuffed with mellotron. Muhlbock wrote the superb instrumental theme "Zingaresca" that was used in the German TV-series "Tatort". The track had a very good and catchy theme, and reminds me slightly of early Camel. "Manchmal fallt der Regen eben lang" is another Muhlbock-composition where the Novalis-sound took a poppier turn without loosing its progressive edge. The title-track was collaboration between Muhlbock and Rahn. It musically continued the style of the second part from "Sonnenwende" and included a great flute-solo from Muhlbock. "City-Nord" is a good and very German-sounding instrumental theme that will make you think of a train running through an icy and futuristic fairy-tale landscape. The last track "Die Welt wird alt und wieder jung" is a piano/mellotron dominated ballad with some nice harmonies. A peaceful, atmospheric and pleasant ending to a strong album.


Novalis - "Flossenengel" (1979)

For their final 70's album, Novalis had switched label from Brain to Achim Reichel's own Ahorn label. And in a time where most other progressive rock bands either had sold out to average pop/rock or simply didn't exist anymore, Novalis had without any compromises at all made another excellent symphonic progressive rock album. "Flossenengel" was a concept-album about whales, and that was a very popular theme if you wanted to show the world that you were political correct in the late 70's. The instrumental that opens the album, "Atlanto", has easily one of the most beautiful themes that the band ever wrote and it has this very distinctive German touch to it. "Im Brunnen der Erde" starts with some wonderful mellotron-flute and evolves into a pleasant melodic track in the typical Novalis-tradition. "Brennende Freiheit" is a lot more dramatic. I guess somebody is killing a whale or something like that here? "Im Netz" is a dreamy and spacey track with keyboards that revokes "Sommerabend". The title-track is very nice little tune that even features some accordion to give it some kind of a sea-shanty mood. Side 2 opens with a nice instrumental-number that is followed by the musical surprising "Sklavenzoo" as it actually sounds slightly like Deep Purple! Ok, so "Alle Vollen Leben" could probably pass as a pop-tune, but a rather sophisticated one. The theme from "Atlanto" is repeated in the beautiful "Ruckker" and stays as one of the highlights on the album. It builds up to a great finale that leads us into the closing track "Ob Tier, ob Mensch, ob Baum" that is based in a irresistible and powerful progressive rock riff. It's really good to hear a progressive rock band that had enjoyed success earlier in the 70's and still sounded like this in 1979.


Novalis - "Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort" (1980)

Just like most other labels do when they loose one of their major artists, Brain started to release a series of compilations with Novalis after they left their label. "Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort" seems to be the most common one, and that's with good reason. It's a very good collection that gives a representative view of Novalis' music. As a bonus you're getting a live-version of "Astralis" that isn't to be found on any other album. The title-track is also in a live-version with Muchbock on vocals, but it had previously been available on the live-album "Konzerte" from 1977. Both tracks proves beyond any doubt that Novalis was a very tight and strong live-band who could perform their material in a fresh and energetic way on stage. The rest of the album is made up of tracks from "Sommerabend", "Brandung" and "Vielleicht Bist du Ein Clown?". The selections couldn't have been much better considering the limits of what you can get on a single album. This album reminds me a lot of why I'm regarding Novalis to be one of the very best symphonic progressive rock bands ever from Germany. So if you find it and haven't heard this great band yet, pick it up.
View the label.


Novalis - "Augenblicke" (1980)

Novalis entered the 80's with an even and fine album, although not as strong as "Flossenengel". Still, there's not a bad track here and the band maintained their sense for strong melodies and atmospheric arrangements. Lutz Rhan had unfortunately dropped the mellotron and instead included some 80's sounding synths, but he still used organ and old 70's synths and still showed good taste in the sounds he used and the way he used them. Muhlbock had yet again found his flute and used it on the cheerful instrumental "Cassandra" and "Als Kleiner Junge". The last mentioned track showed together with "Herbstwind" and "Begegnungen" that the band still had their sense for pleasant and melodic tracks with romantic and dreamy lyrics that shivers with beauty and poetic imagery. There's also a bunch of instrumental-numbers here. "Danmark" is a very typical Rhan-theme with a nice melody and tasty keyboards. "Sphinx" is a bit heavier while "Mit Den Zugvogeln" is a very symphonic and atmospheric piece. A perfect track to listen to while taking a walk in the forest on a sunny day. "Ich Hab Noch Nicht Gelernt Zu Leben" and "Magie Einer Nacht" demonstrated on the other hand their ability to write catchy and commercial tunes. "Augenblicke" was a fine way for founder member Heino Schunzel (who left the band after this album) to end his time with Novalis. But it also proved to be Novalis' last good album, and the rest of their output can safely be skipped by anyone with good taste.


Novalis - "Rock on Brain" (????)

I've no idea when Brain released this 2LP-compilation, but it was released in their "Rock on Brain"-series. The horrible front-cover makes this look like a really cheap piece of shit, but instead the album is an excellent document of the first 6(and best) years of this great band. All the tracks are(with one exception) in chronological order and demonstrates the band's evolution very well. From the English vocals of Wenzel we move into my personal fave-period of the band dominated by the vocals of Heino Schunzel and lyrics based in the poems of Novalis(the poet, not the band!) and finally to the lighter, polished and partly more Mellotron-dominated Muhlbock- period of the band. And when it comes to showing all the best of the band, the selections couldn't have been much better. There's not a bad track at all here, and you get masterpieces like "Laughing", "Es Farbte Sich Die Wiese Grun", "Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hort", "Wunderschatze" and "Der Geigenspieler". Novalis was really one of the finest of all the 70's symphonic progressive rock bands from Germany, and this compilation would actually be the very best place to start if you're not familiar with them yet.

Read more about Novalis here.