HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Neuschwanstein is a
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
band which, although never signed to a major record label, were nevertheless able to release an album that was highly regarded in the prog rock scene in the 1970s.


Band history

Thomas Neuroth and Kaus Mayer met during their school years in
Völklingen Völklingen (; , Moselle Franconian: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken, and directly borders France. The town is known for ...
in 1971 and quickly realised that they had common musical interests. They both had a solid background in music and appreciated the structures and lyricism of classical music combined with rock elements. Inspired by
Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...
and
King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...
, the two decided, together with some other school friends, to form a band, which they named Neuschwanstein. This band name was no coincidence, as this
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
, built by
King Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ...
of
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, represents the romantic era in its most impressive form. At first, they made do with cover versions from the standard Anglo-Saxon rock genre, especially Rick Wakeman songs. Very impressed by his Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Neuschwanstein decided to compose a long piece of instrumental music as well and worked on the musical adaptation of the famous
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
novel
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
. The premiere of this 40-minute piece of music took place in 1974 at a local secondary school. In 1975, Neuschwanstein used it to win a band competition at the
Saarland State Theatre Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in po ...
in
Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...
. The new guitarist Roger Weiler, who had joined the band earlier, significantly shaped Neuschwanstein's sound with his playing. In April 1976, Neuschwanstein booked a small recording studio in Saarbrücken-Güdingen to record ''Alice in Wonderland'' on tape. The original master tapes are lost, but a cassette copy existed, which 32 years later, in 2008, was released on CD for the first time in restored form by the French record company Musea. In 2022,
Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...
released a reissue of the album. The recordings have been extensively restored and the original German lyrics have been replaced by English ones. The new lyrics are spoken by
Sonja Kristina Sonja Kristina (born Sonia Christina Shaw; 14 April 1949) is a British singer and songwriter, best known for starring in the original London production of the seminal 1960s musical ''Hair'', and for being the lead vocalist of the 1970s progres ...
, lead singer of
Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fu ...
. The label itself describes the album as "The only album in the 'Narrated Rock' genre to be unavailable in English until now." In 1976, there was another new addition, in the form of French singer Frédéric Joos, whose vocals were strongly reminiscent of
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
, but also had similarities with The Strawbs' singer
Dave Cousins Dave Cousins (born David Joseph Hindson; 7 January 1945) is an English musician who has been the leader, singer and most-active songwriter of Strawbs, since 1967. Cousins is a founding member of Strawbs, which started out as the Strawberry H ...
. Between 1974 and 1978, Neuschwanstein was still only a locally known group, occasionally hired as an opening act for bands like
Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (; ), was a German nobility, German aristocrat and polymath, who was a poet, novelist, philosopher and Mysticism, mystic. He is regarded as an inf ...
and
Lucifer's Friend Lucifer's Friend was a German rock band, formed in Hamburg in 1970 by guitarist Peter Hesslein, singer John Lawton, bassist Dieter Horns, keyboardist Peter Hecht, and drummer Joachim Reitenbach. The group was an early practitioner of heavy met ...
. This was to change abruptly in 1978. Due to a friendship of their manager and
Herman Rarebell Hermann Erbel (born 18 November 1949), known professionally as Herman Rarebell, is a German musician, best known as the drummer for the hard rock band Scorpions from 1977 to 1996, during which time he played on eight studio albums. Aside from pl ...
, the drummer of the
Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
, the band was able to book a studio in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
to record an album under the direction of
Dieter Dierks Dieter Dierks (born 9 February 1943) is a German record producer, sound engineer, music publisher, studio owner and musician. He became well known as producer of the rock band Scorpions (band), Scorpions who were signed to him between 1975 and ...
, producer of the Scorpions. This album, ''
Battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
'', was first released by a small local label called Racket Records. In 1992 Musea re-released the album in a new mix by guitarist Roger Weiler, including a bonus track which was not available before. For Musea it became one of the most successful productions of this French label and sold worldwide. Battlement, however, was to remain Neuschwanstein's only production with this line-up. Due to professional changes and other interests, as well as general feelings of discouragement, the group disbanded just one year later, in 1980. In 2016, after a break of 37 years, a new album by Neuschwanstein, ''
Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
'', was released. Basically, ''Fine Art'' is a "one-man project" by the only original member of Neuschwanstein, Thomas Neuroth. With the help of numerous musician friends, Neuroth created a remarkable album that hardly sounds like Neuschwanstein's original music - despite intensive use of flute - nor like their earlier role models such as Genesis, but much more like the combination of
Emerson, Lake and Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) of King Crimson, ...
, classical, romantic and progressive hard-rocking complexity that occurs in the form of a suite.


Discography

* 1979: ''
Battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
'' (re-released as remix CD by Musea, 1992) * 2008: ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'' (CD release from tape recordings 1976 by Musea) * 2016: ''
Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
'' * 2022: ''Alice in Wonderland feat. Sonja Kristina'' (re-released by Cherry Red Records)


Sources


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neuschwanstein 1971 establishments in West Germany 1980 disestablishments in West Germany German progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1980