Boy oh boy. This room is getting mighty stuffy. What's that you say? Oh, it's just Wallenstein blaring out of your speakers. Haw haw haw.

Wallenstein vetrans, Jurgen Dollase und Harold Grosskopf had just played their parts in Lord Krishna Von Goloka and Tarot. Plus, they were enjoying some intense jamming with the Ash Ra Tempel crew in Berlin (some of which is featured on The Cosmic Jokers albums). They were happily embracing the new kosmische sound promoted by the mad genius of Rolf Ulrich Kaiser. Their new mentality shows in Cosmic Century, sadly a rather stale and boring effort.

Wallenstein's first two LPs, Blitzkrieg and Mother Universe, were standard progrock demonstrations with that odd Teutonic twist, a yearing romanticism and caged guilt that sort of shouted loud in your face but said nothing. Cosmic Century is a vast improvement (mainly due to Kaiser's cosmic production techniques) but in the vast scheme of things it's still not all that awesome. When I listen to such tracks like "Silver Arms" or "Marvelous Child" I'm reminded of ELP or Yes with their godawful and needless symphonic pretensions. However, blowhards like ELP used these classical aspirations as vehicles for inflating their already bloated egos, Wallenstein genuinely believes in their product. The music is free of annoying masturbations. It just seems as if it's going nowhere. I imagine a group of guys recording these grandiose songs with hopes of propelling their audience into the stratosphere; pretty damn admirable. Unfortunately, Jungs, you're boring us.

The Cosmic Century formula is easy to figure out. Just follow the example of the first track, "Rory Blanchard": arpeggiated chords on a piano (with some spacey effects), long Steve Howe-esque solos, guitar teams up with strings in a fast paced jam, drum fills, piano says a bit...then BAM! The listener is in "outer space", ready for a verse, chorus, breakdown. In all honesty, "Rory Blanchard" is a great song that uses this formula to great effect. I personally love this one's verse, a gorgeously fragile melody that uplifts the spirit. I suspect that my love for this track spoils the rest of the album for me because the others seem as if they're trying to reach the heights attained by this sublime opener.

"Silver Arms" and "Marvelous Child" are bad; no other way to say it. They're both just plain old bad. The latter is especially noxious for its feeble attempts at being an uptempo rocker. It's so easy to hear that these guys are uncomfortable playing this stuff.

"Song Of Wire" is ok. It has a nice rolling (and soothing) melody that makes for great driving music. You know, at those times when traffic has you ready to strangle yourself. As with all of the tracks on Cosmic Century I can't decipher the lyrics. Perhaps that's for the best. I'm assuming that English was definately not mastered by these guys. That's still alright. It gives the vocals a charm and lets yuh' know that they were trying.

The last track, "The Cosmic Couriers Meet South Philly" is a bit of an oddity for me. I'm assuming that Wallenstein was aiming for a Stax soul funk jam sound. Eh, that didn't really happen. It sounds like a bunch of white guys trying to get down with pentatonic scales in a garage. It's an average jam session. Nothing to write home about. Why it was featured on The Cosmic Jokers' Sci Fi Party is beyond me.

So there you have it, Cosmic Century. By no means terrible or great. I guess I'd call it progrock dishwater mixed with a teensy bit of day glo coloring for a psychedelic edge. Listen to it if only for "Rory Blanchard" and its followup "Grand Piano". Other than that, don't expect to be moved.

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