Cosmic mother — Wallenstein’s dynamic second. Mother Universe is the second album by Wallenstein, released a year after their debut Blitzkrieg, and for many their finest early record: more varied, more vocal and, to many ears, more accomplished than the debut.

The short version

The second album by the German band Wallenstein, recorded near Cologne and released in 1972 on the Pilz label; six long songs, around forty minutes. Where the debut Blitzkrieg had been dense and largely instrumental, this follow-up is more varied, more vocal and, for many listeners, more accomplished. Led by the classically trained keyboardist Jürgen Dollase, who wrote all the music and lyrics, the band moves between powerful electric guitar and organ passages and quieter, folky interludes, all wrapped in a warm, cosmic atmosphere. It was the last album with bassist Jerry Berkers, and a high point of early German symphonic prog.

A dynamic second

Wallenstein, formerly known as Blitzkrieg, had made a striking debut with the album that kept the old name. A year later they returned with Mother Universe, and many felt they had grown. The core of the group remained: bandleader and classically trained keyboardist Jürgen Dollase, who wrote all the music and lyrics, the American guitarist Bill Barone, the Dutch bassist Jerry Berkers and the German drummer Harald Grosskopf, with the album again recorded at Dieter Dierks’s studio. Its loose theme is the cosmos, and its cover famously pictures Dollase’s grandmother, cast as a kind of grandmother of the universe. Compared with the debut, the record is more vocal, more varied and more dynamic. It would be the last Wallenstein album with Jerry Berkers, who left soon after, while Dollase and Grosskopf went on to other projects.

The sound

Warm, dynamic, cosmic symphonic progressive rock, more varied and song-based than the dense debut. At its centre is Jürgen Dollase’s analog keyboard wizardry, his organ, Mellotron and clavinet driving the music, with Bill Barone’s guitar ranging from powerful, pompous electric passages to gentler, folky moments on acoustic. Where Blitzkrieg had been largely instrumental, here the vocals come to the fore, giving the songs a stronger sense of melody and drama, and the arrangements are more dynamic, moving between grand organ outbursts and quieter, reflective interludes. The mood is cosmic and warm rather than cold or forbidding, indebted to Pink Floyd yet developing a personal style of its own. Rich, powerful and full of contrast, it is symphonic prog with real sweep, and a clear step forward from the debut.

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The songs

The album holds six long songs, all written by Jürgen Dollase. It opens with the lovely title track, Mother Universe, which pairs a wild, questing progressive melody with a strong, heavy vocal, setting the cosmic tone. Braintrain follows, a powerful rock song admired above all for its splendid, driving ending, while Shakespearesque brings a baroque, almost medieval flavour to its instrumentation. The second side continues the journey through Dedicated to the Mystery Land, the reflective Relics of the Past and the closing Golden Antenna, each developing the album’s blend of grand electric passages and quieter, folky calm. Throughout, Dollase’s keyboards and vocals lead the way, and the songs are strong and varied enough to reward repeated listening.

Reception and legacy

Mother Universe is widely regarded as one of Wallenstein’s finest albums, and by many as an improvement on the acclaimed Blitzkrieg, praised for being more vocal, more varied and more dynamic than the debut. Admirers single out Jürgen Dollase’s keyboards and vocals, the strength of songs like the title track and Braintrain, and the appealing contrast between powerful electric passages and quieter folky ones, all wrapped in a warm, cosmic atmosphere. As the last album with bassist Jerry Berkers, it marks the end of the band’s original line-up, after which Dollase and Harald Grosskopf moved through other projects before reshaping the group. A much-loved entry in the early German symphonic prog canon, it remains, for many, the best place to hear Wallenstein.

The verdict

A warm, varied, dynamic symphonic prog album, and for many the finest early Wallenstein record — more vocal and more accomplished than the debut, with Jürgen Dollase’s keyboards leading a cosmic journey full of contrast. Come to it for the lovely title track and the driving Braintrain, and for the appealing swing between powerful electric passages and gentle folky ones. A fine place to begin with the band. From here, Blitzkrieg for the denser debut before it, Cosmic Century for the more orchestral turn that followed, and the Cosmic Jokers for the kosmische scene Dollase moved in. A warm cosmic gem of German prog.

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