Eden-Erwartung (1978)

Eden were a hugely popular German band from the late 1970s and one of the first Christian rock groups in their country. Founded in 1977 in Lüdenscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, by three members of an organization called the Christian Youth Association Free Community, they drew on a style inspired by folk/rock and classical music and released their debut album, "Erwartung", in mid-1978. However, the album is actually closer to symphonic rock than typical folk/rock, so its style would fit more within the progressive folk genre. "Erwartung" functions as a concept album with a story that begins with God's creation and the life and miracles of Jesus and ends with the resurrection and salvation of humanity. It is filled with magnificent flute, violin, and piano parts that flirt with folk and classical music. The lyrics are sung in German by male and female singers who provide large, gospel-style choruses and multi-vocal sections. The electric guitars also sound incredible, with similarities to contemporary bands like the German groups Eloy and Anyone's Daughter. The flute parts also evoke the sound of bands like the British group Camel, although the overall sound is closer to other German progressive folk bands such as Rebekka or Hoelderlin. The album opens with its least interesting track, "Spatregen", which, while containing most of the elements mentioned above, sounds rather inconsistent, almost like an early composition that should have been more polished before its final inclusion on the album. The remaining tracks, on the other hand, are much more splendid and feature, in addition to the characteristics mentioned above, many flutes, saxophones, acoustic guitars, some strident tracks, and brilliant melodies. The album's high point is the track "Ein Anderes Land", over 16 minutes of sublime symphonic progressive rock, with continuous changes in rhythm and great dynamics, focused on the most intricate and impressive harmonies, as well as the extraordinary technical instrumentation and superb arrangements that culminate in an album considered one of the great works of German progressive rock.