Popol Vuh
Letzte Tage - Letzte Nächte

No one like Popol Vuh has represented the religious soul of rock, not the sermons of "Christian Rock", not the tormented appeals to God that occasionally surface in the lyrics of many bands and singers. It is the music that mirrors the German group's religious journey, especially that of its leader, the late Florian Fricke, following his path in deep meditations and enveloping itself in all the polyhedral humanity of its members.

A spiritual dimension, that of Popol Vuh, which had already emerged in the grooves of "In den Gärten Pharaos" (in particular in the long, evocative organ mantra "Vuh") and culminated in an intimate and ecstatic masterpiece like "Hosianna Mantra", an album surely unmatched in the entire rock panorama. In response to that 1972 masterpiece, Florian Fricke, strengthened by the lively drummer/guitarist Daniel Fichelscher joining Popol Vuh (already active with Amon Düül II on "Carnival in Babylon" and "Wolf City"), had sought in the subsequent "Seligpreisung", "Einsjäger Siebenjäger", and "Das Hohelied Salomos" a way to express a more concrete and earthly spirituality, with mixed results.

In "Letzte Tage - Letzte Nächte", however, the result is fully achieved with a method which, considering the discography of Popol Vuh, is somewhat unusual: Fricke, while retaining the main role in composition, steps aside in the execution phase, minimizing his piano interventions (both acoustic and electric) and entrusting a central role to Fichelscher's guitars and percussion (who, among other things, collaborates in writing three of the eight tracks in this collection). Consequently, the music gains body and depth, giving definitive credibility to the humanity and liveliness that Fricke was seeking. Just listen to "Kyrie" and compare it to the counterpart track on "Hosianna Mantra" to realize the shift: where in the 1972 version Fricke’s piano and the spatial guitars (then by Conny Veit) created arrhythmic places suspended in a dimension beyond any space-time, here the piano is limited to introducing rhythmic and cyclical guitar phrasings until a finale with a decidedly "American" flavor; even the voice of soprano Djong Yun, present on both records, gains body and abandons the almost-whispered singing of previous albums to display substance and sensuality in an engaging and liberating mantra. And it could not be otherwise for an album that opens with a track like "Der große Krieger", where a guitar with dark tones moves, through meditative arpeggios, towards territories that end up reminiscent of the late '70s Pink Floyd, if not even the early U2.

Surely, "Hosianna..." remains above any other work by Popol Vuh, but the tracks of "Letzte Tage - Letzte Nächte" still remain rather happy and vibrant episodes, the most rock incarnation the group has ever had, maintaining exemplary grace and effectiveness. To realize how positive this album is, it would suffice to listen to the charm of "Oh, wie nah ist der Weg hinab", which starts with phrasings between Oriental and Native American and then opens into an epic section hosting a long guitar solo, beautiful like a thanksgiving prayer, or also "In deine Hände", a stunning hymn introduced by a wonderful cantabile mixing Oriental charm with Bavarian tradition, which then evolves bucolically with a skillful use of cyclical and minimal guitar segments in succession.

Unforgettable also remain "Dort ist der Weg" and the concluding title track. In the first case, we face what is perhaps the most rock song ever by Popol Vuh: decisive riffs, always minimal and heartfelt, to outline a melody that would not displease a Carole King, to which Renate Knaup’s voice (yes, her as well, always emerging from Amon Düül II) adds in great shape, with tasty hippy hints, never so sweet and expressive. "Letzte Tage - Letzte Nächte" (the song) instead is a sweet and liberating anthem to love, sustained by Fichelscher's arpeggios and the moving intertwining of Yun and Knaup’s voices, leading to an instrumental tail that seems to be played live on a stage of any rock festival.

Returning, therefore, down to earth, Popol Vuh gives us an album that, if it is not a masterpiece, still comes close, rich with "saving" music, which is good for the heart and seems almost to indicate a path. It is music that speaks for itself of the experience of a true life, which also knows how to heal, and whose notes are beautiful to rely on.