[NOTE: Found at http://tmachine.chat.ru/germ Did some limited editing to go from html to Word.

I believe this is all or part of Cosmic Dreams at Play bu Dag Erik Asbjornsen with no pictures, but having never seen that book, I cannot verify.]

A Guide to German Progressive & Electronic Rock A brief introduction to German rock
The German rock scene in the seventies
When I speak of 'German' music in this book I mean West German music. East German music is also interesting, but something quite different and not the subject of this book! Just like the UK or the USA there were many regional rock scenes in West Germany in the seventies, exploring very different musical directions. The Berlin rock scene with Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Kluster, Agitation Free, Ash Ra Tempel and Mythos represented a revolution in electronic music. Many people viewed their early and exploratory works as cosmic music. No one that has wandered along the Berlin wall and felt the political paranoia, melancholia and persecution mania it created will ever wonder why the bands urged people to be free. Their music was reasonably free of previously accepted rules. Berlin also had vital political rock bands like Ton Steine Scherben and Lokomotive Kreuzberg. The Dusseldorf rock scene with Kraftwerk and Neu also explored electronic music, but in a completely different way. Their trade mark was kling klang music - a sort of minimalistic, repetitive music I can easily associate with the heavily mechanised industry of the Ruhr surroundings. Due to Kraftwerk's international success, this was a brand of German music which influenced pop and rock bands world-wide for decades to come. The Munich rock scene was a melting pot of psychedelia, jazz and ethnic influences. The most important bands were Embryo, Popol Vuh, Amon Duul II, Guru Guru, Gila and Out Of Focus. Each of them added unique new facets to progressive rock. These bands never gained the international recognition they deserved, although their cult status has remained huge for more than two decades. Cologne's prime exponent of progressive rock in the seventies was the very influential Can. Floh De Cologne were arguably Germany's greatest political rock band, merging Mother Of Inventionlike weirdness with communism. Hannover's most famous bands, Jane and Eloy, had a more traditional symphonic heavy rock approach. Their success was overshadowed at the end of the seventies by a plain heavy rock band (also from Hannover) named Scorpions. The Hamburg rock scene was dominated by bands heavily influenced by Anglo-American progressive rock, such as Epitaph, Frumpy, Virus, Weed and Blackwater Park. Aachen's prime exponents of progressive rock, Necronomicon and Ruphus Zuphall, were also influenced by the British bands, but certainly added their own distinctive German flavour to their music. I also have to mention Germany's two superb engineers and producers: Konrad Plank and Dieter

Dierks. They were midwives for virtually half of the German rock productions in the seventies. Germany had no real musical capital, like London was in the UK. The largely independent rock scenes in most of the largest cities is what makes seventies German rock so exciting.

The birth of German progressive rock

Beat music grew up in Germany. I'm sure most of you know about the Liverpool bands that played the Hamburg night clubs. However, there were few original and inventive German beat bands. There were no equivalents to Beatles, Kinks or Rolling Stones in Germany. The most famous beat bands were The Rattles, German Bonds, The Lords, The Blizzards and The Phantoms. Except for The Rattles, none of these groups had any major impact on the German home market. They were even quite insignificant as inspirational sources for the forthcoming German rock scene. This rather boring situation changed abruptly from 1968 to 1970 when several German bands developed their own, distinctive musical identity as a protest against the dominance of the Anglo-American artists. It was the awakening of a new era - one of exploring and experimenting, both with drugs and music. The first wave of German bands included Guru Guru, Amon Duul, Can, Tangerine Dream, Agitation Free, Embryo and Xhol Caravan. The aforementioned bands (and many others to come) had a musical style unlike any other artist outside of Germany at the time. It was a conglomerate of the German national spirit and humour, free jazz, political involvement, Timothy Leary, Sigmund Freud, Prank Zappa, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Cream and Stockhausen. Timothy Leary, then situated in Switzerland, even made a recording with the Berlin group Ash Ra Tempel. The German underground sound was usually experimental, instrumental, free, exciting, weird, monotonous, psychedelic, though not necessarily all this at the same time. The musicians were often university students. The best educated and most creative and courageous people of their generation. They lived in communes and dreamed of a better world under the influence of assorted drugs. Today the majority of them are probably farting along on the daily nine to five routine commanding their subordinate employers from a mobile telephone in their BMW or Mercedes. Sad but true!

Why didn't revolutionary German rock gain any major international recognition ?

The German market for progressive, experimental or symphonic rock was large. Many British artists sold better in Germany than at home. There are plenty of great British progressive artists who never got an album released at home, but who did quite well with their German releases. German record buyers were more anarchic and open minded than their Anglo-American colleagues. People voted albums like Kraftwerk's debut into the Top Ten poll of 1971 albums. The narrow-minded, overcool music journalism hadn't rooted yet, and the big record companies didn't fully control the media. Sadly over the years much of the knowledge about the German rock scene between 1968 and 1975 has disappeared. When international rock journalists bother to write about German rock they usually trace the career of Kraftwerk, as this group was a major influence on the British 'indie' synth pop scene. Or else, they might write about Can and accuse them of being Velvet Underground clones! Detailed information about German rock in English is quite rare. For example, in the series "History of Rock" about 10 of a total 2,500 pages mention German music, 7 of them being devoted to Kraftwerk. Only 0,0012% of the series was devoted to all other German bands. Do you think the world's third largest music market really had such an

insignificant home music scene? My answer is of course a loud NO!, and I hope this book brings German rock to a much wider audience.

1980s - The death of German progressive rock

From the late seventies onwards progressive rock became unfashionable and received gradually less attention in the media, as punk and new wave music rose to prominence. Germany had a large share of exciting new wave bands, often referred to as Die Neue Deutsche Welle. This book doesn't cover these bands, which could be the subject of an equally large hook. German new wave was often inspired by the electronic pop rock of Kraftwerk and Neu, aka the Dusseldorf scene. Important names were Ideal, Trio, Nina Hagen, D.A.F., Extrabreit, Fehlfarben, Steinwolke, Der Plan, Rheingold, Nena, Die Arzte, etc. Very few of the old bands survived this period, only those who already had firm sales before the market changed. New bands playing progressive or symphonic rock weren't in demand, had problems getting live engagements and recording contracts and few survived for long. Recent re-issues actually sell better than the original issues did.

The purposes of this book

The main purpose of this book is to provide comprehensive information about the German progressive and electronic rock scene of the seventies. This is not a complete guide. It would be an impossible task to document all relevant albums, as there were a huge number of largely unknown private pressings made in Germany, mainly from about 1975 and onwards. I have attempted to focus my work on reviews and descriptions of albums. Please do not view my comments as written law. I've tried to avoid making comments that are too subjective. Collectors will also find relevant information about original albums and subsequent re-issues. Sometimes I mention their values on the collector's market. This may not reflect their true value, but the value that at least some people are willing pay to grab original artefacts from the early seventies. I strongly recommend the readers to buy the re-issues instead of risking financial ruin. I have tried to be as accurate as possible, but not all of the information is easily verified. Different sources may also be contradictory. I hope this book will bring to more of you the great pleasure of listening to great music. This is my main purpose in writing it. If you spot errors or know about major omissions please write to me c/o Borderline Productions, P.O. Box 93, Telford, Shropshire, TFI IUE, UK. with the details.

Dag Erik Asbjornsen, Oslo 1995 NINE DAYS' WONDER

Personnel:

WALTER SEYFFER v, d (JOHN EARLE sax, flt, g, v) A (FREDDIE MUNSTER sax, kb) B (ROLF HENNING g, pno, b (C)) A,C (HANS FRAUENSCHUH g) B BERND UNGER g D PETER OEHLER g,v D (KARL MUTSCHLECHNER b) A (MICHAEL BUNDT b) B,C RAINER SAAM b D

ALBUMS:

MARTIN ROSCOE d (KARL-HEINZ WEILER d) B SIDHATTA GAUTAMA d C,D

(A)same () 1971 (B)"We Never Lost Control" () 1973 (C)"Only The Dancers" () 1974 (D)"Sonnet To Billy Frost" () 1976 Walter Seyffer founded the group Nine Days' Wonder as early as 1966. They recorded their first album in the Dierks Studio, January 1971 with the Hauke & Dierks team. This was a fine example of more bizarre German progressive rock, clearly inspired by King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, Traffic, Family and Deep Purple. They presented long, complex suites of heavy progressive riffing, jazz fusion, large amounts of free improvisation, neck-breaking shifts of tempo and general insanity on tracks like "Morning Spirit" and "Stomach's Choise". A fine achievement, if a little difficult to get into. The original German issue of the album came in a green foam-rubber cover designed by Seyffer!!! It surely qualifies for the top ten list of the craziest sleeve designs ever made! John Earle's talented sax and flute work was particularly notable. When the original Nine Days' Wonder disbanded in 1972, he went to England and joined Gnidrolog (you can hear him on the classic album Lady Lake). Martin Roscoe drummed for a while in 2066 & Then. Seyffer joined Michael Bundt's band Medusa. In December 1972 this band suddenly turned out to be the new Nine Days' Wonder. In July 1973 they recorded We Never Lost Control, which, understandably, was totally different to the 1971 album: a 'straighter' progressive rock album comparable to other Hauke productions like Epsilon, Nektar or Message. In 1974, Nine Days' Wonder went through further changes, ended up as a quartet at last. They recorded Only The Dancers in September 1974 in England with the guests Dave Jackson (sax, flute, from Van den Graaf Generator) and Steve Robinson (keyboards, ex-2066 & Then). This was much more a straight rock song oriented album, with tuneful and sophisticated compositions. The last incarnation of this unstable group formed in the Summer of 1975. Their album Sonnet To Billy Frost (1976) was dismissed in the music press at the time of release, but has proved able to stand the test of time. A kind of rock opera. It sounded strangely British (short, melodic up-beat rock songs with some linked musical themes and clever lyrics). After Nine Days' Wonder disbanded, Unger and Seyffer made three further albums together as Wintergarden.

18 (ACHTZEHN) KARAT GOLD

Personnel:

ALBUM:

KLAUS EBERT g, v JORG EVERS g, v LOTHAR MEID b, v KEITH FORSEY d

NB: Originals had a special golden United Artists label. A 1981 re-release exists on Telefunken 6.54853, lacking the golden cover and label.

"All Bumm" (United Artists UAS 29559) 1973

Achtzehn Karat Gold were a short-lived off-shoot of Amon Duul II of limited musical Interest.

Lothar Meid was with Amon Duul II from 1971 to 1974, although he left and rejoined several times, being busy with other part-time projects, such as 18 Karat Gold, Doldinger's Passport and Utopia. The half American and half German Klaus Ebert was only 18 years when 18 Karat Gold recorded their one and only album. From 1976 to 1979 he would be a member of Amon Duul II in their last phase when they were turning their musical focus towards pop rock. Keith Forsey and Jorg Evers also guested on a couple of Amon Duul II albums (also occasionally replacing the so-called permanent members live). Forsey, a British session drummer living in Germany at that time, also made an excellent album with Paul Vincent as the duo Hallelujah in 1971. 18 Karat Gold's close connections to Amon Duul II will always secure some interest in their lackustre album All Bumm (1973), containing 11 short, mainstream pop-rock songs. Olaf Kubler, the well-known Amon Duul II producer and jazz saxophonist, didn't add any exciting ideas to the production in this case, I'm afraid. As the album also proved to be a commercial flop, the band soon fell apart. ft is still possible to acquire the album quite cheaply.

69

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

ARMIN STOVE v, kb ROLAND SCHUPP d

"Live" () 197 "Circle of the Crayfish" () 1972 'The SIXTY NINE, the most experienced TWO MAN big band', so ran the motto for this unusual duo, undoubtedly inspired by Hardin & York. Judged by their music, this wasn't an overstatement - although there really weren't many two-man bands around at all! A large part of Sixty Nine's musical talent lay with vocalist, composer and multi-keyboardist Armin Stove. Backed by the drummer Roland Schupp, he could sound like Keith Emerson at their live-shows: as Stove's hands were in virtually three different places at the same time, they succeeded in sounding like a keyboard-based quartet. Just like Nice and E. L. P., Sixty Nine's music was semiclassical. It comprised very long organ, piano and moog solos based on classical compositions. I don't know why they chose such a name, maybe it was the year of their formation? Their two albums make interesting listening time, if you're keen on the classical rock genre. They comprised conventional keyboard-based classical-influenced progressive rock performed by an unconventional formation! Circle of the Crayfish (1972) included a poster. The best cuts by Sixty Nine are mostly captured on their double live album - extended tracks sounding like a cross between Rick Wakeman's keyboard extravaganzas and a progressive Klaus Wunderlich on speed! The album is recommended with some reservations for the faint-hearted! For reasons unknown to me, the technical quality of their albums wasn't too good: the first one has a strange, transformed sound. Probably the engineer was heavy-handed with equalisers, as the sound was dominated by high-pitched, sizzling treble and a burping bass. Their live set suffered from lack of clarity and misplaced phasing effects, even if the engineer was the legendary Konrad Plank. Expect to pay 60-80 DEM each for both albums.

2066 & THEN

Personnel:

ALBUM:

GEFF HARRISON v CAGEY MROZECK g STEVE ROBINSON [RAINER GEYER] kb, vibes, synth, mellotron, v VEIT MARVOS kb, vibes, synth, mellotron, v DIETER BAUER b KONSTATIN BOMMARIUS d

"Reflections On The Future" (United Artists UAS ) 1972 The group created this uncommon name by adding thousand years to the historic battle of Hastings in 1066. Unfortunately, their lifespan was rather short: from Spring 1971 to Summer 1972. Their one and only album is nothing short of an all time classic: Reflections On The Future (1972), recorded during Autumn 1971 at the Dierks Studio, Stommeln near Cologne. This album contained five long heavy progressive tracks with a dramatic mood and a quite unique German styling. "At My Home", a fast tempo opener, kicked off the album with stunning heavy guitars, swirling hammond organs and Geff Harrison's great, though slightly soul-influenced vocals. The next track "Autumn" brought in the topics of death and desintergration. The melancholic lyrics predated Pink Floyd's "Time": "The clock is ticking faster Life is getting shorter Sands of time are running The autumn of a lifetime Is when the sun is dying Sands of time are running out With the wind" (From "Autumn") "Butterking" had weird, trippy lyrics dealing with the arrival of the Butterking (??) - the king of butterflies! The track is an uncommon masterpiece, featuring jungle sound effects, very slow and heavy organ and guitar riffs interrupted by perverted "ragtime" piano interludes. The 15 minute title track offered some great instrumental excursions, ending with a psychedelic space flight! "How Do You Feel" rounded off the album in a marvellous way, featuring a haunting vocal arrangement. The original version of this song (recorded some months prior to the album sessions) lasted for 13 minutes! The musicians of the group excelled throughout the album. Engineer Dieter Dierks ensured great sound quality and added his patented "cosmic" phasing effects. (Those who have heard the Kosmische Kuriere albums will know what I'm talking about!) Due to poor sales and a ruined economy, one of Germany's best groups had a premature death only months after the album's release. A projected 1972 single was never released. Their legacy is an album that should be in every serious German rock collection! It's quite rare that so many talented musicians are assembled in one group. They were later involved in many other projects: Geff Harrison and Cagey Mrozeck joined Kin Ping Meh, in time for their third album (released on Zebra). Steve Robinson (his real name was Rainer Geyer!) played with Nine Days' Wonder and Aera. Veit Marvos recorded with Emergency, Tiger B. Smith and Midnight Circus. Konstatin Bommarius played drums for Abacus and on Karthago's Rock'n'Roll Testament. None

of these later projects have stood the test of time as well as Reflections On The Future. United Artists originals sell for DEM 500 in mint condition. The excellent company Second Battle (operated by a second-hand records shop in Berlin) rereleased the album in its original, psychedelic fold-out cover (a colourful painting by Gunter Karl) and all its glory in 1989. This was a numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Second Battle also released a three-sided LP set, named Reflections On The Past in 1991. This was a collector's item containing unreleased masters and practise sessions: three tracks from an early rehearsal session in May 1971, the original long version of "The Way I Feel Today", an alternative version of "At My Home" and the never released "Spring" (considered for their album) and the A and B side for the unissued single, recorded in Spring 1972.

ABACUS
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

CHRIS WILLIAMS v HANS-ROLF "CHARLY" SCHADE g, v CRISTOPH BARUTZKY pno, kb, synth KLAUS KOHLHASE b (FELIX HANS d) A KONSTATIN BOMMARIUS d B

(A) same (Polydor 2371 215) 1971 (A) "Just A Day's Journey Away!" (Polydor 2371 270) 1972 (B) "Everything You Need" (Zebra 2949 002) 1972 (B) "Medway" (Zebra 2949 013) 1973 Abacus were fronted by the British vocalist Chris Williams, who also wrote much of their material. Abacus was a successful debut album, recorded August 1971 at the Windrose Studios, Hamburg. It was also released on Polydor in the UK. It included six songs which were wellarranged and drew influences from sources as different as classical music ("Capuccino"), jazz and folk ("Pipedream Revisited", "Song For Brunhilde", "Song For John And Yoko") and psychedelic blues ("Radbod Blues"). The organ work of Barutzky dominated their instrumental muscle, but Schade's varied guitar (sometimes even sitar) work was also remarkable. This first album is often regarded as their best. With their great sense of humour and versatile musical style, Abacus can rightly be compared to Nine Days' Wonder . Their second album Just A Day's Journey Away! (1972) was a competent follow- up, but this time the group abandoned their versatile progressive style and concentrated on folk and country. I'm not sure everyone will appreciate country songs such as "Ballad Of Lucky Luke"! Although "Seasong", "Munchen 23" and "White House May Come" are good enough, the album as a whole was less interesting and daring than the previous one. It was recorded at Music Land Studios, Munich in June 1972. Everything You Need (1972) was released on Polydor's new Zebra label and introduced former 2066 & Then drummer Konstatin Bommarius as a new member of the band, replacing Felix Hans. This album was a further move towards a more simple and commercial style, with four average pop rock songs on side one and the "Everything You Need" suite filling up side two. Midway (1973) was another disappointment lacking inspiration. Abacus now had a song-oriented style with short tracks, in contrast to their promising 1971 debut.

AERA

Personnel:

ALBUMS: (up to '76)

MUCK GROH g KLAUS KREUZEDER sax, flt (PETER MALINOWSKY b) A DIETER BAUER b B,C (WOLFGANG TESKE d) B LUCKY SCHROLDT d C CHRISTOPH KNEGER vln C

(B) "Humanum Est" (Erlkonig ERL 2001) 1974 (C) "Hand Und Fuss" (Erlkonig ERL 2002) 1976 Aera were a jazz rock group founded by guitarist Muck Groh after he left Ihre Kinder in 1972. In 1974 they recorded Humanum Est at the local Studio Hiltpoltstein in Nuremberg. It was released on the Erlkonig label, operated by the Ihre Kinder's manager Jonas Porst. The six tracks included on the album were all written by Groh. The musical quality was acceptable, but little of their material can be described as better than just 'good'. On the improved second album Hand Und Fuss (1976) the band had changed considerably: the driving force of the group was now Klaus Kreuzeder, who was confined to a wheelchair and paralysed in both legs. Teske was replaced by Lucky Schroldt, previously the drummer of the legendary early seventies group Wind. Another new member, Christoph Kneger didn't make much of himself on the album. This time some tracks included vocals, but again most of the material was instrumental jazz rock fusion - fairly good, but lacking a bit of invention. Apparently Aera disbanded after this, but was reformed by Kreuzeder in 1978. They managed to release quite a few albums during their lifespan, but none of them are really essential listening. Merely interesting for the jazz enthusiasts.

AGITATION FREE
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

LUTZ 'LUUL' ULBRICH g MICHAEL 'FAME' GUNTHER b (LUTZ KRAMER g) A (AX GENRICH g) B (JORG SCHWENKE g) C (STEFAN DIEZ g) D,E,F GUSTAV LUTJENS g F MICHAEL HONIG kb C-F (CHRISTOPH FRANKE d) A (GERD KLEMKE d) B BURGHARD RAUSCH d C-F (DIETMAR BURMEISTER d) D

(C) "Malesch" (Vertigo 6360 607) 1972 (E) "2nd" (Vertigo 6360 615) 1973

NB: Originals of (1) & (2) have the "swirl" Vertigo label. All Albums are now available on CD (re-issued by the French label Spalax). Fragments (featuring previously unreleased material) was due for release on Musique Intemporelle in 1995.

(D,F) "Last" (Barclay 80612 (F)) 1976

In 1967 two beat groups from Berlin were on the verge of splitting up. The leading forces behind these groups were Lutz 'Luul' Ulbrich and Michael 'Fame' Gunther. They decided to join forces, and with some other remaining musicians they took the name Agitation Free. Agitation Free were probably the first German group to use slide projectors and a multi-media show during their live appearances. For this reason they were engaged as the household band at the Zodiac, Berlin's answer to London's U.F.O., where the psychedelic underground was literally flowering. Such later famous groups as Tangerine Dream and Curly Curve (well, not so very famous in this case...) also appeared at the Zodiac regularly. In early 1968 Agitation Flee were expanded by John L. on lead vocals. Not exactly a gifted vocalist, he sometimes entertained the audience by walking around naked with a painted penis on stage! He was fired about a year later, apparently the rest of the group had grown tired of this particular (peculiar) Stage Show. His voice was luckily preserved for later generations when he "sang" on Ash Ra Tempel's brilliant Schwingungen album in 1972. 1970 was a very erratic year for Agitation Free. Lutz Kramer quit, and was temporary replaced by Ax Genrich, soon to be a member of Guru Guru. Agitation Free shared a practice room at the Wilmersdorf music academy with Ash Ra Tempel and Tangerine Dream at (his time, and many experiences and ideas were swapped. There was also quite an exchange of members between these groups. Agitation Free's instructor was Thomas Kessler, a German avant-garde composer. He taught them to play with notations, composition and harmony learning. When Genrich joined Guru Guru, he was replaced with Jorg Schwenke. Chris Franke then accepted Edgar Froese's offer to be the new drummer in Tangerine Dream after Klaus Schulze quit. Gerd Klemke stepped in as Agitation Free's drummer for some months of the last half of 1970. Finally a quintet was stabilised in 1971. At the beginning of 1972 the group went on an expanded tour to Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Greece, sponsored by The Goethe Institute. Michael Gunther recorded local musicians they met and jammed with on the tour. Extracts of these recordings were included on Malesch (released Summer 1972), which collected the impressions from their eastern travels. This excellent album revealed a very talented and competent young group, and it was dedicated to their teacher Kessler. "You Play For Us Today" opened with a short dialogue, before a deep, majestic organ tone created a trance-like mood. Gunther came in with a great, steady bass riff, flavoured with eastern rhythms (Uli Popp guested here on bongos). "Sahara City" started with a long and floating guitar glissando, but had a fast, heavy finale. "Ala Tul" and some other tracks featured the leader of Between, Peter Michael Hamel, on hammond organ. "Pulse" was an early experiment with electronic sequencing. "Khan El Khalai", "Malesch" and the short 'Ruckzuck" gave plenty of time for Schwenke and Ulbrich to show off on guitar. An immaculate record! In March 1973 Jorg Schwenke had to quit due to his increasing drug habits. His replacement was Stefan Diez. A second drummer was also added to the line-up: Dietmar Burmeister who had recorded on Seven Up with Ash Ra Tempel. A 90 minutes long production for radio, consisting of edited live performances (made during a ten days live session in a house in the German countryside) was broadcasted in April 1973. The six-piece group went on a very successful two months tour in France. Recordings for radio were also taped during this tour. Parts of these finally made it to vinyl on Last three years later, namely "Soundpool" (renamed version of "Ruckzuck" from Malesch) and a 17 minute long version of "Laila" (a composition included on their forthcoming second album).

With Diez, but without Burmeister, the band went in the studio to record 2nd in July 1973. This time music was more subdued and meditative in a sophisticated way. The eastern flavour was not so distinctive this time, but the musical quality was certainly intact! "First Communication'' started the album off with white noise, wind and a distant bouzouki played by Ulbrich. A harmonic melody line on guitar slides slowly in and builds up a really great track, almost predating some of Fichelscher's guitar work with Popol Vuh. "Dialogue And Random" was a short synthesizer experiment by Honig, not bearing any resemblance to his solo albums. The tuneful two part "Laila" finished side one. Electronic bird sounds on "In The Silence Of The Morning Sunrise" opened the other side. The track built up to fragile, jazzy rock almost in the melodious Terje Rypdal vein. "A Quiet Walk" included more atmospheric, electronically created environment sounds, before bouzouki and treated guitar introduced melody lines. "Haunted Island" finished the album in a dramatic vein with a heavy rhythm, mellotrons and Burghard Rausch's treated recitation of an Edgar Allan Poe poem. Shortly after 2nd, Diez quit and the band's activities now decreased. For a last tour of France In January 1974 Gustav Lutjens was engaged as Agitation Free's new second guitarist. Their last studio work was a recording of a Erhard Grosskopf composition ("Looping IV") in February 1974. This would fill up the second side of the Last album, which was only released in France posthumously in 1976. It was a nice testament to a superb band. They performed a few concerts during the Summer of 1974 and then disbanded after a final goodbye concert in Berlin, November 1974. Lutz Ulbrich teamed up with Manuel Gottsching in 1976 for several Ashra-projects. He has also made scene music for some theatres in Berlin. Michael Honig, as Franke had done five years before him joined Tangerine Dream, but was with them for just two months (including a tour in Australia) in the Spring of 1975. Before that he had a short collaboration with Klaus Schulze (doing concerts in Brussels, Zevenaar and Paris in November and December 1974). It was also planned that Honig should join Ashra for a tour in November 1976, but this didn't happen. Agitation Free was one of the best groups to appear in Germany in the early seventies, and their albums are obligatory in any German rock collection!

AINIGMA
Personnel:

ALBUM:

WILLI KLUTER kb,v WOLFGANG NETZER g,b,v MICHAEL KLUTER d,v

NB:A limited edition counterfeit was released ca. 1988. This has exactly the same black and white cover as the original, which had an insert with information and lyrics. In 1991 yet another counterfeit re-issue appeared. Little Wing re-issued it legally in 1992 with new stunning cover artwork and one extra track.

"Diluvium" (Arc ALPS 151715) 1973

Ainigma's sound is "no compromise" heavy progressive rock, with fuzzy guitars and a very distinct organ sound. This uncomplicated instrumentation is often associated with the sixties American garage punk, in fact Ainigma sound very much like a psychedelic punk rock band from the late sixties and could very well be included on compilations like "Acid Dreams" or "Beyond The Calico Wall". Their album was recorded from April to May 1973 at PFS studio in four days.

All lyrics were in English and actually very dramatic! The album contains just four songs, with the title track filling up one whole side. This extensive and dark seance dealt with the deluge, forced on by the greed and evil of humankind and represented the trio at their best. The band were from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the southern part of Germany. Remarkably enough, considering their artistic maturity, they were only between 15 and 17 years old at the time of recording. Diluvium is highly recommended for all fans of heavy progressive music, it was recently re-released in a superior cover by Little Wing.

AIR

ALBUM:

"Telweise Kacke, Aber Stereo" (Eigenbau AR12) 1973 An obscure band responsible for one private release, dating from 1973. I have no further information about this album.

AK MUSICK
ALBUM:

same (private) 1972 Another totally unknown group that released an album at their own expense way back in 1972. This contained live recordings from one of their concerts.

ALCATRAZ
Personnel:

ALBUM:

RUDIGER BERGHAHN pianett,v KLAUS HOLST g KLAUS NAGURSKI flt, sax RONALD WILSON b JAN RIEK d

"Vampire State Building" (Phillips 6305 128) 1972 A jazz-rock quintet. On the amazingly titled Vampire State Building they presented a pleasant and mainly instrumental progressive jazz-rock sound, with instant recognisable elements from Miles Davis' In A Silent Way and early King Crimson albums. Most successful was the 12 minute track "Simple Headphone Mind". The 13 minute title track was a long improvisation. In addition the album had three shorter tracks, of which "Your Chance Of A Lifetime" (with vocals) was the best. The album was recorded in Tonstudio Wumme, where Faust and Slapp Happy also recorded albums, all engineered by Kurt Graupner. Beware of the group Alkatraz that released Doing A Moonlight for United Artists (UAS 30001) in 1976. They were British and had nothing to do with the German Alcatraz.

ALEX

ALBUMS:

same (Pan 87 305 IT) 1974 "That's The Deal" (Pan 88 831 OT) 1976 "Live" (Wiska 004) 197? "So Simple"(Wiska 022) 197?

A singer and multi-instrumentalist from Cologne who released several albums which were strongly influenced by the ethnic music of Turkey. His first two albums are now eagerly hunted by collectors, as they featured a unique style of "Turk-Rock" with stunning baglama solos (this is a kind of three-stringed Turkish guitar)! They were recorded with the help of Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit (possibly adding bass and drums on certain tracks?) at Can's Inner Space studio, so take note all you Can collectors!

ALTONA
Personnel:

ALBUM:

KLAUS GERLACH g BERND MICHAEL ROSENBERGER kb, perc MICHAEL VON RONN sax KARL-HEINZ BLUMENBERG v, sax, flt, perc WOLFGANG WULFF sax, perc FRITZ KAHL b, g, perc HANS-HEINZ GOSSLER d

same (RCA PPL 11049) 1974 This sextet began their recording career as Thrice Mice. As such, they made one album for Phillips in 1971 and were also included on the Festival samplers Love & Peace (1970) and Pop & Blues Festival '70 . Some years later they renamed themselves Altona, now expanded to a septet. Altona was the name of a suburb of Hamburg (perhaps this was the place where they came from?). A typical Altona song lasted for 5-7 minutes, had lots of sax and guitars and was largely based on blues and jazz rock. The first album had a funny cover of ugly tourists wearing Hawaiian-shirts wandering around in Hamburg. Their albums were produced by one Klaus Bohlmann. Altona were among the better jazz-rockers of the mid-seventies, although they never really excelled. Check them out if progressive jazz-rock appeal to you. Their albums can still be acquired cheaply.

AMON DUUL
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

RAINER BAUER g ,vocals A ULLRICH LEOPOLD b A PETER LEOPOLD d A HELGA FILANDA v, congas, anvil A WOLFGANG KRISCHKE piano, perc A ELLA BAUER v, perc A ANGELIKA FILANDA v, perc A USCHI OBERMAIER perc A

"Psychedelic Underground" (Metronome MLP 15332) 1969 "Collapsing" (Metronome SMLP 012) 1970 "Paradieswarts Duul" (Ohr OMM 56 008) 1971 "Disaster" (2LP) (BASF 29 29079-8) 1973 "Experimente" (2LP) (Time Wind DB 501 42) 1979

NB:There was an American release of the first album with a different cover on Prophesy Records. In 1973 the first album was rereleased on Metronome's 2001 series as This Is Amon Duul. Around 1978 it appeared on the Rock On Brain series, this time renamed Minnelied. All these editions have sleeves different from each other and the original issue. On Ohr there was also a non album single "Eternal Flow" coupled with "Paramechanical World" (different version) from 1970. The Experimente was packaged as a double album in a budget price series named Time Wind.

After the Songtagen in Essen In Autumn 1968, the Amon Duul commune spilt into two factions due to ideological differences. While Amon Duul II soon became one of the most important German bands of the seventies, the first Amon Duul faction was more politically aware and would concentrate on multi-media happenings, political activities or demonstrations. Somehow, this faction eventually made their way into the recording studio as well. The result was five albums that contain some of the most freaky music ever produced in Germany. Through their music they wanted to reflect their various drugs and life experiences. Judging by the music they all lived rather demented lives! A typical Amon Duul track (as featured on their first two albums) consisted of rambling, repetitive congas, distant and untuned guitars and all members chanting along (or more precisely: screaming!) like it was a kind of mystic ritual going on right there in the studio. There are certain similarities with the utterly freaked out music by the American sect Ya Ho Wa 13. The line-up of Amon Duul could best be described as loose, in 1969 usually featuring (A). On one of the album covers all members are seen smoking a joint. The sound quality left something to be desired and the production was strange, as the largely improvised studio sessions were manipulated by strange echo effects and noises. Psychedelic Underground (1969) is a sound document of the anarchic, free-form psychedelic freakout - take it as a warning or invitation! Collapsing (1970) featured more of the same and for this reason is quite superfluous, other than for the completist. Paradieswarts Duul (1971) was certainly a forward step musically: Amon Duul still played ritualistic and repetitive music, but now with a more folky approach (acoustic guitars, flute and English lyrics). Side one contained the mellow hippie anthem "Love Is Peace". Perhaps this musical move was due to Julius Schittenhelm's involvement as a producer. He later recorded some folk-flavored solo albums on Schneeball. Amon Duul's blend of acid folk was uncommon. By this time only Rainer & Ella Bauer, Ullrich Leopold and Helga Filanda were left from the 1969 line-up, adding Klaus Esser on guitar. After this, Amon Duul ceased to exist, probably along with their sweet dreams of a political revolution. The posthumous release Disaster (a double album set) contained previously unreleased recordings from the Psychedelic Underground sessions in 1969. This album had a primitive sound quality, as these tapes probably were either demos or early backing tracks. Experimente contained even more obscure tapes with the tracks entitled simply as "Special Track Experience No. 1 - 24".

AMON DUUL II
Personnel:

CHRIS KARRER g JOHANNES WEINZIERL g (RENATE KNAUP-KROETENSCHWANZ v) A-M (FALK-U(lrich) ROGNER b A, then kb) A-E,H (CHRISTIAN 'SHRAT' THIERFELD perc, v) A-C (DIETER SERFAS d) A,B (DAVE ANDERSON b) B,C (PETER LEOPOLD d) B-F,I,L-N

ALBUMS: (up to '76)

(LOTHAR MEID b) D-F,H,I,L (KEITH FORSEY d) D (KARL-HEINZ HAUSMANN kb) F (DANNY FICHELCHER d,g,v) G-J (ROBBY HEIBL b) K,M (NANDO TISCHER g) M (STEFAN ZAUNER kb,v,g) N (KLAUS EBERT b,v,g) N

NB: As they were a quite successful group (also internationally), there are a lot of re-issues, compilations as well as pressings from other countries in existence. All albums are now available on CD. BBC Radio1 Live In Concert Plus (1992 Windsong WINCD 027 (UK)) is a collection of 5 live tracks recorded in the UK, Spring 1973 and 3 studio outtakes of the Dance of the Lemmings sessions.

(B)"Phallus Dei" (Liberty LBS 83279) 1969 (C)"Yeti" (2 LP) (Liberty LBS 833559/60) 1970 (E)"Tanz Der Lemminge" (2 LP) (Liberty LBS 83473/74) 1971 (F)"Carnival In Babylon" (United Artists UAS 29327) 1972 (H)"Wolf City" (United Artists UAS 29046)1972 (K)"Vive La Trance" (United Artists UAS 29406) 1973 (I)"Live In London" (United Artists UAS 29466) 1974 (L)"Hijack" (Nova 6.22056) 1974 (M)"Made In Germany" (2LP) (Nova 6.28350) 1975 (N)"Pyragony X" (Nova 6.22890) 1976

The Munich-based band Amon Duul was one of the first German bands to emerge out of the psychedelic era. Founded as an anarchic musical commune in 1967 by former jazzer Chris Karrer with Ulli and Peter Leopold, Amon Duul soon sent out a proud declaration: 'we are eleven adults and two children which are gathered to make all kinds of expressions, also musical'. They appeared at the Essen song festival in Autumn 1968. Shortly thereafter they split into two separate groups. Amon Duul's activities ceased after a couple of years, but Amon Duul II survived through the seventies and became one of the most important German groups. The group formed around Chris Karrer in the Autumn of 1968. Their first gigs were very erratic, as some of the members had just started playing their instruments. This lack of a conventional musical experience helped Amon Duul II to establish themselves as one of the major underground acts in Germany. Their reputation grew fast and they soon secured a signing with Liberty. In early 1969, Phallus Dei ('God's penis') was recorded with two new members: Peter Leopold (drums, he switched from the other Amon Duul group) and Dave Anderson (bass, an Englishman who had been a roadie for Kippington Lodge). Rogner now switched from bass to keyboards. Also two guests were involved: Christian Burchard (vibes, see Embryo) and Holger Trulzsch (percussion, see Popol Vuh). Olaf Kubler was the man responsible for the innovative production. He was also a jazz musician, most known as saxophonist with Doldinger's quartet). The album was a genuine late psychedelic masterpiece, a landmark in German rock. They were probably the first German band that was confident enough to present large amounts of improvised music. Phallus Dei was a travel through mysterious science fiction soundscapes, sometimes predating the sound of groups like Hawkwind. This album, like all the subsequent ones up to 1973, had spectacular psychedelic cover artwork. Most of these designs were made by Falk-U Rogner. "Phallus Del" filled up one whole side of the album, and had one of the most ridiculous stereo panning ever recorded (try to listen to it with headphones!). It was their first large scale improvisation, hinting at the things to come on their two next albums. Other memorable tracks was "Luzifers Gholom" and "Dem

Guten, Schonen Wahren" with strange, harsh vocal parts from Shrat. Chris Karrer contributed with some nice electric violin parts and had guitar battles with John Weinzierl. One of the band's concerts at the time was filmed, resulting in a musical cult movie "Amon Duul plays Phallus Dei". The soundtrack for the film "San Domingo" was recorded later the same year and for this they were awarded a Bundesfilm prize. Percussionist Dieter Serfas left before the sessions for their double album Yeti, recorded early in 1970. As such, it offered more time for their large variety of ideas: the first record had prewritten (i.e. reasonably consistent) acid rock songs, with all time classics such as the "Soap Shop Rock" suite, "Archangels Thunderbird" (also released as a single) and "Eyeshaking King", with its incredibly raw fuzz guitar on overgear and distorted vocals. The second record realized their full potential as makers of improvised music: the title track "Yeti" spawned 1 1/2 sides of stunning instrumental material, while the loose and mellow closing track was a re-union session with members from the other AD fraction. In the Spring of 1970, Shrat left Amon Duul II to form Sameti, while Dave Anderson returned to England and joined Hawkwind. Lothar Meid, an old friend of Chris Karrer, became their new bassist. He was a talented musician with his roots in jazz. In 1969 he co-founded Embryo, but quit before their debut album. Along with Jimmy Jackson he then played in a band named Tambarin around 1969-70. 1970 had been a very successful year for Amon Duul II. They were voted the "best underground group" by readers of the magazine Musical Express. Fortunately the band decided to follow a similar path in 1971, and released another double album, Tanz Der Lemminge, in March. It was constructed very much the same way as Its predecessor: one record of reasonably tight compositions and the other dominated by more experimental instrumental material. The result was even more successful this time! This was Amon Duul II's music at their experimental peak. Karrer and Weinzierl revealed their individual composing talents in their respective side long suites with the outrageous names: "Syntelman's March of the Roaring Seventies" and "RestlessSkylight-Transistor-child". Both were divided into several sub-titles, some of which were segued once again! The collage editing technique on these tracks recalled Grateful Dead's classic album Anthem For The Sun. For me, the group never surpassed this material: a tour-de-force of changing moods, acid guitar, surrealistic images, sitars and strange vocals. Record two contained a weird instrumental opus entitled "Chamsin Soundtrack" where each part showcased a different angle of the Amon Duul II sound. "The Marilyn Monroe-Memorial-Church" on side three was a fascinating otherworldly trip into the floating reigns of the unconscious, guided by echo ridden, manipulated guitars, piano, bass and attacks of percussion. Imagine a revised, extended version of Pink Floyd's "Quicksilver" from the More soundtrack and you might get close to it! The three tracks of side four displayed Amon Duul II's loud and powerful raga space rock, sounding like an extension of "Interstellar Overdrive". The next album Carnival In Babylon was recorded late 1971 in the Bavaria Studio. It had a more melodic and accessible style. Apparently Amon Duul II had calmed down a bit by now since the intense acid images of their first three albums. Some of the six tracks were even verging on progressive, ethnic folk rock, lace "All The Years Round" and "Tables Are Turned". These were sung by Renate Knaup, who was offered much more space on this album. Their traditions of long improvisations were maintained by the 10 minute long "Hawknose Harlequin", apparently edited down from a 40 minute long jam session. "Kronwinkl 12" (written by Weinzierl) continued another Amon Duul II tradition: that of short, catchy acid rock songs, although this time a more

straight performance. Falk Rogner contributed to this album as 'guest' only, their regular keyboard player was now Karl-Heinz Hausmann. This relationship didn't last for long, as Hausmann left the group again at the end of 1971. A more important departure around the same time was Peter Leopold who wanted to study medicine. Soon after, also Lothar Meid left to join Doldinger's Passport. With three members gone, Amon Duul II were soon scheduled for their first UK tour (in June 1972). Karrer, Weinzierl, Knaup and new drummer (and guitar player) Daniel Fichelscher pulled off the tour with the guest appearances from Reinhold Spiegelfeld (bass) and Rainer Schnelle (organ). Some rumours about disbanding were brought to an end by the release of Wolf City (recorded in July 1972). Falk-U Rogner and Lothar Meid were back in action again. This album was surely a great success, a firm Amon Duul II favourite among many people. Almost every track was outstanding in its own right: "Wie Der Wind Am Einer Strasse" was an ethnic rock fusion, sounding almost like Popol Vuh. The title track was a forceful rocker with vocals from Lothar Meid. "Sleepwalker's Timeless Bridge" displayed Fichelscher's talent both as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist. A whole lot of guests were involved as usual, among them Jimmy Jackson (organ), Al Gromer (sitar), Rolf Zacher (the strange vocals on the infamous "Deutsche Nepal"), Olaf Kubler (sax) and Pandit Shankar (tablas). Recommended particularly for those who may find their earlier albums too weird! When Peter Leopold returned to Amon Duul II in late 1972 the band was extended to a septet. In December 1972 and January 1973 this line-up toured UK. Some recordings found their way onto album Live in London (see below). Lothar Meid left after this to record with Achtzehn Karat Gold. After a third and last UK tour (without a regular bass player) in the Spring of 1973, Fichelscher also left - to join Popol Vuh as a full-time member. BBC recordings from this tour were released in 1992 as Live In Concert. They reveal a chaotic, loud and aggressive Amon Duul II playing interesting versions of songs mainly from their 1972 and 1973 albums. This album release also included two out-takes from the Dance Der Lemminge sessions. The next studio album Vive La Trance (1973) revealed a band in the process of losing their previous musical direction. It included as many as 11 tracks, almost as many as all their earlier ones altogether. The result wasn't really too bad, but Amon Duul II were now becoming more accessible and song-oriented. Most people agree that the album is uneven, although fans of Hawkwind's style when they featured Robert Calvert might enjoy it. Only the longest track "Apocalyptic Bore" was memorable. The album introduced a new member: Robby Heibl (bass). Guests were Peter Kramper (piano, their engineer), Lothar Meid and Keith Forsey (drums). At the end of 1973 Amon Duul II were in disarray and to make things worse, members drifted in and out of the band all the time. Karrer and Weinzierl did their best to keep the band in some shape, but presumably they weren't able to foresee the next week's line-up! They managed to accomplish a French tour in Winter 1973-74 with Jutta Weinhold (vocals), Conny Veit (guitar). Nick Woodland (guitar), Andy Wix (bass) and Peter Leopold (drums). At this stage, few believed the group would survive. In August 1974 the seventh album Live in London was released to fulfil the contract with United Artists. This comprised old material from the second UK tour (December 1972 and January 1973), edited and manipulated in the studio. For this reason the album was tighter than their 1970 and 1971 studio left albums, from which the repertoire was chosen. United Artists also released a collection of singles and shorter LP tracks in 1975:

Lemmingmania was a highly enjoyable collection of the group's shorter acid rock classics and was a good opportunity for the fans to hear the tracks "Light", "Between The Eyes", "Rattlesnake-plumcake" and "Lemmingmania", all previously only released on singles. It was packed in a nice silver sleeve with lemmings. At last, Karrer and Weinzierl surprisingly managed to re-assemble Knaup, Meid, Leopold and Rogner for the recordings of Hijack (released October 1974). They had signed a new record deal with Nova in Germany and Atlantic in the UK. Regrettfully the album was a patchy collection of mediocre pop rock songs, much like a second Achtzehn Karat Gold album. Many of the best contributions came from Lothar Meid, who composed more material this time than on the previous albums. Unfortunately, as Meid left soon after the album was completed. He made some solo albums, but failed to gain commercial and artistic success. The bass player from the Vive La Trance sessions, Robby Heibl returned to the group. A third guitarist, Nando Tischer, was also added, again expanding the group to a septet. Their ambitious project Made In Germany was recorded in July 1975. This was the first of four albums to be produced by Jurgen S. Korduletsch. He added strings and brass to some tracks. The session musician Thor Baldursson contributed with additional keyboards. It was their third double album and told the story about a certain and fictitious Mr. Kraut. Due to bad sales, the original issue was soon withdrawn and replaced with a condensed single LP version in a different cover. Although better than the two preceding studio albums, it was still lacking a bit in energy and inspiration. The group's financial account was in deficit, which caused half the group (Heibl, Tischer, Rogner and Knaup) to leave in frustration. Karrer, Weinzierl and Leopold still managed to keep the band running due to their strong will. The tenth album Pyragony X was released in October 1976, with the help of two new members: Stefan Zauner (keyboards, vocals, guitar) and Klaus Ebert (bass, vocals, guitar). Strangely enough, the two new members had almost taken full control over the band's musical direction with their fairly good keyboard-dominated symphonic pop rock. Only the eastern sounding opening piece "Flower Of The Orient" bore any resemblance with the old Amon Duul II sound.

AMOS KEY
Personnel:

ALBUM:

THOMAS MOLIN kb, v ANDREAS GROSS g, b, v LUTZ LUDWIG d

NB: re-issued on CD by Germanophon in 1994.

"First Key" (Spiegelei SU 26413) 1974

This group made one single (and a rare) album for Spiegelei. They were a keyboard dominated trio. Amos Key had a great admiration for classical composers like Bach, Beethoven and Schumann, to whom this album was dedicated. The album surprisingly contained many tracks, compared to other combined classical one progressive albums: nine in all, none exceeding six minutes in length. A fairly competent outfit, in many ways equivalent to the Dutch group Ekseption.

ANALOGY
Personnel:

MARTIN THURN g

ALBUM: (up to '76)

NICOLA PANKOFF kb WOLFGANG SCHOENE b HERMANN-JURGEN NIENHAUS d (JUTTA NIENHAUS v) A ROCCO ABATE flt B

Re-issued in 1990 on CD by Vinyl Magic (VM 017). The orogonal vinyl issue is extremely rare and copies sell for 2,000 DEM!

same (Ventotto) (ITA) 1972

This band was based in Italy and had an Italian keyboard player. They formed in 1970 under the name The Yoice. A single ("Sold Out" coupled with "God's Own Land") was released in 1971, gaining the young group some attention in Italy. They gradually developed a more "progressive" and experimental style and changed their name to Analogy in 1972. In Milan they recorded their self-titled first album. It was released by the Produzioni Ventotto label in a cover that pictured the group nude out in the fields! Included were magnificent songs as "The Year's At The Spring", "Dark Reflections" and "Analogy". The album is a masterpiece of progressive rock comparable to Circus 2,000, Julian's Treatment, Sandrose or Earth &Fire. Analogy's distinctions were Jutta Nienhaus' unique, vicious vocals, Thurn's and Pankoff's impressive instrumental skills on guitar and organ respectively and the overall dark atmosphere of their music. All people with a keen interest in early seventies progressive rock will love this album. Strangely enough, the band remained practically unknown outside of Italy. In 1973 their stunning female vocalist left and was replaced by a classically trained flute player named Rocco Abate. Shortly thereafter Martin Thurn composed a 30 minute set of thematically-linked musical pieces simply entitled "The Suite". In this work the classical music of the Renaissance-period was combined with progressive rock. Analogy played this work several times live and received good reviews. In spite of this, they failed to attain support from any record labels and duly disbanded in 1974. Their album is indispensable and highly recommended. ("The Suite" was at last completed and recorded in 1980).

ANDROMEDA
ALBUM:

same (Vogue LDVS 17205) (F) 1970 A little known early progressive group who released an album on the French Vogue label in 1970. Their style has been compared to Nosferatu and the Belgian band Waterloo.

ANIMA
Personnel:

ALBUMS: (up to '76)

PAUL FUCHS fuchshorn, voice, perc LIMPE FUCHS voice, perc J. A. RETTENBACHER b FRIEDRICH GULDA piano

same (Pilz 20290972) 1972 "It's Up To You" (private) (AUT) 1974 Anima Sound was the title of Paul and Limpe Fuchs' album on Ohr, released in 1971. The year after they were joined by J. A. Rettenbacher (bass) and Friedrich Gulda (piano, a well known

Austrian free jazz musician), and became Anima. The purpose of this album was to reveal the music hidden deep inside man from birth, by way of totally free improvisation. The two lengthy tracks were excerpts from even longer live performances. The musical value of their atonal experiments is strictly limited, at feast for fans of progressive rock. Only of interest to hard-core free jazz fans, I think. I don't know the Austrian album.

ANNEXUS QUAM
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

PETER WERNER g, voice, perc HANS KAMPER bassoon, Spanish g, voice, perc OVE VOLQUARTZ sax HARALD KLEMM flt, voice, perc (UWE BICK d, voice, perc) A (JURGEN JONUSCHIES b, voice, perc) A (WERNER HOSTERMANN clarinet, kb, voice, perc) A MARTIN HABENICHT b B

Ohrenschmaus named "Kollodium". There's an exclusive track on the 1970 Ohr sampler

(A)"Osmose" (Ohr OMM 556 007) 1970 (B)"Beziehungen" (Ohr OMM 556 028) 1972

This was a weird experimental jazz rock outfit from Kamp-Lintfort. They started in September 1967 as Ambition Of Music. In 1968 bassoons and trumpets were incorporated in the band, and they began to play jazz influenced live shows, both in Germany and abroad. Their two albums for Ohr were disparate in musical style: Osmose (1971) was a "progressive jazz rock" album. The four tracks were untitled. Most interesting was the opening piece, which in some ways predated the sound of Faust. The other tracks were often spiced with strange sounds and noises. Altogether, a typical sample of the German fusion sound. This interesting album also had a unique fold-up gimmick cover. On the second album Beziehungen (1972) the group attempted to combine the fusion elements from the first album with free-jazz improvisations. Only some parts of this album were successful, like parts of the 16 minute track "Dreh Dich Nicht Um". The two-part "Leyenburg" improvisations, which occupied half the album, were almost free-form music.

ANTON, MICHAEL & AMOK

ALBUMS:

"Jesus Makes You High" (Metronome MLP 15419) 1971 An amazingly entitled album dating from a time when 'pop' musicians apparently loomed about several ways to get high! I've not heard this obscure album.

ARDO DOMBEC
Personnel:

HAROLD GLEU g, harm, v HELMUT HACHMANN sax, flt WOLFGANG SPINNER d, v

ALBUM:

MICHAEL UFER b

"Ardo Dombec" (Pilz 20210952) 1972 Here is another one of those albums with a very funny cover! The sleeve of the Hamburg band Ardo Dombec's only LP pictured a melting ice cream cone containing a cactus! Inside the foldout cover the group were standing posing with ice cones, harmless ones this time! The group has often been dismissed as 'bad, boring and jazzy' (I know those words are synonymous for some people), but their album was actually quite good! Sax, guitar and flute dominated their sound. Some songs had interesting lyrics: "Clean Up Sunday" dealt with a nun who believes salvation can be secured by dropping some coins into the collection box each Sunday. "Downtown Paradise Lost" told about getting busted in Hamburg's red light district. They were also good musicians and enjoyed playing strange or complex rhythms, as Soft Machine did before them. Colosseum were also a likely inspiration to them. The group had two further tracks included on the Pilz' Heavy Christmas sampler.

ARKTIS
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

KARIN TOPPIG v KLAUS BLACHUT g KLAUS GOLLNER b HARRY KOTTEK d

NB: 1 re-issued on CD in 1993 by Penner records with 3 bonus tracks. 2 re-issued on CD in 1994 by Penner records with 2 bonus tracks.

same (Bonbons 4040) 1974 "Tapes" (Bonbons 7502) 1975 "76 - On The Rocks" (private) 1976

This band from the surroundings of Bonn was formed in March 1973. During the Summer of 1973 the band rehearsed a set of original compositions. In order to get publicity and, hopefully, a recording contract the band decided to produce a self-financed record. Thus Arktis was recorded in two days at Tonstudio am Dom, Cologne, October 1973. Only 300 copies were pressed and released in March 1974, most of them given away free to concert booking agencies, record companies, publishers, radio stations and the music press. The four tracks on it have a rudimentary garage rock sound featuring tons of multi-backed wah-wah and fuzz guitars much like Baumstamm, Grave, Florian Geyer or Da Capo. Klaus Blachut wrote nearly all their material and executed all the neckbreaking guitar pyrotechnics. Particularly good (apart from a short boogie part resembling Status Quo) was the 20 minute track "Rare Girl" with its never ending guitar digressions. Such a guitar-based album could easily be judged as 'simpler' than the majority of progressive rock albums, but the band is charmingly enthusiastic and Karin Toppig's tough vocals matched the powerful music. Unfortunately, the band was ignored by the major labels. In December 1974 three demos was recorded by Konrad Plank in his studio for a possible second album on a proper record label. Still their attempts were in vain. As a last resort, Arktis released Arktis Tapes in May 1975 in a pressing of 500 copies, again as a promotional tool. The album consisted of tracks recorded in a rehearsal room during 1974 and 1975. Once again Arktis failed to gain attention and the band split. Klaus Blachut later recorded his solo album 1982. Just 200 copies were released. The two

Arktis albums have rocketed in price on the collectors' marked during the eighties. Both are recommended for collectors of private pressings and obscurities. Their third album was recently re-discovered and featured one great long track in addition to shorter tracks in a more mainstream direction.

ARMAGGEDON
Personnel:

ALBUM:

FRANK DIEZ v, g MANFRED GALATIK kb, b, v MICHAEL NURNBERG b, g JURGEN LORENZEN d

Re-released on CD by Ohrwaschl in 1991.

same (Kuckuck 2375 003) 1970

Why didn't this group record more than just one album? Their self-titled album is a heavy progressive masterpiece with excellent, Hendrix-influenced guitar work and vocals by Frank Diez. Armageddon was the start of his long and impressive career. Their album had six tracks, and two of them were cover versions. Most impressive was the 10 minute version of Jeff Beck Group's "Rice Pudding". This track had some of the greatest heavy guitar riffing to appear on a German record. Their version of Spooky Tooth's "Better By You, Better Than Me" was also competent enough. In addition, both Frank Diez and Manfred Galatik wrote great songs, as typified by the tracks "People Talking" and "Open". Michael Nurnberg and Jurgen Lorenzen provided a strong backing. Armageddon's album has rocketed in price during recent years, due to the ever increasing interest. However, demand for the group was poor way back in 1970, and Armaggedon soon broke up. Diez never played material with a similar energy again, his next step was to join the 'slightly-above-average' jazz-rockers Emergency. Luckily the Armaggedon album was released on CD in 1991 with a sharp and clean digitally remastered sound (in a limited edition of 1,000 numbered copies).

ASH RA TEMPEL
Personnel:

MANUEL GOTTSCHING g; kb, synth (H) (HARTMUT ENKE b) A-D (KLAUS SCHULZE d) A, D(+synth) (WOLFGANG MULLER d) B (MICKY DUWE v) C (STEVE SCHRODER kb) C (DIETMAR BURMEISTER d) C (DIETER DIERKS b) E (HARALD GROSSKOPF d) E (ROSI MULLER v) E (LUTZ ULBRICH g, kb) G

ALBUMS:

NB: 7 was available in France a year before the international release. The French release was credited to Ash Ra Tempel and had a completely different fold-out cover. "Communication-Best of" (PDU PLD SQ 6074, 1976) is an Italian-only sampler with tracks and extracts from 1-6.

(A)same (Ohr OMM 56 013) 1971 (B)"Schwingungen" (Ohr OMM 56 020) 1972 (C)"7 Up" (Kosmische Courier KK 58 001) 1972 (D)"Join Inn" (Ohr OMM 556 032) 1973 (E)"Starring Rosi" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 007) 1973 (F)"Inventions For Electric Guitar" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 015) 1973 (H)"New Age Of Earth" (Isadora ISA 9003) (F) 1976 (G)"Le Berceau De Cristal" (Spalax 14275) (CD-only, F) 1994

The story of the embryonic Ash Ra Tempel started in Berlin 1967 when school friends Manuel Gottsching and Hartmut Enke decided to form a blues band together. Gottsching had lessons in classical guitar for five years, while Enke just was starting to play bass. Other youngsters drifted in and out of the band, which was playing versions of then current pop hits for school parties, etc. Already as a 15 year old boy, Gottsching was beginning to experiment with fuzz, wah-wah and echo effects, in the wake of psychedelia. In an interview I did with him in December 1989, Gottsching admitted that Pink Floyd's innovative experimentation was a huge influence at that time. With Volker Zibell (harmonica) and Wolfgang Muller (drums), Enke & Gottsching appeared live on German TV early in 1970 as Steeple Chase Blues Band. This formation was, however, short-lived. Zibell now lives in Norway and has recorded with several Norwegian new wave bands. Enke & Gottsching studied experimental composition at avant-garde composer Thomas Kessler's studio in Berlin. There they met another eager student named Klaus Schulze, who then played drums as well as experimenting with strange tape loops and effects. He had just quit Tangerine Dream, and they soon found out that they shared musical ideas. Together they formed the first Ash Ra Tempel line-up in August 1970, and soon begun to play live. Their self-titled first work was recorded early March 1971 (with the late Konrad Plank engineering). It was released on Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser's legendary Ohr label in a most beautiful gimmick cover. The front side of it could be opened up in the middle (like the Dr. Z album released on Vertigo the same year), symbolising a double temple door. This was designed by a friend of the group that later also did the cover for Schwingungen. The first album included just two extended tracks, sounding close to their raw and sometimes really WILD live shows at the time. "Amboss" is a kind of teutonic "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" without the keyboards. It starts off calm and soft, but gradually increases to a furious, fuzzy acid guitar nightmare. "Traummaschine" is, in sharp contrast, a floating, dreamy track, just as the title implies. This diversion between the first and second album sides became a trade mark for several later albums. It was a highly impressive start. Their strength was their ability to make the most unearthly sounds in the usually very limited guitar, bass and drums trio format. In September 1971 Klaus Schulze decided to leave. His artistic ambitions far exceeded the task of being just a drummer in the band. Six months later, Irrlicht would start off his impressive solo career. Wolfgang Muller from the Steeple Chase Blues band took his place. Ash Ra Tempel's second album Schwingungen was released in the Summer of 1972. This is a more structured work, but still very much based on long, instrumental improvisations. Side one included vocals by John L., a previous member of Agitation Free. He was fired from this group

in 1968 because of general freak-out and the quite significant fact that he couldn't sing! The lyrics contained some common hippie philosophy about going back to the country and leave the cities behind: "I see, when I come back from my lysergic day-dream, Standing in the middle of the glass and neon forest with an unhappy name: City Flowers must die! And I feel that I die too with a dusty flower A lost God in the dust of the city Flowers must die!" (From "Flowers Must Die") The instrumental side was filled by the title track, divided into subtitles "Suche" and "Liebe". The first part is dominated by soft vibes and electronics, while the conclusion is very much like Pink Floyd in their Saucerful phase, with celestial choral voices and slow chord progressions. Wolfgang Muller quit shortly after this album and Ash Ra Tempel were now expanded with the addition of Micky Duwe, Steve Schroder and Dietmar Burmeister. Schroder had been a member of Tangerine Dream (at the time of Alpha Centauri), but had been fired, as Edgar Froese thought of him as 'freaking totally out'. If this really was the case, Ash Ra Tempel at that time certainly would be a more fitting place for him! The first recording by the new line-up was the track "Gedanken", recorded in the Summer of 1972 for the Ohr sampler Kosmische Musik. Due to a technical mistake in the recording process, it was a mono recording. This sampler also included a Schulze track not released elsewhere, and has become quite valuable nowadays. A.R.T. met the famed American acid guru and author of "Turn Out, Turn In, Drop Out", Dr. Timothy Leary, in Switzerland. Leary was living there in exile after being thrown out of USA by the authorities. It was decided to record a concept album dealing with Leary's theories about the seven levels of human consciousness. The group made a rough musical score, and then travelled to Bern (Leary was denied a residence permit in Berlin!) to record it. Some reasonably freaky guests also took part in the studio recordings. The resulting album Seven Up is one that the acid heads can't live without; indeed many people consider it as their best (I don't). It's certainly their most psychedelic! Leary's vocal performances are comparable to John L.'s previous attempts on Schwingungen. The album included seven tracks - one to describe each level of consciousness, but each side (subtitled as "Space" and "Time") run continuously. The acid-blues rocker "Downtown" starts off the album, "Power Drive" sounds very close to Hawkwind's space rock, "Right Hand Lover" is boogie blues with numerous spacey sound effects, while "Velvet Genes" closed side one with a reprise of "Downtown". As on their previous albums, side two was more subdued and dream-like in style. It featured wordless, high pitched vocals, strange electronic effects and new variations on the "Saucerful of Secrets" organ chord sequence. A brave album, indeed! Seven Up was the first release on Kaiser's brand new label Kosmische Courier. In reality, this was just a renamed relaunch of the Ohr label. All Ohr artists that were still alive and recording, would eventually appear on KM, the exception being Tangerine Dream, whose leader Edgar Froese simply refused to be associated with Kaiser's "cosmic circus" (in Froese's words). The reason for this resurrection was the need to promote Kaiser's visions and cosmic message. Part of his 'cosmic' philosophy was: 'we humans are all a big family!' - it sounds like the usual hippie ideology to me, but perhaps the real message has been lost by the passing years...

While recording Seven Up in Switzerland, Ash Ra Tempel also met a local 'underground' figure: the painter and artist Walter Wegmuller. It was soon decided to make another great concept album, this time about the Tarot. Both Gottsching and Enke played lead guitars on the Tarot sessions, recorded in December 1972. On this occasion, they were also temporarily re-united with Schulze, now totally occupied by experimenting with electronics. But this double set didn't become (as first proposed) just an A.R.T. & Wegmuller project. Three members from Wallenstein, namely Jurgen Dollase (keyboards). Jerry Berkers (bass) and Harold Grosskopf (drums) along with Walter Westrupp (ace, guitar, known for his albums with Bernd Witthuser) also contributed, resulting in a rich, full and versatile sound. Walter Wegmuller composed all the lyrics and painted a brand new Tarot card set for the occasion, which was included in the lavish German double album package. For more information about this project, consult the Wegmuller entry. During breaks in the Tarot recordings, the original Ash Ra Tempel trio (Gottsching, Enke & Schulze) recorded the fourth album Join Inn in just hours. Contained therein were two lengthy improvisations! "Freak'n'Roll", a showcase for Gottsching's talented, bluesy up-beat improvisations and "Jenseits" (meaning 'beyond'), dominated by Schulze's freshly developed synthetic sound painting techniques. This track had spoken lyrics read by Rosi Muller, Gottsching's long time girl-friend and new part time member of the group. Join Inn was a pleasant enough recording, but brought no new landmarks for Ash Ra Tempel. This line-up also performed live. Some gigs in France at the beginning of 1973 were however very erratic, as Hartmut Enke tended to increasingly do very strange things on stage. Manuel Gottsching: 'we were in the middle of a number when he suddenly stopped playing. After the gig, when I and Klaus asked him why he stopped playing, he said that it was all too beautiful so he just couldn't play'. He got very involved in the Timothy Leary philosophy...' Enke obviously had to quit Ash Ra Tempel. Attempts to assemble his own group came to nothing and his musical career was finished. When Schulze left to continue his solo career, Gottsching was suddenly left alone in the group. He now participated in the extensive Cosmic Jokers jam sessions. Kaiser had rented a studio for four months (February to May 1973) where all the musicians, according to rumours, lived partly on a diet of marijuana and LSD. Between the endless parties, several hours of music also were recorded. Involved this time were basically the same musicians as on the Tarot sessions: Gottsching, Schulze, Dollase, Grosskopf, Dieter Dierks (bass) and Rosi Muller, Gille Lettmann, Brian Barritt, Lizz Elliott & David (all occasional voices). Kaiser and Gille Lettmann later edited the vast amounts of material, and released three albums under the pro-forma group name (Cosmic Jokers) in 1974. Some additional material was also used on the KM samplers Sci Fi Party and Gilles Zeitschiff. All these releases were made without the knowledge or permission of the musicians involved. Schulze nowadays dismisses those recordings as 'awful', bill on the other hand Gottsching still regards them as 'pleasant recordings'. After all the freaky jam sessions of the previous years, none of the musicians involved was presumably able to tell which group he or she was really working with! It was time to re-group. Gottsching formed a new, loose Ash Ra Tempel line-up with his session friends Dieter Dierks (engineering), Harald Grosskopf and Rosi Muller. The resulting album Starring Rosi was a big surprise. Gone were all those freaky jams. A more melodious, harmonic and accessible style now dominated. "Laughter Loving" sounds like an improved "Freak'n'Roll", "Day-dream" is a most

beautiful meditative ballad, "Schizo" a melancholic fragile guitar number, "Cosmic Tango" a little joke (or a side-kick to Kaiser?). The only long track, "Interplay of Forces", does sound closer to the older Ash Ra Tempel style, complete with vibes. "The Fairy Dance" was a strange little ditty for acoustic guitar and mellotron. "Bring Me Up" represented the first time Gttsching experimented with funky rock (later he would repeat this on Correlations). In many ways, this quite successful album (artistically) was a turning point that gave Gottsching the confidence to start his solo career, keeping the Ash Ra Tempel name. Gottsching's own Studio Roma was ready for use in 1974, and all alone he recorded the all time classic Inventions For Electric Guitar (which was exactly what it was!). It was recorded on a primitive TEAC four track player, but used all its possibilities to make a unique album, featuring guitar as the one and only instrument. Tape loops were recorded at different speeds and treated with echo effects. This gave the impression that synthesizer sequencers had been used - it was actually a minimalistic sequencer album without a sequencer in sight! The recordings were complex and took a long time to complete. It was even more difficult to recreate these sounds live. Just a few gigs were played with the helping hands of Lutz Ulbrich (guitars, keyboards), previously a member of Agitation Free. Together they also made some soundtrack music in 1975 - for the film "Le Berceau De Cristal", directed by Philippe Carrel. The title track was at long last released on an Edelton sampler in 1990. The next Ash Ra Tempel album, New Age Of Earth, was first released in France (where the group had its largest following) by Polydor in late 1976. However, when British Virgin released the album world-wide with a different cover in March 1977, the extracted name Ashra was used. After Inventions... Manuel was 'fed-up' with guitars for a little while and released a very keyboard-dominated album. This was another great musical triumph: Manuel now pioneered the 'new age' genre with his harmonic and meditative synthetic music. Strongest of all was "Ocean of Tenderness", a floating world of swelling electronic waves and pulses (and even some distant guitars). The 22 minute long "Nightdust" recalled Klaus Schulze's 'picture music' at the time of Timewind. Under the leadership of Manuel Gottsching, Ash Ra Tempel have been among the most important bands of the Berlin electronic rock scene.

ASTERIX
ALBUM:

same (Decca SLK 16695) 1970 Lucifer's Friend recorded the Asterix album before they changed their name. This contained shorter tracks with a typical hard rock edge. Valued by collector's at around 125 DEM in mint condition it's quite good musically. Look at the Lucifer's Friend entry for more info.

ATLANTIS
Personnel:

INGA RUMPF v KARL-HEINZ SCHOTT b (JEAN-JAQUES KRAVETZ kb) A,B ADRIAN ASKEW kb C FRANK DIEZ g A,D

ALBUMS:

(DIETER BORNSCHLEGEL g) B ALEX CONTI g C (CURT CRESS d) A RINGO FUNK d B,C REINER MARZ g D

Atlantis also released three singles for Vertigo. 1 & 2 were also re-released on CD by Repertoire circa 1992.

(A)same (Vertigo 6360 609) 1972 (B)"It's Getting Better" (Vertigo 6360 614) 1973 (C)"Ooh Baby" (Vertigo 6360 621) 1974 (A-C)"Live" (2LP) (Vertigo 6360 900) 1975 (D)"Get On Board" (Vertigo 6360 630) 1975 (D)"Top Of The Bill" (Venus V78AT 1002) 1972

When Frumpy disbanded in 1972, three of the members formed the 'super group' Atlantis, named after Plato's mythical continent that sank into the water. Vocalist Inga Rumpf was arguably the German answer to Janis Joplin with her distinct, gutsy blues voice. Along with Rumpf from Frumpy came Jean-Jaques Kravetz and Karl-Heinz Schott. The two additional members of Atlantis had recently left Emergency Frank Diez and Curt Cress. The band soon secured a contract with the German branch of Vertigo. Their first album was recorded in London and had a laid-back US West Coast feel to the music. The keyboards were quite dominant, and Rumpf of course sang the some blues and soul influenced tracks in her characteristic way. Along with Diez, she composed all of the songs. Cress and Diez quit the group again at the same time as the album was released. Dieter Bornschlegel became the new guitarist and Ringo Funk from Jeronimo took up the drums. It's Getting Better (1973) was similar to the first album but had an Afro-percussion player guesting on three tracks to make a more funky sound. There were further changes in the line-up when Jean-Jaques Kravetz quit to record a solo album (and then join Randy Pie). Bornschlegel also soon left Atlantis. Their replacements in time for the third album Ooh, Baby (1974) were Adrian Askew and Alex Conti, the latter had previously played guitar in Curly Curve. These two new members wrote most of the new material, which veered still closer towards funky soul rock. Tile double live album released in 1975 contained different live recordings from 1973-1975. In the Summer of 1975 the group was again transformed. Diez was brought back along with a second guitarist, Rainer Marz (ex-Jeronimo, for Get On Board (1975). This had a rockier sound, but was a less inspired work than the previous albums. One further LP was recorded, but not released until 1978. Atlantis finally disbanded in 1976. The group had, particularly during their first two years of existence, considerable commercial success in Germany. Inga Rumpf has since recorded several solo albums.

BAIER-WESTRUPP
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

WALTER WESTRUPP v, g FRANK BAIER v, g

"Unterwegs" (Der Andere Song 25795) 1975

NB: 1 and 2 released as "Die Walter HC Meier Pumpe"!

"Pumpt Den Skiffle aus dem Boden" (Songbird 1C062-31140) 1976 "Dat Muss Doch Auch Wat Spaken Bringen" (Plane S66601) 1976

A folk duo comprising Walter Westrupp (known for his albums with Bernd Witthuser) and Frank Baier (previously of the folk group Kattong). Their albums contained standard acoustic folk in the German language.

BAUMSTAM
Personnel:

ALBUM:

ULRICH KLAWITTER g, v MICHAEL LOBBE g VOLKER WOBBE b GERHARDT MEYER d

NB: Re-released on CD by TRC in 1990. The second edition of this is re-mixed.

"On Tour" (BMF BS 6232 855) 1972

A little known band which made one single and a tremendous album. Their album consisted of nine standard length, blues based hard rock songs, similar to rural sounding loud rockin' bands like Reaction and Incredible Hog. Part of the album was recorded live. The great treasure of this album is the mean and growling guitar sound, with the fuzz effects exaggerated to the extreme! The original private issue is a real "monster" at auctions and sells for crazy prices (600 DEM). In 1990 a re-release at last appeared on CD (released by TRC), which could be acquired a bit more cheaply!

BEDA FOLK
Personnel:

ALBUM:

MANFRED JASPERS fiddle, acc, mandolin, g EITEL TIMM g, banjo, mandola, bodhran ANDREAS STANISAK tin whistle, acc, pno DIETMAR DOMBROWSKI g, mandolin

"I Will Go" (Happy Bird 5005) 1975 This group made a folk-rock album of Irish folk songs, named I Will Go (1975). The album contained 12 such tracks all arranged by the band. It was recorded In October 1973, produced by Fred Christmann and released on the short-lived Highdelberg-based label Happy Bird.

BETWEEN
Personnel:

PETER-MICHAEL HAMEL kb ROBERT ELISCU oboe, flt ROBERTO DETREE g, b COTCH BLACK perc (JAMES GALWAY flt) A

ALBUMS (up to '76):

(ULRICH STRANZ vla) A CHARLES CAMPBELL perc B

(A)"Einstieg" (Wergo SM 1001) 1971 (B)"And The Waters Opened" (Vertigo 6360 612) 1973 (B)"Dharana" (Vertigo 6360 619) 1974 (B)"Hesse Between Music" (Electrola 1C 062-29546) 1975 Between has to be one of the most international bands of all times! The six members that recorded the debut album Einstieg (1971) came from four different nations. The group were formed in 1970 on the initiative of Peter-Michael Hamel as Between The Chairs, but as this expression has different meanings in German and English, the name was soon shortened to Between. Hamel had studied composition since 1967 and wanted to create a new musical genre (an ambitious man!), between (pun!) all the existing ones. The other German of the band, Ulrich Stranz, had a similar academic background. The American Robert Eliscu came to Germany in the late sixties to play with the Munich and Berlin philharmonic orchestras. Another American citizen, Cotch Black, played tablas and percussion. Roberto Detree was an Argentinean and had played Spanish guitar in classical folk music ensembles in his homeland. He also built musical instruments. James Galway joined briefly as sixth member before the recording of Einstieg, (released October 1971 on the Wergo label) he was a critically acclaimed musician well known for his classical music recordings. The album included several short tracks, recorded at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Munich, plus a 9 1/2 minute avant-garde piece, "Space Ship", recorded in Berlin. Between demonstrated their ability to play different styles (jazz, folk and avant-garde), but did not manage to merge these styles. Most successful was Eliscu's "Katakomben" and Hamel's "Triumphzug Kaiser Maximillian". Those tracks had a dramatic atmosphere with wordless vocals, bongo rhythms, oboe, flute and organ. Also interesting were the tracks grounded on Detree's roots in South-American folk music. The more free-form numbers "Memories" and "Flight Of Ideas" were uninspired improvisations with an ethnic touch, a direction already explored to full effect by Limbus 3 and 4. Galway and Stranz, both of whom had kept a very low profile on the album, left to concentrate on classical music in 1972. This left more room for Hamel and Eliscu to develop longer tracks and more meditative music. Hamel released his first solo album in 1972 and guested on the first Agitation Free album. Eliscu guested on several Popol Vuh albums. The second Between album And The Waters Opened (1973) included six tracks. This only had acoustic instruments and included a new member: Charles Campbell. On the whole, it was a better and more homogeneous merging of styles than their first album. It was Between's only release on the legendary "swirl" Vertigo label (the next one had the "spaceship" artwork!). The front cover artwork was quite remarkable: a drawing of a gigantic splash of colours - illustrating the event when the waters opened. Dharana from 1974 was a kind of world music symphony recorded with the aid of the SWF orchestra. This work was based more on improvisation than composition, particularly the 20 minute long title track. Also worth mentioning is Eliscu's beautiful 11 minute piece "Joy... Sadness... Joy". The same year Between also made music to poems by the actor Gerd Westphal Hesse. This resulted in Hesse Between Music, released January 1975. Besides Hesse, who recited his own poems, several guests also appeared on the album, like Al Gromer (sitar, who also recorded with Popol Vuh and Amon Duul II) and Tom

van der Geld (vibraphone). Hamel has recorded several solo albums, some containing music reminiscent of Between, but generally more experimental and minimalistic. Eliscu has mostly concentrated on classical music. Between are best remembered for their albums in the period 1973-1975. Their strength was in their more extended tracks, which gave these talented musicians time to express their ideas through the improvisations.

BIRTH CONTROL
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

(REINHOLD SOBOTTA kb) A,B (WOLFGANG NEUSER kb) C ZEUS B. HELD kb D,E BRUNO FRENZEL g B-E (BERND KOSCHMIDDER b) A-C PETER FOLLER b D,E (ROLF GURRA sax, v) A (EGON BALDER d) A BERND NOSKE v, d B-E (DIRK STEFFENS g) D

(B)same (Metronome MLP 15.566) 1970 (B)"Operation" (Ohr OMM 56.015) 1971 (C)"Hoodoo Man" (CBS 65316) 1973 (D)"Rebirth" (CBS 65963) 1973 (E)"Live" (2 LP) (CBS 88088) 1974 (E)"Plastic People" (CBS 80921) 1975 (E)"Backdoor Possibilities" (Brain 60.019) 1976 When it comes to German progressive hard rock based on the Deep Purple formula, none were better than Birth Control! They were formed in 1968. The band name was a reaction against the Pope's declaration that contraceptives were sinful. They played mainly instrumental jazz rock cover versions of Brian Auger, Graham Bond, etc, in those early days. For some live engagements they were expanded with a guitarist, a vocalist and a trumpeter. Their first single "October" coupled with "Freedom" was released on Amadeo in 1969. Line-up (B) recorded an album for Metronome, released in a round cover, imitating a box of contraceptive pills. This came in the first in a series of, what were for many people, thoughtprovoking covers. The music was still grounded in jazz-rock (particularly the material composed by Sobotta), but the new members brought with them rock influences (particularly evident on the material composed by Bruno Frenzel). The album also had a cover version of Doors' "Light My Fire". It was a work of average quality, lacking a bit in experience and musical craftsmanship. It also suffered from a thin production. Their next album Operation was indeed a great improvement. The cover had a drawing of a baby eating ant monster, watched by an excited Pope. Inside the fold-out cover another drawing revealed the group members being part of a baby eating machine. An outrageous cover for sure! Musically, they had now found their own, heavy guitar and organ based sound, in many ways similar to British hands like Spooky Tooth and Deep Purple. The best cut was the opening track

"Stop Little Lady". All tracks were this time composed by Frenzel. This must have been one of the best selling Ohr albums! Ohr also released Believe In The Pill in 1972, a sampler featuring six tracks from their first two albums and three rarer tracks, previously only available on Ohr singles: "Hope" (1970 A-side OS 57.003), "What's Your Name" (1972 A-side OS 57.007) and "Believe In The Pill" (1972 B-side OS 57.007). The cover showed a foetus lying in a dustbin, again causing much controversy! The steady sales resulted in a contract with the major company CBS. Hoodoo Man was released in January 1973 and contained 6 tracks that refined their sound even more. This was a brilliant album with very confident guitar and organ riffs and interplay. Noske's voice had improved (he was one of the best German male vocalists) and he also drummed better than ever. The key tracks this time were the classic 10 minute "Gamma Ray" (a live favourite), "Buy!" (7:10) and "Get Down To Your Fate" (7:56). The cover art wasn't as outrageous as the usual Birth Control standard: just a drawing of a very big, fat woman repressing a little wind-up man! At this time the band had the ambition to break through internationally. They therefore felt a reorganisation of the band was necessary. Founder member Koschmidder left before a long German tour and was replaced by Peter Foller. The quintet of Noske, Frenzel, Steffens, Held and Foller recorded Rebirth (1974), failed to keep pace with the ambition. Steffens left again to form his own hard rock trio. The other four undertook another German tour that resulted in a double live album, comprising five tracks in all with much instrumental work. This was appealing for the convinced fans, but not for the masses. On the rover the group was pictured sitting in car armed with machine guns, shooting at a baby carriage. Plastic People (1975) was a concept album attempting to create a more varied sound beyond the standard heavy progressive formula. The guests Jochen von Grumbkow (cello), Christoph Noppeney (viola) and Friedemann Leinert (flute), all from Holderlin, appeared on the track "My Mind". Plastic People was their best album since Hoodoo Man. Regrettably the group were not able to develop this style in any proper way. Backdoor Possibilities (1976) was a partly failed attempt to include more jazz and classical elements into their hard rock. Birth Control were now recording for Brain, since CBS had lost faith in them. In 1983 founder member Bruno Frenzel died after a long illness.

BLACKBIRDS
Personnel:

ALBUM:

WERNER BREINIG g HEINZ KOOP b HUBERT KOOP kb HELMUT VIGNEROM d "No Destination" (Saga FID 2113) (UK) 1968 WERNER BREINIG g, flt, vln PETER BELY kb, v WOLFGANG BODE b, v

Personnel:

ALBUM:

CHARLES SIKORA d, v

"Touch Of Music" (Opp 5) 1971 The story of Blackbirds is the story of two different groups, both led by Werner Breinig. His first incarnation of Blackbirds was a beat group formed in Saarland 1965. Their album No Destination (1968) was only released in the UK on the Saga label. It consisted of psychedelic beat music comparable to the first Petards album. It is worth noting that German 'underground' albums were real rarities way back in 1968, the new underground scene had just began flowering with fresh bands like Amon Duul, Guru Guru and Tangerine Dream. The songs (ten in all) were short, but included some interesting organ work. Presumably the Blackbirds didn't quite match the musical revolution of the late sixties (as the above mentioned groups did!) and disbanded. When Blackbirds resurfaced in 1971 with Touch Of Music (1971). They had adopted a nice, poetic and classical influenced progressive style. There was also room for some more powerful passages in-between, characteristic for the early seventies progressive music we all have learned to love. The album included six tracks in all and was released on the hideous Opp label where a Hairy Chapter album also found an outlet. Both the Blackbirds albums are now very rare, it's hard to pinpoint the current asking price as it very much depends on what YOU are willing to pay. A very rough estimate would be 125 DEM for No Destination and 175 DEM for Touch Of Music.

BLACKWATER PARK
Personnel:

ALBUM:

RICHARD ROUTLEDGE v, g MICHAEL FECHNER g ANDREAS SCHOLZ b NORBERT KAGELMANN d

NB: Also re-released on CD by Second Battle.

"Dirt Box" (BASF 20 21238-6) 1971

Another one of those German bands with a British vocalist (Andreas Scholz came from the recently disbanded Murphy Blend!). Dirt Box had a promisingly weird cover, but the music was quite common for the period: guitar-based hard blues-rock in the Anglo-American style. The material written by Fechner and Scholz ("Mental Block", "Rock Song" and "Indian Summer") was the best, recalling the brilliance of Armaggedon. Routledge's material tended towards boogie blues and sounded more like Free. He also wrote all the lyrics. The album also included a good cover version of the Beatles' "For No One". This is one of many albums of which the original copies sell for small fortunes today. To meet the increasing demand, Second Battle re-released the album in 1990 in its original sleeve. If you go for originals though, expect to part with 250 DEM.

BLUES & ELECTRONIC

ALBUM:

same (BASF 20 21150-9) 1971 I have no available information about this obscure name. This might be a project of Okko Bekker, who released a project album named Sitar & Electronics on GASP about the same time.

BOKAJ RETSIEM
Personnel incl.: ALBUM:

RAINER DEGNER g

"Psychedelic Undergrond" (Fass WY 1532) 1969 Mr. Rainer Degner, previously the guitarist of the sixties beat group German Bonds, had a passion for the old German children's song "Meister Jakob". In fact, this is also the real name of this studio project (with session musicians), but due to the arrival of psychedelia, strange things were happening, and the letters 'bokaj retsiem' must be reversed to make any sense! Degner's album included some absolutely perverse arrangements of "Meister Jakob", but also some great acid guitar parts in the typical late sixties style. One of the few German psychedelic albums in existence, and for this reason a quite interesting and uncommon item! Members of The Rattles also contributed to this album. It is also worth mentioning that his old fellows in German Bonds, Peter Hecht and Dieter Horns, also made several strange albums under pseudonym beside their normal career in Lucifer's Friend .

BRAINSTORM
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

ROLAND SCHAEFFER g, kb, sax, v RAINER BODENSOHN b, flt, v EDDY VON OVERHEIDT kb, v JOACHIM KEINZER d ENNO DERNOV g, b B

(A)"Smile A While" (Spiegelei 28505) 1972 (B)"Second Smile" (Spiegelei 28596) 1973 This was a jazz rock group led by Roland Schaeffer, a future member of Guru Guru. Their albums contained quite average quality jazz rock, probably influenced by the British so-called Canterbury scene. On Second Smile (1974), a fifth member was added: Enno Dernov.

CHRIS BRAUN BAND

Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

CHRIS BRAUN v ELMAR KROHN g(A), d(C) (HORST SCHREIBER g) A BERND ADAMKEWITZ g B,C (JIMMY JACKSON kb) B HARALD NEUKIRCH kb C JOCHEN BERNSTEIN b (BILL BAKINE d) A

(A)"Both Sides" (BASF 20 21399-4) 1972 (B)"Foreign Lady" (Pan 87586) 1974 A straight rock band. Line-up (A) recorded the first album Both Sides (1972), which received a

bad press. The band went through many changes in 1973, at one time even Jimmy Jackson (wellknown as the organist of Embryo, Passport, etc.) was a member. Horst Schreiber departed to form Sperrmull. At the end of the year a quintet settled to record a new album. Foreign Lady (1974) was another rather ordinary rock album with influences from blues and soul. Braun's musical activities were few for some years, but in 1980 he formed a new band.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

Personnel:

ALBUM:

JOHN O'BRIEN-DOCKER g, v, kb, perc LUCAS LINDHOLM b, kb HERB GELLER flt, sax, cor anglais REINHART FIRCHOW recorder, flt

NB: A Polydor album by a group named Brave New World Oh Calcutta has nothing to do with this Brave New World.

"Impressions On Reading Aldous Huxley" (Vertigo 6360 606) 1972

Brave New World was a studio project expressing the ideas of the Irishman John O'BrienDocker, previously leader of City Preachers. Above are the musicians that appeared on Impressions On Reading Aldous Huxley (1972) plus Thomas Kuckuck (imaginative engineer). The overall sound was quite original: mainly instrumental music with lots of flutes, strange percussion, studio manipulations and sound effects. This was no ordinary instrumental fusion, rather a druggy kind of excursion through folk, rock and jazz in a dramatic and/or melancholic mood. Since 1972, little has been heard from O'Brien-Docker, although he wrote the lyrics for the Randy Pie albums Highway Driver (Sophisticated) (1974) and Kitsch (1975).

BREAKFAST
Personnel:

ALBUM:

FERDI KUHNEL v, flt, perc HORST SCHREIBER g, v, GUNTMAR FEUERSTEIN kb, v, perc EBERHARD VOELZ b, v BILL BAKINE d, perc JURGEN KAMPERT g, v

"It's Time For" (Sky 004) 1976 A quite unknown group that released just one album for Sky. It's Time For Breakfast (1976). This album was stylistically similar to other late seventies 'light progressive' bands like Octopus, Shaa Khan, Straight Shooter and Ramses. Breakfast's music had a slight folky touch and good multi-voice arrangements. All their material was quite song-oriented, and therefore there are no interesting, extended tracks to be explored here' The album was recorded at Konrad Plank's studio. Horst Schreiber (guitar, vocals), previously played in Chris Braun Band (with Bill Bakine) & Spermull.

BRIDGE
ALBUM:

"Overdrive" (Tempo 5003) 1972 An unknown group performing standard jazz-rock of an average quality.

BROSELMASCHINE
Personnel (Broselmaschine):

ALBUM:

PETER BURSCH g JENNI SCHUCKER v, flt WILLI KISSMER v, g LUTZ RINGER b MIKE HELLBACH mellotron, perc same (Pilz 20 2100-2) 1971

Personnel (Peter Bursch & Die Broselmaschine):

ALBUM (up to '76):

PETER BURSCH g WILLI KISSMER v, g KLAUS DAPPER flt, b, sax, tuba

same (Xenophone 161.012) 1976 This was the project of Peter Bursch, a master of acoustic guitar. Besides the Broselmaschine albums, he has issued several hand books on how to play acoustic guitar. He formed the first Broselmaschine line-up way back in 1968, inspired by the American folk music of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs and Joni Mitchell. Some of these people brought with them experiences from Irish and British folklore. During the early seventies the band lived as a commune in Duisburg. Their first album was recorded in August 1971 and released on Pilz. It included six tracks in all, most outstanding was their Steeleye Span-ish version of the Scottish traditional song "Lassie", which came with perfect multi-voice harmonies electric guitar and mandolin. Other tracks like "Schmetterling" had a more eastern flavour with sitar. It is one of the best German folk rock albums ever recorded! Regretfully Broselmaschine disbanded about a year after this release. Some of the members travelled to India. In 1975 Peter Bursch formed a new Broselmaschine, now dubbing themselves 'Peter Bursch & Die Broselmaschine' They were helped by Mani Neumeier and Roland Schaeffer from Guru Guru and Jan Fride from Kraan on a new LP project. In spite of these guest appearances, the resulting album was still in a clearly defined folk style, although quite different from the 1972 album.

BROTHER T & FAMILY

ALBUM:

"Bralling Of The Rock" (Fass 15008) 1970 No further information available about this one, perhaps it was another exploitation album featuring Lucifer's Friend members?

BULLDOG
Personnel:

GERHARDT STONING pno, v MICHAEL EHRHARDT g GUNTHER OEMICHEN g

ALBUM:

GERD OPPERMANN b RAINER PAEGEBIV d, v

same (private 135/51662) 1976 A very obscure group.

BULLFROG
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

SEBASTIAN LEITNER g GERD HOCH v HARALD KALTENECKER kb VINCENT TROST b BRUNO PEROSA d

same (Sky 003) 1976 The group was formed as Bulldogg, but this name was already used by another group so they changed to Bullfrog just before the recording of their first LP. The sleeve pictured some very long haired and freaky musicians with a mean look. Their music was typical mid-seventies hard rock with a pompous touch. It failed to make any lasting impression as it lacked originality. Their instrumentation was guitar-based, perhaps comparable to the style of Jane.

FRANZ De BYL
ALBUMS (up to '76):

same (Metronome MLP 15383) 1971 "Und" (Thorofon ATH 114) 1972 Franz de Byl was and is a relatively unknown folk artist. His albums are filled up with relaxing and silent short acoustic folk songs (or sometimes folk-blues). The first one was recorded with the violin player Heiner Hohnhaus. Most noteworthy was the front cover, where the two guys were pictured completely naked! Und (1972) was released on the Thorofon label, that also released the first Emtidi album. Recommended only for folk fanatics!

CAN

Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

IRMIN SCHMIDT kb (DAVID JOHNSON flt) A MICHAEL KAROLI g HOLGER CZUKAY b JAKI LIEBEZEIT d (MALCOLM MOONEY v) B,C (DAMO SUZUKI v) C,D

(B)"Monster Movie" (Music Factory SRS 1) 1969 (C)"Soundtracks" (Liberty LBS 83437) 1970 (D)"Tago Mago" (2 LP) (United Artists UAS 29211/12) 1971 (D)"Ege Bamyasi Okraschoten" (United Artists UAS 29414) 1972

NB: A Liberty sampler named Electric Rock featured the Can track "Thief", not released elsewhere until 1981's Delay 1968. 1 was re-issued on Liberty LBS 83342 (1969). Some of the original Music Factory copies had a rear sticker with the Liberty order number. A second re-issue appeared on Spoon (004) in 1981. All Liberty and United Artists albums were re-issued on Spoon in 1981 (005-010). All albums are now available on CD.

(D)"Future Days" (United Artists UAS 29505) 1973 (E)"Soon Over Babaluma" (United Artists UAS 29673) 1973 (E)"Landed" (Harvest 1C064-29600) 1975 (E)"Flow Motion" (Harvest 1C062-31837) 1976

This very important and legendary group was formed in Cologne in July 1968, on the initiative of Irmin Schmidt (keyboards) and David Johnson (flute). They aimed to make a totally new music by merging very different musical styles. Irmin Schroldt and Holger Czukay had both studied under Karl-Heinz Stockhausen and had some background in jazz ensembles. In addition to this, Schmidt had been educated at the Dortmund Academy, studying walthorn and orchestral direction. Jaki Liebezeit had since his early schooldays played trumpet, flute and percussion, but he eventually settled behind the drum kit in a free jazz band. Michael Karoli was ten years younger than the other members, and the only one not to have an academic background. His musical training came from several unknown jazz-rock groups. It was Jimi Hendrix who inspired him to play in a rock band. David Johnson was an American avant-garde composer. At the end of 1968 he left the new-founded group and returned to his homeland. Just before that, another American citizen had joined the group to complete the line-up, a black vocalist named Malcolm Mooney. The only recording of these six musicians playing together is the very obscure single "Kama Sutra Parts I & 2" (Metronome M25-128), which for some unknown reason was only credited to Irmin Schmidt! In 1984 one had the opportunity to hear Can's first ever concert (as a five piece featuring Johnson) on the cassette release Prehistoric Future (Tago Mago TM 4755, limited edition of 2,000 copies released in France). Can finished their own primitive studio and dubbed it Schloss Norvenich in January 1969. For most of their career, all their recordings were made there. In spite of just having a four track tape machine at their disposal, the recordings were of a high technical quality, partly due to the great technical ability of Holger Czukay (acting as their engineer and tape editor). Their first set of finished tapes were circulated to several record companies. It is possible that the Delay 1968 album (1981) was compiled from these tapes. As Can didn't get an initial response, they wasted no more time approaching record companies but made further recordings, resulting in Monster Movie (1969), being released by themselves as a private pressing of 600 copies. This was indeed one of the rock history's most radical and inventive debut albums! In December the same year, a recording contract with Liberty / United Artists was signed, and Monster Movie was repackaged and released again. If inspired by a number of avant-garde composers as well as Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Velvet Underground, Can definitively managed to create their very own, unique style. This was characterised by gasping, repeated and spoken vocals, heavily distorted guitars, shimmering organ, a simple and ritualistic bass and sensitive rhythms. Indeed this album was the reference point for most of their subsequent albums, particularly the classic tracks "Father Cannot Yell" and "You Doo Right". Can usually recorded their music live in the studio - playing, toying and improvising to great effect! Amon Duul II's first album Phallus Dei (1969) was the result of a similar process, resulting in a handful of reasonably structured "songs" and one lengthy full blown improvisation as a conclusion to the album. If Monster Movie had been the soundtrack to Can's very own, imaginary headmovie, they were

soon contacted by several movie directors to make real film soundtracks. In October 1970 the album Soundtracks was released, containing music from five different movies. Most of it was more accessible than Monster Movie, but nevertheless the album had its share of classics: "Soul Desert", "She Brings The Rain" (these two tracks were also the A and B sides of a single on Liberty 15340) and "Tango Whiskyman" are worthy of note in this respect. The recordings were produced over a twelve month long period, and featured new vocalist Damo Suzuki on four tracks. Malcolm Mooney had become mentally ill, left the group and returned home to the USA in December 1969, thus ending the first phase in Can's history. Can had searched for a new vocalist for four months, before they discovered the Japanese replacement Damo Suzuki busking in the streets of Cologne. His strength was his peculiar phrasing technique rather than his vocals, a strange styling that was indeed appropriate for Can's rhythmic and repetitive music. With Suzuki in their ranks. Can went on rehearsing and recording Tago Mago for the rest of 1970. This varied double album, reputably taking the name from a magician, is usually considered to be their best work. As many of the Amon Duul II albums from the same period, it had one record with a somewhat structured work, and the other containing much weirder, improvised experiments. "Paper House" lifted the album off with menacing slow, progressive rock and "Mushroom" introduced the unique, rambling Can rhythms, here with strange echo and reverb effects added. "Oh Yeah" started off with an explosion gradually evolving into a hypnotic and repetitive melody with added backwards effects. "Halleluwah" was a foretaste of the rhythmic music Can were to work with on their next album Ege Bamyasi. "Aumgn" was a very strange and ritualistic sound collage, lacking ordinary rhythms or melody lines. Instead it featured plenty of strange, non-verbal vocal sounds and crashing percussion, with lots of weird echo effects directed by Irmin Schmidt. Liebezeit played contrabass on this track. "Peking O" was probably the weirdest Can track ever, far too insane to be described! "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea" closed the album in a, by Can standards, more normal way. This was a real masterpiece of German rock containing abnormally imaginative music! In fact, the album did surprisingly well; it sold enough to enter the German best-seller lists, peaking at number 38! (This would never have happened if the album had been released nowadays!) International rock critics had great difficulties when they attempted to describe Can's music. Many of them saw the group as: 'the German Velvet Underground or Mothers Of Invention'. For sure, these descriptions were only used for lack of better Anglo-American reference points. A 45 was also selected for release from the Tago Mago sessions: "Turtles Have Short Legs" coupled with "Halleluwah (edited version)" (Liberty 15465). Further soundtrack projects brought Can even more attention. The track "Spoon" was the main theme from a German television series and was released as a single in time for the Christmas of 1971, coupled with "Shikaki Maru Ten" (on United Artists 35304). It was a triumph for the whole wave of new German rock (the so-called "kraut-rock") when this single actually sold more than 200,000 copies and reached number 1 on the singles' charts! Due to this rather unexpected success. Can were virtually forced to play live gigs. Their first British tour (in the Spring of 1972) received much enthusiastic support. At the same time, Can also launched their third single: "Vitamin C" (another movie theme) coupled with "I'm So Green" (U.A. 35472). The new album Ege Bamyasi (released August 1972) had Can's distinctly rhythmic music in focus. Many of the tracks' arrangements were unusually sparse - featuring ritualistic percussion and Suzuki's spoken and/or breathing voice. Other tracks were songs in Can's unique style, short and quite melodious, but at the same time bizarre! The best example of this was "Spoon". In spite of these elements, Ege Bamyasi wasn't as exciting as Tago Mago. Luckily they came up with

another big one in l973, the inventive Future Days. This time Can relied more on atmosphere than power. Things had certainly changed since the agony of Monster Movie. The long title track (which opened the album) was a particularly good example of their new style. Tile track "Spray" parodied rock riffs, while "Moonshake" also was released as a single with an edited version of "Future Days" on the other side (U.A. 35596). "Bel Air" was a lengthy improvisation, covering a full album side (edited from a very long session!). Damo Suzuki performed his last concert with Can on the 25th August 1973 in Edinburgh and then returned to Japan. The group recorded their 1974 album Soon Over Babaluma as a foursome. This was an even better collection than Future Days containing further lively experiments with refined rhythms from all around the world. Schmidt and Karoli now shared the lead vocals parts. "Dizzy, Dizzy" was a fast number with whispering vocals, electric violin and echo drumming. "Come Sta, La Luna" had melodramatic vocals by Schmidt, radio talk over and bird screams caught by Czukay and a perverted tango rhythm from Liebezeit. You've never heard such a tango before! "Chain Reaction" (11:12) had furious percussion with several tempo shifts - complete madness! "Quantum Physics" calmed things down a bit, as it rolled more on atmospherics. Soon Over Babaluma must be regarded as Can's best album after Tago Mugo! Short versions of "Dizzy Dizzy" and "Splash" were released on a single (U.A. 35749). In 1975 Can signed new recording contracts - with EMI Electrola in Germany and with Virgin world-wide. United Artists, for their part, released 15,000 copies of a retrospective album aptly entitled Limited Edition. It contained previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1968 and 1974. There are many really bright moments in this collection, like the strange story of "Mother Upduff" (told by Malcolm Mooney) and "Gommorha" (another soundtrack theme), a characteristic Can instrumental. In 1976, this collection was made available again by EMI and Virgin as side one and two of the double album Unlimited Edition. Sides three and four offered a new selection of previously unreleased tracks. This Can release, recorded live in their studio in countless styles and moods, was as great as most of the conventional Can albums! Landed (1975) was their last album of sheer excellence and at the same time their first 16 track production. Karoli played his most fuzzy guitars since Monster Movie on the tracks "Full Moon On The Highway" and "Vernal Equinox". Can's British live sound engineer Peter Gilmour contributed lyrics to this and their two subsequent albums. The track named "Unfinished" really sounded as it never was finished, and revealed (in my opinion) the first signs of Can's forthcoming creative stagnation. Different vocalists were tried out at this time: the Japanese female singer Michiko Nakao, Tim Hardin (performed a song live with the group on one occasion), Michael Cousins and the Indonesian Thaiaga Raj Raja Ratnam, but none of these remained with the group. As usual, a single was lifted off the album: "Hunters And Collectors" coupled with "Vernal Equinox" (Harvest IC006 31392). Flow Motion (1976) was an attempt to make more commercial music with funky rhythms and new guest vocalists (Peter Gilmour and Rone Timmer). The abnormal group Can had finally turned normal, though they remained somewhat eccentric. Their funk rock single "I Want More" coupled with "...And More" (Harvest ICOO6-31727 in Germany and Virgin VS 153 in the UK) climbed into the British charts. For Christmas 1976, Can released a disco version of "Silent Night" coupled with "Cascade Waltz" (Harvest ICOO6-31973 and Virgin VS 166). Unhappy with this new direction, Holger Czukay began his withdrawal process from Can. The group was now expanded by two former Traffic members: the bassist Rosko Gee (who actually was brought in on the initiative of Czukay!) at the end of 1976 and the percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah in

the beginning of 1977, and just in time for the Saw Delight sessions. Can's legacy to the German rock scene is indispensable, they were a unique group with a unique sound.

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE
Personnel (approx.):

ALBUM (up to '76):

UWE Von TROTHA voice WILFRIED SAHMEN g JOACHIM KREBSSALAT kb JURGEN DRAUTIGAM b, v LOTHAR STAHL drums

"Gruss Gott Mit Hellem Klang" (CPM LP-S 003) 1970 Checkpoint Charlie was formed in 1967 and named after the infamous checkpoint between the Eastern and Western zones of Berlin. They were part of the same pout rock wave as Floh De Cologne and Ton Steine Scherben. Their live recorded album Gruss Gott Mit Hellem Klang (1970) is probably the worst album of all time, at least when speaking about it in musical terms. For a large part it contained political agitation and theatrical pieces with violent screaming and some really obscene German language. To listen through the whole album all at once is a real treat! The album was re-released in 1987 in a limited edition of 300 numbered copies, bearing the same CPM LPS 3 item number! Checkpoint Charlie disbanded in 1971. However the band reformed regularly during the following years, and in 1977 on a more permanent basis.

CHERUBIN
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

ANDY MARX g BO BORN kb WOLF GRAF b PIT TROJER perc, v HARKY WILHELM d, v

"Our Sunrise" (United Artists UAS 29688) 1974 "Safety Match" (United Artists UAS 29780) 1976 Guitarist Andy Marx played on Udo Lindenberg's first solo album, recorded August 1971. He then recorded a solo album for Spiegelei in 1973 and later formed Cherubin. Their music comprised conventional mainstream light-rock, often with a country or folky touch. I'm afraid it sounds very dated nowadays... If you still are interested in checking them out, their first album was their best. Many guest musicians appeared on both Cherubin albums, among them Thor Baldursson (keyboards), Keith Forsey (drums), Rainer Pietsch (vocals, of Tanned Leather - a related studio project group), Wolfgang Crude (sax), Dieter Bauer (bass) and Frank Baum (steel guitar).

CHICKEN BONES
Personnel incl.: ALBUM:

RAINER GEUECKE v,g

"Hard Rock In Concert" (private) 1976 The title of Chicken Bones' album Hardrock In Concert (1976) says it all! There are six "very hard rocking tracks" included therein, performed in the good old tradition of the early seventies heavy progressive scene. Most of the album is instrumental, and offers Rainer Geuecke plenty of opportunities to reveal his musical skills. The two longest tracks are the highlights: "Water" with the whisper of the sea and some beautiful acoustic guitar and "Factory Girl" which was in a more typical hard rock vein. This album has an excellent and well-balanced sound for a private release. The recordings were done in only one week live in the studio - or more probably a barn! Only 300 copies were pressed, so the original is mega rare. Second Battle made and numbered 600 further copies in 1989 when they re-released the album in its original cover.

CLUSTER / KLUSTER / HARMONIA

Personnel (Kluster):

ALBUMS:

HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS DIETER MOEBIUS CONRAD SCHNITZLER

Personnel (Cluster):

"Klopfzeichen" (Schwann AMS 511) 1970 "Zwei: Osterei" (Schwann AMS 512) 1970 HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS DIETER MOEBIUS

ALBUMS (up to '76):

Personnel (Harmonia):

same (Phillips 6305 074) 1971 "II" (Brain 1006) 1972 "Zuckerzeit" (Brain 1065) 1974 "Sowieso" (Sky 005) 1976 HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS DIETER MOEBIUS MICHAEL ROTHER

ALBUMS:

NB: The first pressings of Klopfzeichen (ca. 50 all in all) were issued in a special printed plastic relief cover. This is now a mega rarity, worth about 500 DEM. The rest of the edition came in a plain black paper sleeve (folded, i.e. open on three sides), rumored to be only 300-400 in all. Some people say there were only 100 copies of Klopfzeichen totally. For Kluster Zwei: Osterei, a plastic relief cover was used for the whole edition. In 1980 both these albums were re-released with the same item numbers on Schwann (also limited editions), but in sleeves totally different from the originals. The first Cluster album was re-released in 1980 on Sky 047 in a different cover as Cluster '71. Originals of 2 & 3 came on the green Brain label. 3 was re-issued twice: first in 1978 in the original cover but with the brown Brain label and the number 60.116, then in 1980 on the "Rock on Brain" series with the brown Brain label and in a different sleeve with the number 80.116. 1st Harmonia LP was re-issued in 1980 on the "Rock on Brain" series as Dino (40.123). Originals of 1 & 2 were on the green Brain label

"Musik von" (Brain 1044) 1974 "De Luxe" (Brain 1073) 1975

Hans-Joachim Roedelius must be considered as the grand old man of German rock. He was born on 20 October 1934, grew up in East Berlin and had reached the age of 34 when he started to

play the piano and guitar (self taught) in 1969. His youth was very colourful, working in more than a dozen different places in just a couple of years. He was also a member of the DDR Nationalen Volksarmee, but deserted and had to spend two years in a prison camp. The legend says that Dieter Moebius (born on 16 January 1944) came across Roedelius when he was a barkeeper in a pub! Moebius had previously studied graphics in Berlin. In November 1969 they formed the trio Kluster with Conrad Schnitzler, who was simultaneously a member of Tangerine Dream (please see their entry for details of Schnitzler's past). Klopfzeichen was recorded on 21 December 1969 in Rhenus Studio, Gedorf. It was released on Schwann, a publishing company usually associated with church music!!! The liner notes presented a totally unconventional new group: 'the ensemble Kluster is a progressive pop group. They personalise the perhaps most radical German underground music. Their playing technique is that one of Stockhausen and the group Nuova Consonaza'. The trio played piano, guitar, cello, percussion and organ that was electronically manipulated by engineer Konrad Plank. Their collaboration with Plank lasted for more than ten years and was extremely important for the development of the music. Technically he really has to be considered as a member of the group. The two long pieces of very radical music that made up Klopfzeichen were untitled. It contained what seems to be free improvisation. There were no rhythms, rather a floating continuum of creepy, unearthly and manipulated sounds. Side one ran for 24 minutes, and featured lyrics by radical German writers like Liselotte Raunes, Rudolf Otto Wiemer, Dorothee Solle, Wilhelm Wills, Eva Zeller and Uwe Seidel read by Christa Runge. Side two ran for nearly 22 minutes and was instrumental. Why someone chose to dub them a "pop band" on the liner notes is a mystery to me (was it a joke?), for they played a kind of weird contemporary classical music. Their next work Kluster Zwei: Osterei was constructed In the same way as its predecessor, recorded live on 23 February 1970. This time the lyrics (poems) on side one were read by a male, Manfred Paethe. Both albums have a remarkable technical quality considering their age, courtesy of Konrad Plank. They are milestones in the development of German electronic music. Schnitzler occasionally performed live with Tangerine Dream, until September 1970, when he was re-united with Roedelius & Moebius for Kluster's first live appearance at a pop festival in Fehmarn. He then returned to Berlin and his forthcoming Eruption project after a final Kluster live performance in Gottingen, May 1971. Moebius and Roedelius continued their work as a duo, but they changed the letter 'K' to 'C' to mark Schnitzler's departure. Their next album was in fact already finished by then. Cluster was recorded in Hamburg in January 1971. This time Plank was also credited as co-composer. Released on Phillips in Autumn 1971, this was their first issue on a proper record label. This time there were no lyrics or poems, but the three pieces included were still untitled, comprising spontaneous and free electronic music, no rhythms, just a continuous flow of ascending or descending sounds. It received great reviews in the German music press and was voted the tenth best album of 1971 in a magazine. The second Cluster album was recorded in January 1972 in the Star Studio, Hamburg, and marked another change of record company, being their first for the Brain label. The six pieces were for the first time in Kluster/Cluster history titled, and it even sounded a bit more planned and structured than before. It was a step closer to what Tangerine Dream would do the next year on their Atem album. Cluster now utilised electric guitars and generated patterns of repeating stanzas. For the rest of the year there was little recording activity. Cluster were busy finishing

their own studio in the little village Forst, Niedersachsen. Their successive albums were all recorded there and/or at Conny Plank's studio. Occasionally they performed live at art galleries and museums. In May 1973 Cluster met Michael Rother (from Neu) and together they evolved into the trio Harmonia. Between June and November 1973 they recorded Musik von Harmonia. It seems likely that Rother taught Cluster a lesson or two about using monotonous, repetitive rhythm loops, like the first Neu album. The tracks "Watussi" and "Sonnenschein" were most characteristic in this sense. However, Harmonia were quite different from Neu, as they used electronic percussion and rich keyboard textures of synthesizers and piano. "Dine" and "Veterano" were more up-beat examples of electronic rock (almost predating the Ashra sound), where Rother picked up his guitar. Other parts of this very versatile album were more ethereal and cosmic ("Sehr Kosmisch") or experimental ("Ohrwurm"). Moebius and Roedelius recorded the third Cluster album Zuckerzeit in Autumn 1974 with Rother co-producing. This was a milestone in the history of electronic music, and probably Cluster's most influential album. In contrast to the urbane and cold electronic music (although sometimes romantic in its own way) of Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream this was a rural, vivacious and often humorous use of synthesizers. What a musical change this was from the Cluster II album! This was the first album to display their individual talents: Moebius' passion for strange sounds and quirky rhythms (later explored to full effect on his solo albums and collaborations with Plank') and Roedelius' charming, tuneful little ditties. With Rother (and special guest Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru) the second Harmonia album De Luxe was recorded in the Summer of 1975. The title track featured some nonsensical lyrics. The music was surprisingly light, far less experimental than the first Harmonia album. One is left with the feeling that the musicians did this more or less as a holiday project. In 1976 Rother started his successful solo career (enjoying instant chart success with the album and single Flammende Herzen), while Cluster recorded their fourth album Sowieso, developing the style of Zuckerzeit furthers seven sweet drops of witty sequencer music, all wrapped in light and pretty colour tones like some aural sweets! 1976 was also the year Cluster did their first collaboration with Brian Eno. This well respected Englishman had always admired their music very much, and met them for the first time backstage in Hamburg in 1974.

COBRAA
Personnel:

ALBUM:

KLAUS SEBASTIAN v, g ROLF SONDERMANN v, b, flt FRIEDEL AHRENS kb WOLFGANG HAUSMANN g, v BERND KLIEMT d, perc, v

same (EMI 1C062-29507) 1974 A little known group. Their album consisted of 10 mainstream rock numbers, only occasionally getting vaguely progressive. A band to leave to rest in peace! Harvest collectors may buy the album as a curiosity as it was originally intended for release on the Harvest label.

CODE 3
Personnel:

ALBUM:

MANFRED SCHUNKE ED KEY

"Planet Of Man" (Delta Acustic 251251) 1974 The sleeve of Planet Of Man showed the visual message impressed in gold and sent with the Voyager satellite on its journey into deep space. Yep, this is a real sci-fi concept album! In fact, so conceptual that there is no real division into single tracks, rather a continuous flow of musical themes. The makers of it all were Manfred Schunke and the mysterious Ed Key, surely a pseudonym?! Klaus Schulze was also involved, offering a helping hand with the artificial head stereo mix and even some drumming! Fans of Schulze's early, cosmic music will love this album for sure! The album was released in a fold-out cover on Delta Acustic, a short-lived, minor label releasing productions made with the freshly developed artificial head stereo system, offering a unique stereo effect when listening to the music via headphones. The Code 3 album is now very rare and seldom seen offered for sale.

CONDOR
ALBUM:

"Rathbone Hotel" (CBS 82529) 1976 Their original name was Improved Sound Limited (look al this group entry for more information). Rathbone Hotel continued the adaptation to country rock that began with ISL's Catch A Singin' Bird (l973). Realising that few people found their German country music enjoyable, the band folded after one album.

JEFF COOPER & THE STONED WINGS

ALBUM:

"Tribute to J. Hendrix" (Europa E454) 1970 This was a tribute recording to Jimi Hendrix, released just months after his death. As usual for the Europa budget price project albums, there's no information about the involved musicians. There was a Jeff Cooper involved in the early eighties British heavy rock group Midnight Star (playing guitar), but I don't know if this is the same person. I don't know who the other musicians playing on this album are either, though there could be members of Lucifer's Friend and Wind involved. The music included cover versions of "Hey Joe" and "Fire" and eight compositions by Betty George (a pseudonym!) in a style reminiscent of Hendrix.

CORNUCOPIA
Personnel:

WOLFGANG KAUSE v WOLFGANG BARTL b CRISTOPH HARDWIG kb, g WOLFGANG GAUDES d KAI HENRIK MOTLER g HARRY KOCH effects, perc

ALBUM:

RUDY HOLZHAUER perc

"Full Horn" (Brain 1030) 1973 This was a band of considerable size. There were also important musical contributions from producer Jochen Pedersen, previously a member of the little known group Ikarus, who released an album for the Plus label. On Full Horn (1973), Cornucopia presented a weird and eccentric jazz-rock fusion that is so varied and continuously shifting that it is hard to describe the music. The same could be said of their label mates Thirsty Moon. The album started with a 20 minute suite called "Day Of A Daydream Believer". This one was an attempt to link very different pieces of music (and twisted weirdness). The result was erratic, but quite interesting and unusual. On the other end of the scale, "Morning Sun" (3:07) was a tuneful little pop rock song. The remaining two tracks fall between these extremes. All were written by the Cornucopia leader Cristoph Hardwig. The album is rare, but not very much in demand, and therefore still affordable.

CORPORAL GANDER'S FIRE DOG BRIGADE

Personnel:

ALBUM:

THOMAS LEIDENBERGER g, v ANDREAS BUELER b LUCIAN BUELER kb LUCKY SCHMIDT d

"On The Rocks" (Europa E460) 1970 If you like the idea of the legendary group Wind playing in a more straight forward rock style, this is the album for you! Under the pseudonym Corporal Gander's Fire Dog Brigade (who invented this stupid name?) they had On The Rocks issued on the budget label Europa in 1970. The sleeve looked very cheap as well. There are very few similarities to the Wind albums, so collectors don't need to go rushing out to buy this one! The best thing I can say is that at least the material is quite well played. You'll get short, guitar and song based cover versions of "Paranoid", "Into The Fire" and "I Hear You Knocking", along with seven original compositions. For more information about the group, please look at the Wind entry.

COSMIC JOKERS
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

MANUEL GOTTSCHING g KLAUS SCHULZE electronics JURGEN DOLLASE kb DIETER DIERKS b HARALD GROSSKOPF d

same (Kosmische Musik KM 58 008) 1974 "Galactic Supermarket" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 010) 1974 "Planeten Sit In" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 013) 1974 Presumably, this was (and is) the most famous German session group! The musicians appearing at the Cosmic Jokers sessions were basically the same as on the preceding Kosmische Kuriere jam projects of 1972 (these were Ash Ra Tempel: Seven Up, Sergius Golowin: Lord Krishna von

Goloka and Walter Wegmuller. From February to May 1973, Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser organised psychedelic jam sessions (sometimes more reminiscent of acid tests!) at Studio Dierks. Cosmic Jokers typified how Kaiser wanted to communicate with the world to spread his evolving cosmic philosophy. The best moments from these four months in the studio were released as three albums in 1974, all supervised by Kaiser and Gille Lettmann without asking the participating musicians! The first of these, Cosmic Jokers, was a nice album, quite similar to early Ash Ra Tempel. "Galactic Joke" was a nice workout for Manuel's talented guitar improvisations. "Cosmic Joy" was a weird, spacious float-out dominated by Schulze's explorative electronics, verging on minimalistic surrealism. Galactic Supermarket had more conventional music on its long tracks "Kinder Des Alles" and "Galactic Supermarket", as Wallenstein member Jurgen Dollase was more in the limelight here. Still it was a great album with a cosmic-symphonic flavour to it overall. There were also some overdubbed vocals by Rosi Muller and Gille Lettmann. Planeten Sit-in had continuously running (cross-faded) shorter tracks, edited down from longer sessions - a kind of potpourri of alternating cosmic improvisations, covering well-known A.R.T., Schulze and Wallenstein styles. In my view this album doesn't turn out so well as the two preceding ones, hut it's still indispensable for all cosmic freaks. Besides these three original Cosmic Jokers albums, two "samplers" released the same year included yet more material from the previous Studio Dierks sessions, along with extracts from the other Kosmische Kuriere and Kosmische Musik releases. Sci Fi Party and Gilles Zeitschiff. The first mentioned was a tool for Kosmische Musik to promote its artists, with a cleverly edited flow through their material. On some album extracts new vocals were added, as on the edit of "Galactic Joke". Finally, Gilles Zeitschiff was a sort of biographical concept, the 'sternmadchen' Gille Lettmann spoke about how Timothy Leary came to Germany, his ideas, the Tarot project, etc., accompanied by Schulze's VCS 3 synthesizers and more extracts from previously released Kosmische Kuriere and Kosmische Musik records, heavily over-dubbed.

CRAVINKEL
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

R. KAISER G. THOENES K-G. MEIER G. KRAWINKEL

same (Phillips 6305 055) 1970 "Garden Of Loneliness" (Phillips 6305 124) 1971 The sleeves of both Cravinkel records only stated their last names and contained no further information about these four guys. Cravinkel (1970) had short tracks with a firm country rock touch, which I think was a bad Idea... In fact, the album was recorded in London at the IBC studios and produced by Rainer Goltermann (Phillips' "house producer"). The album came in a poster fold-out cover which showed the band lazing in a haystack. Garden Of Loneliness (1971) had a single cover (nice psychedelic artwork on the front!), but enclosed a poster. Their music had by now become heavier and more "progressive" (which can be defined as: "longer tracks, more time for instrumental work, and generally better albums"). Side two had a 20 minute jam session called "Stoned", an apt title! It was quite a change from their first one, but indeed a

logical development. This album too was a Goltermann production. There is also an obscure single from 1971: "Keep On Running" coupled with "Mr. Cooky" (Phillips 6003 158), neither track being included on any of the albums.

CREATIVE ROCK
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

KLAUS WEBER g, perc RAINER ERBEL v BENNY STREMMEL sax, flt HUBERTUS KREUTNER tpt, flugelhorn GUNTER SCHNEIDE g, b MICHAEL MAAS b, g HEIKO STEINSIEK d

"Gorilla" (Brain 1017) 1973 "Lady Pig" (Brain 1074) 1974 Creative Rock - an ambitious name, but they were merely a quite conventional jazz-rock fusion septet. Possible inspirational sources were Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Nucleus and particularly Colloseum. Creative Rock added their own Teutonic slant, though. Gorilla (1973) was a good album with eight tracks produced by Konrad Plank at Windrose studios, Hamburg. Instrumentally the album contained equal amounts of brass and guitars. Lady Pig (1974) was basically more of the same, although by now Creative Rock were beginning to run out of ideas. Consequently the band broke up. These two green Brain releases have never been re-issued. Anyway, the demand for them is not too great and they can still be acquired at about 35 DEM each.

CURT CRESS

ALBUM (up to '76):

"Clan" (Atlantic ATL 50079) 1975 Along with Udo Lindenberg, Mani Neumeier, Harald Grosskopf and Carsten Bohn, Curt Cress belongs to the most famous group of German drummers. He started his recording career at the age of 17 in the progressive rock group Orange Peel. Later he worked mainly with jazz-rock in groups like Passport, Atlantis and Emergency. After four successful years, he left Doldinger's Passport in 1977 to form Snowball. In-between, he had recorded his first solo album Curt Cress Clan (1975) with Volker Kriegel (guitar), Kristian Schultze (keyboards), Dave King (bass) and Ack van Rooyen (fluegelhorn). The album benefited from its experienced musicians, although this probably made it a little "dry" and predictable as well! You know the way technically perfect jazz-rock tends to be!

CRY FREEDOM
Personnel:

RUDI MADSIUS g, v GERHARD BILLMANN kb, synth KLAUS BRAUN d KLAUS KUKLA b

ALBUM (up to '76):

DIETER URBASSIK sax

"Volcano" (private 6621 313) 1976 A little known group of little importance. Cry Freedom played a straight rock fusion with a touch of funk comparable to a slick version of Karthago or Randy Pie. From the start, the group was a quintet.

CURLY CURVE
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

MARTIN KNADEN g, v HANNO BRUHN g, b, v CHRIS AXEL KLOBER kb, v KURT HERKENBERG b, v HANS WALLBAUM d, perc, v

same (Brain 1040) 1973 "Forgotten Tapes" (private) 1981 This band was from Berlin and regularly appeared at the Zodiac club between 1968 and 1970. Probably their music was more psychedelic in those early days than revealed later on vinyl. The Brain album, recorded at the Dierks studio in July 1973 with Frank Oeser producing, had a nice fold-out cover but sadly wasn't particularly impressive musically. Standard rock songs with a slight heavy blues touch and the key changes and guitar solos you have all heard before. Very American sounding music with the tendency to get trapped in boogie-mode. I would compare it to the Gash album, a contemporary green Brain release.. The album of 'forgotten tapes' was compiled from rehearsal recordings on a TEAC four track tape machine in 1974. For this reason, the sound quality isn't very professional. There were plans for a second album, which never saw the light of day. The music, as revealed on a limited private release in 1981, was more heavier but didn't hint at anything outrageous. Brain apparently lost interest in Curly Curve. Strange to note that Herkenberg was a member of the 1967 Tangerine Dream line-up!

DA CAPO
Personnel:

ALBUM:

PETER STANEK g, v PETER TREIBER g, v PETER WIESNER b, v ALFRED URBAN d

NB: Re-issued in 1988 on Litttle Wing LW 1001 with a different cover. Also re-released on CD. Only 500 copies were originally pressed. More than half of these were soon destroyed by the band, as they were dissatisfied with the recording. This makes the original album one of the rarest German rock albums.

same (private) 1971

Da Capo were a part of the South German progressive scene. Taking their name from the second Love album, they were heavy influenced by the laid back American west coast sound of bands like Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Grateful Dead. Their privately recorded (in two days) and released (in a few hundred copies) album, Da Capo included excellent tracks like "Find My Way Home", "Young Man" and "Free" - melodic and tuneful songs that were in no way inferior to those of the American bands mentioned earlier. The long instrumental track "A

Day In the Rest of My Life" was a nice twin guitar jam, reflecting their live sound. It is sad that the band never recorded in a studio again, disbanding about a year later. Da Capo's legacy is as one of the best German early seventies private pressings. Thanks to the Little Wing label, it's now available once again, featuring a superior, new sleeve design and also a bonus track.

DADA ZUZU
ALBUM:

same (private) 1971 An almost unknown private pressing. Its existence is doubtful, according to Mr. Willi Oertel (a well-known German record collector and dealer).

WOLFGANG DAUNER / ET CETERA

Personnel (Et Cetera):

ALBUMS (Et Cetera):

WOLFGANG DAUNER kb, electronics, LARRY CORYELL g GUNTHER LENZ b JON HISEMAN d FRED GRACEFUL perc

ALBUMS (other rock):

"Knirsch" (BASF MPS 21-21432-2) 1972 "Live" (BASF MPS 29-21754) 1973

"Rischka's Soul" (Brain 1016) 1972 "Psalmus Spei" (Metronome 15209) 197? Wolfgang Dauner is one of Germany's best jazz musicians, and therefore falls a bit outside the remit of this book. Through the years he has collaborated with Siegfried Schwab, Jon Hiseman, Larry Coryell, Eberhard Weber, Fred Braceful, Matthias Thurow, Zbigniew Seifert, Gunther Lenz, Arild Andersen and other famed jazz musicians. The listed albums are collaborations, group projects and 'solo' recordings. I'm sure he also has been involved in the making of numerous other albums. Four albums should be of special interest for fans of progressive jazz: Rischka's Soul is an excellent vintage progressive jazz album, the result of a 1969 live session with Eberhard Weber, Siegfried Schwab (who played with Embryo for a while) and Roland Wittich. Psalmus Spei is rumoured to be an interesting recording for Metronome (I haven't heard it and don't know the line-up). Et Cetera made two albums on BASF MPS that were quite experimental.

DENNIS
Personnel:

CARSTEN BOHN d MANFRED RURUP kb MICHAEL KOBS kb THOMAS KRETSCHMER g KLAUS BRIEST b JIM WILEY b

ALBUM:

WILLI PAPE sax, clarinet, flt OLAF CASALICH perc

"Hyperthalamus" (Nova 6.22352) 1975 A one-off project featuring Carsten Bohn, Thomas Kretschmer (ex-Frumpy), Manfred Rurup, Olaf Casalich (ex-Release Music Orchestra), Michael Kobs and Willi Pape (ex-Thirsty Moon). The band was named after Bohn's son Dennis. Their music was basically instrumental progressive jazz-rock with much improvisation. The groups in which the musicians previously played give a good indication of what to expect here. It is one of the better recordings in this field, so it's a pity that the band didn't exist for long. Willi Pape and Carsten Bohn went on to Kickbit Information, a band which existed merely for months and didn't make any albums. Bohn then formed his Bandstand.

DESIREE

Personnel (approx.):

ALBUM (up to '76):

ROLF REGLIN v, g KARL RICHTER g JORG REGLIN b, v SIGGI BRANDT d

"Make It With A Smile" (Lava TCH 76006) 1976 A little known guitar-based hard-rock group. Their first album is reputably their best. Their compositions were usually short, but well played and often quite memorable.

DEUTER

ALBUMS (up to '76):

NB: There was a promotional issue Soundtracks of 200 copies (according to Mr. Walter Geertsen) with a sound close to Aum, but more electronic. I don't know its catalogue number, but it was defenitively not on the 2375 series.

"D" (Kuckuck 2375 009) 1971 "Aum" (Kuckuck 2375 017) 1972 "Celebration" (Kuckuck 2375 040) 1976

The multi-instrumentalist Georg Deuter (born 1 February 1945) should really be acclaimed as the first new age musician in the world. His blending of beautiful meditative Eastern-influenced music and nature sounds was way before his time. In the sixties he worked as a graphic designer and newspaper columnist in Munich. However, from childhood onwards he taught himself to play flute, guitar and harmonica. In 1970 he embarked on an extended journey to Persia, awakening his passion for Eastern ethnic music, philosophy and religions. When he returned to Munich, he began to perform at clubs as a one man band, and was signed up with Kuckuck. D (1971) was totally different to his later style, making massive use of distorted electric guitars, searing organ, raga rock rhythms, psychedelic sound collages and backwards tapes. A real psychedelic treat! As with all future albums, Deuter also acted as producer and engineer. Aum (1972) was something totally different. His first attempt at merging sitars, tablas and flutes to the sounds of birds, wind and water (reflecting Deuter's deep relationship with nature), resulted in an addictive, aesthetic music. Like Florian Fricke in Popol Vuh, Deuter experienced a religious revival and converted his name into Chaitanya Hari Deuter. In Poona, India, he found his guru in Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

Celebration (1976) did indeed celebrate Center's spiritual revival and focused on beauty and harmony. The peaceful music was full of joy and warmth. Indeed, he had now found his own distinctive and personal style, and, from this point on, his albums grew increasingly celestial, meditative and beautiful. During the following years, Deuter lived and recorded his music in Poona.

DIES IRAE
Personnel:

ALBUM:

CORD WAHLMANN v, harm ROBERT J. SCHIFF b HARALD H.G. THOMA g, v ANDREAS F. CORNELIUS d

NB: Re-issued on CD by Ohrwaschl.

"1st" (Pilz 20 21114-7) 1972

This was a great "heavy progressive" quartet from Saarbrucken (near the French border). Their first and only album (entitled First) was recorded in just two days (during June 1971) in the Star Studio, Hamburg and produced by the then Pilz' label manager Jurgen Schmeisser. Konrad Plank was (as ever) engineering. Musically they were inspired by several British heavy rockers. The harmonica gave many tracks a bluesy feeling, comparable to the first Black Sabbath album. This group proved to be an inspirational source for the lyrics as well, dealing with drugs and the occult. Included were titles like "Lucifer", "Harmaggedon Dragonlove", "Witches' Meeting", "Red Lebanese" and "Trip". The last mentioned track was the highlight of the album: an eight minute long spacy instrumental crescendo building up to a frenzy, almost like the early Ash Ra Tempel. However, Dies Irae's finest moment was not to be found on their album. A staggering version of "Silent Night" with air defence sirens and bombing noises was Dies toe's fantastic contribution to the Heavy Christmas album! When Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser later took over the responsibility for Pilz, he changed the label's musical focus more towards folk-rock, releasing classic albums by Hoelderlin, Emtidi, Broselmaschine and Popol Vuh. Dies Irae were indeed hardly folk-rockers, rather folks playing hard rock' They were consequently dropped by the label. Their album is indispensable for heavy progressive collectors, even if not in the same class as Armageddon! It's not very rare, but much in demand.

DIEZ & BISCHOF

Personnel:

ALBUM:

FRANK DIEZ g PETER BISCHOF v

"Daybreak" (Atlantic ATL 50156) 1975 When Emergency disbanded in 1974, two of their members, continued to work together as a duo. Although Diez was a very experienced musician (he had served bands like Armaggedon, Atlantis, Randy Pie, Karthago and Ihre Kinder), he used little of his long musical experience for

Daybreak (1975), an album containing virtually nothing of interest: ten dreadful jazz-pop songs similar to Emergency, but much worse! Surprisingly enough, it was produced and engineered by Dieter Clerks. Featured musicians on this album were Curt Cress (drums), Kristian Schultze (keyboards), Dave King (bass) and Tato Gomez (bass).

KLAUS DOLDINGER('S PASSPORT)

Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

KLAUS DOLDINGER sax, flt, kb (OLAF KUBLER sax, flt) A (JIMMY JACKSON kb) A (JOHN MEALING kb) B (FRANK ROBERTS kb) C KRISTIAN SCHULTZE kb D (LOTHAR MEID b) A WOLFGANG SCHMID b, g B-D (UDO LINDENBERG d) A (BRYAN SPRING d) B CURT CRESS d C,D

(A)same (Atlantic ATL 40299) 1971 (B)"2nd" (Atlantic ATL 40417) 1972 (C)"Hand Made" (Atlantic ATL 40483) 1973 (D)"Looking Thru'" (Atlantic ATL 50024) 1973 (D)"Doldinger Jubilee Concert" (Atlantic ATL 50070) 1974 (D)"Cross-Collateral" (Atlantic ATL 50111) 1975 (D)"Doldinger Jubilee '75" (Atlantic ATL 50186) 1975 (D)"Infinity Machine" (Atlantic ATL 50254) 1976 One of the German jazz musicians best known internationally is Klaus Doldinger (saxes, flute, keyboards). He was born in Berlin on 12 May 1936. He played in diverse amateur jazz bands from 1952 onwards. In l962 he formed his first Klaus Doldinger Quartet with Ingfried Hoffmalln (piano), Helmut Kalldberger (bass) and Klaus Weiss (drums). Doldinger also made pop, jazz and blues in the sixties under the pseudonym Paul Nero, resulting in several albums: Paul Nero's Blue Sounds had the line-up of Klaus Doldinger (winds), Steffan von Dobrcinsky (winds). Sahib Shilab (bass), Atilla Zoller (guitar), Ingfried Hoilmann (organ), Peter Trunk (bass), Klaus Voorman (bass) and Gibson Kemp (drums). They recorded The Big Beat in 1965. The name was aventually shortened down to Paul Nero Sounds for the subsequent releases Nero's Soul Party (1968) and Nero In South-America (1970). Among the participating musicians were: Siegfried Schwab (pre-Embryo, guitar on both), Lothar Meid (pre-Amon Duul II, bass on both), Olaf Kubler (renowned Amon Duul II producer, sax on both) and Florian Schneider-Esleben (preKraftwerk, flute on the 1970 album). For the first Passport album, Doldinger assembled (A) lineup in the studio to record seven of his compositions. This and the subsequent albums established Klaus Doldinger as one of the leading German performers of conventional jazz rock fusion. On Second Passport (1972) Doldinger had acquired an entirely new line-up. The third Passport formation (C) was ready for concerts and a new album Hand Made in 1973. When Roberts was replaced with Kristian Schultze in 1974, Passport were at last a stable unit for a couple of years.

Doldinger's Jubilee Concert (1974) was performed with famous guests like Brian Auger, Pete York and Alexis Korner.

DOM

Personnel:

ALBUM:

LAZLO VON BAKSAY b, v, lyrics GABOR VON BAKSAY v, flt, perc REINER DUZALOWSKI g, v, flt HANS GEORG SLOPKA kb, perc, v

NB: A re-issue also with Melocord label (red) appeared in the first half of the 80's. This is hard to distinguish from the original, but it is dubbed from disc and has inferior sound quality. A legal CD re-issue with good sound quality appeared in 1991 on Witch & Warlock limited to 500 numbered copies.

"Edge Of Time" (Melocord ST-LP-D 001) 1972

A group originating in Dusseldorf. The von Baksay's escaped from Hungary in 1956 and settled in Dusseldorf. The band Dom came into existence in 1969 and performed live at Cream Cheese, the city's leading club for rock music. Their private pressing Edge Of Time was recorded in 1972 at the Neubauer studio. Featured on the album were four long and mostly instrumental tracks. It was an interesting melange of psychedelic, cosmic and folk music in a rather dark and low key meditative atmosphere. "Introitus" (8:50) opened the album in an almost spooky way with acoustic guitars, flute and hand percussion. Later in the track an organ created a spirited mood akin to the vintage Pink Floyd's "Cirrus Minor". "Silence" (8:46) was a sinister trip into deep space with organ, unintelligible voices, acoustic guitar, electronic effects and flute. "Edge Of Time" (9:01) sounded as if Kalacakra and Tangerine Dream jammed together out in space. The spoken lyrics of the track summarize the trippy mood of the whole album: "You will meet me there at the edge of time the fire-sea licking my feet gas and damp, wind and rain, snow, heat, waters, ice and pain damned souls cry "forgiveness!" the past will be future and future will be past not one thing in our world that will ever last only you and me until eternity shall that spirit one containing two wander through space and peace we knew" (From "Edge Of Time")

"Dream" (9:33) concluded the album much like the quiet parts of Floyd's "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" and "Quicksilver". Edge Of Time is unreservedly recommended for all fans of the early Pink Floyd (ca. 1968-69) and Tangerine Dream (ca. 1971-75) style, but I'm afraid it's hard to find. By the way, "Dom" was the groups reference name for an acid trip that lasted for two days.

DORIAN GRAY
ALBUM:

"Idaho Transfer" (New Blood) 1976 A little known group responsible for a rare private pressing. Their music is reputed to be in the early seventies heavy progressive vein.

DROSSELBART
Personnel:

ALBUM:

PETER RANDT v, g JEMINA v CHRISTIAN TRACHSEL kb DIETMAR MAINKA g WERNER SCHULER b MARTIN HONEMEYER d

same (Polydor 2371 126) 1970 Drosselbart's album will always be remembered for its outrageous cover showing a damaged globe containing worms. Maybe the group had to express their feelings about mankind's deeds here on earth? The band was from Munich. Their only album was recorded October 1970 with some help from Ralf Nowy (flute). It comprised eleven excellent, classical-influenced, lyrical and/or heavy rock tracks. The German lyrics were well-written, very doomy and aggressive. They dealt with religious symbols and mankind's vicious nature. As with Ihre Kinder, the lyrics were extremely important for the total view of the album. Several members wrote material for the album but Randt did the largest share. Two singles, "Jemina" coupled with "Du Bist Der Eine Weg" and "An Einem Tag Im August" coupled with "O'Driscoll" (a non-LP B-side) were also released.

DSCHINN
Personnel:

ALBUM:

PETER LORENZ v, g, harp BERND CAPITO g SILVIA VERFUHRT b ULRICH MUND d

same (Bacillus BLPS 19120) 1972 The Dschinn record had a very convincing Dali plagiate painting on its sleeve, courtesy of one Klaus Holitzka. I can reveal that the music isn't as surrealistic as the sleeve would imply, it's a quite conventional type of hard rock. This is not meant as a criticism, though - it is a great album! The lack of originality is nonchalantly replaced by sheer power, both in the music and the vocals. They wrote all nine tracks together, except for the cover version of "For Your Love". It was recorded at Tonstudio Mitte, Bremen and produced by Rolf Jenzen, a character unknown to me. Sadly this one album is their sole legacy, apart from a track on the 1973 sampler Mama Rock & The Sons Of Rock'n'Roll (Bacillus BLS 5526; 2nd edition BAC 2025), named "Rock'n'Roll Dschinny". Not even a single was lifted from their eponymous album and the group disappeared

without trace.

DULL KNIFE
Personnel incl.: ALBUM:

GOTTFRIED JANKO kb, v

NB: Re-released on CD by Second Battle

"Electric Indian" (Phillips 6305 107) 1971

Another of those hitherto unknown groups that made only one album which has recently shot up in price on the collector's market. I have no information about the musicians involved, as they are not mentioned on the album sleeve. The composition credits for all tracks went to Gottfried Janko, who later became the organist and vocalist on Jane's 1975 album Lady. Dull Knife are often mentioned in second hand record lists as 'killer heavy progressive' or something like that, hut sometimes played a dreadful sort of soul-rock. The album opened promisingly enough with the hard rocking "Plastic People", putting you into the right mood, hut unfortunately the rest of the music on this side will scare the shit out of you, if you're not keen on artists like Joe Cocker or Tina Turner! Side two improved again, but far too late to save the album. This was another Rainer Goltermann production in the Dierks studio. August 1971 (mixed at Windrose, Hamburg).

DZYAN
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

REINHARD KARWATKY b (JOCHEN LENSCHNER v) A,B (DIETER KRAMER g) A,B (CORD EHRMANN sax) A,B (LUDWIG BRAUM d) A (LOTHAR SCHARF d) B EDDY MARRON g, saz, voice C PETER GIGER d C

NB: 2&3 re-released on CD by Bacillus in 1994

(A)same (Aronda AS 10006) 1972 (C)"Time Machine" (Bacillus BLPS 19181) 1973 (C)"Electric Silence" (Bacillus BLPS 19202) 1974

Dzyan recorded a unique kind of electric ethnic jazz-rock. The band look their name from the Indian book of creation. They formed in January 1972 as a quintet. After just two months the self-titled debut album was recorded, and then released on the minor Aronda label in April 1972. This first line-up of the band was just a studio project and promptly disintegrated. Lothar Scharf played drums in a revamped Dzyan's first live gigs, before he joined Virgo. In November 1972 Dzyan were reduced to a trio. In Studio Dierks, Stommeln, they recorded Time Machine, produced by Peter Hauke and released on Bacillus in November 1973. This was an excellent jazz-rock album consisting of four tracks. "Kabisrain" was an Eastern-oriented, ethnic number featuring saz, quite similar to Embryo. The other three tracks were electro acoustic, inspired by King Crimson and perhaps jazz records released on the ECM label. The strongest cut on the album was the 18 minute long title track. Dzyan's second album for Bacillus (also recorded by the Hauke & Dierks team) was recorded in

October 1974. It had a similar style to their first, but was a bit more acoustic and Indianflavoured. Late in 1974 Reinhard Karwatky, the last remaining original member, decided to leave the group. This concluded the story of Dzyan. Along with Embryo, Between and Agitation Free they were pioneers of the world music. Giger and Marron eventual recruited Gunter Lenz In 1976 and recorded one further album as Giger, Lenz & Marron (Niagara MIX 1011-N).

JOHANNES EBERT
ALBUM:

"1st Album" (private) 1971 Johannes Ebert made his solo album the same year his group Petards concluded with their double album Pet-Arts. Presumably, Ebert's solo album was dominated by a similar pop rock, although I have not heard the album. I don't know if I'm very keen to hear it, either...

EILIFF
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

RAINER BRUMINGHAUS kb HERBERT J. KALVERAM sax HOUSCHANG NEJADEPOUR g DETLEF LANDMANN d BILL BROWN b

same (Phillips 6305 103) 1971 "Girlrls!" (Phillips 6305 145) 1972 Eiliff were one of the so-called "progressive jazz rock bands" of the early seventies. Their two albums were recorded in Hamburg, produced by Rainer Goltermann. Their music is hard to describe accurately: a complex blend of many different styles, comparisons could be made with Colosseum, King Crimson, Nucleus and Miles Davis. With regard to German bands, perhaps a comparison with Xhol, Cornucopia or Thirsty Moon is appropriate. Eiliff also occasionally added ethnic touches, characterised by sitars and percussion. Their first album had the standard (for such bands) 20 minute suite, along with three mid-length tracks. Some sections were good, others sound a bit dated nowadays, particularly the jazz improvisations. In general, the album was a bit too diverse to make pleasant listening, incorporating as many different styles as it did. Eiliff recorded it in the Star Studios with Konrad Plank engineering. Their second and last album Girlrls! (1972) was closer to progressive rock otherwise it was quite similar to the first. It was recorded at the other famous recording studio of Hamburg: Windrose studios - with F. Bischoff engineering. Today Eiliff's albums are in the collector's mid-price rank of 60 to 80 DEM, probably justied by their musical content. After Eiliff's demise, Nejadepour played for a short while in Guru Guru at the time of Dance Of The Flames (1974).

EJWUUSL WESSAHGGAN
ALBUM:

same (private) 1971 This was a three piece group that named themselves after a surrealistic book by Clark Ashton Smith. On this private release they play four long titles with funny titles like "Dei Geborstenen

Kuppeln von Yethlyreom" - its instrumental, keyboard-based music could be compared to a roughly produced Tetragon. A primitive recording of brave improvisations featuring a strange seven string instrument called a "filouphon" (this description is courtesy of Mr. Wilfried Oertel). Only 300 were made. The group originated from the southern part of Germany, the label bore the blue and white Bavarian colours. A record to search out for those willing to part with a small fortune.

EL SHALOM
Personnel:

ALBUM:

GUNTER CHRIST g, v KARLHEINZ SCHMITZ g, flt, sax, v JOACHIM BRANDS kb, v HELMUT METER b, recorder, v WOLFGANG MERKENS d HANS DIETER WAGNER soundmixer

NB: Re-issued in 1994 on CD by Lost Pipe Dreams

"Frost" (Attacca 7625) 1976

Another largely unknown group who produced a difficult-to-get album in 1976. Frost contained eight tracks - featuring both German and English lyrics. With its melodic electric guitars, rich string synthesizer textures and lyrical mood, the music is comparable to Minotaurus.

ELECTRIC FOOD
ALBUMS:

same (Europa E424) 1970 "Flash" (Europa E453) 1971 Two further low budget albums for Europa, performed by the members of Lucifer's Friend . On this occasion, there are no moog versions of classical music as there had been on the Pink Mice albums. Instead, these two albums featured cover versions of then current heavy rock hits. Europa put out several such albums, for example Corporal Gander's Fire Dog Brigade and Jeff Cooper's Stoned Wings . I suppose the triumvirat of Hesslein, Hecht and Horns all were involved in the Electric Food project. As usual for these low budget Europa label releases, no information was given on the record sleeves, apart from the track listings. All of these aforementioned records should be avoided by any other than the hard core collectors. There are better ways to spend your hard-earned cash!

ELECTRIC MUD
Personnel:

ALBUM:

MANFRED SIMHAUSER g UDO PREISING b, v AXEL HELM kb JOCHEN DYDUCH d

NB: Re-issued in 1993 on CD by Lost Pipe Dreams (LP 017)

same (Forderturm BL 3020) 1971

This relatively unknown band made a political rock album with German lyrics in 1971. The sound quality is rather primitive and raw, possibly the album was recorded live in the studio (or was it a garage?!). There are four tracks in all, dominated by angst-ridden lyrics and long, complex instrumental passages dominated by guitar and organ. It's not my bag really, but some other collectors like it very much. Parts of the album are comparable to Necronomicon's Tips zum Selbstmord, although definitively inferior to this.

ELECTRIC SANDWICH
Personnel:

JORG OHLERT g, kb KLAUS LORMANN b JOCHEN CARTHAUS v, sax, harm WOLF FABIAN d same (Brain 1018) 1972 Electric Sandwich's only album had a most outstanding opening track, the 8 minute instrumental "China", with a repetitive, percussive rhythm and fuzzy wah-wah guitar. Other tracks had an impressive electronically treated sax style reminiscent of Ian Underwood. The guitar work was fine, but the creaky vocals less impressive! Fortunately, large parts of the album were instrumental. "Devil's Dream" and "Nervous Creek" had a slight blues feel and loud rock arrangements. Side two mellowed a bit, with softer Jazz and slow boogie blues styles. Again this was a Dieter Dierks production, and one you should check out! It was released on the green Brain label in 1972 in a funny fold-out cover, picturing a fancy, electric sandwich! The quintet was probably from Bonn.

ELOY

Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

FRANK BORNEMANN g, v(B-) (MANFRED WIECZORKE g(A), kb) A-C DETLEF SCHMIDTCHEN kb, g D (ERICH SCHRIEVER v) A (WOLFGANG STOCKER b) A,B (LUITJEN JANSSEN b) C KLAUS-PETER MATZIOL b D (HELMUTH DRAHT d) A (FRITZ RANDOW d) B-C JURGEN ROSENTHAL d D

NB: 1 re-issued as a limited edition by Second Battle in 1990 in its original die-cut dustbin cover. Most albums are now available on CD

(A)same (Phillips 6305 089) 1971 (B)"Inside" (Harvest 1C062-24479) 1973 (C)"Floatng" (Harvest 1C062-24521) 1974 (C)"Power & The Passion" (Harvest 1C062-24602) 1975 (D)"Dawn" (Harvest 1C062-24787) 1976

One of the best known German bands internationally was (and still is) Eloy, playing a self developed, pompous form of space rock. However, Eloy played strongly Anglo-influenced heavy progressive rock at the beginning of their career. Frank Bornemann (guitar, vocals) formed the band in February 1969, taking the name from the futuristic people appearing in the H. G. Wells' story "The Time Machine". In 1970 Eloy won a talent contest in their hometown Hannover. As a result, the band got their first opportunity to record in a studio, resulting in the privately-issued single "Walk Alone" coupled with "Daybreak". They also did countless live appearances, among them opening for Deep Purple and Uriah Heep during their respective German tours. A recording contract with Phillips was secured and the band set off to Star Studios, Hamburg, to record their first album in April 1971. Also present was Konrad Plank, as well as the mysterious producer Mr. Peter M. Freiherr von Lopel. Erich Schriever had the idea for the novelty fold-out dustbin sleeve. Apparently this is exactly where Bornemann has wanted to put the album ever since. It was one of the few Eloy albums he didn't have full control over. Schriever and Wieczorke dominated the writing. Musically this was heavy progressive rock for sure, but it lacked a distinctive sound and haunting melodies. After a period of much arguing Bornemann took full control over the band, and fired Draht and Schriever. Phillips, in turn, dropped Eloy. Fritz Randow became their new drummer, Bornemann became lead vocalist and Wieczorke switched from guitar to organ. This line-up re-launched Eloy live May in 1972 at Germesheim. For their new recording company (EMI Electrola Harvest) they recorded Inside during the next Winter and released it in February 1973. Surprisingly enough, this sounded like a combination of Pink Floyd at the time of Meddle and Ian Anderson with a German accent. "Land Of No Body" was a great 17 minute opus of space rock. "Inside" and "Up And Down" were also good, but the outstanding track was "Future City", a catchy tune with great guitar riffing and a strong rhythm backing. This was Floy's most "progressive" album, and also one of their best. Late in Autumn 1973, Luitjen Janssen replaced Stocker on bass. Bornemann now wanted to make a heavy rock album. Floating (1974) was indeed more powerful, comprising five tracks the arrangements of which were far too complex to be dubbed "heavy metal". This heavy kind of space rock was most successful on the track "Light From Deep Darkness". Their American manager Jay Partridge organised a three month USA tour in the Spring of 1975. For the rest of the year, Bornemann mostly worked on his forthcoming full blown concept album Power And The Passion, which finally appeared in November. He now assumed to take the role of H. G. Wells himself, and wrote an ambitious sci-fi concept about a teenager being able to travel back in time to 1358. The album featured both spoken dialogues and massive sound effects just like a radio play. The music itself was pompous, polished and 'produced' down to the smallest detail. Due to the failure of this album and the lack of success of the USA tour, Eloy disintegrated at the beginning of 1976. Wieczorke went to another pompous Hannover rock band: Jane. Randow joined the re-vitalised Epitaph. Alter some months of reappraising his future, Bornemann came up with a new version of Eloy. Indeed it seems that the failure of the previous album hadn't concerned Bornemann at all; he wrote the continuing story of the teenager Jamie for Dawn (1976). Rosenthal wrote the lyrics for this album. This sequel was an improvement musically, benefiting from better songs and arrangements. Still it was a conceptual work of pompous grandeur. It was also their first album to sell more than 100 000 copies in Germany.

EMBRYO
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

CHRISTIAN BURCHARD vibes, d (B-) (JOHN KELLY g, v) A, B (HANSI FISCHER v, flt) C (SIEGFRIED SCHWAB g) E, F (JIMI JACKSON kb) A, D, E (MAL WALDRON kb) D DIETER MIEKAUTSCH kb G, I (EDGAR HOFFMANN sax, vln) A-F (INGO SCHMIDT sax) A CHARLIE MARIANO sax, flt G-I MARIA ARCHER v I (RALPH FISCHER b) B (LOTHAR MEID b) A ROMAN BUNKA b, saz (H) C, G-I (JORG EVERS b) D (DAVE KING b) E, F UWE MULLRICH b H, I (WOLFGANG PAAP d) A (DIETER SERFAS perc) A

NB: Originals of 1 had a rubber balloon attached to the front cover. Re-issue of 2 & 3 as Classic German Rock Scene (2 LP) on United Artists UAS 29774 in 1976. Re-issue of 4 on the 'Rock on Brain' series ca. 1978 (Brain 40.121). Re-issue of 5 on the 'Brain 2001' series (Brain 201.109). Re-issue of 8 & 9 on Schneeball (ca. 1979) with the same item number. An album named This Is (Brain 2001.52) is probably a sampler with tracks from the two Brain albums. 1 & 2 re-issued on CD by the Italian label Mat. Sonori including bonus tracks.

(B)"Opal" (Ohr OMM 56 003) 1970 (C)"Embryo's Rache" (United Artists UAS 29239) 1971 (F)"Father, Son & Holy Ghost" (United Artists UAS 29344) 1972 (D-F)"Steig Aus" (Brain 1023) 1973 (E)"Rocksession" (Brain 1036) 1973 (G)"We Keep On" (BASF 20 2186-3) 1974 (H)"Surfin'" (Buk 17 22385-3) 1975 (I)"Live" (April 0003) 1976 (I)"Bad Heads & Bad Cats" (April 0005) 1976

Still active today, the Munich band Embryo has been one of the most important and inventive bands of the German jazz-rock school. Their formation in 1969 revolved around a nucleus of Christian Burchard, Edgar Hoffmann and Lothar Meid (bass). It seems to be a continental phenomenon to have drum playing band leaders, just think of Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru) and Christian Vander (Magma). Embryo's founder Christian Burchard had started his musical career by playing organ in several local rhythm and blues bands. In 1964 he switched to vibraphone and jazz when he founded the Contemporary Trio with Edgar Hoffmann (I don't know the third member). Three years later they attempted to expand the boundaries of free Jazz with Chris Karrer, Peter Leopold, Dieter Serfas and Jimmy Jackson. These musicians soon rose to fame in

Amon Duul II. Christian Burchard was a guest on their first album Phallus Dei (1969). In 1967 he also played with future Between members Peter-Michael Hamel (keyboards) and Roberto Detree (guitar) at the Song Parnass in Munich. Unfortunately no recordings are known of this exciting combination. Burchard and Hoffmann also joined the Mal Waldron Quartet in 1967 and stayed for two years. Mal Waldron is an internationally well-known black American piano player who has worked with jazz legends such as Billie Holiday and John Coltrane. They also performed live with Mal Waldron, and got to know proficient jazz soloists such as Steve Lacy, Stu Martin, Don Menza, Natan Davis and Lucky Thompson. Lothar Meid also had a jazz background. He brought to Embryo two of the musicians he had played with in a sixties jazz and soul quintet: Jimi Jackson and Wolfgang Paap. Also Dieter Serfas, Ingo Schmidt and John Kelly were early members of Embryo. Kelly came to Germany touring with a Scottish hard rock band and had played blues with Alvin Lee before he formed Ten Years After. Early live tracks are included as bonus tracks on the CD issue of Opal. In Autumn 1969 the first personnel changes took place in Embryo. In fact I don't know of any other German group with such a complex family tree as them! This may be due to the prototype jazz musician's fear of being locked up in the group format as in rock music. Lothar Meid left to join Doldinger's Motherhood. His replacement was Ralph Fischer, previously part of a folk trio that also included Peter-Michael Hamel. Before the recording of Opal in April 1970, the group had been reduced to a quartet of Hoffmann, Burchard (now playing drums besides vibraphone), Fischer and Kelly. Bettsy Allech (vocals), Roberto Detree (motocello, later a member of Between) and Holger Trultzch (bongos, later a member of Popol Vuh) contributed to the album as guests. Opal was a highly inventive fusion of rock, jazz, blues, soul and psychedelia, the first of five forthcoming classic albums. Guitar riffing as used on the track "You Don't Know What's Happening" was never to be heard from Embryo again after Kelly quit in June 1970. However, the soloist who really was given time to excel was Edgar Hoffmann, helping to define a unique German fusion sound also explored by Xhol and Out Of Focus. Hoffmann's electric violin and sax graced tracks like "Revolution", "Call" (a Mal Waldron composition) and "People From Outer Space". The original copies of Opal had a cover cut-in with a balloon attached, the legendary gimmick of the first Ohr albums. Copies with the balloon still intact are now of course extremely rare and usually sold for more then 250 DEM. The disbanding Xhol supplied Embryo with Hansi Fischer upon their demise at the end of 1970. Also Roman Bunka joined Embryo (replacing Ralph Fischer). At this time he was only 19 years old. He was to quit and rejoin Embryo several times, but nevertheless was one of their most important members. Embryo's Rache (1971) without a guitarist. On this album they were also aided by friends: Jimi Jackson, Hermann Breuers (electric piano, organ) and Franz Bontgen (vocals). The album was recorded at the Dierks studio. Embryo's long lasting passion for refined rhythms began to shine through on this album, noticeably on the opening track "Tausendtussler" . If Hoffmann was the instrumental backbone of Opal, it was Fisher's flute and Jackson's keyboards (particularly on Jackson's own contribution "Revenge") that dominated this time. This was really an album of fantastic instrumental duels more jazzy in direction than Opal, with only occasional vocals. Bunka and Fischer soon went their own ways. Burchard and Hoffmann rerecorded the Waldron composition "Call" in a great 18 minute version close to conventional jazz with Jackson, Waldron and Jorg Evers (bass) late in 1971. This wasn't exactly what their record company United Artists wanted, and they turned down both this recording and the subsequent

Rocksession recordings from February to March 1972. The latter was at last released on Brain at the end of 1973. Burchard and Hoffmann was joined by Dave King on some of the recordings when Evers quit for Amon Duul II and later Achtzehn Karat Gold. A guitarist (he also played more exotic string instruments) firmly rooted in jazz, Siegfried Schwab, also joined Embryo. He came from Wolfgang Dauner's Et Cetera , and brought important ethnic influences Into the band. The Rocksession album started with a short "rock" song ("A Place To Go"), but the other three tracks were extended jazz instrumentals of a high quality. Also a fourth jazz instrumental, "Dreaming Girls", was recorded during these sessions. This appeared on Embryo's other Brain album Steig Aus (1973), along with the already recorded "Call". Again reduced to a quartet Embryo at last managed to please United Artists with Father, Son & Holy Ghost (1972), recorded in March 1972 at Studio 70, Munich. The absence of keyboards made this album sound remarkably different from Rocksession. Schwab's stringed instruments were the highlight this time. Also the album had a more accessible style, at times almost relaxing. As usual the group disintegrated some months after the recordings. When Embryo appeared live in Munich during the Olympic games in September 1972, Burchard had assembled Roman Bunka (apparently talked into rejoining) and Dieter Miekautsch (fresh from Missing Link, now being a member of Embryo and Missus Beastley simultaneously). Burchard, Bunka and Jimi Jackson recorded the last track for Steig Aus: "Radio Marrakesh/Orient Express", a brilliant 10 minute two-part piece starting with some exotic, ethnic bouzouki and vibraphone interplay, and ending in an energetic jazz-rock fusion, driven by organ, electric piano and guitar. Burchard's steady rhythm was the engine of the Orient Express while Jackson's mellotron blew the whistle. Jackson still played with Embryo live from time to time, but most importantly he now introduced Burchard to another black American jazz musician: Charlie Mariano. In December 1972 they recorded We Keep On (1974), which was a good album though it couldn't match any of their previous ones. The tracks were extracts from long jam sessions in the studio. The album found some recognition in the USA, partly due to the Mariano involvement and partly due to international distribution. Miekautsch quit the group in July 1973 to join Missus Beastley. Surfin' (1975) was a very mixed affair - one of their weakest albums ever. They were now heading into a lighter, funky jazz-rock direction, partially forced on them by their record company. The album was recorded in the Summer of 1974, partly with the new bassist Uwe Mullrich, previously a guitarist with Lokomotive Kreuzberg and an old friend of Roman Bunka. The ethnic styled sections were best, particularly the only extended track called "Dance Of Some Broken Glasses", a gentle and atmospheric track with Mariano on flute, Bunka on saz (a stringed instrument from Turkey) and Burchard on violin appearing one by one. Missus Beastley's music had also suffered from artistic compromises on their 1974 album. As a consequence, along with Embryo, Ton Steine Scherben, Sparifankal and Checkpoint Charlie they founded April, a company dedicated to independent music and offering artistic freedom. At the beginning of 1975, Dieter Miekautsch returned to Embryo. Later the band also got a female vocalist in Maria Archer. Embryo's first two April albums didn't seem to benefit much from this freedom, Bad as Heads And Bad Cats (1976) featured very standard and unimaginative funky jazz-rock. Live (1976),

recorded during a tour of Austria, February 1976) was only marginally better. Hoffmann was now enlisted as a 'guest'! Embryo were also featured on the live festival samplers Umsonst & Draussen Vlotho Winterberg of 1975 with the track "Sidetrack", 1976 with "The Bad Times Are Gone". Some members were exchanged with Missus Beastley in the last half of 1976.

EMERGENCY
Personnel (approx.):

ALBUMS:

HANUS BERKA sax A (DUSKO GOYKOVIC tpt) A ("REDDY" v) A PETER BISCHOF v D-F (BARRIE NEWBY g) A-C (RICHARD PALMER-JAMES g) D FRANK DIEZ g, b E,F (JIRO MATOUSEK kb) A-C (VEIT MARVOS kb) D,E ROLF TOURSEL kb F (OTTO BEZLOJA b) A-C (YERZY ZIEMBROWSKI b) D,E HANS STOER b F (MARTIN HARRISON perc) D (UDO LINDENBERG d) A (JOHN REDPATH d) B (CURT CRESS d) C (BERND KNAAK d) D (TODD CANEDY d) E

(A)same (CBS 64381) 1971 (B)"Entrance" (CBS 64528) 1972 (D)"Get Out Of The Country" (Brain 1037) 1973 (E)"No Compromise" (Brain 1052) 1974 (F)"Gold Rock" (Brain 201.104) 1975 Hanus Berka from Prague came to Germany for the first time in the mid-sixties. After an extended stay in Las Vegas, he settled in Munich and formed Emergency at the end of 1970, comprising four Czechoslovakians, one German and an Englishman! Their debut album proved them to be more related to the European jazz scene than the German one. For Entrance (1972), most of the band was changed, as jazz combos tend to be! Udo Lindenberg was replaced by John Redpath and sometimes the famous drummer Curt Cress also performed with the band. At the end of 1972, Emergency was re-organized again, and signed with Brain. Get Out Of The Country (1973) was recorded by (D). Bischof had a soul-ish voice, resulting in a merging of jazz, soul and funk rock, quite song oriented and mainstream. The best track was the 12 minute title track. No Compromise (1974) was recorded by (E). Arguably, this was their best album, due to larger doses of inspired instrumental work. After Emergency disbanded. Frank Diez and Peter Bischof recorded a similarly-styled album together for Atlantic in 1975.

EMTIDI
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

MAIK HIRSCHFELDT g, b, synth, flt, vibes DOLLY HOLMES v, kb, mellotron

NB: Re-released on CD by Galaxis in 1988.

same (Thorofon ATH 109) 1971 "Saat" (Pilz 20 29077-8) 1972

Emtidi were a duo comprising the German Maik Hirschfeldt and the Canadian Dolly Holmes. Their first album was a low budget production, released in a very limited quantity on the minor Thorofon label. The music presented here was a somewhat ordinary kind of acoustic folk. Far more interesting and completely different was Emtidi's classic second album Saat, made with a solid involvement from Dieter Dierks (engineer, bass, mellotron, percussion) in the Dierks Studio, Stommeln in February 1972. Here is a complete run-down of this absolutely essential album: "Walkin' The Park" started side one - the first half of it was a quiet, lush folk song with treated acoustic guitars and electric piano, this running into a furious acid guitar solo. "Traume" was a nonsensical interlude with wordless vocals, floating keyboards, vibes and jew harp, while the long track "Touch The Sun" finished side one. For several minutes an electronically treated organ created a cosmic atmosphere similar to vintage Klaus Schulze or Ash Ra Tempel. Then the track developed into a beautiful folk ballad, which Holmes sang in her most angelic voice. "Love Time Rain", opening side two, was a short folk-rock song recalling British groups like Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span. Tile title piece "Saat" was another acoustic showcase, but far more cosmic sounding than the previous track. The concluding track "Die Reise" was the only one with German lyrics, sung by Hirschfeldt. It could be argued that the energetic sections of this track ruined the relaxed atmosphere elsewhere on the album, but otherwise it was a great track. Luckily, this album is now available on CD on the Galaxis label. An original Pilz copy in decent condition will set you back at least 100 DEM.

EPITAPH
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

CLIFF JACKSON v, g BERND KOLBE b, mellotron, v KLAUS WALZ g, v (JIM MCGILLIVRAY d) A (ACHIM WIELERT d) B NORBERT LEHMANN d C

NB: The sampler Handicap (Babylon 80.002) (2 LP) (1979)included 4 of the 5 tracks from their first album, the whole second album, the single A side "London Girl" and two previously unreleased tracks "I'm Trying" and "Changing World", presumablya lost single. THere are many editions of 3: A promo edition of 1,000 copies on Billingsgate with a white cover, Billingsgate inner sleeve and label logo in typed letters. The 1974 re-issue on Membran 22-131-1 used the white cover. A second re-issue on Babylon 80.001 in 1979 again used the black and white cover, but had no fold-out!

(A)same (Polydor 2371 225) 1971 (A)"Stop, Look & Listen" (Polydor 2371 274) 1972 (B)"Outside The Law" (Billingsgate BG 1009) 1974

British progressive heavy rock bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Uriah Keep and Led

Zeppelin inspired many young bands in Germany. The Germans usually preferred to use English lyrics, and several bands, like Blackwater Park, 2066 & Then and Epitaph, had British vocalists! Epitaph were founded in Dortmund in 1969. The first sessions for their debut album, released 1971 on Polydor, were recorded in an Essex studio in England. For reasons unknown to me, it was however finished in Windrose Studios, Hamburg, where a fourth member was added to the group: Klaus Walz. The five resulting tracks sounded similar to the groups mentioned above, and particularly the earliest incarnation of Uriah Heep. Epitaph's Cliff Jackson didn't attempt to copy Byron's operatic vocal style, though. There were both fast rock'n'roll numbers and slow ballads with mellotron textures, usually in the 'heavy progressive standard song length' - from 5 to 7 minutes. In 1972, Epitaph recorded their second album Stop, Look And Listen in Audio Tonstudio, Berlin. This album also contained five tracks, stylistically similar to their first offering. Both albums are recommended for fans of the heavy progressive genre. In early 1973, Epitaph released two non-LP singles on the Polydor subsidiary Zebra: "Autumn '71" coupled with "Are You Ready" (2047 003) and "We Love You Alice" coupled with "Paradise For Sale" (2047 005). After this promising start, it seems as if the band was promised a bright future by the newly founded American record company Billingsgate, that they eventually signed to. The band invested much time and money into their third album Outside The Law (1974), and aimed at an international break-through. On this album, McGillivray was replaced with Achim Wielert. The music sounded more polished this time, as the band abandoned progressive elements for a more straight forward heavy rock style. Sadly all their dreams of success were brutally shattered, as Billingsgate soon went bankrupt and all their money was lost. Epitaph had laid out on an extensive (and expensive) USA promotional tour (with ex-Karthago member Norbert Lehmann on drums) in October 1974 - on their return they had to sell their gear to survive! Their new album was part of the bankrupt estate of Billingsgate, and Epitaph were forced to disband in 1975. The band secretly reformed later the same year, but didn't record any further albums until 1979.

EPSILON
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

MICHAEL WINZKOWSKI g, v (WALTER ORTEL kb, v) A JOHAN DAANSEN g, kb, v B (MICHAEL ERTL b) A HEINRICH MOHN b B HARTMUT PFANNMULLER d PETER KOCH perc B

NB: Originals of 1 had the black and white Bacillus label and the 6494 001 catalogue number. When Bellaphon took over the distribution in 1972 a new edition was issued with an identical cover (except for the order number!) and the coloured Bacillus 'cell'label, using the catalogue number BLPS 19070. Possibly some of these still had the 6491 001 sleeves. A second re-issue from the mid-70s (ca. 1977) had the catalogue number BAC 2002 and a third one (early 80's) 260-09017. 2 followed the same pattern: 1st re-issue on Bacillus BAC 2004, 2nd Re-issue on Bacillus 260-09-012.

(A)same (Bacillus 6494 001) 1971 (A)"Move On" (Bacillus 19078) 1971 (B)"Off" (Phillips 6305 216) 1974

Epsilon is a group well-known to most collectors of German progressive rock. They started up in 1969 as a Nice-influenced trio. Ortel had previously played in an early incarnation of Jeronimo. They adopted the name Epsilon in October 1970, when Michael Winzkowski joined.

They were able to record their first album in January 1971, for the freshly established Bacillus label. This was an early Peter Hauke production in co-operation with engineer Dieter Clerks in the Dierks Studio, Stommeln. The Epsilon sound was dominated by Ortel's prominent organ work, often adapting themes from classical music, very much in the heavier Emerson Lake & Palmer tradition. Ortel and Winzkowski wrote all the tracks, except for a cover version of "Paint It Black". Indeed, Epsilon were the second German progressive band to record this Rolling Stones composition, as Virus already had included a version of it on their Revelation album! The best moments of Epsilon's debut album were "Two-2-11", the strangely entitled opening piece, and "Every Day's Pain". Other parts of the album were a bit easy-going and too close to conventional pop rock at that time. Winzkowski's vocals were sometimes dangerously close to soul, but not as bad as on the Dull Knife album. In general, a good album, but Murphy Blend would be a better choice for those keen to listen to classical influenced, organ dominated rock. Epsilon's music improved considerably on their second offering Move On (1972). It was another Hauke & Clerks production, adding the guests Curt Cress (drums), Rainer Marz (backing vocals, guitar, ex-Jeronimo), Pete Bender (backing vocals, aka Wyoming) and Christian Felke (flute, exNosferatu). Instrumentally, this album had more guitars. The nine compositions were an improvement on their debut, resulting in Epsilon's best album. At this stage, they could be seen as a German parallel to Traffic, with their soulish vocals, instrumentation of organ, guitars and flute and their slightly jazzy mood - just listen to the tracks "Feelings" and "Move On". At the time of Move On's release in December 1971, both Ortel and Ertl had already quit. Epsilon virtually moved on! This revamped group warmed up for the British band If, during their German tour of 1972. Peter Koch (ex-Jeronimo) was temporarily added as a fifth member during this year. Epsilon's third and last album was recorded at Europa Sound Studios in Offenbach-Bieber (engineered by Manfred Screier). Off, released on Phillips in 1974, proved to be their most straight forward album, sometimes bordering on ordinary pop rock. 1975 brought another change of record company, resulting in two commercially unsuccessful singles for Ariola. Epsilon disbanded shortly thereafter. Winzkowski adopted his artist name Michael Wynn, and formed Michael Wynn Band that also Daansen eventually joined.

ERLKONIG
ALBUM:

same (TST 77679) 1972 Erlkonig's album was one of the better private pressings of the early seventies. The group used German lyrics, but their album was mainly instrumental. It was characteristic early seventies 'progressive' rock in every respect, featuring lots of guitars and organ.

EROC

ALBUMS (up to '76):

same (Brain 1069) 1975 "II" (Brain 60.007) 1976 Grobschnitt's enigmatic drummer Joachim Ehrig shares his jokes and music with the rest of the world on his five solo albums. The music on his first two albums was originally part of the stage music for Grobschnitt's live shows in 1974 and 1975. Musically, they stand out as his best recordings, featuring a blendtag of spacey electronic excursions, weird sound collages and jokes.

All of it was recorded at his home studio. Eroc 3 (1979) was more a documentary of Eroc's (and Grobschnitt's) career, containing rare, unused tapes recorded between 1969 and 1978. The oldest recording was from January 1969 with the beat group Crew Blues Session: Eroc (drums), Edd Huber (bass), Lupo (guitar) and Wildschwein (guitar, vocals). Other old recordings, dating from 1969 and 1970, were with the free music group succeeding Crew Blues Section, named Wutpickel: Eroc (drums), "Kasi" Klassen (vocals, harmonica, guitar), Edd Huber (bass), Lupo (guitar), Wildschwein (guitar). Otherwise, the album contained rare Grobschnitt tracks: live September 1971; studio out-takes from 1974 and 1976; live Autumn 1978 and some of ace's stage music from this tour. A very diverse album, mostly of historical interest. It's indispensable for Grobschnitt fans and actually featured some great music, for example the jolly "Wolkenreise", later the title track of an Eroc sampler.

EULENSPYGEL
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

DETLEV "KEUCHER" NOTTRODT g, v MATTHIAS "TILL" THUROW g, vln CORNELIUS HAUPTMANN flt KARLHEINZ GROSSHANS kb, v RONNIE LIBAL b MULO MAULBETSCH v, harm GUNTER KLINGER d

NB: A second issue of 1 with the offensive chicken removed came in 1972 on Spiegelei 28770-6U. No future re-releases are known.

"2" (Spiegelei 28760-7U) 1971 "Ausschuss" (Spiegelei 28780-5U) 1972

When it comes to outrageous German sleeve designs, it's impossible not to mention the first Eulenspygel album. It presents a half-burned chicken lying in a frying pan. This really disgusting design (by Wolfgang M. Schmidt) upset so many people that the cover was withdrawn. If you have wondered why Eulenspygel named their first album 2, it was because they also counted the album issued under their previous name Royal Servants! Their first album was recorded at Studio Maschen, Hamburg, July 1971, and produced by Wolfgang Schmidt and Peter Springer. It offered a typical German progressive blend, drawing equally from heavy rock, folk, jazz and classical. The six tracks were cleverly arranged, with rich instrumentation and sudden shifts of tempo. All lyrics, containing anti-war messages and other critical political views on different aspects of society, were in German. Inside the fold-out cover there was a Black Sabbath like shot of the band at a graveyard, burying a chicken! Since the burnt chicken sleeve had caused controversy, Ausschuss (1972) was issued in a plain corrugated paper sleeve! It was recorded at the Apple Studios, London, in April 1972 with the same production team. Musically this was quite similar in style to their first album, but in my ears not as good as this. Mellotron and moog were used as well as organ and piano. The magnum opus was the 22 minute "Abfall", which went through innumerable changes in mood and melody. For some reason, the band then disappeared from the scene.

EXCALIBUR
Personnel:

ALBUM:

WERNER ODENKIRCHEN g, v HARTMUT SCHLOGENS kb, v MANFRED TERSTAPPEN b

"First" (Reprise 44163) 1971 According to the cover of First Album, this trio was discovered by Dicky Tarrach, drummer in The Rattles, Propeller, Wonderland and Brave New World. The album was recorded at Windrose Dumont Time Studio in Hamburg with Tarrach as producer and additional help from Achim Reichel (bass) and Hans Lampe (percussion, later member of La Dusseldorf and Neu). The resulting product was in many ways similar to Propeller or British band Family in their heaviest mood. As a whole, it is somewhat easy-going. The hard rock material (nine tracks in all) was lacking in both originality and catchy tunes. A single ("Get Me, If You Want" coupled with "Hollywood Dreams") was lifted from the album, another one ("Why Do People Cry" coupled with "Run Through The Past") featured original songs, possibly scheduled for a second Reprise album (which never appeared). Three more Excalibur songs were. included on the obscure Hells Angels In Rock sampler, released on Jaguar 1974: "Danger Zone", "Join The Club" and "Love Circle" These were the last traces of Excalibur.

EXMAGMA
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

THOMAS BALLUFF kb , tpt, voice, perc, flt ANDY GOLDNER b, g, sax, perc, voice FRED BRACEFUL d, perc, tpt, voice

same (private) 1973 "Gold Ball" (Urus Disjuncta 9) (F) 1974 A jazz-rock trio whose music was comparable to mid-seventies Soft Machine and Kraan. Braceful was formerly a member of the Wolfgang Dauner Band from 1970 to 1973. Balluff later became a member of the 1982 Guru Guru line-up while Goldner resurfaced on solo albums by the Kraan members Helmut Hattler (Bassball) and "Alto" Pappert (Alto). Exmagma are only recommended for enthusiastic admirers of jazz-rock!

FAITHFUL BREATH
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

MANFRED VON BUTTLAR kb, Moog, g HEINZ MIKUS g, v HORST STABENOW b, g, v JURGEN WERITZ d, perc, v

NB: 1 was re-released on CD by the American label Laser's Edge (LE-1011).

"Fading Beauty" (Kopec AA 6963 233) 1974

'This is the story of each of us, the story of Autumn, of life's last faithful breath, which contains both the sadest and the most terrified sensation a living individuum will ever be able to feel,

before the everlasting Winter gently turns himself to nothing.' So ran the liner notes of Fading Beauty (1974), melancholia very much like the track "Gravedigger" by the British group Janus. However, musically this was something else - an "Autumn fantasia" in two long movements.

FANTASTIC PIKES
ALBUM:

"Synthesizer Sond Machine II" (Sonic 9044) ca.1972 Fantastic Pikes were yet another of those low budget album projects with Lucifer's Friend musicians involved. This time they were attempting to be synthesizer wizards. This record proved that they flunked their apprentice examination.

FAUST
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

(RUDOLF SOSSNA g, kb) A,B PETER BLEGVAD g C HANS-JOACHIM IRMLER kb) A,B GUNTER WUSTHOFF sax, synth) A,B JEAN-HERVE PERON b) A,B ULI TREPTE b C (ARNULF MEIFERT d) A RICHARD DIERMAYER d B,C

NB: 1, 2 & 4 were re-released in 1979 and 1980 by Recommended (UK) in their original sleeve designs. 3, 4 & 5 are also available on CD. Recommended have also compiled the CD-only release 71 Minutes Of Faust.

(A)(B)same (Polydor 2310 142) 1971 (B)"So Far" (Polydor 2310 196) 1972 (B)"Outside The Dream Syndicate" (Caroline 1501) (UK) 1973 (B)"Tapes" (Virgin VC 501) (UK) 1973 (B)"IV" (Virgin 87739/ V2004) (Ger/UK) 1974 (B)"Munich & Elsewhere" (Recommended RR25) (UK) 1986 (B)"Last Album" (Recommended RR36) (UK) 1988

Many people consider Faust the most important and innovative of all early seventies German rock groups. The music journalist Uwe Nettelbeck was in 1970 given a large cash advance from Polydor to form a group and produce 'an epoch-making record'! As a result, the group Faust saw the light of day in the beginning of 1971. Meifert quit in September 1971, before the recordings of the studio part of the first album. His replacement was Richard Diermayer. An old school hall near Wumme (outside Hamburg) was converted to a studio (the house engineer here was Kurt Graupner). For several months, the band rehearsed their innovative repertoire, which they performed live for the first time at Musik Halle, Hamburg, in September 1971. Parts of a subsequent live performance in Wumme 21 Sept, were included on Faust's debut album, edited down to a 20 minute track named "Miss Fortune". This was one of the first German albums (along with Can's Tago Mago) to use studio wizardry, like editing tapes in cut and paste techniques, as a form of musical expression in itself. Indeed, Holger Czukay compiled many of Can's album tracks in this way. The good old Beatles used a similar, but more primitive, technique when they made Sgt. Pepper and Frank Zappa frequently used massive studio manipulation on his recordings from the late sixties onwards. The revolutionary music of The

Mothers Of Invention was also a main source of inspiration for Faust. The album's first piece "Why Don't You Eat Carrots" opened with a weird, eerie sound collage with edits from "All You Need Is Love" and "Satisfaction". A spooky, manipulated organ tone then gradually increased in strength. A somewhat permanent rhythm is at last established (although torn apart several times). Truly a perverse and insane piece of music, sounding much like a speeded up soundtrack to a charade of Syd Barrett's favourite nightmares! "Meadow Meal" was equally strange, particularly the nonsensical and humorous lyrics (also a result from cut and paste technique?): "You are a fruity fork And the money you look up and the Madame you look up and the middle you look up a wonderful wooden reason to stand in line keep in line line up crash the sound you loose your hand to understand the accident is red" (From "Meadow Meal") As mentioned above, side two contained the live recorded "Miss Fortune", almost a direct cross between Velvet Underground and early Pink Floyd. However, to use the term "live" is to mislead - the tapes were manipulated with just as much studio wizardry as the other recordings. Overall, the album was a true musical manifestation of post-modernism: it was undeniably a peculiar album, but it is also evident that all this weirdness was carefully constructed! For every strange effect and strange happening, Nettelbeck certainly thought: 'I'm sure everyone will find this one here really outrageous! Needless to say, Faust fans everywhere are delighted with the results and I still think it is a great and unique album! Buy it and judge yourself! The sleeve concept, an xray image of a fist, printed on transparent plastic, was a full-blown use of the original idea for Second Hand's first album Reality. Indeed, their Death May Be Your Santa Claus displayed some ideas quite similar to the content of the first Faust album! In addition the insert, with liner notes and general information by producer and director Nettelbeck, and the vinyl itself, was clear. Even so, the album was hardly noticed in Germany at the time of its release, in fact it actually sold better in the UK! The packaging of the second album So Far (recorded March 1972) was even more outrageous. Enclosed were TEN inserts - one lithography each for the nine "songs" plus a general info sheet. The sleeve itself was plain black, as were both of the record labels! Musically, the album was more "together", i.e. not being much dominated by as many rapid edit changes as its predecessor. Still, the material was unconventional to say the, least, combining many different styles. Among the great triumphs were: "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" (so go the lyrics all the way through, over a silly, rapid drum beat), "No, Harm" (this time featuring another repeating hook line) "Daddy, take the banana, tomorrow is Sunday", (a more angst ridden amphetamine blow out with deranged treated guitars), "So Far" (an ever repeating pseudo western beat with early Floyd-like, sound effects added) and "Mamie Is Blue" (dense, rhythmic nightmare noises recalling the atmosphere of their first album). The five shorter tracks were humorous pastiches on jazz, pop, etc. An improvement on their first album in my opinion. In fact, this album wasn't too distant from what Can did at the same time either. In October 1972, Faust recorded a collaboration with the American minimalist music composer

Tony Conrad. He had also been member of an early Velvet Underground formation and the group La Monte Young. The British record company Virgin released their joint effort in 1973 on their Caroline subsidiary Outside The Dream Syndicate contained two very long pieces of) serious avant-garde and rock minimalism that crossed certain) pieces of So Far with Terry Riley's In C, performed by Conrad, Diermaier, Peron and Sossna. If 60 minutes of extremely minimalistic music made up of repetitive sounds seem tempting, this is the album for you! However, it's hard to get hold of nowadays, as it never has been re-released. Expect to pay 50 DEM for a original copy. Faust Tapes (1973) was indeed a collection of Faust tapes from 1971 to 1973, and a return to the common cut and pastel techniques. The music of Faust Tapes ran continuously, a bizarre, but highly rewarding experience. Issued at the same price as a single, it sold so well in Britain that it entered the charts! However, many dissatisfied (and horrified) customers promptly went back to the stores to exchange the record after one hearing! German experimental rock fanatics have nevertheless had a long lasting passion for it and many people regard it as Faust's best. The group performed live in London on the day of release on 19 May 1973. Their last album, Faust IV, was recorded at the Manor, Oxfordshire, England in June 1973 (but Kurt Graupner was as usual present as engineer). Then Faust returned to Germany. The album marked a downward turn, but the profound "Jennifer" and "Krautrock" (12 minutes of just that!) again captured an inventive group in action. Disagreements about their future musical direction led Faust to disintegration in August 1973, but various re-incarnations, among others involving Uli Trepte (ex-Guru Guru) and Peter Blegvad of Slapp Happy fame, centring around Diermaier, performed live until Spring 1974. Then Uwe Nettelbeck found it impossible to keep the involved musicians together as a productive unit, and consequently withdrew from the project. This was the end for Faust. The British record company Recommended recognised Faust as true pioneers of the Rock-InOpposition movement and re-released their 1st, 2nd and 4th albums (numbered as below!) in 1979 and 1980. Some years later, some previously unreleased material cropped up on two 7 inch EPs. These, in addition to three alternative takes, were all collected on Last Album in 1988, released in 1988 numbered copies! Munich And Elsewhere (1986) was a second collection of great Faust tapes, both studio out-takes and live. A fine, posthumous sequel to the 1973 album. Ever since 1974, there have been some obscure Faust reformations from time to time, but no further recordings are known.

FIEDEL MICHEL
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

MARTIN HANNEMANN v, g, banjo MICHAEL THAUT v, fdl, mand THOMAS KAGERMANN v, fdl, g

same (Autogram ALLP-191) 1974 same (II) (Autogram ALLP 234) 1975 "Live" (Stockfisch SF 5008) 1976 A trio playing traditional folk and thereby of marginal interest for collectors of German rock.

FIN-INT

Personnel:

ALBUM:

EVA MARIA WESSELS v MATTI KONTIO g HOLGER MULLER g ANDREAS SCHEER b

same (EMI Colorit 1C062-41009) 1973 A nice, but very little known folk group. They recorded their album in the Electrola studio, Cologne in October 1972. It's a collection of 14 acoustic songs. The sleeve pictured a trio, but four musicians were listed. Their approach was very traditional, offering mellow and relaxing tunes, mainly with German lyrics. Most of them were self-written.

FLOH DE COLOGNE
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

GERD WOLLSCHON kb, lyrics (BRITTA BALTRUSCHAT voice) A HANS-JORG "HANSI" FRANK d, kb (MARKUS SCHMIDT b, v) A,B VRIDOLIN ENXING kb, g, b C DICK STADTLER g B,C DIETER KLEMM d, b B,C

NB: 1 is now a very rare record, to my knowledge it has never been re-pressed. The first original pressings of 2 had the infamous balloon attached to a cover cut-in. Further copies of the first edition had the 56.000 figure, but no cover cut-in. Later 1971-1973 pressings gained the 556.000 figure. First proper re-issue came in 1982, also with the original Ohr label, but the 'Pop Import' address imprinted on sleeve. The first pressings (56.010) of 3 had dark red vinyl like cherries. The first of the later pressings with the 556.010 figure also had dark red vynil, butthe rest of this edition had a lighter signal red colour, tending towards orange.

(A)"Vietnam" (Plane 533101) 1968 (B)"Fliessbandbaby's Beatshow" (Ohr OMM 56 000) 1970 (B)"Profitgeier" (Ohr OMM 56 010) 1971 (B)"Lucky Streik" (Ohr OMM 556 029/30) 1973 (B)"Geier Symphony" (Ohr OMM 556 033) 1973 (C)"Mumien" (Plane S99201) 1974 (C)"Tilt!" (Plane S99202) 1975

This group was the most well known of the German political rock scene. Few countries had so many politically active bands as Germany. Floh De Cologne was originally a radical theatre performance group of students that performed cabarets at the universities of Cologne from 1966 onwards. A natural target for political agitation at that time was the Vietnam War, and Vietnam (1968) became the title of Floh De Cologne's first album, the result of a collaboration with Dieter Suverkrup (recorded several political rock albums for Plane). All royalties gained were transferred to a foundation for helping the Vietnamese. They appeared at the Essen song festival in Autumn 1968. With their blend of political lyrics, (German) humour and lunacy they became known as the German answer to The Fugs and Mothers Of Invention. Not surprisingly they were signed to the number one underground label then: Ohr records. Fliessbandbabys Beat Show was released in the Summer 1970. It was the first of the legendary Ohr LPs. This was a somewhat unique rock cabaret where the group, parodied different rock styles. A highly entertaining effort containing much silliness and a sort of Bonzo Dog-like nostalgia, only that Floh De Cologne

were as German as the Bonzos were English! It was all produced by Julius Schittenhelm in Cologne during April 1970. The sleeve showed a 19 point step by step guide on how to become politically active. I wonder if anyone converted to Marxism on the strength of this record? Their next project was Profitgeier (1971), 'profit vultures', that dealt with all of the disadvantages of the capitalist system. The record itself was pressed on glowing red vinyl, as if the group's political standing point wasn't evident from the agitated texts. Also the sleeve had a special gimmick - guts to pull out from the wounded profit vulture' Musically this was a highly imaginative rock opera, including even more parodies and silliness, perhaps the closest the band came to The Fugs and Mothers Of Invention. The group members acted as different characters or proclaimed political views on the class divided society, speaking with funny or strained voices. This was executed at a furious tempo, making the plot difficult to understand for non-Germans. Anyway, this was the essence of Floh De Cologne, captured on a peerless album. If judged by Lucky Streik (1973), the group continued to make cabaret like live performances. It was recorded on 25 November, 72 in Gummersbach by Dieter Dierks. A rich repertoire was featured, but as a whole, the double album didn't live up to the standard of the two previous albums. Still there were plenty of humorous tracks to enjoy. A large poster was also included. Geier Symphonie (1973) again caught the band in great shape, this time merging all their previously known styles into an outrageous rock symphony that has to be heard to be believed! But beware, this is hardly easy listening! The folding of Ohr brought Floh De Cologne back to Plane. Their next album Mumien (1974) was a concept album about the then recent coup d'etat in Chile, lavishly packaged with a large booklet full of background information. Regrettably, the musical footage of this 'Kantate fur Rockband' was below par this time. However, as an audible, leftist newspaper it was excellent. This was their first album with Vridolin Enxing. He replaced the departing Markus Schmidt. Tilt! (1975) dealt with more local national problems like youth unemployment. After this album, the group's main lyric writer Gerd Wollschon left, and their subsequent releases were only pale imitations of their previous political concept triumphs.

FLORIAN GEYER
Personnel:

ALBUM:

MANFRED WOLFF g,v DIETER STIEG b JURGEN GLUGE d

NB: Re-issue of 1 on CD by Penner in 1993 (CD 006) with 8 bonus tracks.

"Beggar's Pride" (same) 1976

Just like Jethro Tull, Florian Geyer was an obscure historical person 'lending' his name to a progressive rock group centuries later. Florian Coyer were a power trio. The band was formed in late 1971 and played countless gigs during the seventies, mainly around their native Rheinland. In 1974 they released the single "Candle Of My Burial" coupled with "Monday Afternoon" in an edition of 500 copies. Two years later, the album Beggar's Pride followed. This was also a private release, pressed by Teldec in a limited edition of 1,550 copies. Unlike some other items of this kind, the sound quality is good. However, in my opinion Wolff's vocals are not very good, and this detracts from an otherwise fine album with lots of powerful guitar work. The six tracks have a simple, heavy rock sound comparable to Reaction and Chicken Bones.

FLUTE & VOICE

Personnel:

HANS 'FLUTE' REFFERT g, flt HANS 'VOICE' BRANDEIS sitar, g, v The music of Flute and Voice was of a tranquil and meditative character. On their only album Imaginations Of Light they merged the most quiet atmospheres of Incredible String Band, King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King and traditional Indian music. The result was quite interesting and certainly different to the other folk artists on the Pilz label. Flute & Voice also appeared on the concept album Heavy Christmas (1971) with the track "Ecce Navicula".

FRAME
Personnel:

ALBUM:

ANDY KIRNBERGER g, v, pno CHERRY HOCHDARFER kb PETER LUTZ b, v, perc DIETER BECKER v, perc WOLFGANG CLAUS d

NB: An early re-issue with catalogue number BAC 2011 exists! Also re-issued on CD by Bacillus in 1994.

"Of Mind" (Bacillus BLPS 19701) 1972

A very talented group. Like Dschinn, My Solid Ground and Haze they were among those early Bacillus signings that disappeared after one promising album. Frame of Mind was recorded with Peter Hauke in the Dierks Studio, Stommeln (have you ever wondered how they managed to produce such a great bunch of albums?). Frame's sound was quite refined and lyrical - melodic heavy progressive rock influenced by folk and classical music. Instrumentally, it was centred around a confident and forceful hammond organ. In some ways their music was similar to Murphy Blend, but slower and more polished. Songs like "Winter" and "All I Really Want Explain" have an everlasting appeal: mellow heavy rock ballads from the golden age of 'progressive' music and long before The Scorpions completely destroyed this genre's reputation! Frame could also be more powerful and heavy in their approach, as documented by "If" and "Penny For An Old Guy". This very appealing album had a great psychedelic artwork and of course a fold-out cover. Originals are now very rare, selling for about 150 DEM in mint condition. Some years after the disappearance of Frame, both Cherry Hochdorfer and Wolfgang Claus resurfaced in the group Pell Mell, in time for their great symphonic rock album Only A Star (1978).

FRANKIE DYMON Jr
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

FRANK DOSTAL v ACHIM REICHEL g, b

"Let It Out" (BASF 20 21241-6) 1971 Subtitled "Poems In Words And Music", this may seem to be a singer-songwriter album, but I can assure you that it is far stranger than that. This was a kind of 'project' album led by Frank

Dostal and Achim Reichel, previously members of The Rattles, one of the most well-known German beat groups, and Wonderland. Reichel wrote most of the songs and produced the album (engineering was by a certain Konrad Plank). Most of Reichel's then backing band also took part in the recordings: Rolf Kohler (bass), Norbert Jacobsen (clarinet), Lemmie Lembrecht (percussion) and Helmut Franke (percussion). Additional musicians were Wolfgang "Zabba" Lindner (drums, ex-Wind), Peter Hecht (piano, from Lucifer's Friend ), Elga Blask (vocals) and Olaf Casalich (congas). Also strings were dubbed on at certain places. Let It Out (1971) comprised a great variety of styles, perhaps ending up a little over-involved. Those of you who know the early Achim Reichel albums will know what to expect here! There were certainly many tracks to enjoy here, like "Aftermyth", an 11 minute track with manipulated electric guitar and awkward anti-war and anti-racism lyrics. Many of the tracks had very unusual arrangements. It's the sort of album that sounds better after several spins. The psychedelic cover art, recalling the Ikarus album on Plus, was also notable. In the same year, Dostal and Reichel also made another complex, but vastly different project album together, this time as "Wonderland Band". Dostal and Reichel have produced countless albums over the years.

FRANZ K.
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

MICK HANNES g PETER JOSEFUS b, v STEFAN JOSEFUS d

"Sensemann" (Phillips 6305 127) 1972 "Rock In Deutsch" (Zebra 2949 014) 1973 This was one of the groups pioneering the use of the German language. As you might have guessed, their name was a shortening of Franz Kafka. The trio came together at the end of 1969. At first they played a kind of blues-jazz fusion, but soon moved towards rock. Their first album Sensemann (1972) was produced by Phillips' house producer Rainer Goltermann at Windrose Studios, Hamburg, from December 1971 to January 1972. The Phillips release was limited to 2,000 copies. For some reason there was also reputedly a later private pressing of this on Ruhr 007 of only 500 copies. The album contained just two long tracks: "Das Goldene Reich" and "Sensemann" Their raw and undisciplined power trio rock in many ways crossed vintage Guru Guru with the political awareness of bands like Floh De Cologne. There were long inspired and loud guitar passages, sudden shifts in tempo and quite a bit of twisted musical anarchy. Rock In Deutsch (1973) was recorded one and a half years later and was quite a different effort. Gone was the garage rawness and also their political awareness had mellowed a bit. Instead there was a varied collection of rock songs.

FRIEDHOF
Personnel:

NB: The quantity of copipies pressed is unknown - probably 300 to 500 copies. Re-issued in 1993 on CD by Lost Pipe Dreams (LP 012).

ERNST-ULRICH FREITAG g NORBERT SCHULZ b, perc RAINER BARTL d

Friedhof were a basic heavy progressive trio. In 1973, they recorded an album of instrumental jams, recalling the live improvisations of Cream. Other German bands such as Arktis, Da Capo and Grave had a similar garage sound, rooted in blues-rock. The sound quality of the Friedhof album isn't perfect, but who cares... 43 minutes of jamming with the same three instruments is a bit too much, so I doubt all collectors will enjoy the album, nowadays selling for 500 DEM. Go for it only if you dig the groups mentioned above!

EDGAR FROESE
ALBUMS (up to '76):

"Aqua" (Brain 1053) 1974 "Rock In Deutsch" (Brain 1074) 1975 "Macula Transfer" (Brain 1053) 1976 Along with his rich production of albums in Tangerine Dream (over more than twenty years), Edgar Froese has also felt the desire to record his personal music, resulting in seven solo albums released by Brain and Virgin between 1974 and 1983. For a run-through of his earlier career, please look at the Tangerine Dream entry. His first solo album Aqua (1974) was recorded at the same time as the Tangerine Dream album Phaedra ("Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" from this album was in fact also a Froese work!). The opening title track had a fascinating, gloomy underwater feel with gurgling water sounds merging in with the electronics. "Panorphelia" was a more abstract number, rhythmically driven by a moog tape loop and revealing Froese's passion at the time for the mellotron. "NGC 891" was, as the title implies, the most spacious work here, also the one closest to the contemporary Tangerine Dream style, partly due to Chris Franke's excellent moog work. "Upland" rounded up the album with organ and more strange sounds such as backward tapes. Overall, an early classic of electronic music, benefiting from the artificial head recording stereo system. Beware that the mixing on the German Virgin release is different to the German one on Brain. Epsilon In Malaysian Pale (1975) had just two long tracks. The title track was Froese's ultimate mellotron excursion. On the other side, "Maroubra Bay" was a moog excursion (well, some mellotrons appeared here as well!) with spacey improvisation over a long running sequencer pattern. Tangerine Dream fans usually love this album (and so do I!), but have a more dubious view of Macula Transfer (1976) which consisted of pieces written by Froese during flights. He named them after the plane he was sitting on. Virgin didn't release the album in the UK at all.

FRUMPY
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

CARSTEN BOHN d JEAN-JAQUES KRAVETZ kb KARL-HEINZ SCHOTT b INGA RUMPF v ERWIN KAMA kb C RAINER BAUMANN g B, C THOMAS KRETSCHMER g D

(A)"All Will Be Changed" (Phillips 6305 067) 1970

NB: 1 was re-released on CD by Repertoire (RR 4146-WZ) in 1991 including 2 bonus tracks. 2 was re-released on CD by Repertoire (REP 4339-WP) in 1993.

(B)"2" (Phillips 6305 098) 1971 (C)"By The Way" (Vertigo 6360 604) 1972 (D)"Live" (2 LP) (Phillips 6623 022) 1974

Frumpy were one of the few progressive bands to receive considerable commercial success in their own lifetime. The band was formed on the initiative of Carsten Bohn in November 1969. They had all departed from the Irish-German folk band City Preachers which had existed since 1965 and also included the later famous Slapp Happy vocalist Dagmar Krause. Frumpy performed their first concerts in France in March 1970. In August they recorded their first album in Hamburg (though some parts were recorded in Holland with the producer Rainer Goltermann. All Will Be Changed (1970) was a fine example of vintage German progressive rock. Kravetz' very long solo passages of spacey organ excursions and Bohn's inventive percussion work-outs was both impressive and innovative. Albums recorded without guitars were quite rare in this musical field! lnga Rumpf's forceful voice also made the shorter blues and soul influenced rock songs a delight. These songs were comparable to Traffic or Spooky Tooth. There were five tracks in all, if one discounts the solo sections of "Rosalie" and "Floating". Two of the short tracks were also issued as a single: "Life Without Pain" coupled with "Morning". The album had a very uncommon gimmick fold-out cover: a semi-transparent printed plastic exterior picturing a chameleon on the front and back. Inside, line patterns form a picture of the group if the plastic exterior is drawn out in the right way. Indeed the packaging of their wonderful second album, simply entitled 2, was spectacular: a round, six part fold-out cover (with portraits of all members) put in a plastic bag. The record was even pressed on multicoloured vinyl! Guitarist Rainer Baumann had joined in time for the recordings in 1971. The four tracks revealed a heavier and more mature progressive rock with classical overtones in Kravetz' organ (occasionally mellotron) work. Rainer Baumann also got his share of the limelight with his stunning blues-based guitar solos. Frumpy's best ever track was the closing number "Duty" (12:09) - with organ and guitar solos galore! The album is highly recommended. Due to musical differences Jean-Jaques Kravetz left Frumpy in the Spring of 1972 (and made a good solo album), but rejoined halfway through the recording of By The Way (1972). The other keyboard player on the album was Erwin Kama, the leader of the recently defunct Murphy Blend. By The Way was a more straight forward rock album, released on the legendary "swirl" Vertigo label and including a poster. In the Summer of 1972 Frumpy gave their last concerts, now with Thomas Kretschmer on guitar. A double live set was released posthumously in January 1973, containing a good selection of their live repertoire, but the technical quality was disappointing. For those of you who are keen to hear more Frumpy, there are two contributions ("Duty" & "Floating") on the live sampler Pop & Blues Festival '70 . Rumpf, Kravetz and Schott formed Atlantis in 1972, a group that released several albums in a more mainstream style. Carsten Bohn recorded an album with Wolfgang "Zabba" Lindner (the drummer from Tomorrow's Gift ) and the group Dennis.

PAUL AND LIMPE FUCHS (Anima Sound)

Personnel:

PAUL FUCHS horns LIMPE FUCHS perc

ALBUMS (up to '76):

"Sturmischer Himmel" (Ohr OMM 56 011) 1971 "Rock In Deutsch" (Melocord ST-LP-NB 0.027) 1972 The 'Anima' sound was extreme for sure: a very spontaneous music, close to extreme free jazz, but lacking the academic approach of this genre. Paul And Limpe Fuchs' (aka Anima Sound) music was more primitive in a way, full of screams, goons, weird sounds and much percussion. For this reason Sturmischer Himmel isn't exactly everybody's taste! This was one of the few Ohr albums to have a standard (non fold-out) cover. Their very rare second album contained two further improvised cuts. The duo was later joined by Friedrich Gulda and J.A. Rettenbacher for the group Anima, to record an album for Pilz in 1972.

GAA

Personnel:

ALBUM:

WERNER JUNGMANN v, perc WERNER FREY g, v GUNTER LACKES kb, v PETER BELL b, flt, v STEFAN DORR d, v

NB: Re-released on CD by Ohrwaschl in 1992.

"Auf Dem Bahn Zum Uranus" (Kerston 65014) 1974

I've seen originals of Auf Dem Bahn Zum Uranus sell for 1,000 DEM or more nowadays, making it one of the most hunted and expensive "monsters" of German progressive rock (along with Necronomicon, Grave, Mammut and Kaputter Hamster). If you find that asking price ridiculous, be aware that a limited edition CD (dubbed from disc) is available which most of you could afford. Gaa (an ancient Greek name for the earth) were a group from Soarland in the Southwestern part of Germany. On their album they play a nice heavy symphonic space rock was presented, like a cross between Wallenstein and Necronomicon. Like the latter, Gaa were brave enough to use the German language - to great success! There were six tracks in all, giving tune for the progressive developments we all love (don't we?). Best of all was the opening track "Uranus", which twice builds up from silence to a furious, acid-ridden guitar crescendo with cosmic sound effects. Also the closing track "Gaa" was very favourable. Regrettably this released was largely ignored in 1974, causing the band to split. Only about 300 copies were sold and the remaining copies were trashed! Since then the demand for their album has increased. Recommended.

GASH

Personnel:

ALBUM:

JOCHEN PETERS kb, v FRANK FELDHUSEN g MANFRED THIERS b REINHARD SCIEMANN d

"A Young Man's" (Brain 1014) 1972 Gash were a short-lived group, responsible for a sole album that tends to be hyped up these days. They were a quartet from Bremen, helped by Peter Hecht (orchestral arrangements), Bernd E.

Schulz and Dicky Tarrach (all other arrangements). The latter two were previously members of the beat group The Rattles and produced the album in Windrose Studio, Hamburg, between April and June 1972, engineered by Konrad Plank. The nice fold-out cover with a drawing of a dove promised much, but musically the tendency was in the style of slow and laid back rock, lacking enthusiasm, not really progressive at all! Peters' vocals were hoarse and soar, recalling Joe Cocker. The album had four tracks in all, the title track, covering the whole of side two, was the highlight. Tarrach and Manfred Thiers formed the musically related Randy Pie at the beginning of 1973 with Bernd Wippich from Petards and Werner Becker from Studiker. Jochen Peters joined a late incarnation of the straight rock band Rattles and then adapted the name Ludi LaFayette and formed Wolfsmond.

GERMAN OAK
Personnel:

ALBUM:

FRANZ HARRY ULLI MANNI NOBBY

same (Bunker 1-72) 1972 The purpose of the album was to recreate the feelings experienced by the German soldiers, during the invasion of Germany in 1944. Logically the recordings were done deep down in a bunker. "As we played down there in the old bunker, suddenly a strange atmosphere began to mork. The ghost of the past whispered. There had been fear, desparation but also hope. Maybe you will feel such impressions to, by listening carefully." (from the cover text, in their spelling!). The acoustic conditions made the music sound distant and filled with echo. Musically it consisted of rambling long spacious guitar jams. Apparently this was a guitar, bass and drums trio joined by extra percussion and guitar for two of the four tracks. The sleeve only stated then forenames. I don't find this album specially interesting, as the sound lacks clarity and the musical material isn't particularly inventive. Apparently this limited edition album wasn't released until the early eighties, though it's still hard to find and expensive.

GIFT

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

UWE PATZKE b, v (HELMUT TREICHEL v) B DIETER ATTERER g, v C RAINER BAUR g (NICK WOODLAND g) A HERMANN LANZE d

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Second Battle in 1990. Re-issue of 2 on Germanophon in 1994.

(B)same (Telefunken SLE 14680) 1972 (C)"Blue Apple" (Nova SDL 8002) 1974

Gift were one of those "no compromise" heavy progressive bands, who've now achieved a

considerable cult status. They started up in 1969 as the school band Phallus Dei. Three years later they recorded the first Gift album at Union Studios in Munich, produced by Otto B. Hartmann. Nick Woodland was listed on the sleeve of their first album, but he had quit Gift before the recording session began to join Subject Esq., later Sahara. The album comprised eight songs with no flutes, no woodwinds and no keyboards, just plain hard guitar riffs, to be compared to Hairy Chapter. Some of the lyrics had clear anti-drugs messages. Recently (1990) Second Battle reissued this album in its original cover. Helmut Treichel left in 1973 and was replaced with Dieter Atterer. Blue Apple (1974) was also basically a heavy guitar album, but also featured keyboards courtesy of Dieter Frei (organ, piano, moog, mellotron, vocals). The album was recorded in Hamburg at Teldec Studios with Hartmann and Thomas Kukuck engineering. Both Gift albums are fine examples of German heavy progressive rock. Originals of their first album sell for more than 200 DEM, Blue Apple sells for about 150 DEM.

GILA

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

CONNY VEIT g (FRITZ SCHEILING kb) A FLORIAN FRICKE kb, pno B (WALTER WIEDERKEHR b) A (DANIEL ALLUNO d, perc) A DANIEL FICHELSCHER d, b B SABINE MERBACH v B

1 included a poster! A New Zealand release on BASF is also known! Re-released on CD by Second Battle. 2 has been re-released ca. 1981 (featuring the Warner logo on a cream coloured background). All issues include a lyric insert.

(A)same (BASF 20 21110-9) 1971 (B)"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" (Warner K46234) 1973

'Unnachgiebiges aggressiv bekampfen, ist kampf gegen sich selbst' is a phrase owners of the first Gila album will remember well! The group was formed in Stuttgart in 1969, and was busy working with different media using film, slide show, poems and music. Their highly ambitious first album appeared August 1971, recorded by Dieter Dierks during a week's intensive work that Summer. The concept of the album was to reflect the group's (self-declared) progression from aggression to communication during their two-year lifetime. The continuous music was mainly instrumental, dominated by the leader Conny Veit's excellent and imaginative guitar play. They created a Floyd-like space rock bursting into heavy climaxes. In addition the album had a most beautiful psychedelic painting on its fold-out cover. This is one of the best German albums of all time! Some months later, the group regrettably disbanded and Veit became a member of Popol Vuh. A new aspect of his guitar abilities was heard on Hosianna Mantra, adopting an almost meditative style. Popol Vuh was (almost) exclusively a studio project, so Conny Veit felt the desire for a live outfit. For this reason Conny Veit put new life into Gila. The Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee album (recorded at Dierks Studio, Stommeln 1973) was almost a Popol Vuh album, except that Conny Veit's compositions replaced Florian Fricke's. This was a concept album, dealing with one of the last and worst massacres of native Americans. The acid touches of the first album were now replaced by a pleasant folky and more acoustic mood, characterised by 12 string guitars, grand piano and Fichelscher's special drum style. "This Morning" and "In A

Sacred Manner" were songs of celestial beauty with dreamy vocal harmonies and lush arrangements. The album's conclusion "The Buffalo Are Coming" was a more dramatic piece with its thundering percussion. This is another essential album! When Gila's activities came to a halt in 1974, Conny Veit joined Guru Guru for a short while.

SERGIUS GOLOWIN
ALBUM:

"Lord Krishna von Goloka" (Kosmische Kuriere KK 58 002) 1973 Sergius Golowin was (is) a Swiss painter (responsible for the original cover painting of Ash Ra Tempel's Seven Up as well as his own sleeve) and a friend of Walter Wegmuller. The sessions for this concept album in late 1972 were arguably the start of all the Cosmic Jokers-related sessions between 1973 and 1974. It brought Wallenstein together with Klaus Schulze and Witthuser & Westrupp. The Lord Krishna von Goloka album really sounds like a cross between the styles of the participating musicians (the cue word here is "space"!!!): Floyd-like space rock (Wallenstein), electronic spacious effects (Klaus Schulze) and traces of cosmic folk (Witthuser & Westrupp). Add that to the talents of a certain Jorg Mierke and the mostly spoken, mysterious lyrics of Golowin, you've got the album in a nutshell. Not as trippy as Seven Up, but certainly out on a limb, featuring three continuously running tracks likely to shuttle you into far distant realms of space...! Of course this record is a necessity for Ash Ra Tempel, Cosmic Jokers, Schulze and Wallenstein fans (and I figure there ain't a few!). Fans are also in need of his album's logical successor: Walter Wegmuller's large scale opus Tarot, featuring most of the musicians above and more. The next logical step was to be the Cosmic Joker sessions.

GOMMORAH
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

AD OCHEL g, v ALI CLAUDI g EBERHARD KRIETSCH b, pno, kb, vibes, v HELMUT POHL d, flt, vibes, v PETER OTTEN v B

NB: The fold-out covers of 1 & 2 are almost identical. 2 had the word 'Trauma' pasted on a vacant space on the front. Also the picture of new member Peter Otten was pasted in-between the four others. Apart from this, the text lay put is identical. 2 was also re-ssued on CD by Second Battle in 1993 featuring 1 bonus track.

(A)same (Cornet 15038) 1970 (B)"Trauma" (BASF Cornet 20 20413-8) 1971 (B)"I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was" (Brain 1003) 1972

A group that gradually have acquired legendary status over the last twenty years, at least among the dedicated progressive connoisseurs. The group formed as a quartet in the late sixties. They were brave enough to write German lyrics for their early material, as found on their debut on the Cornet label in 1970. This album is a prime example of vintage progressive music in that it still had a lot of beat influence (it sounds as it was recorded in 1969). Even if produced by Konrad Plank (present on all three albums), the sound is a bit thin and weary. Nevertheless, it is a charming historical document of the development in German rock, containing eight short tracks and the 8 minute "Trauma", all characterised by heavy psych guitar work and layered with sound effects. Trauma (1971) was actually a re-recording of the same material, now with English lyrics and more progressive arrangements. A fifth member had been added: Peter Otten. The title track

had grown to 13 minutes long and been completely changed into a heavy psychedelic space rock experience! Buy both and compare, you'll hear the tremendous development. The album is recommendable on the musical strength of the title track alone. The rest of the material was still quite average. If Trauma at least in part was a great album, I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was (1972), drew from its best moments, resulting in a full blown heavy guitar freak out verging on space rock. It contained six tracks of a distinctly German character. Sadly it is one of the rarest Brain albums, never re-issued after the initial release in 1972, resulting in a purchase price of 150 to 200 DEM in mint condition nowadays. The two first albums fetch equally large amounts.

GRAVE
Personnel:

ALBUM:

WOLFGANG KIESLER g LUTZ WOWERAT g, v GUNTER WENDEHAKE b KLAUS MORITZ d

NB: Also Re-issued on CD by Penner in 1993.

"1" (private) 1975

Another one of those sacred "heavy progressive" legends! Grave were a band of teenagers that formed in a Brinkum (near Bremen) basement in 1975. With a primitive tape recorder, six tracks were recorded live in the studio (Summer 1975) and released as Grave I in a limited edition of 100 copies. This was plain, straight forward and simple garage rock, like the fast competent rehearsals from your neighbourhood teenage combo. I cannot understand why this has become such a hunted collector's item, and that people are prepared to pay 1,000 DEM for it! But of course, other people have different opinions.

GROBSCHNITT
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

STEFAN "WILDSCHWEIN" DANELIAK v, g JOACHIM "EROC" EHRIG d, v GERD OTTO "LUPO" KUHN g, v VOLKER "MIST" KAHR kb B HERMANN "QUICKSILVER" QUETTING kb A BERNHARD "BAR" UHLEMANN b, flt, perc A,B WOLFGANG "POPO" JAGER b C AXEL "FELIX" HARLOS d A

(A)same (Brain 1008) 1972 (B)"Ballermann" (2 LP) (Brain 2/1050) 1974 (C)"Jumbo" (Brain 1076) 1975 (C)"Jumbo, Deutsche Version" (Brain 1081) 1976 This band became perhaps Germany's most popular live act in the late seventies because of their very theatric and bizarre shows. Their history can be traced back as far as 1966 to a band named Crew, of which Stefan "Wildschwein" Daneliak, Joachim "Eroc" Ehrig and Gerd Otto "Lupo" Kuhn were members. Some recordings from this time are featured on Eroc's third solo album. With additional members Axel "Felix" Harlos, Bernhard "Bar" Uhlemann and Hermann

"Quicksilver" Quetting they christened themselves Grobschnitt in early 1970. Their self-titled first album was recorded at Windrose studios, Hamburg, with Frank Mille (producer) and Konrad Plank (engineer) and released on Metronome's Brain label in the middle of 1972. The four tracks were typical progressive rock with complex arrangements, drawing some influences from classical music. Eroc's ethereal electronic effects and the crazy humour revealed in places gave them some distinction. The long instrumental sections were dominated by Lupo's varied guitar play. Neither critics nor buyers found this album very tempting at the time. Nevertheless, it's now a highly regarded album with memorable tracks such as "Wonderful Music" (3:03) and "Symphony" (13:44). Looking back, it is perhaps overshadowed by their later albums. Harlos and Quetting quit the group in the Summer of 1972 (Uhlemann also quit for a while). Quetting re-surfaced as the keyboard player of Blonker in 1979. After some months of contemplating their future, Grobschnitt decided to continue. Their new strategies were planned during 1972 and 1973: a totally unbelievable blend of rock show, theatre and pantomime with tasteless costumes, gags, wit, weird make up and general lunacy with even their roadies appearing as actors on the scene. Grobschnitt created a flying circus, and its' orchestra was expanded by the inclusion of Volker "Mist" Kahr. Early in 1974 the stage music of the show made it to vinyl, on the double album Ballermann. The album starts with the extremely silly "Sahara" sung by Eroc. Much better were "Drummer's Dream" and "Morning Song", which indicated their future direction. Half the album was taken up by the 33 1/2 minute composition "Solar-Music". This consisted of spaced out instrumental passages dominated by synthesizers and guitars. After Ballermann, Uhlemann left again. Their new bassist was Wolfgang "Popo" Jager. The next album Jumbo (1975) showed a clear debt to Genesis. The best track was the opening cut "The Exercussion of Mr. Smith". Due to their busy live schedule, a version of Jumbo with German lyrics appeared in 1976 to shorten the waiting time for the next album.

GURU GURU
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

MANI NEUMEIER d,v (ULI TREPTE b) A-C (HANS SACHS v) A (JIM KENNEDY g) B (AX GENRICH g) C-E (BRUNO SCHAAB b) D (HANS HARTMANN b) E (HOUSCHANG NEJADEPOUR g) F (CONNY VEIT g) G SEPP JANDRISITS g H JARGEN 'JOGI' KARPENKIEL b H ROLAND SCHAEFFER sax, g, v H

(C)"UFO" (Ohr OMM 56 005) 1971 (C)"Hinten" (Ohr OMM 556 017) 1971 (C)"Kan Guru" (Brain 1007) 1972 (D)same (Brain 1025) 1973 (E)"Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" (Atlantic 50022) 1973

NB: There is a LP Hot On Spot/Inbetween credited to Guru Guru/U. Trepte (TTE 002) (CD only, 1988). The 1st part was recorded live in 1972, the 2nd part was sessions with R. Bunka, Ch. Burchard, C. Bohn, W. Pape & Rosi Rosi (?) recorded July 1974.

(F)"Dance Of The Flames" (Atlantic K50044) 1974 (-)"Mani Und Seine Freunde" (Atlantic K50157) 1975 (H)"Tango Fango" (Brain 1089) 1976

One of the earliest and most legendary of German groups was Guru Guru, led by the outstanding, colourful Mani Neumeier, who was born on 31 December 1940 in Munich. Up to 1967 Neumeier and Uli Trepte were members of the free jazz combo Irene Schweitzer Trio. The Guru Guru Groove came to life in 1968 with Neumeier, Trepte and Hans Sachs, debuting at the 'Holy Hill Festival', Heidelberg, in August. On 29 September they performed at the Internationale Song Tage in Essen. This must have been something completely outrageous: Neumeier and Trepte performing improvised free jazz against which Sachs read texts. In the Spring of 1969 Sachs left and the name was shortened to Guru Guru. Several guitarists joined and quit (the longest lasting was Jim Kennedy) before Ax Genrich became a permanent member in April 1970. He had previously played with the Berlin group Agitation Free. In June this trio recorded UFO with Julius Schittenhelm. This utterly tripped out album featured notorious titles such as "Stone In" and "Der LSD Marsch", hinting at some possible sources of their inspiration. The music was thunderous, heavy psychedelic space rock, often bordering on pure mayhem. As in the case of early Ash Ra Tempel, this was a power trio dedicated to endless, improvised space excursions, like a continuation of Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" or Hendrix' "ESP" As you'll guess, this was pretty powerful stuff that could had been a soundtrack celebrating the arrival of UFOs! Their next work, Hinten (recorded in July 1971 at Star Studios with Konrad Plank), was basically more of the same kind, though calmer and with some signs of structure evident. This time Neumeier also sang some nonsensical lyrics for our general pleasure. The opening track "Electric Junk" is a typical example of Guru Guru's early music: it started as a loud Hendrix rocker, continued with spoken lyrics to a backing of percussion and noises, then a Cream-styled instrumental part, followed by a floating space rock passage with strange mumbling and ending in a Hendrix-esque frenzy. Kan Guru (1972) was a further development on their freaky jamming style, with the shortest back "Oxymoron" clocking in at almost 11 minutes. For many people, this album was Guru Guru's finest achievement. As judged by "Bo Diddley" on Hot On Spot (a 'split CD' where the other half was filled with exciting tracks by Uli Trepte and friends), Guru Guru was a fascinating, if somewhat undisciplined, live act. After this, Uli Trepte left the group for solo sessions, Tomorrow's Gift , Faust, Kickbit Information and at last his own group Spacebox. He was replaced with Bruno Schaab, previously of the hard rock group Night Sun. Guru Guru's fourth album (1973) proved to be their most patchy to date. After three albums of brilliant space rock the time was ripe for something new, but apparently the group didn't know exactly what!. One side contained two short and commercial rock numbers (coupled as their first single) followed by a lenghty rock'n'roll medley! The other side had: "Der Elektrolurch", a silly number soon to be their favourite live number, where Neumeier, jumped around in a frenzied war dance dressed as a red Indian, and "The Story Of Life", a spacey and dreamy track sung by Bruno Schaab and including a great instrumental fusion sequence! In July 1973, Bruno Schaab was replaced with Hans Hartmann. The next month the trio of Neumeier, Genrich and Hartmann recorded their first album for Atlantic. Regrettably , none of the Atlantic albums were up to the previous standard. Although Don't Call Us, We'll Call You (1973) was a more consistent album than Guru Guru, it contained fewer highlights. It was a more accessible attempt at jazz-rock. At the end of the year Ax Genrich quit and was replaced by

Houschang Nejadepour, previously the guitarist of Eiliff. Dance Of The Flames (1974) proved that this particular combination wasn't very good, and Najadepour left again in July. For the rest of the year Conny Veit played guitar, before Guru Guru split. From November 1974 to June 1975, Neumeier played various studio sessions in Conny's studio together with Helmut Hattler (bass, from Kraan), Jan Fride (drums, percussion, from Kraan), Dieter Moebius (synthesizer), Hans-Joachim Roedelius (organ, both from Cluster & Harmonia), Ingo Bischof (keyboards), Tommy Goldschmitt (percussion, both from Karthago), Sepp Jandrisits (guitar), Jargen 'Jogi' Karpenkiel (bass, ex-Kollektiv), Ax Genrich (guitar) and Gerd Dudeck (sax, flute). These sessions resulted in several albums: the Highdelberg album, Harmonia's De Luxe (recorded in Forst) and the new Guru Guru album: Mani Und Seine Freunde. This brought further examples of Neumeier's peculiar humour in "Chicken Rock" and "Woodpecker's Dream". As this album was a collaboration between musicians from Karthago, Kraan and Guru Guru, the music became a conglomerate of those jazz-rock styles. Mani Neumeier collaborated with his new friends frequently in the future and managed to assemble a new, (reasonably) stable Guru Guru live crew with Jandrisits, Karpenkiel and Roland Schaeffer (ex-Brainstorm). This incarnation's first album Tango Fango (1976) was full of bossa nova, tango, verbal silliness and instrumental jazz-rock - actually the most consistent Guru Guru album for quite a while.

HABOOB
Personnel:

ALBUM:

JIMI JACKSON kb WILLIAM D. POWELL g, v GEORGE GREEN d, v

same (Reprise REP 34002) 1971 Behind this mysterious name (which means 'desert winds') was none other than the black American organist Jimi Jackson, best known for his distinctive choir organ on albums by Amon Duul II, Embryo and Doldinger's Passport . After a project with Lothar Meid in 1970 named Tambarin lead to nothing, Jackson formed Haboob in 1971. Their album was recorded at Bavaria Studios, Munich, with Olaf Kubler (producer) and Peter Kramper (engineer). It looked like a lost Amon Duul album with its psychedelic sleeve, designed by Folk-U. Rogner. Tracks like "Israfil" sounded like them too, with a dense atmosphere of gurgling, manipulated vocals and keyboards. There were also a couple of blues , soul and jazz-rock numbers.

HAIRY CHAPTER
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

HARRY TITLBACH g HARRY UNTO v RUDOLF OLDENBURG b (RUDI HAUBOLD d) A WERNER FAUS d B

(A)"Eyes" (OPP 5) 1970 (B)"Can't Get Through" (Bacillus 6494 002) 1971

NB: Reissues of 3 in 1972 on Bacillus BLPS 19074

This was a "no compromise hard rockin' quartet" from Bonn. Under the name 'Electric Sounds For Dancing' they released an obscure album (Maritim, 1969) rumoured to include early versions of songs later appearing on the first Hairy Chapter album. Eyes was released in 1970 on the little OPP label. It contained nine short, raw hard rock numbers, comparable to the early Hendrix, but even heavier! The production was very rough, making this a charming piece of garage rock! Recommended for fans of wah-wah sounds and aggressive vocals from the underground! Can't Get Through (recorded from November 1970 to January 1971 in the Dierks Studio) was a similar effort, but had improved both musically and technically, aided by the magic fingers of Dieter Dierks. The new drum player on this album was Werner Faus. The instrumental passages (that means uninhibited guitar debauchery) were longer, as typified by the 11 minutes long title track. This was one of the first releases on Bacillus, and is quite valuable (DEM 300) these days, ...but this was the last that was heard from the Hairy Chapter!

HAMARTA
ALBUM:

"Rockatorium" (Young 2000) ca.1972 Just as the British group Out Of Darkness this was a Christian progressive rock project. Rockatorium featured silly lyrics in German, but also some great guitar parts. Not recommended, however!

PETER-MICHAEL HAMEL
ALBUMS (up to '76):

same (2 LP) (Vertigo 6641 055) 1972 "Voice Of Silence" (Vertigo 6360 613) 1973 "Buddhist Meditation East-West" (2 LP) (Harmonia Mundi 2922 292) 1975 Peter-Michael Hamel (piano, organ, electronics) was born in Munich in 1947. From 1965-1970 he studied composition under Fritz Buchtger and Gunther Bialas in his home city. During this period he played free jazz, South American folk music and experimental electronics. In 1970 he founded Between with the Argentinean Roberto Detree and the American Robert Eliscu. In 1972 he guested on Agitation Free's first album, adding his peculiar hammond organ style. His interest in Eastern music and meditation resulted in several travels to Asia. His first four albums are also very influenced by such elements. Hamel (1972) was a double album, setting standards for all the albums to come: long, meditative and floating tracks in a minimalist tradition. Some tracks were performed live without overdubs. It had fantastic, colourful, sleeve artwork. Both this and Voice Of Silence were released on the legendary swirl Vertigo label. Hamel performed vocals in a special Indian vocal technique (named khyal) on Voice Of Silence and Buddhist Meditation EastWest (1975)

HANUMAN
Personnel:

PETER EARTH v, sax, flt RALF SCHULTZE g, v

ALBUM:

JORG HAHNFELD b THOMAS HOLM d

same (Kuckuck 2375 012) 1972 They made one album under this name before renaming themselves Lied Des Teufels. Look at this entry for more information.

HARDCAKE SPECIAL
Personnel:

ALBUM:

JOCHEN LEUSCHNER g REINHARD BOPP g, v ANDY KIRNBERGER g, kb RON SCHEEPMAKER kb GUNTER BOPP b HANS HARBRECHT d

same (Brain 1060) 1974 A little known group. They made a completely uninteresting pop-rock album in a pseudoAmerican style for Brain in 1974, probably the worst album of all on the Brain 1,000 series. The Bopp brothers and Harbrecht had previously played along with Ulli Gunther (vocals) in The New Lords, a successor to the sixties beat band The Lords.

HARLIS
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

CHARLY MAUCHER v, b WOLFGANG KRANTZ g ARNDT SCHULZ g WERNER LOHR d

same (Sky 001) 1976 Charly Maucher was a co-founder of Jane, one of the most successful German heavy rock bands in the seventies. In spite of their increasing popularity, he decided to leave Jane in 1974 with Wolfgang Krantz to form the group Harlis. Their first album also became the first release on Sky. It was produced by Konrad Plank and Sky manager Gunter Korber at Conny's studio, Neunkirchen. The music was similar to Jane, but more mainstream heavy rock'n'roll and straight rock styled, with less instrumental work. Still it was better than most Jane albums released after 1974!

HAX CEL
ALBUM:

"Zwai" (private) 1973 This obscure band's album Zwai gives no Information about who they were. It is a quiet, soft and classically-influenced album recorded live. The material was written by the group, except for the inclusion of two short Handel compositions. There was massive use of flute, but no heavy guitar passages. Some of the tracks, like "A Second Time", are quite good, if a bit light-weight. An

interesting album with an uncommon musical style for the era.

HAZE

Personnel:

ALBUM:

DIETMAR LOW b HEINZ SCHWAB g HANS-JURG FREI kb, g CHRISTIAN SCHERLER v KURT FREI d

NB: Re-issued in 1972 on Bacillus BLPS 19075, some still with the 6494 series number on the sleeve

"Hazecolor-Dia" (Bacillus 6494 007) 1971

The single album released by Haze had another of those extraordinary artwork sleeves designed by Walter Seyffer of Nine Days' Wonder fame. It was made to look exactly like a slide picture, complete with frame and a transparent picture of the group Haze. Hazecolor-Dia was a Hauke & Dierks production, recorded during April 1971 at the Clerks Studio. All five tracks were written by Dietmar Low. Slow, cleverly-arranged heavy progressive numbers with a faint blues tinge, featuring humorous lyrics: "A Way To Find Paradise" told about a hippy's struggle to get his hashish to smoke! Scherler really had a strange and wild voice (he usually screamed as loudly as he could), adding much to their gutsy freak rock style. Several tracks also featured flute (the flute player is not identified on the cover). Haze were probably inspired by The Edgar Broughton Band, Arthur Brown and Captain Beefheart. Their album is recommended for all freak rock fans!

SONNY HENNIG
ALBUM:

"Tranengas" (Kuckuck 2375 008) 1971 Sonny Hennig (vocals, keyboards) was the leader of Ihre Kinder between 1968 and 1971. In the summer of 1971 he left this group to realize his solo ambitions. Tranengas was recorded the same year. Musically this wasn't dissimilar to Ihre Kinder, but a bit more acoustic and folky. Kenning pretended to be a protest singer and wrote political lyrics. A poster was enclosed with a bizarre collage by Ernst Schultz. In January 1972 Hennig assembled a new Ihre Kinder line-up for Anfang Ohne Ende.

HOLDERLIN/HOELDERLIN (2 LP-)
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

CHRISTIAN GRUMBKOW g JOCHEN GRUMBKOW cello, flt, g, kb (NANNY DE RUIG v) A CHRISTOPH "NOPS" NOPPENEY vln, vla, pno, flt (PETER "KASSIM" KASEBERG b, v) A,B (JOACHIM KASEBERG g) B HANS BAAR b, g C MICHAEL BRUCHMANN d

(A)"Holderlin's Traum" (Pilz 20 21314-5) 1972

1 was re-released in 1981 in original fold-out cover on the 'Pop Import'-series. 1st re-issues of 2 & 3 had new catalogue numbers: INT 160.601 & INT 160.607.

(B)same (Spiegelei 26511-5 U) 1975 (C)"Clowns & Clouds" (Spiegelei 26511-5 U) 1976

Holderlin established themselves in the mid-seventies as the leading German folk-rock band, in close competition with Ougenweide. The group came together in December 1970. When RolfUlrich Kaiser took over the management of the Pilz label in late 1971 he wanted to transform it into a progressive folk label, and Holderlin gained the opportunity to record their debut album Holderlin's Traum in January 1972 in the Dierks Studio. This collection of seven songs captured the sextet in excellent shape, resulting in an all-time classic album. Several members had a classical music education, which was evident in the refined and complex arrangement. Together they handled 15 different instruments! Even so, three guests were featured: Peter Bursch (sitar, from Broselmaschine), Mike Hellbach (tablas, also from Broselmaschine) and Walter Westrupp (recorder). As the title hinted, the music had a dreamy, sometimes psychedelic atmosphere. Dieter Dierks developed this particular style further on the second Emtidi album. The more folky driving force came from bands like Incredible String Band and more particularly Fairport Convention and Pentangle, who also featured beautiful female singers. Holderlin's further recording career was somewhat delayed by the demise of Pilz and Ohr in 1973. It seems as though the group weren't allowed to sign for another company before late 1974, when a contract with Intercord Spiegelel was secured. With Konrad Plank, they recorded their second album in February 1975. Nanny de Ruig had by now left the band. The vocals were now shared between Joachim Grumbkow and Christoph Noppeney. A second guitarist had also been added (Joachim Kaseberg, brother of Peter). Musically this was another great album. Their progressive folk-rock had gained some influences from the lyrical, vintage Genesis. Guests were Zeus B. Held (sax) of Birth Control and Norbert Jacobsen (clarinet) of Release Music Orchestra. The main work of the album was the 17 minute suite "Deathwatchbeetle". Clowns And Clouds, recorded during January 1976, continued the development towards lyrical progressive rock. The keyboard work, handled by J. Grumbkow, was now more dominant with a considerable use of electric piano and string synthesizers. Apparently it was a strange type of concept album with a 'clown' side and a 'cloud' side. The latter was the best one, offering mostly instrumental work in two long songs. The Kaseberg's had both quit Holderlin by this time, with Joachim taking care of the live sound. Hans Baar became their new bassist and guitarist.

IBLISS

Personnel:

ALBUM:

RAINER BUECHEL sax, flt WOLFGANG BUELLMEYER g, perc BASIL HAMMOUDI flt, v NORBERT BUELLMEYER b, perc ANDREAS HOMANN d

"Supernova" (Spiegelei 5U 28501) 1972 Yet another one of those jazz-rock progressive acts hearing a distinct German flavour. The band really had a passion for percussion. "Margah", the opening track on Supernova, sounds like some African tribal ritual. "Drops" was a more common fusion piece (still much percussion!), 14 minutes of instrumental work with soprano sax to the lore. "High Life" was a 13 minute showcase for flute (sounds more like a recorder to me). "Athir" was arguably the best track, more

floating and relaxing music with soprano sax and guitar. The album was recorded at Windrose studios (April- May 1972) with Konrad Plank. A general impression of the album is that the four tracks are a bit monotonous, not changing very much from start to finish. The same bass riff just goes on and on. There are plenty of better progressive fusion albums, in my humble opinion. Supernova was an early Spiegelei release that could be hard to acquire today. For years it was disregarded and/or unknown among progressive fans, but lately the demand is getting stronger. Perhaps it is of interest for Kraftwerk collectors as Basil Hammoudi previously played in the preKraftwerk group Organisation (also on the Tone Float-album).

ID COMPANY
Personnel:

ALBUM:

INGA RUMPF v DAGMAR KRAUSE v

same (Hor Zu SHZE 801) 1970 This was a short-lived duo of Inga Rumpf and Dagmar Krause, previously members of the IrishGerman folk group City Preachers. On their one-sided album an Eastern-influenced, jazzy folk music was offered. This curiosity is extremely rare nowadays.

IHRE KINDER
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

SONNY HENNIG v A-D,F,G (MUCK GROH g) A-E (WOLF STUMM g) F ULLI GRUN g G (GEORGIE MEYER flt, v) A-E ERNST SCHULTZ g, flt, v C-E,G (KARL MACK b) A (WALTI SCHNEIDER b) B,C,F (TOMMI ROEDER b, sax, v) D-F (JONAS PORST d) A (PETER SCHMIDT d) B-E (GUNTER STORCH d) F HEINZ HOFF d G

NB: 1 was re-released in 1976 on Erlkonig ERL 2003 & in 1978 on Erlkonig INT 148.402 2,3 & 4 were re-released in 1980 with the first four figures of the catalogue number missing. German & English version of 2 are both available on one CD (re-issued by Ohrwaschl in 1991).

(B)same (Phillips 844 393) 1969 (C)"Leere Hande" (Kuckuck 2375 001) 1970/ (Polydor 2371 165) 1971 (UK) (D)"2375 004" (Kuckuck 2375 004) 1970 (E)"Werdohl" (Kuckuck 2375 013) 1971 (F)"Anfang Ohne Ende" (Kuckuck 2375 016) 1972

Nuremberg's most valuable contribution to the polit rock scene was the group Ihre Kinder. In the mid-sixties the pop band Jonah & The Whales was assembled, consisting of Jonas Porst (drums), Sonny Hennig (vocals), Thommy Roder (bass), Ernst Schultz (guitar) and Georgie Meyer (violin). In 1966 they recorded a cover version of "It Ain't Me Babe" for a single on Vogue (DVS 14511). This proved to be an ill-fated one-off attempt, and the group disbanded. However, in 1968 Jonas Porst and Sonny Hennig decided to form a new group. Ihre Kinder was to be a politically aware band using German lyrics. Porst's dad was a quite rich man, able to support the forthcoming activities. Porst himself soon gave up the drumming and became Ihre Kinder's producer and manager. Several demo tapes were recorded but no record companies were interested. In July-August 1969 an album was recorded in the Clerks Studio at the band's own risk; and was eventually released by Phillips. Mack had now been replaced with Walti Schneider. A female vocalist, Judith Brigger, also took part in this project. The album admittedly sounds quite dated today, featuring 12 short and easy-going folk-pop songs. Still it must be honoured as it is one of the first records (of Deutschrock!) with German lyrics. Leere Hande (1970) was a great improvement, their first true folk-rock album. The arrangements here were more varied with more use of organ, flute and electric guitars. The band had also absorbed some progressive touches from groups like Traffic and Jethro Tull. The 11 songs themselves were more memorable than those on the previous album. Some of them were written by Ernst Schultz, now added as Ihre Kinder's sixth member, the rest came from Sonny Hennig. Leere Hande was recorded during January and February 1970 in Union Studio, Munich, with Thomas Klemt engineering. It was the first release on the Kuckuck label, generously enclosing a lyrics insert and a large poster. 2375 004 went even a step further, as it was released in a denim jeans cover, even featuring washing instructions! It was recorded at the same venue as its predecessor in August 1970. Tommi Roeder had now replaced Walti Schneider. This album, entitled after its own catalogue number, was a further development towards varied progressive folk-rock and some would say that it is their best one musically. Some of the compositions of Ernst Schultz were even slightly experimental ("Toter Soldat"). In 1971 Ihre Kinder released their first single: "Die Graue Stadt" coupled with "Komm Zu Dir". After this, Sonny Hennig quit the group to realize his solo ambitions. Ernst Schultz broke with the management and took over the leadership of Ihre Kinder. Hennig contributed as guest on Werdohl, named after a small German town in Sauerland. The group now produced themselves, in Bavaria Studio (July-Sept. 1971). The technical quality had improved, but musically the band had passed their creative zenith. In Autumn 1971 Schultz set off to record his first solo album, resulting in the end for Ihre Kinder. In January 1972 Sonny Hennig put the band into new life. (F) line-up recorded the rather superfluous Anfang Ohne Ende. Another incarnation gave concerts in 1974. Hennig and Grun then founded a horrible soul poprock band named Powerful Tramps before regaining some musical sense for Meistersinger & Ihre Kinder, a quintet that recorded two albums in the late seventies. Guitarist Muck Groh founded Aera after his years with Ihre Kinder and recorded his solo album Muckefuck in 1979.

IKARUS
Personnel:

JOCHEN PETERSEN g, sax, flt, clarinet, v WULF DICHTER STRUNTZ kb

ALBUM:

MANFRED SCHULZ g, v WOLFGANG KRACHT b, v LORENZ KOHLER v BERND SCHRODER d

same (Plus 4) 1971 Ikarus were one of the first German progressive jazz-rock fusion bands and had a very varied sound. The band was led by Jochen Petersen, who later produced many a Brain album. Their album comprised complex arrangements and melancholic melodies inspired by early King Crimson. Ikarus also adapted that group's talent for building up long tracks from several individually subtitled themes. Their lyrics critically scrutinised the behaviour of mankind with a particular focus on our darker sides. Nowadays this album is very hard to get hold of, but is still the cheapest of the three albums on the Plus label.

IMPROVED SOUND LIMITED

Personnel:

ALBUM:

AXEL LINSTADT v, g, kb LOTHAR "JOHNNY" FICKERT v, perc ULRICH RUPPERT b ROLF GROSCHNER d

"Engelchen Macht Weiter, Hoppe, Hoppe Reiter" (Cornet 15030) 1969 same (2 LP) (Liberty LBS 83506/07) 1971 "Catch A Singin' Bird" (CBS 65619) This Nuremberg group began to play together as early as 1961 under the name Blizzards. They used the name Improved Sound Limited from 1966. In the late sixties they specialised in delivering soundtracks for German television and movies by Michael Verhoeven. Engelchen Macht Weiter, Hoppe, Hoppe Reiter (1969) was the soundtrack from a Verhoeven film, released on the same label as the first Gomorrah album. I don't know this one (presumably a late beat rock effort), but their self-titled double album for Liberty was very inspired by the American folk-rock of Bob Dylan and The Band. Dylan was mentioned several times in the clever lyrics (from now on written by Axel's brother Bernd), for example In "Doctor Bob Dylan". Improved Sound Limited also merged in some more European elements into their folky rock style, such as some fine flute phrases. Regrettably their passion for American music led them closer to country music on Catch A Singin' Bird (1973). Quite good compositions and lyrics ("The Dark Lord" was about Tolkien's "Lord Of The Rings"!), but not exactly performed in idle way most of us like, I'm afraid. Pedal steel guitar was played by Frank Baum and Ralph Nowy guested on trumpet and sax. Improved Sound Limited changed their name to Condor in 1976 and released a much worse album: Rathbone Hotel (1976).

PETER JAKOBI
ALBUM:

"I Could Cry Vor Lauta Blues" (Plane S1001) 1974 Peter Jakobi was/is a polit rock artist from Munich. His style can be compared to other Plane

acts, like Dieter Suverkrup or Lokomotive Kreuzberg. I Could Cry Vor Lauta Blues (1974) was recorded by Peter Jakobi (vocals, piano, percussion), Dieter Beck (bass, guitar), Walter Brandl (guitar, bass), Willy Michl (vocals, guitar) and Klaus Weiss (drums). Michel was a Bavarian blues-rock artist and Weiss is known for his Niagara albums full of percussion playing. Peter Jakobi and Dieter Beck performed live with Ricky Balter (vocals, guitar, bass) and Sol de Sully (percussion) later in 1974 using the name Zyankali.

JANE

Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

KLAUS HESS g, v, b, kb (BERND PULST v) A (WERNER NADOLNY kb) A,B,E (GOTFRIED JANKO kb, v) D MANFRED WIECZORKE kb F (CHARLY MAUCHER b) A,C WOLFGANG KRANTZ b, g, v B,C MARTIN HESSE b D-F PETER PANKA d

NB: Originals of 1, 2 & 3 had the green Brain Metronome label. Originals of 4, 5 & 6 and first reissues of 1, 2 & 3 had green Brain label without the Metronome typing under the Brain logo on the label. First reissues of 4, 5 & 6 and second reissuesof 1, 2 & 3 had brown Brain label. Third reissue of 1 had a new catalogue number 60.398. This and the subsequent reissues of the other albums had the black Brain label.

(A)"Together" (Brain 1002) 1972 (B)"Here We Are" (Brain 1032) 1973 (C)"III" (Brain 1048) 1974 (D)"Lady" (Brain 1066) 1975 (E)"Fire, Water, Earth & Air" (Brain 1084) 1976 (F)"Live At Home" (2 LP) (Brain 80.001) 1976

Jane was among the most commercially successful groups in Germany in the seventies. The band was founded in 1970. After their appearance at the Little Woodstock Festival, Hannover in June 1971, a recording contract with Brain Metronome was secured. With vocalist Bernd Pulst they recorded Together in Star Studio, Hamburg in late 1971 with Konrad Plank. This was an impressive debut with a dominant guitar and organ style. Of most interest were the extended tracks "Spain" (11:53), "Hangman" (9:58) and "Daytime" (8:05). It is tempting to compare Jane's characteristic slow, classical influenced heavy rock arrangements to the music of groups like Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly or early Deep Purple. Jane had developed these elements into a polished 1971 'progressive sound'. Indeed their patented rock sound wouldn't change too much during their long career. Some would say their music is far too predictable, easy-going and pompous. Label manager Gunter Korber produced Jane's first four albums. For many people, the low-point of Together had been the turgid vocals of Bernd Pulst. He quit Jane in April 1972 and reduced the group to a quartet. Just before Here We Are, recorded at Windrose Studios, Hamburg, Charly Maucher fell ill and was replaced by Wolfgang Krantz. This was another great album, featuring both long instrumental work-outs and some good shorter songs. The highlight was definitely the nearly instrumental opening track "Redskin" (8:54), which comprised slow heavy rock with guitar and organ reminiscent of Pink Floyd. The four tracks on side two revealed the rawer and heavier side of Jane. Quite a few people quote this

album as their favourite by Jane. Although this music was dismissed by the reviewers, the commercial response was great. Jane, Eloy, Novalis and others enjoyed long lasting and/or increasing success with their accessible records. Merely a month after the recordings of Here We Are were finished, Nadolny quit to form his own band Lady. Maucher thus returned to Jane again and for a short while their characteristic organ sound was abandoned. On Jane III Hess and Krantz fought twin guitar battles instead, resulting in a more ordinary heavy rock sound. This album (recorded at Conny's Studio in February 1974) also opened with an excellent long and mainly instrumental track: "Comin' Again" (9:40). In general it was a highly enjoyable album. More changes in personnel followed in the Summer of 1974: Maucher and Krantz quit Jane to form Harlis. Their replacements were Martin Hesse and Gotfried Janko (previously the leader of Dull Knife). Janko brought back the organ sound for the album Lady (recorded at Conny's studio during November 1974 and January 1975), but also brought in some rather misplaced gospel-soul vocals. One felt that this album was an attempt to continue their increasing success with easy-going heavy pop. Luckily enough former organist Werner Nadolny soon replaced Janko again. The concept album Fire, Water, Earth & Air was a more rewarding album than its predecessor. It was their first self-produced one, recorded in dummy-head stereo at Plank's studio in November 1975. Synthesizers were now introduced, resulting in a typical late seventies symphonic sound. For a large tour in March 1976, Nadolny had quit again. This time the replacement was a better choice than in the case of Janko: Manfred Wieczorke, previously of Eloy. His first recording with Jane was a double live album: Live At Home (1976). It was recorded in their hometown of Hannover in August. As with most other live albums, it was mostly of interest for fans and quite superfluous for others.

JEREMY B
Personnel:

ALBUM:

JEREMY BENDER v PETE BENDER kb RAINER MARZ g ALFRED HEUPT kb HERMANN BAERSCH b, v CURT CRESS d

NB: Re-issued on Bacillus BAC 2006

"This Is My Life" (Bacillus BLPS 19080)

This is one of the Bacillus releases that it is difficult to find nowadays. However, This Is My Life (1972) contained hardly anything of interest for connoisseurs of German rock: it was a not-verysuccessful singer & songwriter affair, including nine straight and short tracks with a folky touch. It was really one of the most mediocre Hauke-Clerks productions ever and I wonder why they bothered!

JERONIMO
Personnel:

GUNNAR SCHAFER v, b, g

ALBUMS:

(RAINER MARZ g) A,B (WALTER ORTEL kb, v) A MICHAEL KOCH g, v, kb C (HAJO BORN g, kb) A,B RINGO FUNK d

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Bellaphon 220-03003. Re-issue of 3 on Bellaphon BAC 2010, second re-issue on Bellaphon 260-09-015. This album was also released in France. 1 & 3 are now also available on CD.

(B)"Cosmic Blues" (Bellaphon BI 1530) 1970 (C)same (Bacillus BLPS 19044) 1971 (C)"Time Ride" (Bacillus BLPS 19095) 1972

Jeronimo was a straight hard rock group that even enjoyed a bit of chart success in their time with "Heya" coupled with "So Nice To Know", their 1969 debut single for Admiral (AD 1105), "Na-na-hey-hey" coupled with "The Light Life Needs" (AD 1110, 1969) and "Never Coin' Back" coupled with "The Key" (AD 1133, 1970). By then they had already been together since the midsixties (?). Among the members from 1967 to 1968 were Walter Ortel, co-founder of Epsilon in 1970 with Michael Winzkowski and Michael Ertl. Jeronimo's first appearance on album was on the strange split LP with Creedence Clearwater Revival: Spiritus Orgaszmus, with an "orgasm cover", poster and pink vinyl (Bellaphon BI 1527). All six Jeronimo songs were featured on their subsequent album for Bellaphon: Cosmic Blues. This was hardly cosmic blues, but a confusing collection of their three first singles and six other tracks that presumably were recorded as potential singles in 1969, presenting soul-beat pop, rock'n'roll, pop, folk-rock and vintage hardrock. At the time of release, Hajo Born had quit. The trio of Marz, Schafer and Funk were pictured on the cover, which contained very little information. Soon after, also Rainer Marz quit, to be replaced by Michael Koch. The trio of Schafer, Koch and Funk went on to record what since has become one of the most hunted German albums among collectors: the self-titled Jeronimo with the "Indian cover", in many respects their first album. They had now developed a common direction - heavy guitar-based boogie blues and rock'n'roll, much like a cross between Creedence Clearwater Revival and Groundhogs at their best! This was by far Jeronimo's best album, presenting much vitality and hard rock dexterity in straight-forward songs like "Understanding", "Shades" (A & B sides of a single lifted from the album) and "Sunday Child". However, the long drums solo on "Hagudila" was, as is so often the case, superfluous! For some unknown reason, only a small number of copies were pressed. Still stranger the album never has been re-released, as their two other albums have, several times! It's open to question if the album is worth the 500 DEM dealers are now claiming for an original copy. For Time Ride (1972), Jeronimo came under the guiding hands of Peter Hauke and his Bacillus label. This was also a good album, hut some of the enthusiasm of the previous album seemed to have been lost. It was a half-successful attempt to perform more "progressive" hard rock. When Jeronimo broke up, Ringo Funk became the drummer of Atlantis.

JOIN INN
ALBUM:

"Kentaloupe Island" (Menga MEL 3302) 1974

Their album Kentaloupe Island (1974) was released on the same label as Think's Variety. The six tracks were engineered by Eroc of Grobschnitt fame. Join Inn were from Gelsenkirchen and played a largely instrumental progressive jazz-rock.

JOY UNLIMITED
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

(JOY FLEMING v) A,B KLAUS NAGEL g, flt, v A,B,D (KEN TRAYLOR v, g) C HANS LINGENFELDER g D ROLAND HECK kb, v DIETER KINDL b, sax, v JOSCHI DINIER v, b, perc D CORD KOTHE sax, flt B-D ALBIN METZ b, tpt, basson HANS W. HERKENNE d

Also US-issue of 2 on BASF 21090 as Butterflies

(A)"Overground" (Polydor 2371 050) 1970 (B)"Schmetterlinge" (Pilz 20 20090-1) 1971 (C)"Reflections" (BASF 20 211686-1) 1973 (D)"Minne" (BASF 17 22331-0) 1974

This group began their life as Joy & The Hit Kids, fronted by the talented female vocalist Joy Fleming, and they released four singles on Decca in 1967 and 1968. Their name was changed into Joy Unlimited in 1969, and five further singles were released on Polydor in 1969 and 1970 (I'm not sure if some of the singles were issued under the old name). Polydor also released their first album Overground (1970), a befitting title, as it contained 12 short pop-blues rock songs, clearly inspired by Janis Joplin. For this reason, it is a bit dated today and only completists should investigate. By then, the group was a sextet. Schmetterlinge ('butterflies') was a solid step in a progressive direction. Indeed a very versatile album, ranging from the gutsy Joplin blues of "Rankness" via free jazz improvisations like "Sensual Impressions" to excellent progressive rock songs like "Rudiment". This album saw the arrival of a seventh member: Cord Kothe. The arrangements were refined, benefiting from the group's strong musical muscle. This, and both of the subsequent albums, contained ballet music! The female vocals placed Joy Unlimited in the European tradition of bands like Sandrose, Circus 2,000 and Earth & Fire. However, this was to change when Joy Fleming departed to start a solo career in 1972. Also Klaus Nagel left, and Reflections (1973) was recorded by the five remaining members and new American Ken Traylor. Most material was now instrumental, featuring many flute and sax solos. Influences from classical music and folk were also more evident in the compositions. Their last album, Minne (1974), would have fitted in fine on the Pilz label alongside the folk albums of Holderlin and Broselmaschine. It represented a softening of their style - more sophisticated and homogenous. Traylor had left, being replaced by Joschi Dinier, Hans Lingenfelder and the returning Klaus Nagel. Minne was a very good orchestrated progressive folk-rock album, apart for a couple of short brass-jazz tracks.

KALACAKRA

Personnel:

ALBUM:

CLAUS RAUSCHENBACH g, perc, v, harm HEINZ MARTIN g, flt, pno, vibes, cello, vln, synth

NB: A counterfeit from 1987 exists. Re-released on CD by Lost Pipe Dreams in 1993 including bonus tracks.

"Crawling To Lhasa" (private K-ST-2000) 1974

If you love deranged acid folk-rock, look no further! Kalacakra certainly made one of the weirdest excursions into disjointed Eastern psychedelia on Crawling To Lhasa. This is what Incredible String Band would have sounded alike if Mike Heron and Robin Williamson suddenly became ten times more insane! Kalacakra were also a duo. Their album is recommended if you got a strong sense of humour and wish to know more about such topics as Die Schwarze Pest and all the persons named Jaceline! Naturally, this album was a private pressing...

KALEIDOSKOP
Personnel:

ALBUM:

PETER BARKHOLD sax ULRICH FRAMKE sax, clarinet WOLFGANG SCHMEER sax, flt WOLFGANG SCHMIDT kb, steel GUNTER BLENDERMANN b DIETMAR SCHMIDT d

same (Lava TCH 74002) 1974 It seems that every nation had a group named 'Kaleidoscope'. The German Kaleldoskop (from Bremen) were purveyors of a characteristic instrumental jazz-rock fusion. Their album was released on Lava, a small label which also licensed obscure Anglo-American jazz artists. I don't know if Wolfgang Schroldt is the same to the one that produced the Eulenspygel-albums (he's probably not). Kaleidoskop was recorded June 1974 in Tonstudio Co-operative, Hannover. It contains eight average quality tracks, probably only interesting for jazz purists. The bassist and drummer later went on to assemble the musically very different Kaleidoskop Band!

KAPUTTER HAMSTER
Personnel:

ALBUM:

PETER N. BUCHFELD g, v FRANK LINDE g, v WILFRIED KRICKHAHN v HOLGER HELDT b ARNE LINDE d

NB: Re-released on CD by Ohrwaschl in 1993.

same (PA 10-2009) 1974

This group with a completely ridiculous name made a legendary private pressing originally released in a strictly limited quantity. It was released in a black and white cover with a surrealistic drawing on the front. Some second hand record dealers rove about the musical quality of this album, claiming that it is excellent. I'm afraid I can't agree - the album is for the large part

just rubbish! The sound quality is primitive (but not really bad), as the album was recorded by teenagers in their home studio after school. The music itself is simple and boring garage rock that certainly fails to arouse my enthusiasm. Still you could try it if you like albums by Grave, Florian Geyer, Arktis, etc. They were from Flensburg, in the North of Germany near the Danish harder.

KARTHAGO
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

JOEY ALBRECHT g, v REINHARD BOPP g,v D INGO BISCHOF kb GERALD LUCIANO HARTWIG b A,B,D (GLENN CORNICK b) C THOMAS GOLDSCHMITT perc (WOLFGANG BROCK d) A (NORBERT "PANZER" LEHMANN d) B (KONSTATIN BOMMARIUS d) C RINGO FUNK d D

NB: There should exist a later BASF-press of 1 w/out the 6-part fold-out cover with the same order number. Re-issued 1979 on Brain 40.087 Re-issue of 2 on Polydor 2459 068 (1975), second re-issue in 1979 on Brain 40.088

(A)same (BASF 20 21118-5) 1971 (B)"2nd Step" (BASF 20 2178-0) 1973 (C)"Rock'n'Roll Testament" (Bacillus BLPS 19201) 1974 (D)"Live At The Roxy" (2 LP) (Bacillus BDA 7506) 1976

Re-issue of 3 on Bacillus BAC 2032, second re-issue Bacillus 260-09-036. Re-issue of 4 on Bellaphon BAC 2040, Bellaphon 320-09-004 & Bacillus 260-09-004. Karthago were founded in Berlin by Joey Albrecht (originally from Hannover) and Gerald Luciano Hartwig. Since 1968 they had performed together in clubs as the duo Blues Machine. In 1970 they engaged the Bolivian percussionist Thomas Goldschmitt (mainly hand percussion) and soon landed a recording contract with BASF. Just a month before the recordings of their first album began, two additional members were added to their line-up: Ingo Bischof and Wolfgang Brock. Karthago was recorded in October 1971 at Audio Tonstudio, Berlin with Dieter Zimmermann producing and Stan Regal engineering. It was released in a spectacular, inventive and expensive six part fold-out cover with several die cuts! Certainly a lavish package, recalling the multicoloured and psychedelic Santana album designs - but actually outdoing them! Karthago's sound was graced with excellent heavy guitar work and the funky, gutsy vocals of J. Albrecht, recalling the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the heavy progressive funk band Funkadelic. The best tracks in this style were "Why Don't You Stop Buggin' Me" and "String Rambler". Others, like the catchy little instrumental "Nos Vamos", had a more distinct Latin character, very much like early Santana. In my opinion, this is a very underrated album! Few other German bands recorded music in this particular style. More Santana-esque instrumental work was present on Second Step, recorded at Windrose Dumont Time, Hamburg, May 1973 with C. & M. Hudalla producing. This was much more of a joint group effort, balanced between jazzy keyboards, heavy guitars and South American rhythms. Most of the material was great, but I feel Ingo Bischof's compositions were a bit out of

place - his songs were almost singer-songwriter type of ballads! Original drummer W. Brock had left for The Rattles in February 1973 and was replaced by Norbert "Panzer" Lehmann on this album. Then within months Lehmann departed to the heavy progressive band Epitaph. Into Karthago came Konstatin Bommarius (ex-2066 & Then, Abacus). The bass player Gerald Luciano Hartwig also left - in the Summer of 1974. His replacement was something of a sensation at the time - Glenn Cornick (ex-Jethro Tull, Wild Turkey) joined the band in October 1974. A revamped five-piece Karthago signed with Bacillus and relocated to Oxford, England, in November 1974, where they recorded Rock'n'Roll Testament in the Chipping Norton Studios. The producer of this album was Peter Hauke, manager of the Bacillus label. About the same time, another of his German signings, Nine Days' Wonder , recorded in England, although his British signing Nektar recorded in Germany for years! Karthago's new album did quite well and many people consider it to be their best. It marked a change of style towards a smooth, wellproduced rock with some minor symphonic touches. Karthago had become another purveyor of the characteristic 'Bacillus rock' - a trade mark of Peter Hauke and Dieter Dierks. Concerts in Berlin and Hamburg in January 1976 were recorded and released as the double album Live At The Roxy (1976). As Glenn Cornick had quit the group, Gerald Hartwig was now back in action again. Albrecht, Bischof and Goldschmitt were also helped by Reinhard Bopp (exHardcake Special) and Ringo Funk (ex-Atlantis, Jeronimo). This record literally became the "Karthago testament", as the group disbanded in the Spring of 1976.

KATTONG
Personnel:

ALBUM:

FRANK GAIER v, g, harm ROLF KUCKLENBRUCH v, g HARALD GOLBACH perc

"Stiehl dem Volk die Geduld" (Schwann AMS 519) 1972 The group Kattong made an album of pleasant political folk songs way hack in 1972. It is very rarely seen nowadays. On the album there were ten short songs rooted in the characteristic German "lieder" folk tradition. Their album also featured some guests: Claus Lamdauer (guitar) and Thomas Altrogge (violin), Hans-Josef Stick (organ), Horst Luedtke (guitar), Detlef Krause (bass) and Martin Napiersky (drums). Prior to this album, the duo of Baier and Kucklenbruch recorded an album that also featured Harald Golbach: Gitarre vor'm Mauch (1971). Frank Baier later collaborated with Walter Westrupp (of Witthuser & Westrupp fame) as Baier-Westrupp and recorded another album of acoustic folk songs in 1976 on the Plane label.

KIN PING MEH

Personnel:

(JOACHIM SCHAFER g, kb, v) A (WILLIE WAGNER g, harm, v) B (ULI GROSS g) C GAGEY MROZECK g C,D (WERNER STEPHAN v) A-D

ALBUMS (up to '76):

GEFF HARRISON v E (FRITZ SCHMITT kb) A-E CHRIS KLOBER kb F (TORSTEN HERZOG b) A,B ALAN JOE WROE b C,D KALLE WEBER d

NB: Re-issues of 1 & 2 on CD in 1990 & 1991 on Polydor arranged by Second Battle

(B)same (Polydor 2371 259) 1971 (D)"No. 2" (Zebra 2949 005) 1972 (E)"III" (Zebra 2949 011) 1973 (E)"Virtues & Sins" (Nova 6.22613) 1974 (F)"Concrete" (2 LP) (Nova 6.28370) 1976

As far as I am aware there were no other German bands like Kin Ping Meh who chose their name in the Chinese language! In 1970, this quintet assembled in Mannheim. They played live extensively during their early years, performing a rough hard rock modelled on British bands like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Spooky Tooth. Soon Kin Ping Meh were discovered by Polydor's talent scouts. Joachim Schafer left the hand just before the recording of their first album. He was promptly replaced by Willie Wagner, who joined the band in the Windrose Studio. Indeed Wagner wrote the stand-out track of this album, the opening 11 minute track "Fairy-Tales", a haunting heavy rock song with long, "progressive" guitar and organ solo parts. Even if you do not find this style attractive, you'll sense the great enthusiasm of the band. There were also some mellow, folky songs on the album, like "Too Many People", recorded live and boasting an irresistible chorus. Kin Ping Meh was produced by the experienced rock veterans Achim Reichel and Frank Dostal. The engineer was none other than Konrad Plank. The album is highly recommended for fans of groups like Epitaph, Zarathustra, Frame, etc. It's now quite rare (selling for more than 300 DEM) as the first and only vinyl edition was only pressed at around 5,000 copies. Torsten Herzog and Willie Wagner left Kin Ping Meh in 1972. The band had already been expanded with Alan Joe Wroe, Uli Gross (but he left again within Months) and Gagey Mrozeck (ex-2066 & Then). No. 2 (1972) followed the path of its predecessor - it was filled with great quality heavy progressive rock. Besides their self-written material. Kin Ping Meh were also bold enough to make an 11 minute version of "Come Together", culminating in a long instrumental jam - a highlight of the album! Fans of early Kin Ping Meh should also check out the double album Hazy Age On Stage (Second Battle SBT 002) (1991), featuring great live tracks recorded in Sprendlingen in January, 1973 and also some studio out-takes from 1972. When vocalist Werner Stephan left in May 1973, it marked the end of Kin Ping Meh's first phase. Regrettably, none of their following albums could match their first two. Gagey Mrozeck recommended Geff Harrison (his old friend from 2066 & Then) as a replacement for Werner Stephan. The quintet recorded Kin Ping Meh III (1973) with added choir and brass. Unfortunately, most people find their 'new' sound far less appealing than their previous one. Virtues And Sins (1974) was a further slide towards a more standard Anglo-American influenced rock. Frieder Schmilt left in 1975, and was replaced by Chris Klober (ex-Curly Curve). He only participated on the double live album Concrete (1976) before the band fell apart. Geff Harrison set out on a solo recording career, but only with moderate success.

KOLLEKTIV
Personnel:

ALBUM:

JURGEN HAVIX g, zither KLAUS DAPPER flt, sax JURGEN 'JOGI' KARPENKIEL b WALDEMAR KARPENKIEL d

same (BASF 1034) 1973 This group made one fine jazz-rock fusion album, released on Brain in 1973. The album was recorded in March 1973 at the Windrose Studio in Hamburg with Konrad Plank engineering. The best tracks on it were "Rambo Zambo", a work-out for electric flute, and "Gageg", a large scale fusion composition covering the whole side two and featuring many great guitar passages. Jogi Karpenkiel later became a member of Guru Guru and contributed to some of their most jazzy albums: Mani und Seine Freunde (1975), Tango Fango (1976) and Globetrotter (1977).

HELMUT KOLLEN
ALBUM:

"You Won't See Me" (Harvest 1C064-32465) 1976 Helmut Kollen was the bassist with Triumvirat until 1976, when he decided to attempt a solo career. On his single album he switched to lead guitar, leaving the bass to Dieter Petereit. Jorgen Fritz from Triumvirat handled the keyboards and Matthias Holtmann the drums. Kollen's past as a Triumvirat member was evident in his music, even if it was of a simpler character and more widely accessible. The title of the album unhappily became ironic, as Kollen died from carbon monoxide poisoning in his car in a garage on 3 May 1977.

KOMKOL
Personnel:

ALBUM:

HANS JURGEN EICH g, v WALTER SLANSKY g, perc, v MISCHA ZAI kb, v THOMAS ROSCHER b, v DIETER SALLINGER d

"Index" (Kanal LEUB 25) 1972 Their group name was a shortening of 'kommunikation and kollektiv'. An obvious hint of the direction of the band: political rock! Komkol were five young men living in a commune to: 'discuss political matters and make protest songs' (as they put it themselves). Luckily these guys could handle their instruments quite well and wrote some fairly good political folk-rock songs and at times they were comparable to Ton Steine Scherben. For the studio sessions of Index they were joined by two further comrades: Fred Pfirrmann (organ, vocals, text) and Rudolf Leubner (text). The band lived at Mainz-Weisenau, but recorded the album in the Munich Union Studio in the Summer of 1972.

KRAAN
Personnel:

PETER WOLBRANDT g

ALBUMS (up to '76):

JOHANNES "ALTO" PAPPERT sax INGO BISCHOF kb B HELMUT HATTLER b JAN FRIDE d

(A)same (Spiegelei 9U 28778) 1972 (A)"Wintrup" (Spiegelei 9U 28523) 1973 (A)"Andy Nogger" (Spiegelei 26439) 1974 (A)"Live" (2 LP) (Spiegelei 8U 26440) 1975 (B)"Let It Out" (Spiegelei 1U 26542) 1975 The name Kraan was short, concise and meant absolutely nothing. Still the band was to become one of the most important and stylistically characteristic German jazz-rock bands of the seventies. Kraan was formed in Ulm (south of Stuttgart) in 1970. All members had their backgrounds in free jazz bands. Johannes "Alto" Pappert on his side had a passion for soul, but came to Kraan directly from a rock band. Their debut album was recorded in May 1972 and later released on Spiegelei in a colourful fold-out sleeve. It contained their basic live repertoire at the time (and also favourites for years to come) like: "Kraan Arabia" (a cunning jazz trip into Eastern music) "Sarah's Ritt Durch den Schwarzwald" and "Head" (an 18 minute long improvisation). A remarkable album, it was recorded in just three days at Studio 70, Munich. Instrumentally it was well-balanced between Pappert, Wolbrandt and the outstanding bass-work of Hattler, then just 20 years old but already a master of his instrument. The two following albums, Wintrup (1973) and Andy Nogger (1974), were similar in style. They sold quite well, even gaining a release in the States. In those days, Kraan toured Germany a lot and were renowned for their great performances full of improvisations. The excitement of a Kraan concert was caught perfectly on Live (1975) - one of the best German live albums of all time! Improved versions of many of their old songs were included with extended solos. The album was recorded at Quartier Latin in Berlin in September 1974. In 1975 Kraan made two tours in the United Kingdom and also appeared at the Danish Roskilde festival in July, now adding a fifth member: Ingo Bischof. He had previously been a member of Karthago. Let It Out (1975) proved to be a disappointment (for the band as well) and Bischof left at the end of the year. After one German tour and a third UK tour Pappert also left in August 1976 to go solo.

KRAFTWERK
Personnel:

RALF HUTTER kb, (C-) electronics FLORIAN SCHNEIDER flt, vln, (C-) electronics (KLAUS GINGER perc) A,B (ANDREAS HOHMANN perc) A,B (MICHAEL ROTHER g) B (EMIL SCHULT g) D (PLATO RIVIERA b) D KARL BARTOS drum machine F

ALBUMS (up to '76):

WOLFGANG FLUR drum machine F

NB: 1 & 2 released in the UK on swirl Vertigo 6641 077. 3 also UK issue on Vertigo 6360 616.

(A)same (Phillips 6305 058) 1970 (C)"2" (Phillips 6305 117) 1971 (E)"Ralf + Florian" (Phillips 6305 197) 1973 (F)"Autobahn" (Phillips 6305 231) 1974 (F)"Radio-aktivitat" (Capitol 1C064-82087) 1975 (F)"Trans Europa Express" (Capitol 1C064-82306) 1976

No other German band has been of such importance to the development of international rock music as Kraftwerk have. This aspect of their career is well documented elsewhere, so I will concentrate on their early years. For the pre-Krartwerk history, please look at the Organisation entry. In the Summer of 1970, Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider finished their own "Kling-Klang" studio in Dusseldorf. The purpose was to experiment with electronics and new sounds without the pressure of limited studio time. For the recording of the first Kraftwerk album in the Summer 1970 they were helped by two percussionists: Klaus Ginger and Andreas Hohmann. The record company Phillips were apparently quite open minded about experimental music at the time, as they signed groups like Cluster, Zweistein and Kraftwerk within months (late 1970 to early 1971). Kraftwerk I was released in November 1970. It was a landmark of experimental music featuring Hutter's organ sounds, Schneider's flute and violin and manipulated percussion. "Ruckzack" was an experiment of musical scales and flute riffs over a strong and hypnotic rhythm backing. Indeed this was the reference point from which their characteristic "kling-klang musik" gradually evolved during the following years. "Megahertz" was filled with slowly evolving musical clusters while "Stratovarius" and "Vom Himmel Hoch" were more violent and atonal. It wasn't really an "electronic" album, as no synthesizers were in use. Instead Kraftwerk used the sounds of electronically-manipulated oscillator, organ, flute, violin, bass, guitar, drum and percussion. Considering the unconventional music included on the album, the sales in Germany were stunning: more than 50,000 copies were sold and it also peaked at Number 30 in the national pop charts. Occasionally Kraftwerk performed live in 1970 as a quintet with Michael Rother as the fifth member. Hutter und Schneider recorded the next album Kraftwerk 2 as a duo in 1971. This time the result was more mixed. The track that strongly pointed forward was the excellent "Klingklang". A suitable name for 17 minutes of improvisation upon an electronic rhythm backing, gradually changing pitch. This was a development of the musical idea for "Ruckzack" Kraftwerk's patented klingklang-music was born! The rest of the album was filled with brave experiments, though some of them failed, such as the dissonant and noisy musical associations of "Atem" ('breath'), "Strom" and "Tonwelle" which included added sound effects. This album also charted in Germany, peaking at Number 36. At the beginning of 1972, Kraftwerk performed live in France and Germany with Emil Schult, later their lyrics writer, and Plato Riviera. Schult also made a comic insert for Kraftwerk's next album Ralf + Florian (1975). A far more accessible album, where their klingklang music for the first time also became "Tanzmusik" (song title)! Other great tracks were "Kristallo" and "Ananas Symphonie", showing some of Kraftwerk's most romantic sides ever.

As most of you already will know, the next thing to come was Kraftwerk's big commercial breakthrough, in Germany, the USA and UK with the album and particularly the single "Autobahn". This was an edited version of the 22 minute title track occupying side one of the album, a major electronic opus dealing with the monotonous German motorways. The synthesizer harmonics in the main theme line were simply irresistible. This was the first time Kraftwerk used naive but effective lyrics and vocals. Two other fine tracks of the album, "Kometenmelodic 1 & 2", were already available in 1973 as a single. For an ambitious USA tour (April to June 1975) Kraftwerk were expanded to a quartet, featuring Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flur (both playing electronic percussion). For months a collective group image had been carefully planned and constructed - one of four young men with short, clean-cut hair and identical ties and suits. Soon several stupid and ignorant articles in the press formulated such questions as: 'Kraftwerk - men or machines?'. The group has retained this 'man machine' image ever since to keep the sensation-fixed press continually amused. Radio-Aktivitat (released December 1975) was their first album to appear in both a German and an English version. This was a schizophrenic kind of concept album, toying with the equivocal meaning of the title and thus dealt with both Madame Curie's dangerous inventions and the more harmless radio waves. The title track became a new hit single in several European countries, but it surprisingly flopped in UK and the USA. The album was filled with both tuneful miniatures and noisy oddities. In the Autumn of 1976 the quartet set out on a major European tour. For the rest of the year Trans Europe Express was recorded. Here they concentrated fully on making intelligent, rhythmic and danceable pop songs, exclusively with electronic equipment. It was a classic within this field, cultivated and perfected in the studio down to the smallest detail. This really pushed the British synthesizer-pop boom to take off around 1979.

JEAN-JAQUES KRAVETZ
ALBUM:

same (Vertigo 6360 605) 1972 The Frenchman Jean-Jaques Kravetz is best known as the organist of Frumpy and Atlantis. In 1972 he apparently had a rift with the rest of Frumpy, and set off to record a solo album for Vertigo with his friends Udo Lindenberg (drums, percussion, vocals, he also wrote all lyrics and some of the music), Carl-G. Stephan (bass) and Thomas Kretzschmer (guitars). Inga Rumpf handled the vocals on one of the five tracks. Musically this was fine, keyboard-dominated progressive rock, offering much time for inspired instrumental work - almost like a "lost" Frumpy-album! It was recorded at Windrose studios, Hamburg, during April 1972. Kravetz coproduced it with Thomas Kukuck (also engineering). After this project Kravetz returned to Frumpy in time to contribute to the last part of the recordings for By The Way (1972). With Inga Rumpf and Karl-Heinz Schott he then founded Frumpy's logical successor, the more mainstream rock group Atlantis. Kravetz also helped his mate Udo Lindenberg on many of his solo albums.

VOLKER KRIEGEL
ALBUMS (up to '76):

"Spectrum" (BASF 21-20874-5) 1971 "Inside: Missing Link" (MPS 33 21431) 1972 "Lift!" (MPS 21 21753) 1973 "Mild Maniac" (MPS 21 22060-6) 1974

"Tropical Harvest" (MPS 20 22827-4) 1975 This is an internationally quite well-known jazz guitarist and as such he is only a marginal case for inclusion here. Volker Kriegel's albums featured famous jazz musicians such as Peter Trunk (bass, cello), John Taylor (guitar), Eberhard Weber (bass), Zbigniew Seifert (electric violin), Alan Skidmore (sax), Albert Mangelsdorff (bassoon), John Marshall (drums), Joe Nay (drums). Peter Giger (percussion), Rainer Bruninghaus (keyboards), Thomas Bettermann (keyboards), Hans Peter Stroer (bass) and Ralf Hubner (drums).

LA DUSSELDORF
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

NIKOLAUS VON RHEIN (KLAUS DINGER) g, v, kb, synth THOMAS GINGER perc, v HANS LAMPE perc, electronics

same (Nova 622 550) 1976 La Dusseldorf were the logical successor to the duo Neu, which disbanded when Michael Rother left in 1975 to pursue a successful solo career. His collaborator Klaus Dinger recorded a new album from September to December 1975 with the two percussionists that contributed to the Neu '75 album: Thomas Ginger and Hans Lampe. This "new Neu project" was named La Dusseldorf. Harald Konietzko (bass) also guested on the album, recorded with Konrad Plank in the Plank studio. The sleeve also mentioned another guest, Nikolaus von Rhein - this was none other than Klaus Ginger himself! Musically this was a return to industrial and urban electronic rock, as opposed to the almost rural atmosphere on Neu '75 . It's very tempting to compare La Dusseldorf's music at this stage to Ktaftwerk's Autobahn phaze - highly electronic and monotonous as it was, and even featuring similar minimalistic and naive lyrics. The difference was La Dusseldorf's use of guitar and acoustic drums, bringing their sound slightly closer to "rock". As such, Klaus Dinger & Co. were undoubtedly inspiring many forthcoming bands of the Neue Deutsche Welle (circa 1979-1984); Rheingold, Der Plan, etc. The two tracks on side one were heralding different aspects of the city of Dusseldorf, mainly via the use of symbolistic keywords.

LADY

Personnel:

ALBUM:

WERNER NADOLNY kb, v (HANNO GROSSMANN g) A MATTHIAS JABS g B CHRISTIAN REINHARDT b, v (CLAUS ZAAKE d) A ROB PEROTTI d B

(A)same (Vertigo 6360 636) 1976 Just like Harlis, this was an offshoot from the Hannover group Jane. At the end of 1973, Werner Nadolny left this group to create his own music. This resulted in the formation of Lady in 1976. Their single album was recorded in May 1976, featuring a pompous rock not that different from the parent group. At the end of 1976, Grossmann and Zaake quit and were replaced by Matthias Jabs and Rob Perotti.

LANG'SYNE
Personnel:

ALBUM:

EGBERT FROSE g, kb, psalter, v, sitar MATTHIAS NAHLE g, glockenspiel, perc, v, banjo ULRICH g, flt, glockenspiel, perc, v

NB: The album had a standard, single black & white cover. Re-issued in 1992 on CD by Lost Pipe Dream

same (Dusselton 2737) 1976

According to the sleeve of their eponymous album, "langsyne" means "for a long time". Lang'syne's elusive private pressing was released in 1976, and is now practically impossible to find. That's a shame, as it contained seven songs of excellent folk-rock! Their sound was different from many other German folk-rock artists - they sang in English, and overall there was a mystical atmosphere like that of the British (& Irish) groups Calinnan & Flynn, Isolation, Moonkyte, Stone Angel, Trees, etc. I wish they had recorded several more albums!

LAVA

Personnel:

ALBUM:

THOMAS KARRENBACH kb, v STEFAN OSTERTAG g, v JURGEN KRAAZ g, flt, b, kb CHRISTIAN OSTERTAG b, g ARCHER WEAVER d, harm, jew harp, v PETER MOSES perc

"Tears Are Going Home" (Brain 1031) 1973 A band from Berlin that made one of the best 'rock albums' on the legendary green Brain 1,000series. The members reputedly lived as a commune. Tears Are Going Home was recorded in Berlin, but mixed at Windrose Studios, Hamburg, by the hard-working Konrad Plank, assisted by Hans Lampe. The seven tracks on the album are extremely varied, covering the important styles of progressive rock of the day: the heavy space style of Hawkwind (on the title track), strange folk-rock ("All My Love To You", "Would Be Better You Run") and West Coast rock ("I'm Just A Mad Dog"). Sadly, no more was ever heard from the band. For many years their album could be acquired quite cheaply, but recently the band seems to have been discovered by collectors and the price has risen.

LIED DES TEUFELS

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

PETER GARTH v, sax, flt RALF SCHULTZE g, v JORG HAHNFIELD b THOMAS HOLM d

same (Kuckuck 2375 019) 1972 "Hollisch Heisse Rockmusik" (Plane S99301) 1975 Hanuman changed their name to Lied Des Teufels in 1972. Lied Des Teufels (1972) was a fine,

progressive and political rock effort, not dissimilar to Ihre Kinder. The main difference was that Lied Des Teufels used more instrumental work (notable guitar and flute) and favoured complex arrangements. One could say that their music was more progressive orientated than Ihre Kinder's folky song style. Hollich Heisse Rockmusik (1975) veered towards a Teutonic, politically-aware Gentle Giant.

LIGHT OF DARKNESS
Personnel:

ALBUM:

JOHN LATIMER v, kb, perc BYRON GRANT g, fdl MIKE REOCH b, flt, pno, harm MANFRED BEBERT d

same (Phillips 6305 062) 1971 I was very doubtful whether I should include this Scottish group in the German rock section or not, but as they had a German drummer, were based in Germany and their album only was released in Germany, I think it is justified! If you don't have this album, buy it at once, it's an all time classic! This is a heavy progressive garage rock masterpiece with such a bizarre vocalist, his voice makes Captain Beefheart sounds like Art Garfunkel! Their only album included a freaked version of "Soul Francisco" as well as self-written, thunderin' blues-rock classics such as "Movin' Along" and "Freedom's Fight". A stunning party record! The album came with impressive, absurd cover art. Original Phillips copies new sell for 400 DEM or more. The album was re-issued in 1981 on ZYX in a single sleeve with completely different artwork. Luckily Second Battle put it right again in 1990, when they released 1,000 copies of the album - featuring the original cover plus an insert with information.

LIGHTSHINE
Personnel:

ALBUM:

JOE g, v ULLI g, flt, v OLLI synth WOLFGANG b EGON d

Re-issued by Penner on CD in 1994.

"Feeling" (Trefiton 1049) 1973

This group released the impressive album Feeling (1973), a classic among small label releases. Unfortunately I'm not able to give you the full names of this crew, as the sleeve only stated their forenames. The band was from the Emmerich area near the Dutch border, recording their obscure album in an unknown studio named Trepita-Film-Ton-Studio (whose label was also responsible for the release). It's hard to give you an accurate impression of this album because of its great variety. They obviously loved to incorporate crazy elements into their music, as illustrated by the primal screams at the beginning of "Sword In The Sky" and the King's laughter in "King And Queen". There were also moments of great beauty: the cosmic, Ash Ra-like guitar style on "Nightmare" with soft vocal harmonics and synthesizer textures. "Lory" borrowed the bass pattern from Grieg's composition "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" and had gutsy, distorted

guitars. The aforementioned "King And Queen" was a 13 minute opus, merging melancholic melodies, lyrics and dreamy instrumental parts with the sudden appearance of the insane king! The album concluded with "Feeling", a kind of acid-folk composition culminating in a final frenzy. Overall, an extremely good album, well worth hunting for! An original copy will cost you more than 250 DEM!

LILAC ANGELS
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

JOE STICK v, g, kb HORST "HORREX" LUTGE g, v DET SILVERSTEIN b, v NAPPES NAPIERSKY d

"I'm Not Afraid To Say Yes" (Dingerland 9490 211) 1973 Groups like Lilac Angels were quite rare in Germany in the early seventies - they were not too keen on musical experiments, but more interested in making good time rock'n'roll music, inspired by Rolling Stones and rhythm & blues in general. Surprisingly enough, the band was groomed by Klaus Dinger (of Neu and La Dusseldorf), who produced their first album and released it on his own short-lived Dingerland label. The recordings were done in March and April 1973 in Windrose studios, Hamburg, with Konrad Plank engineering. With titles like "Rock'n'Roll Hand" and "Hard Lovin' Man" you know what to expect!

LILY

Personnel:

ALBUM:

HANS-WERNER STEINBERG sax MANFRED-JOSEF SCHROLDT g KLAUS LEHMANN g WILFRIED KIRCHMEIER b, v MANFRED SCHLAGMULLER d

"VCU" (Bacillus BLPS 19144) 1973 A progressive jazz-rock outfit. Dieter Dierks guested on mellotron. VCU ("we see you") was produced by Peter Hauke in the Dierks studio 1973. This album represented one of his least successful productions. Lily's music was quite ordinary and bands like Ardo Dombec made, in my opinion, far better efforts to combine jazz and progressive rock (with the weight on rock). Certainly other collectors regard Lily with more enthusiasm than me, though! The album had a notorious sleeve with the members pictured with lots of make-up.

LIMBUS 3/4
Personnel (3):

Personnel (4):

ODYSSEUS ARTNER BERND HENNINGER CORD KRAUS same +

ALBUM (as Limbus 3): ALBUM (as Limbus 4):

MATTHIAS KNIEPER

"Cosmic Music Experience" (CPM LPS1) 1969

"Mandalas" (Ohr OMM 56 001) 1970 This little known band from Heidelberg and Karlsruhe was among the pioneers of ethnic rock fusion. Unlike bands like Embryo and Between, Limbus made almost totally improvised, spontaneous music. The result sounded as if Kluster had gone ethnic! Cosmic Music Experience (1969) was issued under the name Limbus 3, with all three musicians playing piano, bass, guitar, cellos, violin, flute, whistle, recorder, tambourine, tablas, foray, tsikadraha, valiha and other exotic percussion instruments. They were university students who wanted to express philosophical and psychological ideas through their music. The album was a private release, and is now of course extremely rare. It has a fold-out cover with a simple drawing on the front, a picture of the group walking in a park or forest. Inside there was general information, a text about the Limbus 3-music and Francis Bacon's "New Atlantis" (1623) and another picture of the group. "New-Atlantis" was also one of the music pieces of the record, taking up side two. For Mandalas (1970) the group was expanded with the addition of Matthias Knieper (various instruments) and thus became the quartet Limbus 4. This was the second Ohr-release with a Reinhard Hippendesigned sleeve. It had the Ohr speciality - a cut-in on the front sleeve with a balloon attached. Musically this was in similar style with four new improvisations, though their first album was their most successful.

UDO LINDENBERG
ALBUMS (up to '76):

same (Telefunken SLE 14637) 1971 "Daumen Im Wind" (Telefunken SLE 14679) 1972 "Alles Klar Auf Der Andrea Doria" (Telefunken SLE 14719) 1973 "Ball Popmpos" (Telefunken SLE 14790) 1974 "Votan Wahnwitz" (Telefunken 6.22223) 1975 "Galaxo Gang" (Telefunken 6.22460) 1976 "Sister King Kong" (Telefunken 6.22610) 1976 The singer Udo Lindenberg (vocals, drums, keyboards) is hardly an artist to be closely associated with the progressive rock movement. However, his first albums contain some inspired moments. Among the musicians on his seventies albums are Andy Marx (guitar), Helmut Franke (guitar, from Achim Reichel-band), Carl G. Stephan (bass), Thomas Kretzschmer (guitar, from Achim Reichel-band, Dennis), Jean-Jaques Kravetz (keyboards, ex-Frumpy, ex-Atlantis), Keith Forsey (drums, famous session-musician), Olaf Kubler (sax, Amon Duul II-producer, ex-Passport), Curt Cress (drums, ex-Passport, etc.), Inga Rumpf (vocals, ex-Frumpy, ex-Atlantis), Dave King (bass), Kristian Schultze (keyboards, ex-Passport) and Paul Vincent (guitar).

LINDNER & BOHN

Personnel:

ALBUM:

CARSTEN BOHN WOLFGANG "ZABBA" LINDNER

"Vollbedienung Of Percussion" (Brain 1047) 1974

The ex-Tomorrow's Gift drummer Wolfgang "Zabba" Lindner teamed up with ex-Frumpy drummer Carsten Bohn for the percussion extravaganza Vollbedienung Of Percussion (1974). It included experimental music comparable to the first Niagara album. Apart from some sections with echoed voices and piano, it was exclusively performed on various percussion instruments. So, if you like experimental percussion, this is surely the album for you!

LOKOMOTIVE KREUZBERG
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

ANDREAS BAUER v, kb, vln KARL-HEINZ SCHERFLING v (VOLKER HIEMANN v, g) A (UWE MULLRICH g) B BERNHARD POTSCHKA g C (FRANZ POWALLA (v, b) A MANFRED PRAEKER v, b B UWE HOLZ v, d, harm

(A)"Kollege Klatt" (Plane S99101) 1972 (B)"James Blond" (Plane S99103) 1973 (B)"Fette Jahre" (Plane S99104) 1975 Along with Ton Steine Scherben, Lokomotive Kreuzberg were the most important political rock band to emerge from Berlin. Five left-wing ex-students formed the band at the beginning of 1972. Powalla was replaced by Manfred Praeker in the Spring of 1973. Uwe Mullrich replaced Volker Hiemann for six months, then he moved on to Munich and Embryo being replaced by Bernhard Potschka in Lokomotive Kreuzberg in the Summer of 1974. Like Floh De Cologne, Lokomotive Kreuzberg had theatrical live shows, where the music only served as a texture and background for their 'cabaret performances'. Kollege Klatt (1972), and all subsequent albums, contained a full variety of musical styles. The liner notes for the album were written by none other than Floh De Cologne! In addition to their four albums, two singles were issued on Plane: "Chile '73" coupled with "Hey Mr. America" (1974) and "Arbeitslos" coupled with "Teddy Tex" (1976). Fette Jahre (1975) is usually considered to he their best achievement musically.

LOVE & TEARS

Personnel incl.: ALBUM:

WOLF E. STEIN

same (Polydor 2371 334) 1973 A pop-rock band with their roots running as far back as 1964 to a soul band named Blue Moons. Love & Tears made several singles and the one album, a collection of short, light rock songs with occasional progressive influences. Nothing of much interest to search for here.

LOVE GENERATION
ALBUM:

"Vibrations" (United Artists UAS 29458) 1972 As with Love And Tears Love Generation were a light-weight pop-rock band, consisting of three girls and two boys. Vibrations (1972) had no progressive moments on it at all, as it was more

related to the light hippie-pop of American artists like The Mamas And Papas.

LUCIFER'S FRIEND
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

PETER HECHT kb DIETER HORNS b PETER HESSLEIN g, v (JOACHIM RIETENBACH d) A HERBERT BOMHOLDT d B

(A)same (Phillips S99101) 1970 (A)"Where The Groupies Killed The Blues" (Vertigo 6360 602) 1972 (A)"I'm Just A Rock'n'Roll Singer" (Vertigo 6360 611) 1973 (B)"Banquet" (Vertigo 6360 618) 1974 (B)"Mind Exploding" (Vertigo 6360 633) 1976 Hecht, Horns, Hesslein and Rietenbach were all member of the sixties beat band German Bonds. This group disbanded at the turn to the seventies. Hecht and Horns had played in German Bonds since 1965, Hesslein replaced original guitarist Rainer Degner (who went on to make the weird Bokaj Relsiem-album) in 1968 and Rietenbach became their drummer in 1969. Hecht, Horns and Hesslein studied graphics and design at the Hamburg Art School from 1970, but also found time to make records: first the Electric Food album for Europa, then Asterix for Decca. These contained short hard rock tracks. In November 1970 they recorded the instrumental backing tracks for another studio project named Lucifer's Friend. The British vocalist John Lawton, then touring in Hamburg with his band Stonewall, was engaged to complete the vocal tracks. The album was released on Phillips in January 1971 and was pretty well received by German record buyers. As a result Lucifer's Friend became a permanent group which took on live appearances. The music on the album differed in many ways from other German heavy progressive groups such as Armaggedon, Wind, Virus, Gift, etc. Lucifer's Friend sounded 100% Anglo-American with their archetypal vintage heavy metal, perhaps modelled on Deep Purple's In Rock. The album had eight guitar-based tracks with influences from blues, soul and to a lesser extent classical music. By the way: the bald-headed man that appeared on the front sleeve, and on most of their following LPs, was a certain Mr. Hans Helberg, born in 1915. In 1971 there were numerous project albums recorded by Lucifer's Friend musicians (sometimes with pseudonyms) released on budget price labels: Flash - Flash (hard rock), Children of Quechua - El Condor Pasa (contemporary pop-rock), Pink Mice - In Action (instrumental poprock adaptations of classical music) for Europa. These are mostly easy-going "B-records". I have also heard rumours that they were responsible for the obscure Brother T And Family album The Bralling of Rock on Fass 15.008 in 1970. In January 1972, a second proper Lucifer's Friend album was recorded at the Windrose and Star studios in Hamburg. It was agreed that Lucifer's Friend should continue to exist, but from now on just as a studio project. Where the Groupies Killed the Blues (1972) was quite similar to the first one in its musical style, but had strings and brass arrangements added by Hecht. It was one of the first LPs to be released on the German 'swirl' Vertigo 6360 600-series. The USA-licensed release on Passport sold increasingly well.

Meanwhile the members earned their mortgages by session work for The Les Humphries Singers and The James Last Band, either as musicians or arrangers. In addition, they continued to make project albums - it's hard to make a living out of rock music, you know! Albums released around 1972 were Fantastic Pikes - Synthesizer Sound Machine, Pink Mice - Synthesizer Sound and Peters Sunday & Birds of Fire - Fly Me Up. The third Lucifer's Friend album was recorded between January and February 1973. I'm Just A Rock'n'Roll Singer was another Vertigo 'swirl' release. This was more commercial and, sadly, had even more orchestral arrangements than Us predecessor. Nevertheless it became the best selling German album in USA in 1973' But in their homeland their reviews were getting worse. Rietenbach left the band and was replaced by Herbert Bomholdt. The trend of gradually decreasing musical quality was followed on the successive albums Banquet and Mind Exploding. Lucifer's Friend's music tended to be rather shallow and anonymous. Banquet was their most orchestrated work and included more than 30 session musicians. In Autumn 1976 John Lawton quit Lucifer's Friend to join Uriah Heep as a replacement for David Byron. In spite of a ten year long lifespan, Lucifer's Friend failed to make any real classic albums. They are most of interest for fans of heavy metal. From a progressive rock collector's point of view, the two first albums could be interesting musically (you'll only enjoy them if you can tolerate John Lawton's creaky heavy metal vocals), and the third one since it is a "swirled" artifact.

MADE IN GERMANY
Personnel:

ALBUM:

RITA PENKER v, perc WOLFGANG SCHULZ g, v, perc HANS-DIETER GRABER kb JOACHIM PADE sax, flt, perc STEPHAN PADE b, v, perc DIETER ASLEBEN d

same (Metronome MLP 15416) 1971 Six people with fat smiles and hippie looks were pictured on the front of this group's only album. Musically It ranges from the awful to the great! In the first category you'll find the five 3 minute tracks. These were uninteresting and easy-going pop rock songs. Two singles were also taken from the album. Then, in the second category, there were four extended tracks with a strong progressive feeling. The best way to enjoy this group is to tape the good tracks on a cassette and put away the record. It's not hard to understand that the group fell between two stools with this album. Unfortunately they (or their producer) were tempted to choose the easy pop-mode. They disappeared after two more singles.

MAMMUT
Personnel:

KLAUS SCHNUR g, v PETER SCHNUR g, v RAINER HOFFMAN kb THILO HERRMANN b, flt, v

ALBUM:

GUNTHER SEIER d

NB: Re-issued on CD by Ohrwaschl

same (Mouse Trick Track Music) 1971

This group made one of the most legendary German private pressings. It is now incredibly rare and its value has risen above 1,000 DEM. The sound of a squeaking mouse opens the album, released on 'Mouse Trick Track Music' (amazing choice of label name!). The album is a thematically linked "Mammut opus", with the word "Mammut" included in all the track titles. A rhythmic and dramatic instrumental overture with wistful flute ("Bird Mammut") and a short interlude for piano ("Classical Mammut") put you in the right mood before the lengthy, heavy guitar riffing tracks "Mammut Ecstasy" and "Footmachine Mammut" strike you' Perhaps Elias Hulk and parts of the first Embryo-album are comparable to this. Side two starts with a "Short Mammut" - sounds of gunfire and bomber planes. "Schizoid Mammut" had violent, paranoid lyrics with music to match. "Nagarn Mammut" is their attempt to be more lyrical. The album closes the same way as it started with large doses of instrumental music ("Mammut Opera"), what Pete Townshend would name a 'underture' The most impressive aspect of this album are all the biting guitar statements woven in-between the vocals. A typical golden artiefact from one of the most fertile years of modern music (1971!) incorporating both classical and heavy acid blues influences. Good production as well, considering it was a private release, so I can only recommend this album to you with great enthusiasm!

MARCEL
ALBUM:

"Dreams Consumed" (BASF 20 21109-4) 1971 Marcel was a singer and songwriter from Hamburg. His album Dreams Confused (1971) was arranged and produced by John O'Brien-Docker, known for his Brave New World album on Vertigo, released in 1972. To be honest, Marcel's talent was really just above average, and his album is only of interest for fans of mainstream folk rock. Marcel also had a contribution to the Heavy Christmas-album (1971): a heavy version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - better than the tracks on his own album.

VEIT MARVOS
ALBUMS:

"Nice To See You" (Ariola 86673) 1973 "Red Point Orchestra" (Bacillus BLPS 19216) 1975 Veit Marvos was one of the two keyboard players in the legendary heavy progressive band 2066 & Then. For a short time thereafter he played in the jazz-rock group Emergency, before recording a couple of solo albums. I have only heard his first one: Nice To See You (1973). In my opinion an uninteresting instrumental pop album, I'm sorry to say!

RAINER MARZ
ALBUMS:

"Marz & Eperjessy" (Bacillus 6494 009) 1971 "The Dream Is Over" (Bacillus BLPS 19094) 1972 Rainer Marz (vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion) was until 1970 the lead guitarist of Jeronimo. He is featured on their first album Cosmic Blues. In 1971, Marz collaborated with the Czech multi-instrumentalist George Eperjessy (vocals, guitars, bass, el.

violin). This resulted in their album Marz & Eperjessy, on which they played all the instruments, apart from being helped by a couple of session drummers. The album was another Peter Hauke production (co-produced by Marz) in the Dierks studio, Stommeln. It was released on the black and white Bacillus label (the 6494-series) in a fold-out cover designed by Walter Seyffer of Nine Days' Wonder . The album featured short songs of electric folk-rock with English lyrics pleasant, but a little light-weight. In the same year, Marz also helped Pete Bender with the recordings of his first Wyoming album. In return, Bender (piano, organ) played on Marz' solo album The Dream Is Over (1972). Curt Cress (drums, percussion), Georg Rober (bass) and Veit Marvos (piano, organ, synthesizer) also participated on the recordings. The album was an improvement over Marz & Eperjessy with better compositions, covering a larger range of musical styles. Marz also recorded his own versions of some traditional folk songs for the album. Hauke produced this album as well. Both albums clearly reveal Marz' admiration for American folk, country and rock artists, like Nell Young, Jimi Hendrix and Jesse Colin Young. For a short period in 1975, Rainer Marz was a member of Atlantis.

MASCHINE NO. 9
ALBUM:

"Headmovie" (Phillips 6305 221) 1973 This was a strange kind of radio play on vinyl, written by Wolf Wondratschek, Bernd Brummbar and Georg Deuter. The text is in German, so us foreigners suffer a lot when attempting to get the plot. I figure it was an ambitious science fiction story, with a cast of more than twenty characters. Among those taking part here are Rolf Zacher, Vlado Kristl, Olimpa Hruska, Renate Knaup and Daniel Fichelscher. In addition some statements by Timothy Leary, Allan Ginsberg, Ted Kennedy and John Lennon are used. There's no real music on the album, so it's only of interest for the Deutschrock completists.

McCHURCH SOUNDROOM
ALBUM:

"Delusion" (Pilz 20211142) 1971 Another of those obscure bands about which there is little information. Delusion (1972) is one of the rarest albums on the legendary Pilz label, and therefore hunted by collectors all over the globe. It has the typical German heavy progressive underground sound, based on loud guitars, trembling organ and flute. The sleeve generously credited the following people: "the Hamburg police appears during the session by kindly arrangement of enthusiastic neighbours"! The album contained five tracks in all. "Dream of a Drummer" is slightly matted by a long drum solo, otherwise there is much to enjoy here. "What Are You Doin'" contained an anti-drug message: 'You know all live together, want freedom and space Young people know forever, and see there's no release Stop what you 're doing, you make yourself a ruin Stop takin ' trips, snow horse and shit The better world, you know, can't find it Drugs never find an end, it's you, you that bend

The price is high, believe me, I don't lie!" (From "What Are You Doin'") This track, "Time is Flying" and "Delusion" are the highlights of this recommended album, produced by Konrad Plank. As with so many contemporaries, McChurch Soundroom recorded just one album and then disappeared into obscurity (after the folding of Pilz in 1973).

LOTHAR MEID
ALBUM (up to '76):

"Mench Dieser Klaus" (Phillips 6305 283) 1976 Lothar Meid (bass, vocals) was born 28 August 1942. In the sixties he played with several jazz and soul bands. In the middle of 1969 Lothar Meid was involved in the formation of the Munich group Embryo, along with Christian Burchard (vibraphone, drums), Edgar Hofmann (sax, flute, violin) and Jimi Jackson (organ). Later Meid joined Doldinger's Passport and participated on their 1971 debut album. But Lothar Meid is definitively best known as the bass player on many highly influential Amon Duul II albums: Tanz der Lemminge (1971), Carnival In Babylon (1972), Wolf City (1972), Vive la Trance (1973), Live In London (1973) and HiJack (1974). Meid left and rejoined this group many times, in 1973 he founded the short-lived 18 Karat Gold with Klaus Ebert (guitar), Jorg Evers (guitar) and Keith Forsey (drums). After recording HiJack, Meid departed from Amon Duul II for good, and toured with Joy Fleming, worked as studio musician and actor and at last decided to start his solo career. On Mensch, Dieser Klaus! (1976), Meid was helped out by Karl Allaut (guitar), Thor Baldursson (keyboards), Jorg Evers (guitar) and Keef Hartley (drums). This was a surprisingly "straight" pop-rock album and one is left with the feeling that Lothar Meid had the capacity to do much better than this!

MEISENFLOO
ALBUM:

same (private) 1972 An acoustic folk duo. They were amateurs lacking in talent, according to the famous collector W. Oertel! So there - you have been warned!

MESSAGE
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

ALLAN MURDOCH g TOMMY MCGUIGAN v, sax (BILLY TABBERT g, v) A HORST STACHELHAUS b (GERHARD SCHABER d, v) A (GUNTHER KLINGEL d) B MANFRED VON BOHR d C,D TONY GREAVES sax D

(A)"The Dawn A New Is Coming" (Bacillus BLPS 19081) 1972 (B)"From Boks & Dreams" (Bacillus BLPS 19159) 1973 (C)same (Nova 6.22013) 1975

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Bacillus BAC 2007. Beware that this mid-70s re-issues frequently are offered as originals!

(D)"Synapse" (Nova 6.22523) 1976

(P)This was a German-British band led by Allan Murdoch. The story of Message is quite similar to that one of Nektar: in the early seventies they released some excellent, refined progressive rock albums, spanning from lyrical, melodic folk-rock over to heavy guitar outbursts. Their music was supervised by the well-known Bacillus recording team of Peter Hauke (label manager, producer) and Dieter Dierks (studio owner, engineer). The crew that recorded The Dawn A New Is Coming (1972) was (A). Only the rhythm section of this group was German! Taff Freeman from Nektar contributed with vocals and mellotron on one track. Overall, it was an excellent album with the title track and "When I'm Home" being the highlights - a very obviously British melodic progressive rock. The fold-out cover contained a notable psychedelic artwork by Klaus Holtizka. From Books And Dreams (1973) was another fine album; here some of the tracks had a more sinister undertone, like the pounding "Dreams And Nightmares" with its' repeating, almost ritualistic guitar riff. On the other side, tracks like "Sigh" followed more in the Nektar-like style of their first album. By now Billy Tabbert and Gerhard Schaber had quit, and their drummer for the recording sessions was Gunther Klingel. For some unknown reason, it seems that the group fell out with the Hauke & Clerks recording team. Their third and self-titled album was released by Nova in 1975. Message now had a much more conventional style, possible due to pressure from their new record company. Their music lacked the energy and instrumental interludes of the two previous albums. The mellotrons and complex arrangements were also abandoned in an ill-failed attempt to gain more commercial success. Some tracks were still great, such as "Thoughts" with a stunning guitar solo. Manfred von Bohr was their drum player for this album. For their fourth album Message changed direction again. They attempted jazzy heavy rock on Synapse (1976), on which the sax player Tony Greaves was added.

METROPOLIS
Personnel:

ALBUM:

MICKY DUWE v, g UTE KAMSENBERG v MANFRED OPITZ kb, v g HELMUT BINZER g MICHAEL WESTPHAL b THOMAS HILDEBRAND d

same (Pan 87.439) 1974 This short-lived band was formed in 1973 by Micky Duwe. His first vinyl-captured appearance was on Ash Ra Tempel's acid-induced Seven Up-album. Officially he was a member of this group for a mere three months. Wesphal had also done occasional live appearances with Ash Ra Tempel. The Metropolis-album was recorded in December 1973 in Munich. It was a conceptalbum based on the obligatory hippie criticism against big cities and the modern life. The very well crafted music sounded like an orchestrated cross between Bowie's "Ziggy" period (Duwe's voice was close to Bowie!) and a straight-shape Ash Ra Tempel. The six tracks had English lyrics. "Birth" coupled with "Superplasticclub" was also released as a single (not the two best tracks, I would say). The album is recommended.

STEPHAN MICUS
ALBUM (up to '76):

"Archaic Concerts" (Caroline C1517) 1976 Stephan Micus is an inventive artist, working somewhere between jazz and ethnic music. He only uses acoustic instruments, like flower pots, zither, flute, hammered dulcimer, etc., thus creating a very personal and earthly music, sometimes reminiscent of Deuter.

MIDNIGHT CIRCUS
Personnel:

ALBUM:

CHRISTIAN BOLLMANN v, g, tpt, recorder TORSTEN SCHMITT v, g

same (Bellaphon 19108) 1972 This was a progressive folk-rock duo. Their only album was recorded in the Clerks Studio with Peter Hauke producing. Also several guests were featured on the recordings: Thomas Engel (drums), Veit Marvos, 'Davy Crockett' (bass), Rainer Marz, Jan van Rosendaal (guitar) and Peter Hauke (drums, percussion!). The musical style on the album was a typical Bacillus-rock as Hauke's other productions. The best track was "November Church" - a beautiful, slow folk song with a dark atmosphere.

MISSING LINK
Personnel:

ALBUM:

MARKUS SING g GUNTHER LATUSCHIK sax GABRIEK DOMINIK MUELLER v DIETER MIEKAUTSCH kb DAVE SCHRATZENSTALLER b HOLGER BRANDT d

"Nevergreen!" (United Artists UAS 29439) 1972 These were one of the lesser known United Artists acts, based in Munich. Nevergreen! was recorded at the Dierks Studio in October 1972. On the seven tracks a complex and varied musical style emerged. It included jazz sax riffing ("Sorcery"), some solo piano parts ("Song For Ann"), loud rock outbursts ("Kids Hunting") and matching acoustic guitars ("Spoiled Love"). However, the overall sound is quite jazzy, so the album will appeal most to fans of Embryo, Xhol, Ardo Dombec, Thirsty Moon, etc. Actually, Dieter Miekautsch joined Embryo (also Missus Beastley) after the group's demise in 1973. Drummer Holger Brandt later joined Sahara. The Missing Link album is quite good, but certainly not a classic! Many other albums of the period overshadow Nevergreen. 65 DEM would probably secure you a copy.

MISSUS BEASTLEY
Personnel:

(ATZEN WEHMEYER g, v) A-C (PAUL VINCENT g) B (ROMAN BUNKA g) C

ALBUMS (up to '76):

(WOLFGANG NICKEL kb) A-C (MICHAEL SCHOLZ kb) B (DIETER MIEKAUTSCH kb) D BURKARD SCHMIDT kb E,F JURGEN BENZ sax, flt C-F FRIEDMANN JOSCH sax, flt D-F (PETJA HOFMANN b, v) A-C NORBERT DOMLING b D-F (LUTZ OLDEMEIER d) A-D (JIM MCGILLIVRAY d) E BUTZE FISCHER d F

NB: Re-issue of 1 as Nara Ast Insence in 1970 on Opp 5-32, apparently a pirate pressing. Re-issues of 3 & 4 on Snowball with the same order numbers. It seems like a guy made some illegal live albums by Missus Beastley:

(A)same (CPM LP2) 1970 (D)same (Nova 6.22030) 1974 (F)"Dr. Aftershave & the Mixed-Pickles" (April 0001) 1976

"Im Garten Des Schweigens" (Ele Bird 9002) 1972 "Superrock Made in Germany" (Ele Bird 9003) 1972 Missus Beastley were among the earliest bands of the new progressive rock wave, being founded in Herford in 1968, recorded their debut album in January 1970 with Hansi Fischer (flute, from Xhol, later Embryo) and Dieter Serfas (pereussion, from Amon Duul II). This was a glimpse into early German underground jazz-rock with lots of flute, psychedelic organ and guitars. The band could be compared to Xhol and Embryo. Soon after the recordings finished, Missus Beastley expanded to become a sextet with Paul Vincent and Michael Scholz. Half a year later, Vincent was replaced by Roman Bunka and a seventh member, Jurgen Benz, joined. By the end of the year, the band were bankrupt and their activities terminated. Nothing more was heard from Missus Beastley until Autumn 1973, when reformed the band and went on tour in Germany. This quintet (D) also recorded an album for Nova in 1974, containing a slick, funky jazz-rock, totally different to the previous album. Lutz Oldemeier and Miekautsch left in 1975 to be replaced by Butze Fischer and Burkard Schmidt. In the interim, Jim McGillivray of Epitaph drummed three months for Missus Beastley. Along with Embryo, Ton Steine Scherben and Sparifankal, Missus Beastley founded the independent record company April. Dr. Aftershave & The Mixed-Pickles (1976) became the second release: on this label (Sparifankal's Bayern Rock being April 0000). This was a distinct improvement on the halfhearted Nova album, recorded with three talented guests from Embryo: Roman Bunka, Maria Archer (vocals) and Christian Burchard (vibraphone).

MURPHY BLEND
Personnel:

WOLF-RODIGER UHLIG kb, pno, v WOLFGANG RUMLER g, v ANDREAS SCHOLTZ b ACHIM SCHMIDT d

ALBUM:

NB: Re-issued on CD by Kuckuck arranged by Ohrwaschl. A numbered edition of 1,000 copies.

"First Loss" (Kuckuck 2375 005) 1972

Murphy Blend were responsible for one of the best albums released on Polydor's legendary Kuckuck-label. First Loss was recorded in Union Studio, Munich during October and December 1970, produced by Jonas Porst (the manager of Ihre Kinder!) and engineered by Thomas Klemt. Murphy Blend revealed a fine blend in which Uhlig utilised his keyboards to incorporate classical themes into their heavy progressive music. He had studied classical music for three years in Berlin. The songs were melodic, textured by heavy guitar and organ riffs. The album contained six proper tracks (mostly written by Uhlig) and the shortest German song of all time: the 3/10 of a second long "Happiness"! It's impossible to name highlights as all material is truly great! Sadly Murphy Blend disbanded soon after recording this album. Andreas Scholz went on the heavy progressive Blackwater Park in 1971. Wolf-Rudiger Uhlig guested on Frumpy's third album By The Way in 1972

MY SOLID GROUND
Personnel:

ALBUM:

BERNHARD RENDEL g, v INGO WERNER kb KARL-HEINRICH DORFLER b ANDREAS WURSCHING d

NB: Counterfeit exists in single cover.

same (Bacillus 6494 008) 1971

This album is a genuine treasure! Through the years, it has become immensely rare, and is now considered one of the monsters of German rock, fetching DEM 500 for mint copies. My Solid Ground was the one-off project. The recordings were done in February and April 1971 in Dieter Dierks' studio with Peter Hauke producing. The marvellous opening track "Dirty Yellow Mist" was as close as any group has reached into the atmosphere of Pink Floyd's Meddle album. The thirteen-minute track was driven by a monotonous, but very effective guitar riff. The organ passages really remind one of Richard Wright and there are pink pigs on the fold-out cover! "The Executioner" was a highly original and effective combination of mumbling vocal and heavy guitar and keyboard statements. There were three aggressive, punky rock songs: "Flash Part IV", "That's You", and "Handful of Grass". "Melanchonie" again recalls Pink Floyd, this time the mellow, peaceful romanticism of "Allan's psychedelic Breakfast". "Devonshire Street WI" was another highly original song, while the instrumental "X" ended the album. Definitely one of the ten best German albums of all time! It's a tragedy there were no further My Solid Ground albums. After this recording, all members seemed to drift back into obscurity and Hauke & Dierks were left to work with artists like Nektar and Omega.

MYTHOS
Personnel:

STEPHAN KASKE flt, kb, v, g SVEN DOHROW g C (HARALD WEISSE b) A (ROBBY LUIZAGA b, g, kb) B

ALBUMS (up to '76):

EBERHARD SEIDLER b C (THOMAS HILDEBRAND d) A (HANS-JURGEN PUTZ d) B RONNIE SCHREINZER d C

(A)same (Ohr OMM 556 019) 1972 (B)"Dreamlab" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 016) 1975 Stephan Kaske was 18 years old when he formed the first Mythos line-up in 1969 with Harald Weisse and Thomas Hildebrand. In 1971 they appeared live at a festival and attracted Ralf-Ulrich Kaiser's attention. This led to a contract with Ohr records. The first Mythos album was duly recorded during Autumn 197l. "Mythoett" starts the album in a manner very similar to Jethro Tull. This was a revised version of Handel's fireworks music, on which Kaske played brilliant flute. He would soon be celebrated as one of Germany's best flute players. "Oriental Journey" has an Eastern flavour, as the name implies. "Hero's Death" was, by the Mythos' standards, unusually guitar-dominated. Side two is filled up with "Encyclopaedia Terrae" This extended track tells the sad tale of our earth: "A long time ago there was a man who didn't want to live in this world of killing and fighting anymore. Fully convinced that mankind would improve and become more peaceful during its evolution and being a man of genius he built a machine winch would enable him to sleep as in death. A hundred years later the machine was supposed to wake him, at that time he hoped to find a better world, one that would he worth living in. One hundred years passed. The machine woke the man, but although nearly everything had changed, mankind hadn't. So the man returned to the machine, and kept returning to it, until the 36th time, when he woke to find that there was no more life on earth. There were no birds in the sky, no fish in the sea, no trees and no flowers. Man had killed all the plants, animals, and at last, even himself, leaving the earth a dead ball in the universe. Seeing this, the man sat down on the bleak ground and tears run down his cheek His lungs inhaled the deadly smoke, and darkness closened about him, as he followed all the others to a place of no fighting and no killing. Would you like to know the name of this place? It's called the eternity, and the only gate you must pass through to enter it, is that one that separates life and death." (From "Encyclopaedia Terrae") Definitively a poetic way to finish a classic album - one of the best Ohr-releases! Truly indispensable! Late in 1972 the original Mythos split up. Kaske attempted to assemble a new trio at the beginning of 1973, but this came to nothing. Then in December 1973 he teamed up with Robby Luizaga and Hans-Jurgen Putz for the production of a television soundtrack for "Die Superspinne". One of the tracks was later to be found on Dreamlab (1975), entitled "Eternity". This album, Mythos' second one, was released on Ohr's logical successor: Kosmische Musik. It was another great work of a more cosmic and spacey nature. However, Kaske himself thought of Dreamlab as a 'B-work' more than all ordinary Mythos album - pre-ordered by label manager Ralf-Ulrich

Kaiser. The album cover was also Kaiser's decision: drawings of Tarot cards by Peter Geitner. Kaske soon separated from the two studio musicians he had worked with previously and produced further soundtrack works. In the Summer of 1976 he formed the third Mythos line-up with: Sven Dohrow, Eberhard Seidler and Ronnie Schreinzer. This was indeed a changed Mythos concept, now concentrating on shorter, more commercial and rock-based songs.

NECRONOMICON
Personnel:

ALBUM:

NORBERT BREUER g, v (WALTER STURM g,v) A (FISTUS DICKMANN kb) A DIETER OSE kb B (DETLEV HAKENBECK b) A GERD LIBBER b B HARALD DERNHARD d

NB: An Italian counterfeit of 1 exists - to be avoided!

(A)"Tips zum Selbstmord" (Best Prehodi 60.634) 1972

Famous for their eponymous album which is sought-after by collectors World-wide, Necronomicon came from Aachen, a city near the borders with the Netherlands and Belgium. They adapted the name Necronomicon from an H.P. Lovecraft novel and built up a spectacular live repertoire during 1971. It featured complex heavy progressive song arrangements with awkward German lyrics that dealt with ecological problems, the threat of a nuclear disaster, the end of mankind and pure despair. A demo recording of a performance at the Mensa, Aachen, 1971, was unearthed by the archaeologists at Little Wing and released as parts one and two of their lavish 4-LP + book Necronomicon-set (LW 1010/11/12/13), released in 1990 in cooperation with the band. Part one consisted of previously unheard compositions and part two of different versions of the songs that later would appear on their only album: Tips Zum Selbstmord. Necronomicon proved themselves to be a band with the same seriousness and sense of large scale works as the most extreme Italian bands. Sadly, the technical quality of these early recordings was on the same level as certain bootlegs and the performance a bit rough in places. Even so this historic document is absorbing. With the economic support of a friend, Necronomicon set off to a semi-professional studio in the Netherlands to record (in March and April 1972) what has become the ultimate collector's item for purveyors of German progressive rock: Tips Zum Selbstmord, released in a lavish multi foldout cover, in the shape of a cross. The highly talented drawings were done by Harald Bernhard and pictured tortured bodies and painful faces, building up an intricate whole, reminiscent of some nightmarish Hieronymus Bosch work (but no fantasy monsters!). Few would deny that this is one of the best and most unique German records of the early seventies. The sinister atmosphere of both the music and lyrics are evident: Uns Geht es besser, als den anderen 84% der Ertbevolkerung 16% der Bevolkerung verbrauchen 80% der Konsumguter 50% der Konsumguter werden in Nordamerika veraussert Auf diese Erde leben 3,4 milliarden menchen, davon: Erleiden

16% hunger, 35% sind unzureichend ernahrt, 33% haben ihr existenzminimum, 16% sind wohlhabend, sind reich! 16% der wohlstandsburger hatten 72 millionen tonnen getreideuberschuss 72 millionen getreideuberschuss wurden 1971 vernichtet Davon konnte ein grossteil der Menschen die jetzt an hunger sterben, ernahrt werden Aber die Wohlstandsburger und ihre kinder legen sich mit vollgefressenen bauchen in ihre betten auf weichen matratzen Haben sie vergessen welche verplichtung sie eigentlich hatten, denn: Ihnen geht es besser als den andern 84% der Erdbevolkerung! (from "In Memoriam") There were biting guitar leads throughout, shimmering, painful vocals, a garage organ trying to battle with Bach, sudden shifts of tempos and moods, including passages of more primitive heavy garage rock. For the want of hotter comparisons: imagine the best elements of vintage Uriah Heep with the lyrical awareness of a political rock band like Floh de Cologne. Perhaps this is the music that Wagner would have made if he had lived in 1945 and experienced the bombing raids over Germany, freaked out in the sixties and decided to be a rock musician and then had bad trips for years due to the daily news on TV! Remarkably enough, the album was recorded on just two backs, approximately recorded live in the studio. It was released in a limited edition of 500 copies and is probably THE most hunted German record. The odd copy that turns up sells easily for 1,700 OEM or more. It is cheaper to purchase it as part 3 of the Little Wing 4 LP box! From 1972 to the end of 1973 the group worked on new material with a revised line-up: guitar player Walter Sturm quit to join Rufus Zuphall, Fistus Dickmann was replaced with Dieter Ose and Detlev Hakenbeck replaced by Gerd Libber. Some of the new compositions lasted for sixty minutes! In fact, such material proved to be almost impossible to play live, and the songs were consequently edited down to a length of 10 to 15 minutes. As such, they were recorded live in their rehearsal room in 1974. Walter Sturm had now returned to the band. Little Wing compiled 45 minutes from the only remaining source, a low quality cassette. It's only interesting for collectors as another historic document of their development. The desperation had now faded to mere resigned statements about mankind's cynical nature. As such they were now closer to other refined political rock bands.

NEU

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

MICHAEL ROTHER g, b, pno, electronics, perc KLAUS DINGER d, pno, v, banjo, g (ULI TREPTE b) B HANS LAMPE d C THOMAS DINGER d C

USA-issue of 1 exists on Billinsgate BG 1001. 1st Gwerman re-issue as Hallogallo on the "Rock On Brain" series, 2nd re-issue on black

(A)same (Brain 1004) 1972 (A)"2" (Brain 1028) 1973 (C)"'75" (Brain 1062) 1975

Brain 1981 on "1st recordings" series. UK-issue exists on United Artists UAS 29396. There is also a sampler named Black Forest Gateau released in Great Britain on Cherry Red ca. 1982 with tracks from the two first albums.

Much heralded by British new wave and Kraftwerk fans, the group Neu from Dusseldorf was certainly an extraordinary duo with many brave and innovative ideas. Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger came together late in 1971. Dinger had recently contributed to the first Kraftwerk-album. In December 1971 they recorded their first album over four nights at Windrose Studios in Hamburg, with Konrad Plank producing. Tracks like "Hallogallo" were guided by a characteristic, repeating metronomic drum beat, as the basis for 10 minutes of harmonic guitar improvisations in just one key. This music naturally paid homage both to Kraftwerk's klingklang music and to Can's 'live in the studio' works. Other tracks had strange continuums of rural environment sounds, glissando guitars, peculiar vocals and sound effects. All together a rather naive and playful form of avant-garde music, resulting in a very original album! However, Neu 2 (1973) merely repeated this formula. Side one had a classic Neu track in "Fur Immer", sounding very close to the previously issued "Hallogallo" On side two, the A and B sides of a 1972 single ("Neuschnee" coupled with "Super") were the subjects for tape manipulations of different sorts - slowed down, speeded up or dubbed (and with pre-recorded vinyl scratches and noises added)! If Capitol made nine US albums out of five UK Beatles albums, Neu taught the music business other ways to stretch a single all over an-LP's side! It's not a bad album, but a little superfluous when compared with their first. Attempts to present Neu live (with ex-Guru Guru member Uli Trepte on bass) in November 1972 were terminated after 6 concerts. Michael Rother then began to work with the Cluster duo as the trio Harmonia, resulting in the albums Musik von Hiarmonia (1973) and De Luxe (1975). Klaus Dinger on the other hand used the spare time attempting to launch his own label, named Dingerland. This project was ill-fated, but he managed to release an album with the rock'n'roll group Lilac Angels. Then, in 1975, Neu resurfaced as a quartet of: Rother, K. Dinger, Thomas Dinger and Hans Lampe. Neu '75 was a brilliant album, succeeding in making their music more accessible. A charming and tuneful example of the very special "klingklang" Dusseldorf rock and a link between the early Kraftwerk works and the forthcoming neue Deutsche Welle. When Michael Rother went off to make a second Harmonia album and then pursue a solo career. Hans Lampe and the Dinger brother changed their name to La Dusseldorf, and explored the melodic Neu '75 sound further on their subsequent albums.

NIAGARA

Personnel (approx.):

KLAUS WEISS (COTCH BLACKMON) A (KEITH FORSEY) A (JUAN ROMERO) A UDO LINDENBERG DANIEL FICHELSCHER B

ALBUMS:

JOE KARRIS B

(A)same (United Artists UAS 29232) 1971 (B)"S.U.B." (United Artists UAS 29343) 1972 (-)"Afire" (Finger 2960 102) 1973 The first Niagara album was the recorded experience of five percussionists. Two more percussionists guested: Daniel Fichelscher and George Green. The album could reasonably be summed up thus: 'DRUMMELUMM-MELUMMM'!!! Two side length pieces of unaccompanied percussion, highly influenced by South-American rhythms - take it or leave it! Anyway, it's an honourably un-commercial project! The second Niagara-album, named S.U.B. (1972), was a more conventional jazz-rock fusion work, although still highly focused on percussion and rhythms. Weiss, Lindenberg and Fichelscher were here joined by Paul Vincent (guitar), Gary Unwin (bass, later of Joy Fleming Band and Ralf Nowy group), Christian Schultze (el.-piano, Passport), Ack van Rooyen (fluegelhorn, trumpet), Ferdinand Povel (sax, flute), Milan Pilar (bass on one track) and Joe Karris (timbales, congas, percussion). The rhythmic feeling on this album, recorded during February 1972 at Studio 70, Munich, could in some ways be compared to Embryo on their album Embryo's Rache (1971). I have no idea who played on the last Niagaraalbum: Afire (1973).

NIGHT SUN
Personnel:

ALBUM:

BRUNO SCHAAB v, b WALTER KIRCHGASSNER g KNUT ROSSLER kb, tpt, bassoon ULRICH STAUDT d

NB: An early (mid-70s?) re-issue on Polydor 2459 094.

"Mournin'" (Zebra 2949 004) 1972

A heavy rock group. Their only album Mournin' was released in 1972 on Polydor's Zebra-label. Schaab's vocals were creaky and recalled the screams of Ian Gillan. In addition, the group played a loud, Deep Purple-like rock - with a characteristic "heavy progressive" instrumentation of twin guitars, organ, bass and drums. With their sudden shifts of rhythm structures, guitar coupled with organ riffing style and some studio effects (particularly phasing) courtesy of Plank, Night Sun fortunately never went too close to the ordinary boogie and rock'n'roll trap. The album was produced by Konrad Plank at the Windrose Studio, Hamburg. After the demise of the group, Bruno Schaab briefly joined Guru Guru, where his contribution was notable on the track "The Story Of Life".

NOSFERATU
Personnel:

MICHAEL THIERFELDER v (MICHAEL WIN g) MICHAEL MEIXNER g B CHRISTIAN FELKE sax, flt REINHARD GROHE kb MICHAEL KESSLER b

ALBUM:

BYALLY BRAUMANN d

NB: Re-issued in 1992 on CD by Ohrwaschl

(B)same (Vogue 17178) 1970

Nosferatu has the dubious honour of having produced one of the most over-priced collector's items of the German progressive rock genre, now selling easily for 800 DEM in mint condition. Originally their album was released in France and Germany on Vogue (a French label as you know). Nosferatu formed circa 1968. An early member of the band was guitarist Michael Win, a future member of Epsilon. Opinions are mixed about this album. Some regard it as one of the best heavy progressive records to be made in Germany, others think it is quite ordinary and certainly over-rated on the collector circuit. I'm sure most will agree that it contains a raw, rough and heavy progressive style. There were still some beat and psychedelic elements evident in the music, characteristic of the first wave of German progressive rock in 1969/70. I would compare it to the first Tomorrow's Gift album, Orange Peel or Hairy Chapter. Arguably the best moments are Felke's highly talented flute and sax playing. When Nosferatu disbanded, he became a member of Epsilon. There are only six tracks in all, with plenty of organ and guitar work. The production by Tony Hendrik could have been better. A counterfeit of the album appeared In 1989 at a more reasonable price than the originals. If you're keen on heavy progressive rock, go for Armageddon and 2066 & Then first, check out Nosferatu only if you find you need some more!

NOVALIS
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

HEINE SCHUNZEL b, v(B-) (JURGEN WENZEL v) A DETLEF JOB g B-D (CARLO KARGES g, kb) B FRED MUHLBOCK v, g, flt D LUTZ RAHN kb HARTWIG BIEREICHEL d

NB: Originals of 1, 2 & 3 have the green Brain-label. Re-issues are known with brown & black Brain labels. 1 was also re-issued with the new catalogue number 60.405 in 1981.

(A)"Banished Bridge" (Brain 1029) 1973 (B)same (Brain 1070) 1975 (C)"Sommerabend" (Brain 1087) 1976

An important and long lasting German exponent of 'romantic rock' (in their own words) Novalis was formed in Autumn 1971. Hartwig Biereichel had previously played in a blues-rock outfit named Greenlight (releasing four tracks on the 1970 festival sampler Love & Peace). In 1972, Novalis gave their first concert in their hometown Hamburg as the warm-up act to Cravinkel at "The Fabrik". Banished Bridge (recorded in January 1973 at Windrose Studios, produced by Jochen Petersen) was one of the first examples of synthesised German symphonic-rock. A very good album with a lyrical and melancholic atmosphere. The 17 minute long title track stands out as something very special - a very careful and understated composition with long 'ambient' passages full of bird whistles. Perhaps a good comparison would he P.F.M.'s first two Italian albums, and the vocal work is comparable to the first Jane album. However, vocalist Wenzel left the band after some arguments in 1974.

Detlef Job and Carlo Karges were added, expanding the group to a quintet. Karges had previously been a member of Tomorrow's Gift. With completely different vocals (by Heine Schunzel), German lyrics and the added guitars, their self-titled second album (recorded February 1975 in Studio Maschen) understandably sounded very different from the first. It was produced by Achim Reichel (who also produced all their forthcoming Brain albums) and comprised five songs of fine keyboard-based, folk-inspired rock, written by Rahn and Karges. Best were "Impressionen", based on Brucker's 5th symphony, and "Es Farbte Sich Die Wiese Grun", a symphonic folk song with adapted lyrics courtesy of the German romantic poet Novalis (Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg), written in 1798. Comparisons can be made with Holderlin's Spiegelei albums. Carlo Karges abandoned such music when he quit to join the new wave act Nena. Novalis recorded Sommerabend as a quartet in February 1976. This was an even better work, combining and developing elements from their previous albums to a neat perfect, personal symphonic rock. The title track must rank as their most outstanding achievement ever: a lush and romantic opus with acoustic guitars, string synthesizers, choir, thoughtful lyrics (in German) and nature's sounds of a summer afternoon. Just beautiful! In June 1976 the Austrian Fred Muhlbock was engaged as Novalis' new fifth member.

NOWY

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

RALF NOWY sax PAUL VINCENT g THOR BALDURSSON kb GARY UNWIN b KEITH FORSEY d

"Escalation" (Atlantic ATL 40556) "2" (Atlantic ATL 50205) Ralf Nowy is a lesser known jazz-rock saxophonist. On his first (solo) album Lucifer's Dream (Global 26015-8U) (1973), the Amon Duul II related musicians: Lothar Meid (bass), Keith Forsey (drums) and Alois Gromer (sitar) participated. Others involved were: Andy Marx (guitar), Paul Vincent (guitar), Don Anderson (keyboards) and Gary Unwin (bass). On the album they presented an interesting ethnic-flavoured jazz-rock fusion. With Vincent, Forsey, Unwin and Thor Baldursson, the group Nowy were formed in 1974 and released two more conventional jazz-rock albums on Atlantic. On Nowy 2, Nick Woodland (guitar, Englishman of Gift and Sahara fame) and Lothar Meid guested. Ralf Nowy later played with the rock'n'roll band Morgenrot.

ORANGE PEEL
Personnel incl.:

ALBUM:

HELM MOHN b CURT CRESS d

NB: They also released a single in 1969 on Admiral AD 1136: "I Got No Time coupled with a "Searching For A Place To Hide".

same (Bellaphon BLPS 19036) 1970

This release marked the start of Curt Cress' long and impressive career. He was then only 17 years old, and still studying the art of percussion, when the Orange Peel album was recorded late in 1969 at the Dierks studio (actually one of the first Dierks productions I know about!). The result was a vintage blend of progressive music, comparable to Tomorrow's Gift (1st album) or Nosferatu. The four mainly instrumental tracks sounded somewhat unfinished. Orange Peel disbanded in 1970. Bassist Helm Mohn replaced Michael Ertl in Epsilon in time for their second album Move On (1971), while Curt Cress went on to Emergency, Passport, Atlantis and several other bands. Gradually he built up his reputation as one of Germany's finest session drummers. If you have a special interest in Orange Peel as a document of early German progressive rock you must he prepared to pay at least 150 DEM.

ORGANISATION
Personnel:

ALBUM:

RALF HUTTER kb FLORIAN SCHNEIDER flt, vln, perc BASIL HAMMOUNDI perc BUTCH HAUF b, perc FRED MONICS d

NB: A counterfeit with black & white 'RCA label' exists.

"Tone Float" (RCA 8111) (UK) 1970

The album Tone Float is an opportunity to hear Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider's musical ideas before their Kraftwerk concept. In 1969 they made some demo recordings with Konrad Plank, and in a strange way these tapes found their way to Great Britain and the RCA label. As one might guess from the instrumentation, the five tracks (the title track filling the whole of side one) are dominated by congas, bongos, glockenspiel, musical box, bells, triangle, etc. Hutter and Schneider already had a passion for repetitive percussive sounds and rhythms in those days. This is also evident on the first Kraftwerk album, which appeared in 1970. Organisation appeared live, but were rumoured to be so bad that people threw vegetables at them on stage. This partly caused the group's demise at the end of 1969. Their album is a rarity mainly of historical value today. A mint copy should sell for about 300 DEM. Basil Hammoundi later recorded with the group Ibliss.

OS MUNDI
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

UDO ARNDT g, kb, v ANDREAS V. [Villain] b DIETRICH MARKGRAF sax, flt CHRISTOPH BUSSE d BUDDY MANDLER perc, v B MIKRO RILLING cello B

(A)"Latin Mass" (Metronome MLP 15381) 1970 (B)"43 Minuten" (Brain 1015) 1972 Just as Electric Prunes and Eela Craig did before and after them, Os Mundi from Berlin converted a Latin mass into the progressive and/or psychedelic rock format. Os Mundi was the brainchild of Udo Arndt. On the first album they were helped by guests Hartmut Seidel (bass)

and David Kalckreuth (organ). The album was a tour de force with heavy, powerful guitars and garage organs. It had a dense, raw production, sinister atmosphere and made clever use of studio effects. Indeed, its dark atmosphere could easily be associated with a black mass, instead of a Latin mass! It sounded a bit like early Uriah Heep or Vanilla Fudge with similar, opera-like vocals. The second album 43 Minuten (recorded at Audio Studios in June 1972 with Konrad Plank) was a very, very different work. It was a more "mainstream" progressive rock recording, drawing more from jazz, folk and contemporary West Coast rock. Highlights of this album included "But Reality Will Show", a Holderlin-like ballad with the use of cello, and "Erstickubungen", a tremendous instrumental blow-out with gutsy, heavy guitar play from Udo. He later became a renowned rock and new wave record producer and engineer (Ian Cussick, Munchener Freiheit, Morgenrot, Steinwolke). Nowadays he's employed as an engineer and producer at the Audion Studio in Berlin.

OS PESCADORES
Personnel incl.: ALBUM:

STEFAN KOWA b

"The Sound Of Lonelyness" (private) 1972 This mythical group included the bassist of Tyburn Tall. Their music has, in second hand lists, been compared to Lightshine, with much guitar and organ. The famous German record collector Willi Oertel thinks this is rubbish - 'It's religious music!', he told me.

OUGENWEIDE
Personnel (approx.):

ALBUMS (up to '76):

FRANK WULFF g, b, flt STEFAN WULFF b, harmonium, bouzouki WOLFGANG VON HENKO mand, g, v JURGEN ISENBART marimbaphone, xylophone, glockenspiel OLAF CASALICH v, perc RENCE ROLLMORGEN v, perc (BRIGITTE BLUND v) A MINNE GRAW v (3-)

(A)same (Zebra 2949 009) 1973 (-)"All Die Weil Ich Mag" (Polydor 2371 517) 1974 (-)"Eulenspygel" (Polydor 2371 714) 1976 Ougenweide was one the most significant German folk-rock bands of the seventies. Their music was quite different from the 'progressive folk' music created by the early Broselmaschine and Holderlin. Ougenweide's speciality was shorter tracks in off almost medieval folk tradition with German lyrics. The result was a German answer to British groups like Fairport Convention, Gryphon and Steeleye Span. Like these groups, Ougenweide (from Hamburg) succeeded in achieving a distinct style of their own. Their records confirm that they were obviously great instrumentalists. Through the years the nucleus of the Wulff brothers, von Henko and Isenbart remained intact. Minne Graw was their female vocalist from the third album onwards. A large part of their repertoire consisted of traditional German folk songs. The early albums are their

most acoustic ones, the later works also utilised synthesisers.

OUT OF FOCUS
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

REMIGIUS DRECHSLER g HENNES HERING kb MORON NEUMULLER sax, flt, v STEPHAN WISHEU b KLAUS SPORI d PETER DECHANT g B INGO SCHMIDT NEUHAUS sax B JIMMY POTIVKA tpt B HERRMANN BREUER bassoon B MICHAEL THATCHER kb B GRAND ROMAN LANGHANS kb B

The labels of 3 have the catalogue number 2433 002 (record 1) & 2433 003 (record 2)! All records with the listed catalogue numbers are originals. A vynil re-issue of 1 appeared in 1990 on Kuckuck (a release arranged by re-issue specialists Second Battle) with the catalogue number 11006-1. This was limited to 1,000 copies. In 1991 & 1992 Ohrwaschl re-released all albums on CD (limited to 1,000 copies each).

(A)"Wake Up!" (Kuckuck 2375 006) 1971 (A)same (Kuckuck 2375 010) 1971 (B)"4 Letter Monday Afternoon" (2 LP) (Kuckuck 2640 101) 1972

This is a very important group whose three albums all collectors of German rock should stock in their vaults! Out Of Focus came together in Munich circa 1969. Ihre Kinder's manager Jonas Porst was farsighted enough to sign the band to his Kuckuck label. Reputedly, the band spent months in their practice room to polish up their forthcoming debut album Wake Up! (1970). It was engineered by Thomas Klemt in the Union Studio, Munich, between October and December 1970. All the hard labour produced one of the all time classics of German rock! Out Of Focus revealed a well balanced instrumental mix of alternating guitar, flute and organ riffing; technically absolutely brilliant! The solid rhythm section could produce repetitive but complex rhythm patterns as a backdrop for the band's soloists. There were six dynamic tracks with ironic, humorous lyrics (as typified by "God Save The Queen, Cried Jesus"), heavy riffing ("See How A White Negro Flies" and very long songs, exploring the whole instrumental register from silent, breezy and peaceful whispers to lull-blown outbursts of outrageous power ("Dark, Darker"). Neumuller had an uncommon voice, which took a little getting used to at first, but it added yet another special dimension to the end product. If you need just one album to sample the specific German way of approaching "progressive" music, this is it! With their roots in heavy rock, blues, folk and jazz, Out Of Focus went far beyond British bands like Jethro Tun, Gravy Train, Colloseum, Traffic, etc. Their self-titled second album was recorded at Bavaria studios in June 1971. This was another landmark of German rock, switching to a fusion-ridden direction. Which one of the first two albums you prefer, really depends on your own taste. In many ways this was a more extreme album, "Whispering" had a riff that was repeated for more than ten minutes and "Fly Bird Fly Television Program" explored themes for nearly 17 minutes! There were even two mellow folkrock songs: "It's Your Life" and "Blue Sunday Morning". Only the opening track "What Can A

Poor Boy Do" recalled the heavy guitar, flute and organ riffing of the first album. But, even such a fantastic album didn't seem to fulfil their ambitions. For the double album Four Letter Monday Afternoon (1972), Out Of Focus were expanded with brass and more. Their large scale opus "Huchen 55" lasted for two whole record sides and a total running time of almost 50 minutes! Sadly this proved too self-indulgent, for although the mammoth composition had many excellent parts I find it over-arranged. Imagine a group of 11 musicians playing something different all at once! "L.S.B" (sic!) was another very long work with the focus on brass, resulting in a musical fusion reminiscent of British Vertigo-bands like Nucleus, Bob Downes, Ben and also Soft Machine. Moran Neumuller had now taken the role of lead soloist, often multi-tracking his saxes and flutes. Drexler and Hering had a surprisingly low profile on this album. There was only one song that was comparable to their previous album: a short and folky ballad named "Where Have You Been". This proved to be Out Of Focus' last album. Surprisingly, little has been heard from these talented musicians since their demise. All Out Of Focus albums are now available oil CD in digitally remastered brilliance. What an awesome group they were!

PANCAKE
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

HAMPY NERLICH v TOMMY METZGER g WALTER NEGELE g WERNER BAUER b (RAINER ROHM d) A GUNTHER KONOPIK d B

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Offers OMP 7602 in 1976. second re-issue on Blubber Lips BL 804 in 1978.

(B)"Roxy Elephant" (private Z 33000) 1976

One of the finest mid to late seventies German symphonic- progressive acts (along with Sahara, Novalis, Pell Mell, Streetmark and some others) were Pancake, the brainchild of the talented guitarist Walter Negele. The first incarnation of Pancake came together in 1974. In the Summer of 1975 the band set off to Stuttgart to record their minor masterpiece Roxy Elephant (1976) in the Zuckerfabrik with Cristoph Wertz (engineer). Walter Negele wrote all eight tracks, of which the tuneful opener "Heartfire" and the 13 minute long "Aeroplane" are outstanding examples of the characteristic melodic guitar rock of the mid-seventies, influenced by such bands as Jane, Eloy, Ash Ra Tempel, Pink Floyd, Wishbone Ash, etc. The parallel to the early Wishbone Ash albums is easy to see, as Pancake had twin lead guitars and lacked keyboards - this was rather uncommon for a symphonic rock band in 1975!

PANTHER
Personnel:

GERD LANGE g, v KLAUS SCHULZ g, v KLAUS AHRENS g, b, v GREGOR AHRENS d OLAF LIETZEN d

ALBUM:

"Wir Wollen Alles" (private 2667) 1974 Another obscure group. Their only album came in a large, home made poster cover. This design itself was more interesting than the music contained within, I'm afraid. Panther played standard, short rock'n'roll songs with political lyrics in German.

PARZIVAL
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

LOTHAR SIEMS g, v WALTER QUINTUS vln, b, kb THOMAS OLIVER d, v WALTER V. SEYDLITZ cello B

NB: Sampler A German Rock Legend (Nova 6.28337) (1975) featured both their original albums, sampler Rock In Deutschland Vol. 9 (Telefunken 6.24610 AG) (1981) was a compilation from these plus the rare 1972 single.

(A)"Legend" (Telefunken SLE 14635) 1971 (B)"Ba-rock" (Telefunken SLE 14685) 1972

Along with Ougenweide, Parzival were one of the few German bands to follow in the steps of British groups like Gryphon and use medieval folklore as the basis for their refined progressive music. The nucleus of the group was the trio Lothar Siems, Walter Quintus and Thomas Oliver. Siems and Oliver had played together since 1965 in the Bremen group The Chamberlains, before joining the Quintus Ouartet. Their repertoire comprised increasingly folky styles. In 1971 they took the name Parzival and obtained a recording contract with Telefunken. Legend (1971) was a fine album of lyrical, electric folk-rock with much use of flute, violin and acoustic guitars. Featured guests were: Matthias Muller-Menckens (flute, piano), Joachim Reichhold (cello) and Hans Jaspers (viola). Some of the tracks had the slight melancholia I associate with Novalis at their best. Unlike Ougenweide and Novalis, Parzival sang in English and lacked the German distinction of the folk-rock bands on the Pilz label. Like Pell Mell, Parzival also incorporated classical music, but not in a pompous large scale manner. Technically they enjoyed the steady support of producer Konrad Plank. An obscure single ("One Day" coupled with "Souls Married To The Wind") followed in 1972. Luckily it was later included on the Rock In Deutschland sampler in 1981. Their second and sadly last album Ba-rock emerged at the beginning of 1973. The group had expanded with the addition of cellist Walter v. Seydlitz and helped by Muller-Menckens and Harald Konietzko (bass, vocals). This was similar to their first album, although in parts closer to rock than Legend. Parzival's legacy is to have recorded two of the best German folk-rock albums which avoided the trappings of over-ambition. Most of their songs were short, melodic, charming and beautiful. For this reason, their original albums are fast increasing in value, currently a bit short of 100 DEM each.

PEGASUS
ALBUM:

"Seems Like A Long Time Has Gone" (private) 1975 Their album Seems Like A Long Time Has Gone (1975) had an excellent 12 minute title track. The rest was average, rudimentary 'progressive rock'. It is now extremely rare!

PELL MELL
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

THOMAS SCHMITT vln, g, v (OTTO PUSCH kb) A,B (DIETRICH T. NOLL kb) B RALPH LIPPMANN v, kb, g C CHERRY HOCHDORFER kb C RUDOLF SCHON v, recorder, g (JORG GOTZFRIED b) A,B GOTZ DRAEGER b C MITCH KNIESMEIJER d

NB: 1 has been re-released twice on Bacillus with the same sleeve: BAC 2008 (ca. 1976) & 22-009-004. There is also possibily an early edition of this on Bellaphon BI 15138 - matrix number of BLPS 19090. 2 has been re-released on Ylaps 001.

(A)"Marburg" (Bacillus BLPS 19090) 1972 (B)"From The New World" (Phillips 6305 193) 1973 (C)"Rhapsody" (Venus VB 76 1 PM) 1976

Pell Mell were formed in Marburg in 1971. Their home city also gave the name for their debut album, recorded during 1972 at the Dierks Studio, Stommeln, produced by Peter Hauke. This contained an inspired form of symphonic rock comparable to Nice and particularly Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Like these. Pell Mell often borrowed classical themes. Pell Mell's sound was characterised by colourful, swirling hammond organ, a violin (which Thomas Schmitt played with great virtuosity), mellotron, recorder and some guitar. Most of the material, five tracks in all, was instrumental. Their version of Smetana's "The Moldau" was particularly successful. On Pell Mell's second album From The New World (1973) the keyboard player Dietrich T. Noll replaced Pusch on half of the tracks. It seems that problems occurred when it came to recording and releasing a third album. A revamped Pell Mell, now featuring Schmitt, Schon, Kniesmeijer with Ralph Lippmann, Cherry Hochdorfer (ex-Frame) and Gotz Draeger, wasn't able to record Rhapsody until 1975 and another year passed before the album was released on the freshly founded record company Venus. Synthesizers and longer passages of classical guitar were introduced, resulting in a complex symphonic sound comparable to Triumvirat. For 50% of the album. Pell Mell used musical themes of Liszt and Rachmaninoff.

PERCEWOOD'S ONAGRAM
Personnel:

WOLFGANG MICHELS g, v PETER CONANT SCHAFFER g B KLAUS KAUFANN pno GERALD HEINEMANN v B UWE MEYER b B HANS-JURGEN LUDWIG d EDDY MUSCHKETAT perc, harm GERALD HEINEMANN v

ALBUMS (up to '76):

GEARY PRIEST d B

NB: 1-3 were private releases that had nothing to do with the British record company Virgin. There are probably re-issues with identical cover & catalogue number of these! 4 has been re-issued twice on Govi PO 1004.

(A)same (Virgin PO1) 1970 (A)"Lessons For Virgins" (Virgin AR 6601) 1971 (A)"Tropical Brainforest" (Virgin AR 6602) 1972 (B)"Ameuropa" (Onagram 1004) 1974

In the sixties, Wolfgang Michels was an eager rhythm and blues and Bob Dylan-fan. Encouraged by Alexis Korner, Michels formed Percewood's Onagram in 1969. Within weeks they recorded their first album, a collection of R & B and folk-blues based garage-rock. Some of the tracks were recorded live in the studio, and none of them had bass! The piano work was sometimes inspired by ragtime music of the twenties. "Chicago" was a fine 12-minutes example of live garage jamming. The only problem was that Michels lacked a good singing voice and the result thus became very rough. As the liner notes explained: 'the basic idea of this record was not to produce a record, but to give our friends the chance to hear our music, and thereby to increase the number of our friends'. Apparently this didn't work with the first album, Lessons as For Virgins (1971) basically contained the same type of music. Most noteworthy was the 21 minute "Are You Coming Mike..." with a hostile free form freak-out as the finale. Later albums sounded a bit more professional, but were still based on folk-blues. The group, expanded with Gerald Heinemann, Uwe Meyer, Geary Priest and Peter Conant Schaffer recorded Ameuropa in 1974 and for some this was their best album. After this, the group split and Wolfgang Michels set out on a solo career.

PETARDS
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

HORST EBERT g, v BERND WIPPICH g, v KLAUS EBERT b (?), v ?d

ALBUM (as Zonk):

"A Deeper Blue" (Europa E313) 1968 same (Liberty LBS 83204) 1969 "Hitshock" (Liberty LBS 83325) 1970 "Pet-Arts" (2 LP) (Liberty LBS 83481/2) 1971

"CCR Hits" (Sunset SLS 5012) 1969 Petards were basically a good-natured pop-rock band, always attempting to get a German top ten hit, but never succeeding. They were fronted by the guitar-playing brothers Horst and Klaus Ebert, who occasionally managed to write some great pop-rock songs. A Deeper Blue (1968) was a rare example of German pop psychedelia in the 'swinging London' style, containing 12 short and light songs with English lyrics. Check that stupid photo of the group on the album cover! For their two subsequent albums, the glimpses of soft psychedelia gave way to a very plain guitar rock, comparable to Creedence Clearwater Revival (but of course no vocals can be compared to John Fogerly's)! Indeed Petards made an album of Creedence Clearwater Revival cover versions in 1969 - under the pseudonym Zonk. Their most progressive effort was their final double album Pet-Arts (1971), which featured psychedelic cover art. The 14 songs were still quite straight rock,

only occasionally giving room for more Inspired Instrumental work. Today Petards are only a curiosity of German rock.

PINGUIN
Personnel:

ALBUM:

VOLKER PLITZ kb MARKUS SCHAUB g JOE VOGGENTHALES g ELMAR KART sax, flt KLAUS GEBAUER v TOM WOHLERT b K.D. BLAHAK d

"Der grosse rote Vogel" (Zebra 2949 001) 1972 The band Talix which recorded Spuren (1970) for Vogue changed their name into Pinguin (German spelling for 'penguin') in 1971. Organist Volker Plitz wrote all six tracks for Der Grosse Rote Vogel, recorded in Love-Studio, Koln, from September to November 1971. This became the first release on Polydor's 'progressive' label Zebra. They presented a strong fusion and classically influenced progressive rock with the instrumental emphasis on keyboards. As you might have guessed from the album title, all the lyrics were in German. The album won't raise your eyebrows too much, but has some appealing melodic and pleasant tracks. In 1973 the Zebra label folded, and it seems Pinguin did the same.

PINK MICE
ALBUMS:

"In Action" (Europa E456) 1971 "In Synthesizer Sound" (Europa E1011) 1973 One of the many projects from the Lucifer's Friend -musicians, all recorded at the request of the budget price company Europa. Pink Mice was an outlet for keyboard and Moog-dominated versions of classical compositions and as you will have figured out yourself, this is of only minor interest unless you are 'switched on Bach' (i.e. enjoy the albums of Walter Carlos)!

POPOL VUH
Personnel:

FLORIAN FRICKE pno, moog (A) (FRANK FIEDLER synth) A (HOLGER TRULZSCH perc) A (ROBERT ELISCU oboe) B (CONNY VEIT g) B (KLAUS WIESE tamboura) B (DJONG YUN v) B,D

ALBUMS (up to '76):

DANIEL FICHELSCHER d, g C-E

NB: Re-issue of 1 in 1980 on IC 58.159 Re-issue of 2, 3 & 6 in 1982 with identical catalogue numbers, but with a "Pop Import" stamp on the backside. Re-issue of 7 on WEA 58423. All has been re-issued on CD by French label Spalax.

(A)"Affenstunde" (Liberty LBS 83460) 1970 (A)"In den Garten Pharaohs" (Pilz 20212 769) 1972 (B)"Hosianna Mantra" (Pilz 20291 431) 1973 (C)"Seligpreisung" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 009) 1974 (-)"Aguirre" (Ohr Barclay 840.103) (Fr) 1974 (D)"Einsjager und Siebensjager" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 017) 1975 (E)"Das Hohelied Salomos" (United Artists UAS 29781) 1975 (E)"Letzte Tage Letzte Nachte" (United Artists UAS 29916) 1976

Few German groups were as inventive as Florian Frieke's musical vehicle Popol Vuh, named after the holy book of the North American Maya Indians. Fricke was born on 23 February 1944 in Lindau. During the sixties he studied grand piano and composition at the Freiburg university. After this, he worked sporadically as a music and film reviewer, and befriended someone who was to be a huge influence on his musical career: Eberhard Schoener, then the leader of the Munich Kammeroper. Schoener taught Fricke about the potential of a moog synthesizer. In the Spring of 1969 Fricke formed the first Popol Vuh crew of the initiative of Liberty records. The record label wanted Fricke to make an experimental moog synthesizer album. It seemed likely that Liberty planned to cash in on something like the Walter Carlos-album Switched On Bach, which had recently been a surprising commercial success for CBS. The resulting album Affenstunde (1970) was really something totally different from this! A mystical journey through spooky tonal landscapes of gargling moogs and ethnic percussion. This music attracted attention in the growing underground rock scene, and Popol Vuh recorded the five subsequent albums for Pilz/Kosmische Musik. In Den Garten Pharaohs (1972) was the follow-up, a development on their first album with the same musical ingredients. To create a more meditative effect Frieke also played organ and electric piano. The album contained just two extended tracks: "In Den Garten Pharaohs" and "Vuh". In 1972 Fricke also experienced a religious revival. When he converted to both Christianity and Hindu, he discounted electronics for a more acoustic style and re-organised Popol Vuh totally. This team made Hosianna Mantra (1973), an album with titles like "Kyrie", "Segnung" and "Andacht" The angelic soprano voice of Yun matched the aesthetic and meditative music. The only similarity with the two previous albums was the slight ethnic touch. This album was the point of departure for Fricke's further career. One of the most significant decisions in that career was when he participated on Conny Veit's second Gila album and as a consequence met Daniel Fichelscher, previously the drummer in Amon Duul II. Fricke and Fichelscher became the nucleus of Popol Vuh for future albums. The first of these, Seligpeisung (1973) improved the meditative style of the previous album. Fricke decided to sing the lyrics from Song of Solomon himself, adding an amateurish touch to the music (like Incredible String Band when their girl-friends were involved). It benefited from Fichelscher's twin instrumental talents - both as a guitarist and percussionist. Eliscu, Veit and Wiese also contributed to this album, recorded by Dierks in Stommeln and Baumburg. Aguirre (1975)

featured some of the music from Werner Herzog's film of the same name. Herzog and Fricke were long term friends from Fricke's days as a film reviewer. This was a strange release, as it compiled recent alternative studio takes with the original music for the film. The long piece "Vergegenwaertigung" was a solo Fricke electronic number, a throw-back to the first two Popol Vuh albums, probably recorded in late 1972. Also "Aguirre I" was recorded before Fricke discarded the moogs and mellotrons. This was a majestic and floating large scale track. "Morgengruss II", "Agnus Dei" and the guitar part of "Aguirre II" were probably recorded in May 1974 at the sessions for the forthcoming album Einsjager Und Siebenjager and were fine examples of Fichelscher's brilliant guitar work. The album was originally only released in France and Italy. To add even more to the confusion, the German re-release on Pop-Import 1982 had three later Popol Vuh tracks, "Wo Bist Du, Der Du Uberwunden Hast" and "Auf Dem Weg" from Die Nacht Der Seele: Tantric Songs (1979) and "Die Umkehr" from Bruder Des Schattens - Sohne Des Lichts (1978), replacing "Vergegen-waertigung". This is not mentioned on the cover nor the label. Either it was a mistake or an illegal replacement due to the loss of master tapes. Einsjager Und Siebenjager (1975) was recorded by Fricke, Fichelscher and Yun in Bavaria in May 1974. By this time Fichelscher also had begun to compose music. On this occasion, some of Popol Vuh's best music ever was recorded. A typical track of this period had a drum (Fichelscher had a particular passion for the use of cymbals) and piano backing with two guitar overdubs playing the melody lines and Djong Yun's magnificent voice added on the top. "King Minos", "Morgengruss" and "Wurfenspiel" were good examples, "Gutes Land" was a re-titled version of "Agnus Dei", already recorded twice on the two previous albums. Tile title track was a major work of 19 minutes, a recital of different musical themes. All lyrics were adapted from the Song of Salomon. Das Hohelied Salomos (1975) included more of such adaptations. The music was as beautiful as before, now with added help from Al Gromer (sitar) and Shana Kumar (tablas). Al Gromer also contributed to the next five Popol Vuh albums. Letzte Tage, Letzte Nachte (1976) was arguably their most pompous and grandiose album. The music was much more powerful and energetic than usual. Fichelscher's guitars built walk of sound backed by massive cymbals and drumming. Fricke's piano almost drowned in this Amon Duul-like inferno of sound. Popol Vuh have been true pioneers of meditative music and "world music", guided by the unique musical vision of Florian Fricke. Every album is excellent in its own right, but for beginners I will particularly recommend Einsjager Und Siebenjager and Das Hohelied Salomos.

PROF. WOLFFF
Personnel (approx.):

ALBUM:

MONDO ZECH KLAUS PETER SCHWEITZER ROMI SCHICKLE ? ?

same (Metronome MLP 15422) 1972 Folding open the sleeve of the one and only Prof. Wolfff-album reveals a long-haired quintet. Unfortunately their names weren't listed, but the three guys credited for the compositions were presumably members of this obscure group. The seven songs were recorded in October 1971 at the Jankowsky studio, Stuttgart, produced by Jonas Porst (the Ihre Kinder-manager) and

engineered by Klaus Reiser. Perhaps Porst's involvement explains why the result sounded like a cross between Ihre Kinder and Murphy Blend - strong political lyrics in German and folky arrangements coupled with a very prominent hammond organ played in a semi-classical style. Lied Des Teufels also recorded similar music, but Prof. Wolfff for the most part lacked sax and flute. In all, seven songs, all of them good, some great! A recommended album that unfortunately is very seldom seen around nowadays.

PROPELLER
Personnel:

ALBUM:

ACHIM REICHEL g, b, v HERBERT HILDEBRANDT g, b, v DICKY TARRACH d

"Let Us Live Together" (Phillips 6305 114) 1972 A one-off "have fun" project led by Achim Reichel. In 1972 he teamed up with some old friends from Rattles (the renowned beat-group of which he was a member from 1961 to 1968). Together they made an album of heavy boogie and glitter rock. Let Us Live Together featured ten jolly rockin' tracks and was quite well received by the German press. After this, Reichel soon returned to his much more experimental solo projects, such as A.R. & Machines. On the other hand, Hildebrandt and Tarrach formed Randy, Pie & Family with Bernd Schulz and Klaus-Georg Meyer (two other former Rattles-members).

PROSPER
Personnel:

ALBUM:

FRITZ FREY (GUITARS, VOCALS), EVERT BRETTSCHNEIDER (GUITARS), ERNST MULLER (ELECTRIC PIANO, MINI-MOOG, MELLOTRON), MATTHIAS GEISEN (BASS) AND FRIEDHELM MISIEJUK (DRUMS, PERCUSSION)

"Broken Door" (private BTS 7511) 1975 An obscure quintet. Fritz Frey was also the engineer on the Chicken Bones album from 1976. Broken Door (1975) contained typical (also lyrical!) mid-seventies "progressivism" with plenty of mellotrons, moogs and heavy guitars - vaguely comparable to a cross between contemporary Zappa, Santana and King Crimson. A very fine album, but unfortunately very hard to find!

RAMSES
Personnel:

HERBERT NATHO v WINFRIED LANGHORST kb, v NORBERT LANGHORST g HANS-DIETER KLINKHAMMER b REINHARD SCHROTER d

ALBUM (up to '76):

"La Leyla" (Sky 002) 1976 This group, choosing the name of an ancient Egyptian King, were purveyors of a soft, polished symphonic rock style, similar to that pioneered by Novalis, Jane, Eloy, Barclay James Harvest, Moody Blues, etc. Herbert Natho and Hans-Dieter Klinkhammer formed the band at the end of 1972, but the line-up that recorded La Leyla (1976) wasn't assembled until 1974. This first album was recorded at Conny's Tonstudio, Neunkirchen in the Autumn of 1975, produced by Conny Plank himself and Jane guitarist Klaus Hess. It was among the very first releases on Sky. Certainly Ramses were characteristic of the symphonic "Sky sound" - late seventies pompous and lyrical rock. There were six tracks in all, featuring long instrumental passages of guitar, organ and string synthesiser, all clocking in between five and eight minutes. If this musical formula wasn't exactly revolutionary or inventive, Ramses were competent enough technically.

RANDY PIE
Personnel:

A=Randy, Pie & Family ALBUMS (up to '76):

DICKY TARRACH d (HERBERT HILDEBRANDT g) A BERND WIPPICH v, g B,C,D (BERND SCHULZ kb) A WERNER BECKER kb B,C,D (KLAUS-GEORG MEYER b) A MANFRED THIERS b B,C,D JOCHEN PETERSEN sax, g C (JEAN-JAQUES KRAVETZ kb, v) C

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Polydor 2371 491. Promo copies of 2 exist with the original sleeve & the title Sophisticated.

(B)same (Zebra 2949 015) 1973 (C)"Highway Driver" (Polydor 2371 555) 1974 (D)"Kitsch" (Polydor 2371 666) 1975 (D)"England England" (2 LP) (Polydor 2664 160) 1976

Randy Pie were a moderately successful AOR-rock band of the mid-seventies. Their origins lay in the sixties beat group The Rattles, of which they had all been members. In 1972 these musicians assembled under the name Randy, Pie & Family and recorded two singles for Atlantic. At the end of the year they went their separate ways, but Tarrach was determined to go on, and assembled the group Randy Pie. On their first album they played American sounding laid-back rock. For a UK tour in June 1974, Jochen Petersen (ex-Ikarus and producer) was brought in and added a jazzy touch. The second album should have been named "Sophisticated", but the UKbranch of Polydor rejected this title. The sleeve was changed and the company gave the album a new title: Highway Driver. On this polished album, Jean-Jaques Kravetz (ex-Frumpy) also appeared. There were seven funky jazz-rock songs featuring three-part harmonies, brass and strings, recalling Doobie Brothers or Steely Dan. Few German bands have tried to copy this sound. Kitsch (1975) was another album in this direction as was England, England (1976), a double live set. Surprisingly enough (considering its title) it was compiled from German concerts. At the end of 1976, Randy Pie began to crumble: Bernd Wippich, Werner Seeker and Jochen Petersen left in that order.

THE RATTLES
Personnel:

ALBUMS (after '70):

FRANK MILLE g JOCHEN PETERS [a.k.a. LUDE LAFAYETE] kb B (EDNA BEJARANO v) A,B LINDA FIELDS v C ZAPPO LUNGEN b (HERBERT BORNHOLD d) A,B WOLFGANG BROCK d C

(A)"The Witch" (Phillips 6305 072) 1970 (B)"Tonight Starring Edna" (Phillips 6305 176) 1972 (C)"Gin Mill" (RCA PPL 1-4016) 1974 The Rattles was one of the leading beat-bands in Germany, following their formation back in 1961. Achim Reichel and Herbert Hildebrandt (bass) were founder members, but they departed in 1967 and 1968 successively. A new Rattles line-up assembled in 1970 to record the single "The Witch" coupled with "Get Away" (Fontana 6004 010). The A side was a song that had enjoyed increasing popularity after The Rattles had recorded their first version of it in 1968. The single actually became an international success and Rattles recorded three competent straight rock albums in the early seventies. In 1971 a fifth member, Jochen Peters alias Lude Lafayete (ex-Gash), was added. Gin Mill (1974) was a weaker come-back attempt from Mille, Lungen and Lude with new members Linda Fields and Wolfgang Brock (ex-Karthago). Lude Lafayete later formed Wolfsmond in 1976.

REACTION
Personnel:

ALBUM:

PETER BRAUN g, v LUIGI DE LUCA b HOLGER TEMPEL d

NB: Re-issued in 1990 in different cover on Little Wing (LW 1009)

same (Polydor 2371 251) 1973

A "no compromise" hard rockin' trio. Little Wing, which re-released their one and only album in 1990, claimed that Reaction were a reaction against British bands like Agnes Strange and Incredible Hog. This was hardly the case, as these bands issued their albums at the same time or after Reaction (1972 and 1975). However, the German trio was an equally loud and aggressive band, eager to surpass the blues-based guitar-rock of Cream and Jimi Hendrix. If you're looking for refined, sophisticated 'art rock', please look elsewhere! Reaction contained nine pieces of primitive blues-rock-boogie the way it used to be performed. Personally I think that Peter Braun's vocals are their weakest point. This album was hardly noticed in 1972, and it seems as if Reaction soon disbanded. As a result, their album was quickly deleted and has become increasingly difficult to find. Originals now sell for 200 DEM or more. I advise you to buy the rerelease with its great new artwork!

ACHIM REICHEL/A.R. & MACHINES

Personnel (A.R. & Machines):

ALBUMS (A.R. & Machines):

ACHIM REICHEL g, v, other instr(A) FRANK DOSTAL d (A), lyrics HELMUT FRANKE g (MANFRED RURUP kb) B CLAUS-ROBERT KRUSE kb C JOCHEN PETERSEN sax FRANK WULFF recorder C (ROLF KOHLER b) B HANS HARTMANN b C (LEMMIE LEMBRECHT d) B HANS BOCHE d C (OKKO BEKKER perc) B OLAF CASALICH perc C CARSTEN BOHN perc C

ALBUMS (solo) (up to '76):

(A)"Die Grune Reise" (Polydor 2371 128) 1971 (A)"Echo" (2 LP) (Polydor 2633 003) 1972 (B)"III" (Zebra 2949 006) 1973 (C)"IV" (2 LP) (Zebra 2949 008) 1973

"Autovision" (Zebra 2949 016) 1974 "Ercholung" (Brain 1068) 1975 "Dat Shanty Album" (Nova 622 535) 1976 What a godfather of German rock Achim Reichel (born 28.1.1944) has been! His musical career started when he founded The Rattles with Herbert Hildebrand in 1961. They were kind of Liverpool-beat clones, regularly performing at the Star Club (in Hamburg), attempting to fill the vacuum when Beatles returned home. In 1968 he departed to form Wonderland. Reichel and Dostal continued to work together with more experimental music as Wonderland Band and Frankie Dymon Jr. Reichel's first four solo albums, as A.R. & Machines, were also experimental to say the least! Die Grune Reise (1971) was a twisted and whimsical work for echo-guitar, voice and bass, Reichel's idiosyncratic battle against the machines! Check out the insane voice-play "Truth And Probability"! Indeed he revealed himself as a talented multi-instrumentalist elsewhere on the record. Frank Dostal took care of the lyrics and drums, while Reichel did all the rest. His roots in conventional rock were also revealed though by the inclusion of some boogieblues songs. These tracks were out of context with the otherwise experimental music and the result was a bit mixed in the end. Reichel's use of echo-guitar style predated Ash Ra Tempel's Inventions For Electric Guitar, but was used in a quite different manner. Also the subsequent albums of A.R. & Machines were mixed affairs. On Echo (1972), a whole symphony orchestra contributed, but this double album didn't receive many favourable reviews. The heavy boogieblues rocking Propeller album (1972) gained much more success. A.R. 3 (1972) was more or less a return to the group format. Even with this long list of participating musicians, the overall sound was very much the same as before. Apparently, Reichel still wasn't tired of his experiments with echo guitar. Perhaps the album was a bit chaotic and over-produced - it was not an easy task to amalgamate echo guitars, rock and jazz. A.R 4 (1973) was generally a better effort. Here were

just two long pieces of more simple echo guitars and jazz-rock fusion. Reichel finally broke away from his machines on Autovision (1974), a more meditative album. Erholung (1975) contained tracks recorded live in Hamburg, on 4 August 1973 with Jochen Petersen (sax, flute), Peter Franken (drums) and Olaf Casalich (percussion). This was also an uncommon musical move from Reichel - a kind of jazz-rock fusion with the spotlight on Petersen's wind instruments. Perhaps Reichel should have explored this direction further, as this album was quite good. After a year of rethinking, he returned to straight rock with Dat Shanty Album (1976), but the choice of material was uncommon: old traditional sea shanties! He played most of the instruments himself. Later albums have gradually become increasingly pop- and rock-based (Reichel has even enjoyed some chart success in Germany!), and I will not go into details about these albums. With Frank Dostal he set up the production unit Gorilla Musik, which has been responsible for several fine albums by Novalis, Kin Ping Meh and Ougenweide. Even the legendary Yatha Sidhra-album (one of the rarest on green Brain) was produced by Reichel. He also managed the label Ahorn, a Telefunken subsidiary that is now defunct.

RELEASE MUSIC ORCHESTRA

Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

MANFRED RURUP kb (NORBERT JACOBSEN sax, clarinet) A,B (BERND KIEFER b) A (HOLGER DUNKEL b, g) B FRANK FISCHER b C WOLFGANG "ZABBA" LINDNER d, vibes MARGIT MAYA HABERLAND v, perc, g B,C

(A)"Life" (Brain 1056) 1974 (B)"Garuda" (Brain 1072) 1975 (C)"Get The Ball" (Brain 1083) 1976 The remaining nucleus of Tomorrow's Gift was joined by a wind player and became Release Music Orchestra in 1974. Their first album Life (1974) included recordings from their first concert as Release Music Orchestra in Hamburg, on 5 April 1974, and a later appearance in Amsterdam. The music strongly recalled Tomorrow's Gift 's Goodbye Future phase, but had a more pronounced jazz feeling, due to the extensive use of electric piano and sax. Release Music Orchestra also had a funky feeling to their instrumental jazz-rock. The sleeve featured drawings recalling Gong's fancy artwork! Garuda (1975) was arguably their best album - a refined, rhythmic jazz-rock with sax duets and electric piano to the fore. Some of Rurup's organ work was quite similar to that of Mike Ratledge (Soft Machine). By now, Kiefer had departed and been replaced by Holger Dunkel. Margit Maya Haberland expanded the "orchestra" to a quintet. Notable guests were saxophonists Johannes "Alto" Pappert (from Kraan) and Jochen Petersen (Ikarus and Randy Pie). Further line-up

changes followed before the third album Get The Ball (1976): Jacobsen and Dunkel left and Frank Fischer became their new bassist. The overall sound on this album had changed, due to the lack of saxophone. In its place Carlo Karges (previously guitarist of Tomorrow's Gift ) and Mike Gong added guitar on a couple of tracks. Also, the rhythms were faster and the overall sound more stream-lined - they were attempting a more commercial approach.

MICHAEL ROTHER
ALBUM (up to '76):
NB: UK-issue of 1 on Radar RAD 8, re-issue on Polydor 2327 112

"Flammende Herzen" (Sky 007) 1976

Michael Rother was born in Hamburg in 1950. Up to 1970 he was a member of the amateur group Spirit Of Sound, also including Wolfgang Riechmann (later of Streetmark) and Wolfgang Flur (later of Kraftwerk). Rother worked with monotonous, electronic and unique "kling-klang" rock in Neu (with Thomas Dinger) and Harmonia (with Cluster). In 1975 he decided he'd had enough of this music and went solo with idyllic, melodic and tuneful instrumental music characterised by soft guitars and synthesizers. Jaki Liebezeit of Can played drums on most of his albums. Rother's music is ideal for relaxed listening. Flammende Herzen (1976) still stands out as his best album. Surprisingly, it sold more than 100,000 copies in Germany. The Sky albums were recorded at Conny's Studio with Konrad Plank.

ROUNDHOUSE
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

BERND HELL b, g, v JEAN PIERRE WUTTKE sax KURT WEAL tromb, vibes LASZLO JUHASZ tpt, bassoon GUSTAV CSIK kb, sax RALPH BLOCH d

"'scuse Me" (Harvest 1C062-29438) 1972 "Down To Earth" (Harvest 1C062-29483) 1972 For me, this band's two albums of heavy blues and soul-influenced rock with a strong brass backing are a great disappointment. All material was rather song-oriented, not offering much space for instrumental excursions of longer duration. I really wonder how this group managed to find their outlet on the supposedly "progressive" Harvest label. Perhaps it was due to some good guitar passages. The recordings were done in the Electrola Studios, Cologne and directed by H. Hondricht.

ROYAL SERVANTS
Personnel:

DETLEF NOTTRODT v, g MATTHIAS THUROW g MANFRED MAIER v REINHARD kb RONALD LIBAL b

ALBUM:

GUNTER KLINGER d

same (Polydor 2371 251) 1973 Royal Servants are an interesting example documenting how the late sixties beat music developed into early seventies progressive rock. Their album We (1970) was musically somewhere in-between these genres, as was Xhol Caravan's Electrip (1969). There were a couple of ten minute vintage progressive excursions and five shorter pop-rock tracks drawing from jazz, folk and country (some even had a Latino-touch), all with lyrics in English. Most of the material sounds very dated today and Royal Servants are best remembered for being the predecessor to Eulenspygel. Their album is now very rare and copies are changing hands for 400 DEM or more.

RUFUS ZUPHALL
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

GUNTER KRAUSE g, v THOMAS KITTEL g, kb B KLAUS GULDEN flt, perc (HELMUT LIEBLANG b) A MANFRED SPANGENBERG b B UDO DAHMEN d

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Little Wing (LW 1009) in 1989 in different cover. Also re-issued on CD. Re-issue of 2 with the original fold-out cover, but with the "Pop Import" mark ca. 1981.

(A)"Weiss Der Teufel" (Good Will 10001) 1971 (B)"Phallobst" (Pilz 20 21099-5) 1971

An experienced progressive rock collectors will know about this excellent group from Aachen, which can arguably be dubbed the German Jethro Tull. Rufus Zuphall's first album Weiss Der Teufel has gradually gained legendary status. It was recorded in the Netherlands and released as a private pressing in 1971. The crew that recorded this stunning garage rocker with Erich Engels (percussion on one track). All five tracks were recorded live in the studio, resulting in a raw and unpolished sound. Just like Jethro Tull, Rufus Zuphall drew influences from both folk and the blues. The side-long title track "Weiss Der Teufel" incorporated the old Gerschwin-standard "Summertime". This developed into a very twisted and frenetic flute solo! Some people regard this track as one of the finest moments of German rock. (Note: two other interesting versions of "Summertime" have been recorded. The Zombies did a charming, jazzy beat version in 1966 and the Dutch group Brainbox, featuring Jan Akkerman on guitar, released a more progressive interpretation in 1969.) Other great tracks were "Knight Of Third Degree", in a peaceful, folky mood with massive percussion, and "Freitag", featuring one of the most raucious guitar breaks of German rock! Weiss Der Teufel is a great album, typifying the raw-edged, largely instrumental early progressive rock. Their next album Phallobst (recorded in the Dierks Studio from July to August 1971) featured new members Thomas Kittel and Manfred Spangenberg. This album was more polished and had a wider dynamic and instrumental range (mellotron, clavinet and acoustic guitars were added). Particularly strong was the album's second side with two fine instrumentals: "Prickel Prit", strongly flavoured by the blues, and "Makrojel" electric folk-rock with flute to the fore. "I'm On My Way" closed the album in a quiet way. In 1989 Little Wing re-issued the first Rufus Zuphall album in a magnificent new cover design.

But still more exciting was their 4 LP box (+ large booklet and a bonus single) of 1994 with Phallobst and lots of previously unreleased material, comprising a complete concert from June 1972, demos for their unreleased third album and a couple of tracks recorded prior to Weiss Der Teufel. The quality of the recordings were generally good and this set is indispensable for Rufus Zuphall fans!

INGA RUMPF

ALBUM (up to '76):

"Second-Hand-Madchen" (Phillips 6305 279) 1975 She was born on 2 August 1948 in Hamburg. Between 1965 and 1969 Inga was a member of the Irish-German folk band City Preachers along with Dagmar Krause and O'Brian-Docker. After a one-off project with Krause as ID Company she co-founded Frumpy in 1970, a group that recorded four albums together before splitting in 1972. The nucleus of Frumpy then became Atlantis, and released further commercially successful albums, benefiting from Rumpf's distinctive, deep and powerful voice (- the German Janis Joplin?). Her first solo album was recorded with most of the Atlantis line-up of 1975: Frank Diez (guitar), Rainer Marz (guitar), Karl-Heinz Schott (bass), Ringo Funk (drums), Adrian Askew (keyboards) and Claudio Szenkar (percussion). The album consisted of conventional rock with soul, jazz and blues influences. Successive albums grew increasingly predictable, with contributions from internationally wellknown studio musicians.

SAHARA
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

HENNES HERING kb MICHAEL HOFFMANN moog, mellotron, v (NICK WOODLAND g) A GUNTHER MOLL g, v B (ALEX PITTWOHN harm, sax, v) A STEFAN WISSNET b, v (HARRY ROSENKIND d) A HOLGER BRANDT d B

NB: UK-issue of 1 on Dawn DNLS 3068, US-issue of 1 on Peters Int. PILPS 9006. US-issue of 2 on Peters Int. PILPS 9017. Both albums were recently re-issued on CD by Ohrwaschl.

(A)"Sunrise" (Pan 87.306) 1974 (B)"For All The Clowns" (Ariola 89.337) 1976

Sahara developed out of Subject Esq. After some line-up changes in 1973, this Munich group was signed to Pan (an Ariola subsidiary) and changed their name to Sahara. The album Sunrise (1974) was recorded in the Autumn of 1973 in the Musicland Studios, Munich. This was an excellent example of complex German symphonic-rock, dearly influenced by British bands like King Crimson, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Curved Air, Jethro Tull and others. Sunrise was nonetheless of an international quality, combining haunting melody lines with complex arrangements. The "Sunrise" suite filled the whole of side two. Tile album was also granted a British release on the Dawn label.

Sahara were never a stable unit. At the time of recording For All The Clowns two years later, only Hering, Hoffmann and Wissnet remained from the 1974 line-lip. The new members were: Gunther Moll and Holger Brandt (ex-Missing Link). The resulting album was another great effort - more polished and melodic with long, memorable songs like "The Mountain King" and the title track. Sadly the band wasn't able to cope with more line-up changes when Brandt and Moll decided to leave and consequently disintegrated in 1977. Sahara's legacy is two really great albums recommended for all fans of symphonic-rock.

SAMETI
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

CHRISTIAN "SHRAT" THIELE v, congas WALTER BRATENGEIER g ECKART b, g KLAUS GOTZNER d

NB: 1 was recently re-issued on CD by Germanophon.

same (Brain 1020) 1972 "Hungry For Love" (Warner K56074) 1974

Sameti was created in Munich in 1971 after Christian "Shrat" Thiele had left Amon Duul II. Their first album consists of one side long improvisation: "Anotherwaytosee", and one side of four semi-structured works. The music itself has similarities with Amon Duul II, but is less imaginative. Their lyrics apparently dealt with their personal habits: "I'm used to smoke - slipped into my music I'm used to stumble through my stoney days Come over big fat brother joint Come touch my body A long life to that stoned hero" From "Big Fat Brother Joint" By the time of Hungry For Love (1974) their sound had changed considerably - Sameti was now a standard heavy rock'n'roll band! The album wasn't very interesting and after that nothing more was heard from them (a completed third album remains unreleased to date).

SAND

Personnel:

ALBUM:

LUDWIG PAPENBERG g, kb, drum machine HANNES VESTER v, VCS3 ULRICH PAPENBERG b

"Golem" (Delta Akustik 251281) 1974 A studio group. Their album Golem (1974) featured a lot of electronic sound effects, almost amounting to a test record! This music takes you to abstract mindspheres, taking you off with the 10 minute opening track "Helicopter"! The album was recorded with the artificial head sound system, so it's appropriate for headphone listening. This was all directed by none other than Klaus Schulze and his influence is very evident on these recordings, 'cosmic' and trippy as they are. Other relevant musical references could be White Noise, Cosmic Jokers or Ash Ra Tempel.

Sand were somewhat inferior to these legends, but Golem is certainly interesting, particularly for all fans of space rock.

SATIN WHALE
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

DIETER ROESBERG g, flt, v THOMAS BRUCK b, v GERALD DELLMANN kb HORST SCHATTGEN d

"Desert Places" (Brain 1049) 1974 "Lost Mankind" (Nova 6.22248) 1975 A rock-oriented group. Their music was AOR in direction, recalling bands like Supertramp, Whitesnake, Yes, Barclay James Harvest, Lake, etc. By contrast, their first album Desert Places (1974), released on the green Brain label, was more raw-edged and spirited.

GUNTHER SCHICKERT
Personnel (GAM):

ALBUM (up to '76):

GUNTHER SCHICKERT g AXEL STRUCK g MICHAEL ALESKA d

NB: 1 re-issued on green Brain 1080.

"Samtvogel" (private) 1974

The musical career of this talented guitarist has been very erratic. In 1973 he founded the trio GAM (first letter in the forenames of the members!) with Axel Struck and Michael Aleska. This group never made any records, but a casette release, GAM 1976 (released 1986), contained demo tapes for a possible album. Schickert recorded his first solo album and released it privately in 1974 (Brain re-released it in 1975). Here he presented his personal ideas, which were surprisingly similar to Manuel Gottsching's Inventions For Electric Guitar - a 'cosmic' electronic music created exclusively by an electric guitar. Schickert and Gottsching didn't know about each other's projects until years later. Schickert was also Klaus Schulze's roadie for a while and occasionally jammed with the master of electronics just for fun. He was actually pictured on the rear sleeve of Klaus Schulze's Moondawn.

JULIUS SCHITTENHELM
ALBUM (up to '76):
NB: 1 re-issued on Schneeball 0004.

"Aristoteles" (April 0004) 1976

Julius Schittenhelm (vocals, acoustic guitar) is best known as the producer of several Ohr albums. Since the late sixties he had also written his own folk songs. In 1976 he finally recorded 13 of these songs at the Tonstudio Zuckerrfabrik in Stuttgart with several friends from Embryo and Missus Beastley: Christian Burchard (drums, marimba, organ), Uwe Mullrich (bass), Friedemann Josch (flute, sax), Burkard Schmidl (synthesizer, piano) and Jofrey Ramos (congas,

percussion). Schittenhelm's songs were generally accompanied only by acoustic guitar and congas. Aristoteles was released on the independent April label. It is an album of average quality of interest mostly for fans of German political folk-rock.

CONRAD SCHNITZLER
ALBUMS (up to '76):

NB: 1,2 & 3 were limited editions of ca. 500 copies each.

"Eruption: Schwarz" (Blok KS 1001) 1971 "Meditation: Rot" (Blok KS 1002) 1971 "Blau" (Blok KS 1003) 1972 "Gelb" (Blok EB 110) 1983 (1974)

The most outrageous character in the world of electronic music was born in Dusseldorf in 1937. In 1961 he started his studies at Staatliche Kunstakademie as the first pupil of the radical artist and sculptor Joseph Beyss. Later he also studied under Karl-Heinz Stockhausen. In 1969 he was involved in two of the most important experimental German bands of all time: Tangerine Dream and Kluster. Indeed he worked with both bands at the same time for a while. His first live appearances were with Tangerine Dream, most significantly their performance at the 'Essen Songfestival', in September 1969. Kluster was formed in November 1969 with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. In May 1971, Schnitzler moved to Berlin and started his solo career there. His first release was Schwarz (1971), which featured various other musicians not listed on the plain black cover. Basically, the two very long pieces of music were similar to the Kluster albums. It also seems very likely that Moebius & Roedelius participated in these recordings. This record, like the next two, was released privately on the Block label in a very limited quantity (about 500 copies). His second solo album Rot (1972) also had side-long excursions: "Meditation" and "Kraut Rock" (rock?!). This was the first time the distinctive and characteristic electronic sounds and tape loops of Schnitzler appeared on record. This album really broke new musical ground, and should be regarded as an epoch-making work like Cyborg, Zeit and Affenstunde, but due to its limited circulation few paid attention to it. To use the term 'music' on this material is perhaps a bit misleading, it should by compared to the contemporary art of sculpture, except that Schnitzler's raw material was made of sound. On Blau (1973), there were two further pieces in a similar style, amazingly entitled: "Die Rebellen Haben Sich in der Bergen Versteckt" and "Jupiter". 1974 brought no further albums, although one was recorded: Gelb. This wasn't released until 1983. For a change, it contained 12 untitled pieces of musical association from the year 1974. Schnitzler also made weird live appearances, like: "Work in progress" in Galerei Block, Berlin - a 50 hour performance over 16 days. 100 copies or a box named Work In Progress was released circa 1974 with Schwarz, Rot, Blau and a cassette with live recordings. Each box is completely unique, as all these live tapes have different extracts from the concert! 20 of the boxes had 6 inserts while the remaining 80 had a signed and numbered art insert. In 1976 he recorded the piece "Der Riesen Und Seine Frau". This was released in 1981 as one side of Grun.

EBERHARD SCHOENER
ALBUMS (up to '76):

"Destruction Of Harmony" (Ariola 80847) 1971 "Die Schachtel" (Reprise) 1971 "A Day's Lullaby" (Reprise REP 44143) 1971 "Meditation" (Ariola 87131) 1974 "Windows" (Harvest 1C062 95634) 1974 "Bali-Agung" (Harvest 1C062 29647) 1976 Eberhard Schoener has been a very influential character on the German rock scene, not due to his recorded output, but as an inspirational source and general advisor for up and coming musicians. He was born the 13 May 1938 in Stuttgart. Between 1952 and 1958 he studied violin and conducting in Detmold. In 1962 he founded the Munich Youth Symphony Orchestra, which he conducted for eight years. From 1966 he become the artistic manager and premier conductor of the Munich Kammeroper. He was the man who brought the first moog synthesizer to Germany in 1968. He experimented a lot with this instrument at the Bavaria studio in Munich and encouraged Florian Fricke to buy one. Schoener's synthesizer experiments were documented on his first three solo albums, two of which were moog adaptations of classical music in the style of Walter Carlos. The third one comprised similar adaptations of American folk and country music (!!!). His work with the Munich Kammeroper in collaboration with Procol Harum (Germany-tour 1972) and Jon Lord (presenting the "Gemini Suite" live) was more significant. Jon Lord was and is a long-term friend of Schooner. Meditation (1974) was his first electronic work in its own right, inspired by an extended trip to Asia. It was another one of Schoener's many attempts to merge different musical traditions. With Tony Ashton (vocals, piano, organ), David Coverdale (vocals), Ray Fenwick (guitar), Glenn Hughes (bass, vocals, guitar), Jon Lord (keyboards), Pete York (drums) and two opera singers he led the ambitious classical and rock fusion project Windows. With the exception of Bali-Agung, an uncommon merging of Balinese traditional music and rock with Pete York and Sigi Schwab (guitar), all the Harvest albums were further classical and rock concept albums with contributions from famed musicians like Andy Summers (guitar). Steward Copeland (drums). Sting (bass) and Olaf Kubler (sax).

ERNST SCHULTZ
ALBUM (up to '76):

"Paranoia Picknick" (Kuckuck 2375 014) 1971 Ihre Kinder's guitarist and vocalist made his first solo album in 1971. His Paranoia Picknick was closer to electric folk-rock than Ihre Kinder were, but the German lyrics deal as usual with political problems. This is a varied record, that in addition to the folk rock-material features "Synthetischer Orient nr. 1", a successful experiment with sitar and variable speed tapes, "Paranoia Picknick", a strange sound collage, and "10 Finger Blind", performed by two typewriters! Among the rest of the material the best tracks are "Nur Bin Spanier" and "Kurt Mittag, 55, Staatenlos". The record had an impressive painting of characters from the lyrics on the cover. It was released in a limited edition of only 2,600 copies.

KLAUS SCHULZE
ALBUMS (up to '76):

"Irrlicht" (Ohr OMM 556 022) 1972 "Cyborg" (2 LP) (Kosmische Musik KM 58 005/6) 1973 "Black Dance" (Brain 1051) 1974 "Picture Music" (Brain 1067) 1975 "Time Wind" (Brain 1075) 1975

"Moondawn" (Brain 1076) 1976 Klaus Schulze was born in Berlin on 4 August 1947. His musical career started in 1967 when he founded the amateur band Psy Free. Schulze played drums. This band also included Curly Curve guitarist Alex Conti. In Autumn 1969 he teamed up with Edgar Froese and Conrad Schnitzler in Tangerine Dream. One of their first concerts in this format was at the Essen Pop and Blues Festival on 11 October 1969. The same month their legendary Electronic Meditation was recorded. Klaus left Tangerine Dream in the Summer of 1970 to create the ultimate space rock trio Ash Ra Tempel, with Hartmut Enke and Manuel Gottsching. The members had met at "Wilmersdorfer Beat Studio", where Tangerine Dream, Agitation Free and others were rehearsing and studying with Thomas Kessler and others. Klaus Schulze also studied experimental composition with Ligeti, Winkel and Blacher at the "Technischen Universitat". After one year with Ash Ra Tempel, resulting in their classic debut album and 33 concerts, Klaus Schulze departed to start his solo career in September 1971. In April 1972 he recorded Irrlicht, a "Quadrophonic Symphonie fur Orchester unad E-machines" - released in stereo! This first solo work was heavily based on the use of organ, but mostly laden with electronic treatments such as oscillators, echo machines, phasing, etc. Also a symphony orchestra contributed to the recording (Colloquium Musica der Freien Universitat), but his own assault of manipulated organ completely dominated the sound. The album featured the composition "Irrlicht", which was divided into three movements. The musical references for Schulze's original music were avantgarde and systemic composers like Racy, Ligeti, Stockhausen and Cage. Like all of these, Klaus Schulze had developed his own interpretation of the minimalist idea, and the end result was a unique kind of 'kosmische Musik' I don't really know how serious he was with his own music at this very early stage, though, as the third movement "Exil Sils Maria" ran backwards for more than twenty minutes! Anyway, the passing (and direction, logically!) of time is only an illusion according to several philosophers! The original release of Irrlicht on Ohr featured a cover by Klaus Schulze. The Brain re-release and their subsequent re-issues have a different sleeve with an Urs Amann painting reminiscent of Salvador Dali. From December 1972 onwards, Klaus Schulze took part in many successful 'cosmic' jam projects. The first of these was Walter Wegmuller's Tarot (1973), which also assembled the original Ash Ra Tempel trio together again for the recording of Join Inn (December 1972). Another album project was finished soon afterwards: Lord Krishna von Goloka (1973) by Sergius Golowin, a friend of Wegmuller. Klaus played a major role on this album both as a cocomposer and as a performer playing drums, organ, mellotron, guitar (!) and electronics. From February to May 1975, he participated in the almost endless Cosmic Jokers sessions, resulting in no less than five albums, all released without the permission or knowledge of the involved musicians. Meanwhile, Schulze also found time to record his second solo work (from February to July 1973) - the double album Cyborg (its original sleeve was different from the Urs Amann painting on later issues). This was a great development on the new musical concept presented by Irrlicht. The four very long pieces (or more precisely: movements) made up this classic exploration of electronic minimalism (now adding a VCS 3 synthesizer to the basic organ instrumentation). This was his first in a string of five highly influential albums. Other activities in 1973 were the production of music for German television, for radio plays and for mental hospital therapies. There were few live performances at this time. His first concert as a solo artist was on 15 February 1973 in Paris, where he presented his ballet music "Totemfeuer". On this occasion he

also performed a set with Ash Ra Tempel. In April 1973 he performed a 10 day concert (or rather sound environment performance in the best Schnitzler-traditions!) in Hannover during an industrial fair. In August he unexpectedly rejoined Tangerine Dream for a French tour (and at least one open air show in Germany), temporary replacing Peter Baumann. The second of Schulze's five classic albums in a row, Picture Music (recorded in Autumn 1973), was kept in the can for 16 months, in anticipation of a better record deal. His relationship with Kosmische Musik and Ohr was now getting more and more strained, particularly after Kaiser released the Cosmic Jokers' albums without his permission. On Picture Music, he introduced rhythm and drums into his music - no big surprise really, as he started his musical career as a drummer! Also his keyboard arsenal was extended with ARP Odyssey and ARP 2600 synthesizers. The spacey sounds he achieved with these instruments helped to increase his (wellearned) reputation as a synthesiser wizard. At the beginning of 1974 Klaus Schulze produced two fairly obscure groups. Code III and Sand, with the artificial head recording technique, released on Delta Acustic (their spelling). Finally, he signed a new record contract with Metronome's label Brain. This proved to be a long lasting partnership. His first release on the legendary green labeled Brain was Blackdance (recorded May 1974). Here he continued to experiment with various additions to his basic electronic sound frame: acoustic guitars and massive percussion were added to "Ways Of Changes" whereas opera vocals and repetitive drums were added to "Voices Of Syn" The third track on the album was a 'phasing solo sonata' aptly named "Some Velvet Phasing". For some concerts in November and December 1974 he was joined by Michael Honig (keyboards, ex-Agitation Free). In January 1975 Picture Music was finally released. The original issue had an illustration by French painter Jacques Wyrs. This was replaced on all subsequent re-issues. Klaus Schulze toured France in the Spring of 1975. Half a year later, Timewind was released, bearing a dedication to Richard Wagner. This album was performed exclusively on keyboards (i.e. electronics and sequencers). One of the tracks was recorded on a two-track machine in his bedroom in March & June 1975. His music had now fully matured - displaying a refined use of electronics and sequencers resulting in a brilliant, swiftly flowing ethereal music which many artists later have attempted to copy, but which few ever have managed to surpass! The two pieces "Bayreuth Return" and "Wahnfried 1883" had a duration of one hour. This album was awarded with the prestigious 'Grand Plix International Du Disque' in France, which had previously been given to other ground-breaking artists such as Pink Floyd and Jimi Helldrix. In August 1975 he mixed Nipponjin by Far East Family Band, a Japanese progressive rock band that included two keyboard players that later went solo: Akiro Ito and Masanori Takahashi, the latter better known as Kitaro. Only months later (November to December) he was to produce their next album Parallell World. Both albums are well worth acquiring, particularly for fans of the early seventies style of Pink Floyd. Moondawn was recorded in January 1976. Schulze banded the re-appearing drums over to a long-time friend, Harald Grosskopf. This was the classic drums & sequencer driven album - a development on the sound attempted for the first lime on Picture Music. The music was gradually evolving and increasing in force on "Floating", whereas "Mindphaser" drifted around in a spooky atmosphere (with added cloudbursts) for 10 minutes, then exploded pompously in a rage - as an electronic "Careful With That Axe, Eugene"! Later that year, he also participated in

Stomu Yamashta's ambitious "Go" project, first recording a studio album in FebruaryGo ( ), then performing the material live in Paris and London in June, resulting in the double album Go Live From Paris. Along with Tangerine Dream, he has been the most important pioneer of electronic music, a genre that they indeed invented during the mid-seventies with their several pioneering albums. Maybe someday these artists will get the attention they have deserved. In the meantime, new generations of synthesiser players continue to be influenced by them. For an initial introduction to Klaus Schulze's career, try the albums: Cyborg, Blackdance, Timewind, and Moondawn and be amazed by his many new inventions through the years!

IRENE SCHWEITZER
ALBUM:

"Jazz Meets India" (Saba SB 15142) 1969 Irene Schweitzer is a renowned jazz pianist from Switzerland. Up to 1967 her band featured future Guru Guru members Mani Neumeier and Uli Trepte and played a very spontaneous kind of free jazz. The album Jazz Meets India was recorded in October 1967 and featured Manfred Schoof (trumpet, cornet), Barney Wilen (sax), Uli Trepte (bass), Mani Neumeier (drums), Dewan Motihar (sitar, vocals), Keshav Sathe (tabla) and Kusum Thakur (tambura).

SCORPIONS
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

(MICHAEL SCHENKER g) A ULRICH ROTH g B KLAUS MEINE v RUDOLF SCHENKER g LOTHAR HEIMBERG b WOLFGANG DZIONY d

(A)"Lonesome Crow" (Brain 1001) 1972 (B)"Fly To The Rainbow" (RCA PPL 14025) 1974 (B)"In Trance" (RCA PPL 14128) 1975 (B)"Virgin Killer" (RCA PPL 14225) 1976 This well known heavy rock band is listed here mainly due to the significance of their first album Lonesome Crow (1972), released on the green Brain label. From the album's catalogue number, you will see that this was the first album on the Brain 1,000 series! Their debut was way better than those albums that brought Scorpions international fame - much more experimental and 'progressive' in sound! Their ace guitarist Michael Schenker left soon after this album for international adventures with the heavy metal group U.F.O. (their first albums were also great!). He'd met this group when Scorpions supported U.F.O.'s German-tour. This left Scorpions under the command of Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, who re-launched the band with Fly To The Rainbow on RCA in 1974. Their new guitarist Ulrich Roth provided some interesting moments on their albums up to 1978. Scorpions gradually established themselves as the leading heavy metal band in Germany as their creative energy decreased and horrible heavy ballads (their trade mark) became their trademark.

SECOND LIFE

Personnel:

ALBUM:

HOLGER SCHMIDT g, v CLAUS MEINHARDT b KARL-HEINZ TRAUT d

same (Metronome MLP 15409) 1971 A heavy blues-progressive power trio. They recorded (in Windrose Studios, Hamburg) one interesting, self-titled album for Metronome in 1971. Best cut was the 20 minute long suite "Second Life". It started as a folky, acoustic song, building into a heavy guitar solo section similar to Jimi Hendrix or Ten Years After followed by a long drum solo. Side two had four fine hard rock songs. Second Life's album is now very rare, fetching prices in excess of 150 DEM. After more than twenty years, the cover lamination is peeling off on every copy I have ever seen, so don't expect to find a mint cover even if you're lucky enough to trace the record! In 1972 the group changed their name to Tiger B. Smith and recorded two inferior albums for Vertigo and Bacillus.

SECOND MOVEMENT
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

HARALD KESSELHACK v THOMAS MOCKL g SIGMUND ZEIDLER kb MANNI BIERBACH sax, flt MANFRED GREINER b MATTHIAS HELK d

"Blind Man's Mirror" (Castle Records CAS 1003) 1976 A late seventies keyboard and guitar-based progressive band from Coburg, with roots back to the late sixties. Blind Man's Mirror was privately pressed. Just 700 copies were released. It featured typical, melodic late seventies style progressive rock with symphonic touches.

SEEDOG
ALBUM:

"We Hope To See You" (Delta Akustic 251 261) 1974 Another of those spacious Delta Akustic albums, attempting to make the listening pleasure of headphones a 360 degrees 3D-delight! This album was dedicated to the first explorer of the electronic universe: Klaus Schulze!

SESSELBERG
ALBUM:

"Synthetic Space" (private) 1973 This duo released a rare private pressing in 1973. Synthetic Space was an album full of experimental electronics, to file along Kluster and Conrad Schnitzler. In contrast to these, Sesselberg's compositions were relatively short. It is a curiosity for fans of the pre-industrial, experimental rock.

PETER SEILER
ALBUM (up to '76):

"Keyboards & Friends" (RBM 5004) 1974 Heavily influenced by the classical rock of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Peter Seiler led the symphonic rock trio Tritonus through their whole lifespan from 1973 to 1979. Before recording the first Tritonus-album. Seiler released his solo album Keyboards And Friends, helped by Tritonus bass player Ronald Brand and saxophonist Gerd Kothe. The album received bad press, as it was recognised as an ill-fated free music experiment.

S.F.F.

Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

EDUARD SCHICKE d GERHARD FUHRS kb HEINZ FROHLING b, g, mellotron

NB: Originals of 1 had the green Brain label. Later pressings of this came on the brown Brain label. Re-issued with following two as Collected Works on Laser's Edge in 1993.

"Symphonic Pictures" (Brain 60.010) 1976

This trio was the leading German band of the instrumental symphonic rock genre of the late seventies. Their music can he compared to a more easy-going King Crimson or Shylock. Instrumentally the mellotrons, string ensembles and moogs were given more space than the guitars, a quite typical trademark of such bands. Their Symphonic Pictures (1976) was recorded with Dieter Dierks at the Dierks Studio. It was planned that Frank Zappa was to produce the band, but he had to record his own album (Zoot Allures) at the same time as Symphonic Pictures was to be recorded. Arguably, this was SFFs finest achievement and indispensable for lovers of the mellotron - Fuhrs and Frohling both played this instrument! Frohling also had a self-built double neck Les Paul guitar and Rickenbauer bass combination.

SIDDHARTA
ALBUM:

"Weltschmertz" (private) 1975 This group recorded a melodic and almospheric album with some nice guitar parts in 1975. Certainly a very rare progtessive rock album!

SILBERBART
Personnel:

ALBUM:

HAJO TESCHNER g, v WERNER KLUG b PETER BEHRENS d

"4 Times Sound Razing" (Phillips 6305 095) 1971 An underground heavy progressive power trio that recorded a legendary collector's item titled 4 Times Sound Razing. This album contained just four songs: "Chub Chub Cherry" (a short heavy rock song like a freaky Cream), "Brain Brain" (16 minutes of acid nightmares, continuously

shifting tempo in an amphetamine-driven mayhem), "God" (a much more melodic attempt with powerful guitar arrangement, sounding like Black Sabbath meet Hendrix with a collective paranoia) and "Head Tear Of The Drunken Sun" (finished it all with 12 minutes of hazardous power trio pyrotechnics). As you will have gathered, this is an extreme album in many ways: the raw power, the cranky vocals, the restless arrangements, not forgetting the ugly silver gnome on the front sleeve! All trace of Silberbart disappeared after this album, which in itself gained them no recognition at all. A real shame, as some of their ideas were quite remarkable. Silberbart were a true power-trio. Now, go out and hunt for their album - you'll need about 250 DEM!

SILOAH
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

THOM ARGAUER v, g (A), kb (B) (TINY v, shinai) (WOLFGANG b) FLORIAN LABER b, v B (MANUELA perc) BLACKY ZUMSTEIN perc B MARKUS KRUG d B

NB: 1 also released as just 'same' (private) at about the same time. Both albums were re-released on CD by Lost Pipe Dreams in 1993.

(A)"Saureadler" (Car Records 1558 015) 1970 (B)"Sukramgurk Playin'" (Ger. Blues & Underground 1558 025) 1972

Siloah came from Munich and were the brainchild of one Thom Atgauer. They made two extremely rare private pressings, regarded as among the most frenzied on the German underground scene. Some dealers have described their first album Saureadler (1970, the title means 'acid eagle') as 'being even wilder than Kalacakra', and it isn't difficult to agree with this after listening to the six tracks. This is an acoustic ethno-psychedelic head trip. Guests play drums, flute and guitar on certain tracks. Apart from the short introduction and ending, the album had "Aluminium Wind" (18:00). There are some rumours that members of Amon Duul were involved in these recordings. Their second album Sukramgurk Playin (1972) was definitely an underground classic - a mostly instrumental album with lots of primitive, psychedelic organ sounds. "Milk Blue Mind" (16:15) covers side one with stunning jamming. This really sounds like a late sixties organ combo freaking out on solid doses of acid! Siloah must have been inspired by some rambling American sixties punk rockers. The sound balance is a bit strange, the lyrics are almost inaudible. Side two starts off with "Magic Carpet Ride To The Alps" (2:38), a short number in the same vein and continues with "Feast Of The Pickpockets" (8:39), slow meditative organ chords gradually incorporating bass and drums, and "Stony" (4:26), which bears up its name. "A Landlady's Dessert" (0:46) is the short conclusion of the album. Siloah on this record were: If you want to check out Siloah, save up 500 DEM to purchase each record.

SITTING BULL
ALBUM:

"Trip Away" (CBS 64697) 1971 A quartet, probably originating from the Hamburg-area. In 1971 their album Trip Away,

containing 10 tracks in all, was recorded at the legendary Windrose Studio in Hamburg. Most of them had a laid-back, American West Coast feel, in some ways comparable to the music of Quicksilver Messenger Service. Their sound was dominated by electric and acoustic guitars with occasional keyboards. I haven't got the names of the group members, as they weren't mentioned on the record sleeve! An original copy should be yours for about 75 DEM. The group also released three singles: "Hopeless Love" coupled with "Indian Fate" (1971) was taken from their album, "Sleepy Tom-Tom" coupled with "Raindrops" (1972) and "Motorcycle Mama" coupled with "Your Lovin' Man" (1972) were two rarities released on Phillips.

SKYLINE
Personnel:

ALBUM:

REINHARD GLOWATZKE g UDO LUMMER g WERNER VOGT b, v MICHAEL STICKDORN d RAIMUND FUHRIG perc

"Louise For 1 Night" (private) 1976 This was a short-lived group, formed by several ex-members of Virus. Skyline also appeared on the festival sampler Urnsonst & Draussen 1976. Their album comprised jazzy hard rock with some fine guitar parts.

SNAKE IN THE GRASS

ALBUM:

"Hot & Sweet With Beat" (Opp 5) 1969 Another of those vanished rarities. Judging by the title and year of release, this is an album of the late beat-age. Its musical value is open to question! The Opp-label also released the first Hairy Chapter album Eyes in 1970.

SPARIFANKAL
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

CARL-LUDWIG REICHERT g, v TILLMANN OBERMAIER g, v STEFAN LIEDKE g FLORIAN LABOR b, v GUNTHER SONDERWALD d

"Bayern Rock" (April 0000) 1976 A strange and freaky Bavarian political folk group led by Carl-Ludwig Reichert and Tillmann Obermaier. With third member Florian Labor Sparifankal gave their first concert in 1972. Three years later Sparifankal founded the alternative label (releasing mainly jazz-rock and polit-rock) April, along with musicians from Embryo, Ton Steine Scherben, Missus Beastley and Checkpoint Charlie. Sparifankal recorded a live show in February 1976. It was released as

Bayern Rock (1976) - the first release on April. By this time the band had expanded to a quintet with Gunther Sonderwald and Stefan Liedke. They played raw and unpolished music, polit-rock that left a lot to be desired, especially the vocals. The rather weird lyrics were sung in a Bavarian dialect.

SPERRMULL
Personnel:

ALBUM:

HELMUT KRIEG g, mand, v PETER SCHNEIDER kb, synth HARALD KAISER b, v REINHOLD BREUER d

same (Brain 1026) 1973 Sperrmulls only album has all the musical variety you'll ever desire from an early seventies German album - the jolly mandolin tune on "Me And My Girlfriend", Floydian effects on "No Freak Out", Deep Purple-like guitar and organ lines on "Rising Up" and powerful solo work with dynamic arrangements on "Right Now" (the longest track). The rest, "Land Of The Rocking Sun" and "Pat Casey", were more conventional rock songs, and could very well have been the A and B sides to a catchy single (but weren't!). The recordings were done at Dierks Studio, Stommeln, produced by a certain Chazadu, surely a more famous character appearing under a pseudonym. Their album is one of the rarest of the whole Brain 1,000-series, mint originals selling for more than 250 DEM. In 1989, a limited edition of 1,000 copies (on black Brain) was made available through the influence of Second Battle. This edition sold out quickly, so the album is once again hard to obtain. Probably a CD-release of this classic will appear sooner or later!

DIRK STEFFENS
ALBUM (up to '76):

"The 7th Step" (Nova 622 478) 1974 Dirk Steffens was for a short period (from 1973 to 1974) guitarist in Birth Control. In Autumn 1975 he began work on his first solo album The Seventh Step (1976), a powerful collection of hard rock songs, well performed by Steffens (guitar), Rainer Baumann (guitar on some tracks). Ian Cussick (bass, vocals, who'd also worked with Lucifer's Friend ) and Rolf Kohler (drums, percussion, who previously worked with Achim Reichel). Steffens revealed himself as a technically competent guitarist.

STREETMARK
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

DOROTHEA RAUKES kb THOMAS SCHREIBER g GEORG BUSCHMANN v WOLFGANG WESTPHAL b HANS SCHWEISS d

"Nordland" (Sky 003) 1976 Streetmark were a highly talented group led by Dorothea Raukes, one of the few female

characters of German progressive rock. Unfortunately, her group was constantly crippled by personnel changes. This crew recorded Nordland (1976), an astonishing debut dominated by keyboards with classical references. The album included a remarkable symphonic version of "Eleanor Rigby", completely different from both The Beatles and Vanilla Fudge!

STRINX
ALBUM:

"Talk To The Wind" (Spiegelei 3U 28583) 1973 A relatively unknown group and album, I'm afraid. Could it be progressive jazz-rock?

STUDIKER
Personnel incl.: ALBUM:

WERNER SEEKER kb

"Oak Tree" (BASF 20 21109-7) 1971 This is really something to avoid for all of you: Studiker were an awful German soft country-rock combo! Their album was generously filled up with 11 examples of musical garbage. Organist Werner Seeker later became a member of Randy Pie.

SUB

Personnel:

ALBUM:

KLAUS KATEL g CHRISTIAN WILHELM v JOHANNES VESTER kb PETER STIMMEL b LUTZ LUDWIG d

NB: Re-issued on CD by Penner (009) in 1994 with 1 bonus track. A counterfeit vinyl re-issue also exists (limited to 300 copies).

"In Concert" (Help ZSLH 55023) (I) 1970

The group Sub were long thought by collectors (including myself) to be Swiss, but the liner notes on Penner's re-issue finally confirmed they were German (from Munich)! Katel, Wilhelm and Stimmel had previously played together in a beat band named The TBC Ltd. Sub In Concert (1970), released in Italy in an edition of 1,000 copies without the band's knowledge or approval, has fetched astronomical prices lately (1,000 DEM plus), popping up on every progressive collector's want-list. Side one featured the raunchy "Sub Theme I" (18:17) full of furious organ and guitar work. Side two included six shorter tracks; two of these, "Ma-mari-huana" and "Off", also appeared on a German single in 1970 (Rex Records 2027). The A-side also appeared on a British compilation named The Magic Rocking Horse (Bam-Caruso KIRI 106, 1988) This is pure acid freak-beat music with heavy guitars, dense atmosphere and echo effects, great stuff! As a whole, the album is good but do not fork out for an original copy! The CD re-issue of their album also featured an acetate single by The TDC Ltd., alternate versions of "Off" and "Ma-marihuana" and a cover version of Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man". Lutz Ludwig later joined Amos Key and he played the drums on their album First Key (1972).

SUBJECT ESQ.

Personnel:

ALBUM:

MICHAEL HOFFMANN flt, sax, v ALEX PITTWOHN g, v PAUL VINCENT g PETER STADLER kb FRANZ LOFFLER vla STEFAN WISSNET b, v HARRY ROSENKIND d

NB: Re-issued on CD by Ohrwaschl in 1992.

same (Epic EPC 64998) 1972

The band began its life in the mid-sixties as The Subjects, playing beat music. In 1969 the name was changed to Subject Esq. They managed to make a great album with complex arrangements, rich instrumental textures and multi-voice vocals - a real fusion of jazz, rock, classical and blues. Instrumentally their sound was dominated by organ, multi-tracked sax and guitars. Highly recommended! The band returned to the spotlight in 1974 with a slightly changed line-up as Sahara.

SUNBIRDS
Personnel incl.: ALBUMS:

KLAUS WEISS d

same (BASF 20 21110-2) 1971 "Zagara" (Finger 23 96101) 1972 The band of Klaus Weiss, who was later to found the percussive jazz rock-project Niagara. In the early sixties, Weiss played drums in the Doldinger's Quartet. Phillip Catherine played guitar on both albums by Sunbirds - which I unfortunately haven't heard! Reputedly they comprised a typical German type of jazz- rock fusion.

TALIX

Personnel:

ALBUM:

VOLKER PLITZ kb MARKUS SCHAUB g JOE VOGGENTHALES g ELMAR KART sax, flt KLAUS GEBAUER v TOM WOHLERT b K.D. BLAHAK d

"Spuren" (Vogue LDVS 17237) 1970 A highly-priced collector's item! Talix had the typical vintage progressive sound of guitar versus sax battles. Some parts of the album are good, i.e. where the guitarist turned up the distortion to the maximum! They are comparable to their label mates Nosferatu. Talix later became Pinguin, who recorded a much more keyboard-based album for Zebra in 1972.

TANGERINE DREAM
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

EDGAR FGOESE g, kb, electronics (E-) (VOLKER HOMBACH flt, v, vln) A (STEVE JOLLIFFE g, sax, flt) B (CONRAD SCHNITZLER cello, vln ,electronics) C (STEVE SCHRODER kb) D PETER BAUMANN kb, electronics E,G,I (MICHAEL HONIG kb) H (CHARLIE PRINCE v) A (KURT HERKENBERG b) A (LANSE HAPSHASH d) A (SVEN-AKE JOHANSSON d) B (KLAUS SCHULZE d) C,F (CHRIS FRANKE d, flt, synth, kb) D-I

(C)"Electronic Meditation" (Ohr OMM 56 004) 1970 (D)"Alpha Centauri" (Ohr OMM 56 012) 1971 (E)"Zeit" (2 LP) (Ohr OMM 56 021/22) 1972 (E)"Atem" (Ohr OMM 56 031) 1973 (G)"Phaedra" (Virgin 87751/V2010 (UK)) 1974 (G)"Rubycon" (Virgin 87754/V2025 (UK)) 1975 (I)"Ricochet" (Virgin 89679/V2044 (UK)) 1975 (I)"Stratosfear" (Virgin 28146/V2068 (UK)) 1976 Edgar Froese was born on 6 June 1944 in Tilsit, a small city in East-Preussen. At the end of the Second World War this area was lost to Russia, and Froese's family moved west to the crumbled Reich's ruined capital Berlin. Froese: 'American soldiers were the first people to rush into Berlin, and for whatever reason, my family had a lot of contact with them. During the first years of my life, the time when one's mind absorbs the most, I was surrounded by American influences'. In the mid-sixties Froese studied painting and sculpture at the Berlin art academy for four years. Here he met and married Monique. At the same time he began playing music with fellow students. In 1965 a band named The Ones was formed, for whom Froese played guitar. They did some touring in Germany, France and Spain, playing cover versions of then current American pop, soul and blues hits. By early 1967 the psychedelic area had arrived, apparently making a great impression on Froese. The Ones managed to get a single pressed, in small quantity, on the Starclub-label. The lyrics of the A-Side "Lady Greengrass" told about peculiar flights and fantastic colour experiences: "She lifts her dress and floats to dreamland, Makes love to the sky She let's her hair hang down as the weeds grow around - Lady Greengrass! Licking lollipops, catching moon drops, Bright and Beautiful Big fat love-inns, groovy be-inns, For lady Greengrass! Puff! -The Trees turn tangerine!

Puff! -The sky is suddenly green! Her eyes reveal her state of mind... ...She's beginning to fly!... " (From "Lady Greengrass") Froese played an excellent, wailing acid guitar on this track, making it one of the few German psychedelic classics! The B-Side "This Love Of Mine" was more common, showing the band's roots in soul and blues. The Ones disbanded shortly after this single was released. The single is now very valuable (circa DEM 300), with a picture sleeve showing a young Froese. While touring with The Ones in Spain, Froese met the remarkable painter Salvador Dali in Cadaques. Dali's imagination and revolutionary surreal concepts of art impressed and inspired Froese. He made some music for Dali's exhibitions then. When The Ones disbanded, Froese wanted to try out his new-found musical ideas. The project name 'Tangerine Dream' was taken from the lyrics of one of the year's greatest experimental pop songs: John Lennon's "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". Incidentally, 'Tangerine Dream' was also the title of a 1967 pop-psych album by the British group Kaleidoscope. The first Tangerine Dream line-up was established in September 1967, and featured Volker Hombach, Kurt Herkenberg (later a member of Curly Curve!), Lanse Hapshash and, sometimes, Charlie Prince. For the rest of the year this group practised intensely. From January 1968 onwards, they played surreal, improvised and psychedelic music at various venues in Germany, generally gaining good reviews. Back in Berlin, they often played at the Zodiac. This was an underground club for psychedelic music, in many ways being the German equivalent of London's U.F.0. club. At the Essen international song festival in the Autumn of 1968, Tangerine Dream played for a larger audience for the first time, along with other exciting new bands like Amon Duul and Guru Guru. The festival's motto was 'Germany awakes', and concerning the music this was true! Sadly there seem to he no recordings available of this great event. In Froese's opinion Tangerine Dream still didn't sound 'different' enough, and he re-organised the band several times, finally disbanding the group in the Spring of 1969. For six months, Froese played sessions and gigs with several musicians, among them the British multi-instrumentalist Steve Jolliffe (of Steamhammer), the Swedish drummer Sven-Ake Johansson and various bass players. Then in the Autumn of 1969 he established a new line-up with Conrad Schnitzler and Klaus Schulze. Froese, who played 6 & 12 string guitar, farfisa organ and piano by this time, wanted to experiment with uncommon instruments. An important early live performance by this trio was at the 'Pop and Blues Festival, Essen' on 11 October 1969. They also performed at various clubs and galleries in Berlin and Frankfurt. From now on, the group studied electronic music, guided by Thomas Kessler (a professor and contemporary classical music composer) in his studio. Both Conrad Schnitzler and Klaus Schulze had been through some academic studies previously. Conrad Schnitzler had studied sculpturing as the first pupil of Joseph Beyss, and music with the well-known composer KarlHeinz Stockhausen. Tangerine Dream was more or less a part-time project for Conrad Schnitzler, because at about the same time he also founded the trio Kluster with Dieter Moebius and Hans Joachim Roedelius. Klaus Schulze had studied experimental composition and came from an amateur beat band named Psy Free.

In October 1969, Tangerine Dream recorded Electronic Meditation at the Mixed Media Studio, Berlin. Two important guests participated in the recordings, but were not mentioned on the album sleeve: Thomas von Keyserling (flute) and Jimmy Jackson (organ). The finished tapes were sent off to Ralf-Ulrich Kaiser, manager of the new-born Ohr label. He was obviously impressed, as he immediately gave them a recording contract and released the album in June 1970. Compared with their later albums, this wasn't particularly electronic music. Conrad Schnitzler's peculiar use of violin and cello was important to the album's revolutionary new sound, while Froese only permitted Klaus Schulze to do some quite anonymous drumming. Froese and Klaus Schulze never got on too well together as individuals. The album's thematic concept was the cycle of life from birth to death ...and then back to rebirth! Seen in relation to this, it was logical to finish side two with the start of side one. The five tracks are very imaginative and sound remarkably fresh today: "Genesis" opened with tonal clusters of cello, before Klaus Schulze introduced percussion and a slow rhythm to which there was added flute and guitar improvisations. The highlight of the album came next, the 13-minute track "Journey Through A Burning Brain", dominated by the heavy acid guitar work of Froese. Like Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream revealed their passion for Pink Floyd's innovative A Saucerful Of Secrets album. The organ chord sequence from the end of that album's title-track pops up in "Cold Smoke" and in a more disguised format elsewhere on the album. "Ashes To Ashes" was a kind of thumping acid blues with even more distorted acid guitar, perhaps an indication on how their earlier incarnations sounded live at the Zodiac. Electronic Meditation is undoubtedly one of the true milestones of German rock and an all-time classic. Sadly this exciting line-up was quite short-lived. The three individuals had too many ideas and too strong personalities to keep a permanent partnership. Schnitzler did some live appearances with Kluster, before starting his own, obscure but artistically successful solo career. Klaus Schulze had already been fired from the group at the time of the album release. He formed Ash Ra Tempel with Hartmut Enke and Manuel Gottsching in August 1970 before starting his fantastic solo career. Froese found a new drummer in Agitation Free's Chris Franke. They had become acquainted in 1968 when Tangerine Dream and Agitation Free both played live at the Zodiac club. Steve Schroder came in on organ. In October 1970 they gave a controversial concert for an audience of a thousand. Six flipper games were connected to an amplifier and the band made improvised music to the electronically treated noises appearing from the flipper games! In January 1971 their second album Alpha Centauri was produced by Froese (guitar, bass, organ), Franke (percussion, lotos flute, piano harp, zither, VCS 3 synthesizer) and Schroder (hammond and farfisa organ) in the Dierks Studio, Stommeln. The album's title is taken from the star system that is our nearest neighbour in space, and thus introduced the term 'cosmic music' to German rock. The cover had a strange painting collage made by Monique Froese, her first of many album designs for the group. "Sunrise In The Third System" opened the album in a quiet way with a piano harp (or is it zither?), then it increased in strength and gave way to Froese's characteristic glissando guitar. "Fly And Collision Of The Comas Sola" had three sections. It opened with electronic oscillating VCS 3 noises, continued with a guitar chord-based melody and ended with a cascade of rumbling percussion with improvised flute-play. By the way, this album also featured two guests: Udo Dennebourg (flute and words) and Roland Paulick (VCS 3 synthesizer). The title track was the first of many subsequent side long compositions. This one sounded very improvised and was based on flute and strange electronic sounds. It finished off with a strange, mass-like requiem with hypnotic organ and spoken German lyrics. This record

was a more spacious and atmospheric attempt than the first, a direction the group would follow for most of their future. A rare single, "Ultima Thule Parts I & 2", also dates from early 1971. It is based on the theme appearing in the middle of "Fly And Collision Of The Comas Sola", but this time the treatment is much closer to progressive rock. On part one Froese plays really heavy fuzz guitar like you've never heard him do elsewhere! Part two is quieter, with heavy use of mellotron and organ. This single is obligatory for all people interested in German rock! Expect to pay DEM 150 for a copy in great shape. According to Froese, Steve Schroder 'flipped totally out', and was fired in February 1972. Schroder apparently 'flipped' his way into Ash Ra Tempel, in time for the fullblown acid freak-out Seven Up (recorded in August 1972). For some months Tangerine Dream's only activities were to study in Kessler's studio. Here they met Peter Baumann, who became their new third member. Nearly all their old equipment was sold when they made their most important discovery: the rich possibilities of synthesizers! Their next work Zeit, recorded in May 1972 at the same venue as its predecessor, was a double album and their most classical effort ever. The work was divided into four side-long movements. A cello quartet of Christian Vallbracht, Jochen von Grumbkow (of Holderlin), Hans Joachim Brune and Johannes Lucke introduced the first and most important movement: "Birth Of Liquid Pleiades". Florian Fricke of Popol Vuh guested on moog synthesizer for the beautiful middle-part and Steve Schroder played organ on the hypnotic ending of this movement. Choosing as its subject matter 'time', the album had a most pretentious concept. The ancient philosopher Parmenides had thought of time as an illusion that only existed in our heads. The reality was motionless and unchangeable. It is this stationary universe Tangerine Dream are trying to describe with their Zeit. If their two previous albums had been much heralded in the German press, the reviewers weren't always too pleased with this album. Many people found it too stationary for their taste. Zeit is a gloomy, quite fascinating record where Tangerine Dream have their first serious stabs with synthesizers. Froese still played a yelling glissando guitar, but this time it was very deep in the mix. Baumann added dark vibraphone and Franke electronic effects and soft percussion. Zeit was their first album to get some of attention in England. The next one, named Atem (breath), was chosen as the legendary and highly influential radio-DJ ('Top Gear' programme) John Peel's favourite import album of the year. It was recorded between December 1972 and January 1973 and developed on some of the ambience of Zeit, but this time brought more motion and some almost ritualistic percussion into the work. The title track, covering side one, started with powerful and pompous percussion and mellotrons, later exploding in a violent climax and floating around in a quiet ambience for the last 15 minutes. "Fauni-Gena" set the direction for Froese's future solo album Epsilon In Malayan Pale, featuring bird song and lots of mellotrons, thus creating a rich, associative atmosphere. Indeed this was the first album to benefit from Froese's long lasting fondness of the artificial sounding tape loops (made up of recordings of conventional instruments like flute, strings, brass, human voice, etc.) of the mellotron. In fact this instrument was a precursor to the electronic synthesizer. Most surprising was the closing track "Wahn", possibly showing the group displaying an infrequent glimpse of humour, using their voices in an uncommon and ritualistic way. In general, this was an album completely lacking conventional melodies, instead it relied 100% on associative atmospheres.

Tangerine Dream's relationship with the record company Ohr had grown increasingly bitter throughout the years. Kaiser had adopted the term 'cosmic music', and now used it to promote all his artists, and in 1973 even renamed Ohr to Kosmische Musik. Atem was originally intended for release on this new label but Froese plainly refused this and the Ohr label was used again. (Some foreign releases still had the Kosmische Musik logo on the front!) Kaiser had also developed a weird kind of 'cosmic religion', possibly influenced by Timothy Leary's acid drenched message. Froese felt that his group was marketed as kind of 'cosmic carnival clowns', and refused to let Kaiser release any farther albums. That is perhaps why Green Desert was kept in the can for so long. It wasn't released (CD-only) until 1985 when Relativity (USA) and Jive Electro (Europe) acquired the rights to all the Ohr-albums. Green Desert was recorded in August 1973 by Froese and Franke. Baumann was apparently having one of his many 'holidays' from the group then, because for a French tour this month Klaus Schulze unexpectedly stepped into his slot. The four tracks on Green Desert are totally different from Atem. Overall it's more rhythmic, with plenty of drums and repeating synthesizer sequencer patterns. However, the album was heavily re-mixed (and instruments added) in 1985, so it's hard to tell how the original 1973 recordings really sounded. Virgin was the only British record company that took an interest in the revolutionary new German rock scene. Over a short period they signed both Faust and Tangerine Dream, and later added Can and Ashra to their impressive roster. Tangerine Dream recorded their first Worldwide distributed album Phaedra in the last months of 1973. Edgar Froese also recorded his first solo album Aqua at about this time. The exploration of electronically-treated natural sounds continued, this time with artificial seagulls and water sounds. The music was dramatic, spooky and unearthly. Sequencers kept a steady beat, on to which layers of electronic sounds were added. The fold-out cover displayed a cloudy Monique Froese painting. Phaedra shot up to sensationally peak at number 9 in the British LP charts. In Australia it did even better, and the group have since then had one of their largest followings down there. Tangerine Dream appeared on Peel's 'Top Gear' and soon toured Britain for the first time. In France they performed a legendary concert at the Reims Cathedral on 13 December 1974: 6,000 hashish-smoking, long-haired students crammed the church, and filled it with their sweet-smelling odours. The pope was furious over the event and declared it to be a sacrilege. The band was banned from ever playing in a Catholic church again. The first two months of 1975 were spent recording Rubycon, which consisted of a large scale composition in two parts. The album was wrapped in a green, foggy fold-out cover with a photo of a drop hitting water taken by Monique. This was another dramatic and great album (maybe the best of the Virgin releases). The sound was more polished than that of Phaedra. By this time the group had established a very distinct and characteristic style. Their mid-seventies albums were pioneering the development of electronic music. Chris Franke played the world's then largest, custom built moog synthesizer. The general public impression of Tangerine Dream playing live was: 'three mystical men walking around and throbbing notes on large machines, wrapped in fog like some kind of 20th Century wizards'. They always played improvised music, in spite of all the music generating machines involved. The resulting material was often totally different from their recorded output. For this reason live tapes are indispensable for the committed fans. Peter Baumann took another 'holiday' after the completion of Rubycon in February 1975. His instant replacement was a previous colleague of Franke in Agitation Free: Michael Honig. He was with

the group for their first Australian tour and a memorable appearance at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Honig wanted to work with tighter compositions and didn't manage to fit in with their often totally improvised live shows. Froese and Franke, on their side, found it difficult to make the same relationship with Honig that they had had with Baumann. Consequently Honig left and Baumann returned. The rest of 1975 was dominated by extensive touring in Europe. The next album, Ricochet (1975), was recorded live during concerts in France and Great Britain another milestone in the history of electronic music! It was named after a video game which gained the group's attention in-between the shows in France. Again the album consisted of the title track composition in two parts. It was probably their most sequencer-guided album ever, featuring hypnotic patterns ideal for spirited guitar and moog improvisations. In 1976 Tangerine Dream continued their frequent touring in Europe. The next studio work Stratosfear (recorded in August) was more accessible and acoustic than their previous albums, accommodating their increasing commercial success. It included four tracks: the title track opened with twelve string guitar before the sequencer takes over. "The Big Sleep In Search Of Hades" featured harpsichord and bass, making it a pretty and unusual little track. On "3 A.M. At The Border Of The Marsh From Okefenokee" Edgar Froese played harmonica. Apart from this, the track was characteristic for Tangerine Dream, being driven by an intelligent sequencer rhythm and flute-voiced mellotron. "Invisible Limits" was dramatic in a way that recalls sinister movie soundtrack music, featuring an excellent moog solo from Peter Baumann. Stratosfear was perhaps less imaginative than its predecessors, but is certainly recommended as a starter for newcomers. Late that year. Tangerine Dream started working on their first major movie soundtrack task (previously they had done some work for German TV), for William Friedkin's thriller "Wages Of Fear" (or "Sorcerer", as was known in the USA). Friedkin had discovered their music some years previously during the making of "The Exorcist", and had been fascinated enough to pursue a new movie project, using Tangerine Dream's music as his main source of inspiration. Along with Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream were the best known of all German bands internationally. They have sold more than 10 million records altogether, and have been the most fertile album producers on the German scene. They are one of the few bands that started in the late sixties who are still recording.

TANNED LEATHER
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

RAINER PIETSCH v, (kb, b A) (ALF GARDNER v) A HERBERT IHLE v, (kb A) (DICKY MUDDE g) A (ANDY MARX g) A (JIM CANNON d) A WOLFGANG EMPERHOFF v B TIMOTHY TOUCHTON v B

(A)"Child Of Never Ending Love" (Ohr OMM 56 004) 1972 (B)"Saddle Soap" (EMI 1C062-29651) 1976

This was a music project based in Munich and led by Rainer Pietsch. Child Of Never Ending Love (1972) was an ambitious adult oriented soft-rock album that came in a fold-out cover with a cute drawing of angelic small children - as good as the artwork used on the British Harvest label! Tanned Leather indeed comprised three Germans and three Englishmen. The album is of average quality and not exactly progressive rock! Their second album Saddle Soap (1976) is even less exciting, I'm afraid. It contained country-flavoured rock with few interesting moments. The group was now reduced to a vocal quartet. The list of renowned studio musicians participating on it was almost endless. Here are some of them: Paul Vincent (guitar), Keith Forsey (drums), Thor Baldursson (keyboards), Andy Marx (guitar), Klaus Weiss (percussion), Dave King (bass), Karl Allaut (guitar) and Stefan Wissnet (bass). On most tracks brass, strings and a symphony orchestra was added too.

TECHNICAL SPACE COMPOSER'S CREW

Personnel:

ALBUM:

HOLGER CZUKAY ROLF DAMMERS

NB: The album was originally released in 500 copies. A re-issue in different cover appeared in 1981 on Spoon 015. Re-released on CD by Mute in 1995.

"Canaxis 5" (Music Factory SRS 2) 1970

The project name for a one-off collaboration between Can's bass player Holger Czukay and the painter Rolf Dammers. Canaxis 5 (1969) was an early attempt at manipulating ethnic music (World music), in many ways predating the discreet background music of certain ambient Brian Eno albums. The album was made using tape loops from traditional Vietnamese music to create some kind of 'acoustic sound painting'. The result was a strange sound milage. It contained only two tracks: "Boat-Woman-Song" and "Canaxis". Few ordinary instruments were in use, only Holger's bass can be heard occasionally. Nowadays, this album is nothing more than a curiosity, documenting the ambient music in its' early childhood. Czukay's tape editing skills steadily improved through the years - as proved by the mid-period Can albums and even more so on his solo albums.

TETRAGON
Personnel:

ALBUM:

HENDRIK SCHAPES kb, v JURGEN JAEHNER g ROLF RETTBERG b RALF SCHMIEDLING d

"Nature" (Soma SM1) 1971 This group was previously known as the trio Trikolon, who released an album of tremendously raw organ led garage rock. For the Tetragon album they also had a guitar player added. Nature (1971) was released on the minor Soma label in a fold-out cover, possibly the only release on the label. The album was a largely instrumental showcase for Schapes' skills on the keyboards and with a heavier influence from classical music (Bach). The end result was quite good, but inferior to Trikolon's Cluster (1970).

THINK
Personnel:

ALBUM:

RODRIGO RAMOR v, perc GERD POHL g KAJO SANDRIK vln, kb, perc FRANK VOIGT flt RICKY RAMOR b FRIED WORDEHOFF d

"Variety" (Menga MEL 3301) 1973 Hungarians Rodrigo Ramor, Ricky Ramor and Kajo Sandrik remained in Germany when the orchestra they were playing in returned to Hungary. They were joined by Gerd Pohl, Frank Voigt and Fried Wordehoff for the studio project Think. They recorded an album in 1973 named Variety. This comprised a variety of different styles! The Hungarians in the band brought with them rich influences from classical music and gypsy folk music. The Germans had a more rockoriented approach to their playing. This inventive mix was most successful on the long title track. "Draw Conclusion From..." was another great effort, a 15 minute journey through boogie blues, jazz-rock and classical quotations interspersed by melodic vocal parts. It is tempting to compare them to several Peter Hauke productions like Nektar, Omega and Epsilon. Wordehoff had a distinctive drum style with a strange, light touch almost lacking bass drum.

THIRSTY MOON
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

JURGEN DROOGIES g, perc (HANS-WERNER RANWIG kb, perc, v) A SIEGFRIED PISALLA g, v B MICHAEL KOBS kb WILLI PAPE sax, clarinet, flt HARALD KONIETZKO b NORBERT DROOGIES d ERWIN NOACK perc

NB: Originals of 1 & 2 should have the Brain-Metronome-label. An early second pressing of 1 on green Brain (w/out Metronomewriting on label) exists. All green Brain copies of 3 & 4 are originals.

(A)same (Brain 1021) 1972 (B)"You'll Never Come Back" (Brain 1041) 1973 (B)"Blitz" (Brain 1079) 1975 (B)"Real Good Time" (Brain 60.009) 1976

Brain signed a considerable number of jazz and fusion influenced 'progressive' rock bands in the early seventies. Among these were Release Music Orchestra, Cornucopia, Kollektiv, Creative Rock, Emergency and Thirsty Moon, a large band from Bremen. Their debut album appeared in 1972, produced by Jochen Petersen (of lkarus and Randy Pie fame) at Studio Maschen. Five tracks ranging from the 21 minute suite "Yellow Sunshine" to the short songs "Love Me" and "Rooms Behind Your Mind". Their music was comparable to the groups listed earlier - an inventive and mostly instrumental jazz-rock fusion, where the solo improvisations were given free reign. Among Thirsty Moon's characteristics were massive use of percussion (congas) and

electric piano in dynamic arrangements, ranging from soft, mellow atmospheres to psychedelic outbursts with reversed tapes and phasing effects. The album is so varied that it's hardly describable! Hans-Werner Ranwig quit before You'll Never Come Back (1973), and was replaced by Siegfried Pisalla. This album was just as varied as their first. One side was completely instrumental. Blitz (1975) broke away from the early style with a more easy-going and up-beat instrumental rock. The group broke up after the disappointing Real Good Time (1976), presumably they too were dissatisfied with the album. The first two Thirsty Moon albums are recommended, the next two are quite good.

THRICE MICE
Personnel:

ALBUM:

WOLFGANG BUHRE sax WERNER VON GOSEN g WOLFRAM MINNEMANN kb KARL-HEINZ BLUMENBERG v RAINER VON GOSEN b ARNO BREDEHOFT d

same (Phillips 6305) 1971 A sextet from Hamburg, playing the patented, distinctive German type of progressive jazz-rock typified by underground legends like Xhol or Out Of Focus (2nd & 3rd album). The leading soloist in Thrice Mice was Wolfgang Buhre. Vocalist Karl-Heinz Blumenberg had little to do most of the time. Their album was recorded during November and December 1970 in Hamburg and released on Phillips in 1971. Buhre often tried to copy the wah-wah sax style of Ian Underwood of Mothers Of Invention, this was most apparent on opening track "Jo Joe". On "Vivaldi" the three soloists were playing duets with themselves in turn! Minnemann's organ sound was high, thin and cranky in a late sixties' way. The distinctive German underground sound (rooted in jazz) marked the track "Torekov". After a couple of years, the group resurfaced as Altona and made two further albums for RCA in 1974 and 1975.

TIGER B. SMITH
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

HOLGER SCHMIDT g, v (CLAUS MEINHARDT b) A THOMAS JAUER b B KARL-HEINZ TRAHT d

NB: UK release of 2 on Janus had cover of the 1.

(A)same (Vertigo 6360 610) 1973 (A)"We're the Tiger Bunch" (Bacillus BLPS 19176) 1974

At the end of 1972 the group Second Life changed their name to Tiger B. Smith. The sleeve of their first album under this new name, Tiger Rock (1972) pictured the trio dressed in tiger furs

and heavily painted. This was quite an ordinary rock'n'roll album that failed to reveal any new ideas. It was released on the legendary 'swirl' Vertigo in a single sleeve. We're the Tiger Bunch (1973) was recorded with several guest musicians, namely Rainer Marz (guitar, vocals), Peter Trunk (bass), Veit Marvos (organ, piano). Hanus Berka (sax, flute) and Curt Cress (drums). Tiger B. Smith apparently attempted to create a fuller sound, but it was another album of rather average quality. Meinhardt left in the middle of 1974 to be replaced by Thomas Jauer for their last live engagements. The group disbanded in 1975, but Schmidt and Traut continued to work together in the new wave band Strassenjungs.

TOBOGAN
ALBUM:
NB: Re-issued on Cain CL 4791 ca. 1980.

same (Elephant Rec. NB 56) 1976

A heavy-symphonic album I've not encountered.

TOMORROW'S GIFT
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

MANFRED RURUP kb (ELLEN MEYER v) A,B (CARLO KARGES g, perc) A,B (WOLFGANG TRESCHER flt) A,B BERND KIEFER b (OLAF CASALICH d) A (GERD PAETZKE d) B "ZABBA" LINDNER d C,D ULI TREPTE g D

NB: 1 was re-released on CD by Second Battle in 1992.

(B)same (2 LP) (Plus 1/2) 1970 (C)"Goodbye Future" (Spiegelei 28515) 1973

Tomorrow's Gift were responsible for the first release (of only three totally) on the Plus label (owned by Miller International). Like Frumpy and Joy Unlimited, they were a blues and soulrock band who "turned on, tuned in and dropped out" to the progressive music at the end of the sixties (but remained faithful to their roots). Both mentioned bands had female vocalists, as had Tomorrow's Gift: Ellen Meyer. Arguably she didn't have a voice as strong lnga as Rumpf, but her's was good enough to serve the music. This was really a band of future talents, three of the members being still teenagers. Their eponymous double album had a typical vintage progressive sound. There were powerful long tracks with plenty of guitar, organ, flute and drum solos. Ellen Meyer's vocals were comparable to Janis Joplin. The production (courtesy of Jochen Petersen (Ikarus), possibly his first production ever) was unpolished and some of the material a little rough around the edges. It would have been better to edit the material down to a single album! There is more than an album-worth of live material by Tomorrow's Gift issued on the two festival samplers Pop & Blues Festival '70 and Love and Peace. The first one had a 20 minute version of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch" re-titled "Sound Of Which" (sic!), interspersed with very long, sometimes chaotic instrumental parts. Still it is a good example of their raw live sound. The latter had another 20 minute track: "At The Earth/Indian Rope Man" and the shorter "Begin Of A

New Sound". Both concerts were recorded before their debut album. The five-piece Tomorrow's Gift split up in 1971, but Manfred Rurup and Bernd Kiefer kept the band going. They recruited "Zabba" Lindner from Sphinx Tush and recorded Goodbye Future (1972) as a trio, an ironic title considering the name of the group! This album was technically better, as the engineering and production were handled by Konrad Plank. The sound of Tomorrow's Gift had changed completely and now leaned towards instrumental jazz-rock with forceful keyboard and bass interplay. It was indeed a very varied album: Canterbury-influenced jazz-rock with improvised free jazz parts (a bit comparable to the first Annexus Quam album), general Zappa-esque weirdness and musical jokes. The album wasn't released until a year after the recordings were completed. Then at last Spiegelei/Aamok released it in a funny die-cut round hole cover. In January 1973 they were joined by guitarist Uli Trepte, previously of Guru Guru, with whom they performed live. Half a year later Trepte quit and was replaced with sax and clarinet player Norbert Jacobsen. This new quartet changed their name Release Music Orchestra and recorded five albums for Brain. Original guitarist Carlo Karges later worked with groups as different as Novalis, Extrabreit and Nena. He also guested on the Release Music Orchestra album Get The Ball (1976). Manfred Rurup later recorded with Carsten Bohn's Bandstand, Elephant and lnga Rumpf.

TON STEINE SCHERBEN

Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

RIO REISER [RALPH MOBIUS] v, g R.P.S. LANRUE [RALPH STEITZ] g NIKEL PALLAT v B,C (JORG SCHLOTTERER flt, bassoon, perc) B KAI SICHTERMANN b (WOLF SEQUENZA [WOLFGANG SEIDEL] d) A (OLAF LITZAU d) B KLAUS "FUNKY" GOTZNER d C VEGAS VON TRANTOR perc C

(A)"Warum geht es Mir so dreckig?" (David Volksmund TSS 1) 1971 (B)"Keine Macht fur Niemand" (2 LP) (David Volksmund TSS 2) 1972 (C)"Wenn den Nacht am Tiefsten" (2 LP) (David Volksmund TSS 3) 1975 West Berlin was, for obvious reasons, a city where many political rock bands developed during the late sixties and early seventies. The most important artists of this movement were Ton Steine Scherben, along with Lokomotive Kreuzberg. The guiding forces of the band were Ralph Mobius aka Rio Reiser and Ralph Steitz aka R.P.S. Lanrue who first played together in the quartet Degalaxis in 1965. In 1967 Mobius was involved in the foundation of an early beat-rock-opera attempt named "Robinson 2,000". That year Mobius and Steitz also formed a theatre and music group named Hoffmann's Comic Theater. Kai Sichtelmann and Wolfgang Seidel aka Wolf Sequenza also joined this group in 1969 and 1970 respectively. A single "Macht Kaputt Was Euch Kaputt Macht" coupled with "Wir Streiken" was released in 1970. After this, Hoffmann's Comic Theater changed its' name to Ton Steine Scherben. The single sold surprisingly well and the band appeared on German TV. This, and their constant, aggressive political agitation, quickly established them as leading proponents of the Berlin counter culture. Their concerts often

resulted in riots and house occupations. After a concert in Basel, the band promptly organised a demonstration against political injustice in Switzerland. The Swiss authorities honoured this action by declaring the band 'persona non grata'. The band's debut LP appeared in September 1971 on their own David Volksmund label. With very aggressive music and lyrics, partly recorded live at Alto Mensa, the band earned their reputation as the first new wave/punk band in Germany. A member of the group's living commune once finished a television-broadcasted public discussion by splitting the studio's table with an axe. Wolf Sequenza left the band at the end of 1971. In the late seventies he resurfaced with Conrad Schnitzler, making experimental electronic music. The band's next work was Keine Macht For Niemand, a double album which covered a much larger musical span than the debut. Jorg Schlotterer and Jochen Petersen contributed to the album. Indeed, this was a fine collection of progressive political rock, quite different to Floh de Cologne's style. After an early 1972 tour, the band temporarily withdrew from live appearances and in 1973 the only life-sign was (the reinforced) Hoffmann's Comic Theater record for children, entitled Hr Fressack (Rothkehlchen 1) (1973). In the Spring of 1974 they attempted a live come-back with mixed results. The audiences expected the band to be aggressive leaders of a desired, forthcoming political revolution, but were met by a band outrageously dressed in satin and velvet, who poured out glitter from the stage. However, after rethinking their stage presentation, Ton Steine Scherben was again met by acclaim. The next album, Wenn den Nacht am Tiefsten (1975), was another double one, taking 12 months to complete and including a lot of different musical styles. Their lyrics this time were more resigned. Along with its predecessor, this was their highest achievement. Soon they drifted into obscurity, but tile members took part in a variety of side projects.

TORTILLA FLAT
Personnel:

ALBUM:

HERMANN JOSEF BOSTEN flt, g MANFRED HERTEN g FRANZ BRANDT kb HERIBERT SCHIPPERS b HANS FRIEDRICH BOSTEN d, glockenspiel ALBERT SCHIPPERS perc

"Fur ein 3/4 Stunde" (private TF 0175) 1974 This was a 'Canterbury', Focus and Supersister-influenced fusion ensemble, who recorded a highly sought-after private pressing which will cost you more than 500 DEM today. Their music was totally instrumental jazz-rock, marked by some interesting electric piano, guitar and flute interplay. Certainly an interesting album for those of you who enjoy jazz-rock!

TRIKOLON
Personnel:

ALBUM:

HENDRIK SCHAPES kb, tpt, v ROLF RETTBERG b RALF SCHMIEDLING d

"Cluster" (private) 1970 A trio led by Hendrik Schapes. The sleeve of their 1970 album Cluster listed Brian Auger and Keith Emerson as inspiration sources. This was a very primitive live recording of four extended tracks: two Schaper originals, one blues number composed by Ambrose and an adaptation of a rondo by Mozart. These references will give you a good idea of what the music was like. Essentially very long keyboard improvisations interrupted only by a trumpet blow-out, as on "Trumpet For Example". Much the same musical concept (minus bass and trumpet) was adapted by the group Sixty-Nine. Trikolon meanwhile changed name to Tetragon and recorded another album in 1971.

TRITONUS
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

PETER K. SEILER kb, synth RONALD BRAND b, v, g CHARLIE JEST d GEFF HARRISON v B

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Acanta 223841, re-issue of 2 on Acanta 229467.

(A)same (BASF 17 22384-1) 1975 (B)"Between the Universe" (BASF CC 229467) 1976

Peter K. Seiler had a musical background from his university days (he studied classical music) which prompted him to form a "classical rock" trio, in the tradition of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Their first album (1975) was quite conventional for the symphonic rock genre. However, Between the Universe (1976) was a definite improvement, benefiting from Geff Harrison's vocals (ex-2066 & Then and Kin Ping Meh), catchy tunes and great keyboard arrangements (mainly synthesizers). After this, Seiler seemed to lose the interest in Tritonus, and worked increasingly with other musicians, like Michael Bundt. Check out Bundt's solo albums if you enjoy the Tritonus-style.

TRIUMVIRAT
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

JURGEN FRITZ kb, v BARRY PALMER v D DICK FRANGENBERG b A,D (HANS PAPE b) B HELMUT KOLLEN b C HANS BATHELT d

NB: 1 was only issued in Germany.

(B)"Mediterranean Tales Across the Water" (Harvest 1C062-29441) 1972 (C)"Illusions On A Double Dimple" (Harvest 1C062-29491/SHSP 4030 (UK)/11311 (US)) 1974 (C)"Spartacus" (Harvest 1C062-29567/SHSP 4048 (UK)/11392 (US)) 1975 (D)"Old Loves Die Hard" (Harvest 1C062-29622/Capitol 11551 (US)) 1976

This is probably the best internationally known German symphonic rock band. Triumvirat's music was very keyboard-oriented, earning their reputation as the German equivalent of

Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Ekseption or P.F.M. It is tempting to think that these bands always attempted to outdo each other with their pompous, vast instrumental exhibitions, often based firmly on classical themes. In addition, Triumvirat's conceptual albums were often based around moments from European history. Organist and leader Jurgen Fritz assembled the original trio in 1970. In 1971 Hans Pape become their bassist and participated in the recording of their first album Mediterranean Tales in the Electrola Studio, Cologne, January 1972. Hans Pape later quit and was replaced by Helmut Kollen. Illusions On A Double Dimple (1974) did so well in the USA that it entered the Billboard charts! It was the combination of accessible symphonicprogressive music coupled with good marketing by EMI that made this possible! In Germany, however, the band wasn't able to sell its' records so well. In the press, their music was slaughtered by the overcool music journalists, then as now! Spartacus (1975) is considered by many to be Triumvirat's best album. Old Loves Die Hard (1976) saw the addition of the vocalist Barry Palmer and the re-instatement of former bassist Dick Frangenberg. This album sweetened their style, moving them dangerously close to supermarket-muzak.

TROYA
Personnel:

ALBUM:

ELMAR WEGMANN g, flt, v KLAUS PANNEWIG d, v WILHELM WEISCHER b PETER SAVELSBERG kb, synth

NB: The album has been re-released on Cade CSM 10004, I don't know the year of this issue. CD re-issue in 1993 on Lost Pipe Dreams LP 016.

"Point Of Eruption" (private T5476) 1976

A quartet who made a fine private pressing called Point Of Eruption. This contained six extended tracks ranging from the guitar-ridden, triumphal instrumental overtures "Chromatik" and "Sinclair" to the sensitive and nostalgic "Festival", an ode to the early seventies live hippie festivals: Then the first group appears on the stage their sound is average Next, their favourite group plays their daily gig moreever powerful Thousands of friends and strangers are sitting feet by feet to hear the heartbeat

Overall, Troya's sound was melancholic and lyrical - classical influenced progressive folk-rock, comparable to mid-seventies bands like Novalis, Jane, Epidaurus, Minotaurus, even to previous legends as Murphy Blend. The long instrumental parts were dominated by organ and guitar. I can't actually hear any flutes, mellotron or piano on Point Of Eruption! They were however able to produce a minor classic under relatively primitive conditions.

PETER TRUNK
ALBUM:

"Sincerely P.T." (Spiegelei 28 578-3U) 1976 The bass player Peter Trunk's album featured the well-known jazz musicians: Manfred Schoof

(trumpet). Shake Keane (fluegelhorn), Jasper van t'Hof (keyboards), Jiggs Whigham (trombone), Sigi Schwab (guitar, tarang), Curt Cress (drums) and Joe Nay (drums, percussion). Sincerely P.T., an album of average jazz compositions, was recorded at Studio 70, Munich.

TWOGETHER
ALBUM:

"A Couple Of Times" (Victory 12636) 1973 It seems as though Sixty-Nine inspired other musicians to try out the possibilities of an organ and drum duo. This was indeed the case with this obscure project, resulting in a practically unknown private pressing. However this record offered more space for the drums, resulting in something a bit closer to Niagara.

TYBURN TALL
Personnel:

ALBUM:

WERNER GALLO g RHEINHARD MAGIN kb, v KLAUS FRESENLUS v STEFAN KOWA b, v HANNS DECHANT d

NB: Re-issued on CD by Penner in 1994 featuring 2 bonus tracks.

same (Lutz Kern) 1972

These unknowns from Speyer are responsible for the most expensive German private pressing I know about! I've heard about a copy changing hands for 5000 DEM. Only 200 copies were originally printed and half of them were destroyed in a fire. Fortunately, the Tyburn Tall album is now avaiable on CD for a much cheaper price. Their music was rudimentary and raw-edged heavy symphonic rock - as if delivered straight from the rehearsal room in the garage! Unfortunately they had a creaky vocalist that partly spoils the listening pleasure for me!'

TYLL

ALBUM:

"Sexphone" (Kerston FK 65025) 1975 A little known group who released an album on the same label as Gaa & Epidermis.

UTOPIA
ALBUM:

same (United Artists UAS 29438) 1972 Not to be confused with any of Todd Rundgren's projects, this Utopia wasn't really a group, but the first solo project of Lothar Meid (bass, vocals, keyboards). It couldn't be released under his name due to contractual difficulties. The album was made with help from several of his earlier band mates: Renate Knaup (vocals on one track), John Weinzierl (guitar on one track), Chris Karrer (guitar on one track), Danny Fichelscher (drums on four tracks) and Olaf Kubler (sax, moog and gong on four tracks) from Amon Duul II plus Jimmy Jackson (organ and piano on all eight tracks), Siegfried Schwab (guitar on one track), Kristian Schultze (electric piano on one track) and Edgar Hofmann (sax on one track) from Embryo and/or Passport. Meid had played with all these formations. He wrote all tracks in collaboration with Olaf Kubler. Another

participating musician worth mentioning is Andy Marx (guitar on three tracks) of Cherubin and Udo Lindenberg's first group. The resulting album had a couple of weak tracks, but the majority benefited from the rich, dense production and the experienced jazz-rock musicians. Most important in this connection was the spectacular keyboard work of Jimmy Jackson on excellent tracks like "Deutsche Nepal" (with strange vocals by Rolf Zacher and quite different to the Amon Duul II version on Wolf City!), "Utopia No. 1" and "Nasi Goreng" The musicians were apparently only listed on the British version of the album. The next project of Lothar Meid was the less interesting Achtzehn Karat Gold with Klaus Ebert, Jorg Evers and Keith Forsey.

VAMPIRES OF DARTMOOR
ALBUM:

"Dracula's Music Cabaret" (Metronome MLP 10262) 1969 As the title reveals, this was a kind of rock cabaret - of minor musical interest!

VAMPIRE'S SOUND CORPORATION

Personnel:

ALBUM:

SIEGFRIED SCHWAB MANFRED KUBLER

"Psychedelic Dance Party" (Mercury 134 615) 1969 Something of a curiosity these days, the Psychedelic Dance Party album was recorded at Audio Tonstudio, Berlin under the leadership of Siegfried Schwab and Manfred Kubler (they wrote all 11 tracks). Indeed the album had an appropriate title; it consisted of a weird kind of instrumental up-beat music, utilising sound effects, electric guitar and brass. The actual players, except for Schwab and Kubler, are not listed on the cover, which had a female version of Dracula on the front. In a way this album is musically similar to the Bokaj Retsiem's (Rainer Degner) equally strange album Psychedelic Underground, even down to the fact that both albums had recurring themes: Psychedelic Underground had the "Meister Jakob"- theme linking all tracks, whereas "Psycho Contact" linked all tracks on Psychedelic Dance Party. Kubler is unknown to me, but Schwab later became well-known as a skilled jazz guitarist, joining Wolfgang Dauner Group and later recording Father, Son & Holy Ghost with Embryo in 1972, as well as recording several solo albums.

VINEGAR
ALBUM:

same (private) 1971 This obscure group made an excellent album in the "garage-underground-progressive" genre way back in 1971. Vinegar could be ranked along with Mammut as one of the most important examples of such bands. For your amusement, here's a closer look at their fascinating album: "Missa Solis" (12:15) starts off in a slow, lyrical and sinister way, not far removed from a Floydtype depression from 1969. A violin comes in and makes a short solo appearance to great effect, before the guitar and organ develop the main theme. "Saw Mill Part I" (5:22) is a garage rock song with Renate Knaup-like vocals that soon sets off to an outer space of strange sounds - "A Saucerful Of Secrets" reborn. "Saw Mill Part Two" (5:05) is more like Amon Duul II, driven by violin, organ and guitar. "Der Kaiser Auf Der Erbse" (7:04) goes in another direction, suddenly drunk Goths enter the studio! The last track is "Fleisch" (7:04), an instrumental return to the almost classical themes introduced in the second half of "Missa Solis". In conclusion: this album

is quite fabulous, go out and get it!

VIRGO
Personnel:

ALBUM (up to '76):

BOBBY STERN sax HENRYK DARLOWSKI pno REINHARD GLODER double b LOTHAR SCHARF d

same (Vertigo 6360 624) 1975 A conventional jazz-rock fusion group, more akin to all-European instrumental jazz-rock than to the German underground.

VIRUS

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

JORG-DIETER KRAHE kb (WERNER MONKA g) A BERND ROSNER g B (BERND "MOLLE" HOHMANN v, flt) A WERNER VOGT b, g, v B (REINHOLD SPIEGELFELD b) A JURGEN SCHAFER b, v B WOLFGANG RIEKE d AXEL NIELING d B

NB: 1 re-issued in 1991 on CD by Second Battle (SB 015). 2 re-issued in 1991 on CD by Ohrwaschl.

(A)"Revelation" (BASF ORC 15) 1970 (B)"Thoughts" (Pilz 20 21102-9) 1971

With Revelation, the young heavy psychedelic rock group Virus produced one of best early progressive albums in Germany - indeed it was a revelation! Their style was strongly influenced by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour) and Deep Purple (Ian Lord). The album had five long tracks. The title track included an instrumental classical adaptation of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black". Their instrumental work was even better on the 12 minute "Endless Game". The varied album also had a more hard rocking track named "Burning Candle". Finally "Nur Noch Zwei Lichtjahre" guided the listener into deep space, much like a mellow and matured "Interstellar Overdrive". The album was recorded in Star Studios, Hamburg and produced by none other than Konrad Plank. Virus were Werner Monka, Jorg-Dieter Krahe, Bernd "Molle" Hohmann, Reinhold Spiegelfeld and Wolfgang Rieke. The nickname "Molle" on the sleeve of Revelation was mistakenly connected to Werner Monka. For Thoughts (1971), both Virus' sound and the band itself had changed considerably. Only Krahe and Rieke were left from the original group. Bernd Hohmann had left for Weed. Gone were the psychedelic space-rock and long instrumental workouts. Virus now played a more mainstream, rough and heavy blues-rock, not at all bad, but clearly inferior to their debut. They also contributed to the great Pilz album Heavy Christmas (1971), before vanishing from the

scene...

WALLENSTEIN
Personnel:

ALBUMS (up to '76):

JURGEN DOLLASE kb BILL BARONE g (JOACHIM REISER vln) B (JERRY BERKERS b, v) A (DIETER MEIER b) B (JURGEN PLUTO b) C HARALD GROSSKOPF d

NB: 3 & 4 are re-released by Bernhard Mikulski GmbH ca. 1981 with original label & sleeves, but with a "Pop Import" stamp.

(A)"Blitzkrieg" (Pilz 20 29064-6) 1972 (B)"Mother Universe" (Pilz 20 29113-8) 1972 (B)"Cosmic Century" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 006) 1973 (C)"Stories, Songs & Symphonies" (Kosmische Musik KM 58 014) 1975

Wallenstein were one of Germany's best known "space rock" bands, clearly indebted to Pink Floyd but also developing a personal style of their own. Jurgen Dollase founded the group Blitzkrieg as an international group with Bill Barone (from the USA), Jerry Berkers (from the Netherlands) and Harald Grosskopf (from Germany!). Dollase had previously studied art and classical music. In late Autumn 1971 Blitzkrieg had the repertoire ready for an album, but as a British group already was using the name "Blitzkrieg", the German group changed their name to Wallenstein and kept Blitzkrieg as the title of their first album. This featured four very long tracks in a symphonic progressive rock style (all written by Dollase) and almost completely instrumental. Dense, complex and powerful stuff! Mother Universe (1972) pictured Dollase's grandma on the sleeve acting as the grandmother of our universe. Musically this was a more dynamic album, introducing some quieter, folky passages with acoustic guitar between the more usual powerful and pompous electric guitar and organ outbursts. Jerry Berkers wanted to do more of these folky things, and quit Wallenstein to record his own solo album Unterwegs - which musically I find it to be in a rather dull singer & songwriter tradition. After Dollase and Grosskopf had taken part in the large scale projects Lord Krishna von Goloka (Sergius Golowin), Tarot (Walter Wegmuller) and the Cosmic Jokerssessions, they recorded Cosmic Century (1973) in September 1973. This album brought another change of style, clearly influenced by Dollase's recent "cosmic" experiences. It was marketed as the first album by the 'symphonic rock orchestra Wallenstein' (text on the sleeve). It consisted of five refined symphonic rock tracks and a short piano piece. Dollase's strained vocal parts lowered the overall standard of this album, but apart from this the music was good! Sadly this was to be

their last great album... Stories, Songs & Symphonies (1975) attempted to bring in more conventional rock and jazz styles for a kind of extended fusion, but was largely an artistic failure. Only their adaptation of Bartok's music on "Symphaty for Bela Bartok" was of much interest. The rest represented Dollase's failed attempts to be a serious singer-songwriter. Wallenstein split in 1975 and Bill Barone returned to the USA. Harald Grosskopf was engaged as the drummer for Klaus Schulze, Ashra and more recently Central Europe Performance.

WALPURGIS
Personnel:

ALBUM:

RYSZARD KALEMBA g JERZY SOKOLOWSKI g, v GEORGE FRUCHTENICHT b JAN SUNDERMEYER perc, flt MANFRED STADELMANN d, v

NB: Re-released on CD by Ohrwaschl in 1992.

"Queen Of Saba" (Ohr OMM 556 023) 1972

Walpurgis were another of those one album wonders that sadly vanished from the scene too early! The keyboards on their Queen Of Saba album was played by Jurgen Dollase of Wallenstein. It was recorded during May and June 1972 in the Dierks Studio, Stommeln, with Dierks engineering and Frank Oeser producing. The album started with the rather dull "Disappointment", living up to its name. The other four tracks on side one are much better, but the really outstanding material was the two lengthy tracks on side two: "What Can I Do" and "My Last Illusion", brilliant examples of Wallenstein and/or Floyd influenced space rock with dreamy instrumental passages. In general this is a very good album and indispensable for fans of the two mentioned groups. It was wrapped in a great fold-out cover, picturing the queen of Saba in an airbrushed painting. Judging by their names, Sokolowski and Kalemba were of East-European origins, possibly Polish. Walpurgis didn't break through and never gained a second opportunity, due to the demise of Ohr records in 1973. Presumably they weren't "cosmic" enough to qualify for a transfer to the Kosmische Kuriere projects!

WAS TUN
ALBUM:

"Industrie-rock" (Plane S99401) 1975 Reputidly a great, eclectic political rock album with German lyrics and some good heavy guitar parts.

WEED

Personnel incl.:

KEN HENSLEY v, kb, slide g BERND HOHMANN v, flt WERNER MONKA g

ALBUM:

NB: Re-released on CD by Second Battle in 1992.

same (Phillips 6305 096) 1972

This "concept" album related to an infamous rock'n'roll habit! Unfortunately the album sleeve didn't list the line-up, but it seems likely that Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep fame had a leading role. He recorded the Weed album during March 1971 in between the Uriah Heep albums Salisbury and Look At Yourself. Some members of the 1970/71 Virus line-up were also involved, Bernd Hohmann and Werner Monka at least and possibly their rhythm section as well. All six tracks were composed by the concert promoter Bobo Albes and Phillips' household producer Rainer Goltermann made sure the sessions in the Windrose Studios in Hamburg were preserved for posterity. The album comprised straight-forward heavy progressive blues-rock with twin guitars and organ to the fore, culminating in the excellent, long instrumental title track. Weed can be compared to other German heavy progsters of the era, such as Zarathustra, Blackwater Park, Epitaph and Armaggedon, as well as Ken Hensley's similarly obscure (Head Machine) album Orgasm dating from 1969 or 1970. The sleeve of the Weed album is quite noteworthy - a somewhat disgusting, middle-aged house wife is pictured, offering some 'weed' of an unknown nature! A fine album, but very rare and accordingly high priced at the collector's market.

WALTER WEGMULLER
ALBUM:
NB: There are also Italian (PDU PLM SQ 6044/45) & French (Barclay 840.088/89) issues of the album with different covers & w/out the inserts. Re-released on CD as a limited box set in 1995.

"Tarot" (Kosmische Kuriere KK 2/58 003) 1973

Although Walter Wegmuller is Swiss, it makes sense to list him here, due to his album's enormous cast of German musicians. Tarot is the ultimate collector's item for cosmic rock freaks, partly due to the lavish packaging with lots of inserts, partly due to the scarcity and partly due to the great music on it! This was the third Kosmische Kuriere / Cosmic Jokers large scale project, predated by Ash Ra Temple's Seven Up (August 1972) and Sergius Golowin's Lord Krishna von Goloka (Autumn 1972). The big attraction here is undoubtedly Manuel Gottsching (from Ash Ra Temple) with his brilliant guitar play. Klaus Schulze (electronics) was another great asset, adding his impressive and characterstic "cosmic" electronic sounds. Klaus Schulze even read his own poem on "Der Weise". Hartmut Enke (also from Ash Ra Temple) for once passed the bass over to Jerry Berkers (ex-Wallenstein) and instead enjoyed guitar battles with Gottsching. Bernd Witthuser (of Witthuser & Westrupp) played acoustic guitar. The conventional keyboards, mainly piano, were played by Jurgen Dollase from Wallenstein. Berkers and Harald Grosskopf (drums, percussion) had just left this group. Water Wegmuller wrote the lyrics and sang (well, he spoke!) on most of the tracks. Dieter Dierks and Rosi Muller were also credited - as guests. Well, those were the participating musicians, now let's deal with the inserts: a 12xl2 inches insert with the 22 trumps of the tarot card set, to clip out with scissors. There was one musical piece for each of these cards, which had been painted by Wegmuller himself. There were 12 smaller inserts in card format: eight with portraits of the musicians and four describing the concept, the line-up, the songs and a few words about tarot philosophy. A complete set in great condition could cost you about 400 DEM. The music is stunning and varied - cosmic mayhem recalling Seven Up, electronic sound paintings a la Klaus Schulze, heavy guitar-based acid blues numbers, folky songs with acoustic guitar, mellotron and organ excursions. Actually the compositions on Tarot are more "together" than on the two

preceding Kosmische Kuriere projects and easily the best! On side 1 to 3 the tracks are more or less clearly separated, on side 4 they formed a continuous suite. Tarot was recorded in December 1972 in the Dierks studio, Stommeln. The next Kosmische Kuriere projects would be the three albums by Cosmic Jokers, compiled from jam session, recorded between Febrary and May 1973, and two strange samplers: Gilles Zeitschiff and Sci Fi Party.

KLAUS WEISS
ALBUM:

"Drum Box" (Phillips 6370 207) 1974 Klaus Weiss (different to the tamboura player Klaus Wiese of Popol Vuh-fame!) is the talented percussionist who directed the Niagara-albums. Before that he was the drummer in Klaus Doldinger's Quartet in the mid-sixties. His Drum Box album is unknown to me, but I would imagine it contains jazz-rock with lots of percussion, lust like the group Niagara.

WIND

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

STEVE LEISTNER v THOMAS LEIDENBERGER g, v ANDREAS BUELER b LUCIAN BUELER kb LUCKY SCHMIDT d, mellotron

NB: 1 Re-issued on CD by Second Battle (SB 016).

"Seasons" (Plus 3) 1971 "Morning" (CBS 65007) 1972

These musicians started their recording career with an album of cover versions as Corporal Gander's Fire Dog Brigade : On The Rocks (1970). It was recorded before Leistner joined and they adopted the name Wind. In 1971 they recorded the legendary album Seasons - one of the most sought-after German albums nowadays. This was the second of three releases on the low price Plus label. The varied album captured Wind in different moods: "Dear Little Friend" was a thundering heavy rocker and "What Do We Do Now" a vintage progressive rock anthem with fine use of organ and flute. "Romance" is a charming interlude for prepared piano and "Now It's Over" had melancholic, folky vibes like the 1969 Pink Floyd. "Springwind" had haunting vocal lines and finally came the 15 minute closing track "Red Morningbird" with its floating, moody folk whispering, interrupted by some outrageuosly heavy outbursts. This is one of the classics of German progressive rock that will always be remembered for its powerful hammond organ versus electric guitar sound. It should appeal both to fans of progressive heavy rock and fans of folk-rock as performed by the artists on the Pilz label. The second album Morning had a different, folky and lyrical fairy-tale atmosphere. The opening track "Morning Song" sounded almost like Procol Harum! "The Princess And The Minstrel" (also released as a 33 rpm single with "Schlittenfart" as the B-side!) was a long, partly spoken tale. "Dragon's Maid", "Carnival" and "Tommy's Song" could be compared to the legendary British group Spring, with their soft mellotron textures. This was another very good album, although I'm not sure it would appeal to the same audience as their first album. After one further 1973-single ("Josephine" coupled with "Puppet Master"), Wind's relationship with CBS ended.

WITTHUSER & WESTRUPP

Personnel:

ALBUMS:

BERND WITTHUSER WALTER WESTRUPP

NB: Early 80's re-issues exist on Ohr & Pilz with the "Pop Import" stamp.

"Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten" (Witthuser solo) (Ohr OMM 56 002) 1970 "Trips und Traume" (Ohr OMM 56 016) 1971 "Der Jesuspilz" (Pilz 20 21098-7) 1972 "Bauer Plath" (Pilz 20 29115-4) 1972 "Live 68-73" (2 LP) (Kosmische Musik KM 58 004) 1973

This duo more or less invented the cosmic-folk genre. They started busking in the streets together in the mid-sixties. In 1967 Bernd Witthuser became the manager of the 'Podium' folk club in Bssen. His greatest achievement as a manager was as the financial manager of the 'Internationalen Essener Songtagen', in Autumn 1968. Walter Westrupp was from 1965 to 1968 the leader of Night Reveller Skiffle Group. He learnt to play bassoon and trumpet in a bassoon ensemble, did his first recordings with a choir and played in a baroque ensemble. Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten (1970) was in fact issued as a Witthuser solo- album, although Westrupp participated on all the recordings. The album only hinted at the things to come later, being an almost "straight" collection of short, acoustic folk songs. There was nothing particularly exciting nor interesting on this album. It's a collector's item anyway, as it was the third release on Ohr, one of those that had a balloon attached to a cut-in on the front cover. Trips und Traume (1971) was their best album, an enormous development on the first one musically. To describe music of the German equivalent to the Incredible String Band one often used the phrase 'cosmicfolk'. The album had outstanding tracks like "Orienta" and the all-time 'weed' anthem "Nimm Einen Joint, Mein Freund". Der Jesuspilz (1972) was a strange concept album, tending toward a more progressive-folk direction, with more instrumental work. Bauer Plath (1972) featured guests from Wallenstein and was more varied in nature, perhaps the Witthuser & Westrupp album that was closest to conventional progressive rock. In the heat of the many cosmic jamsessions and trips (of different types) involving Sergius Golowin and Walter Wegmuller around 1973, something seemed to break the cosmic due's relationship and they went their separate ways. A retrospective double live set, compiled from different concerts from 1968 to 1973 appeared on Kosmische Musik as their last offering. Westrupp later went on to record with Baier-Westrupp, meanwhile Witthuser attempted a solo career.

WONDERLAND
Personnel:

ACHIM REICHEL g, v (HELMUT FRANKE g) A KALLE TRAPP g, v (LES HUMPHRIES kb) A CLAUS-ROBERT KRUSE kb, g, b, v FRANK DOSTAL v, b DICKY TARRACH d

ALBUM:

(A,B)"Best Of" (Karusell 2415 078) 1973 This was a beat band formed at the beginning of 1968. Reichel and Tarrach had previously been members of the most famous German beat band: The Rattles. Wonderland recorded three singles before Humphries and Franke quit at the end of 1969, to be replaced by Kalle Trapp and ClausRobert Kruse. One year and a single later the band ceased its activities, with Reichel and Dostal teaming up for the Wonderland Band album, to which Franke, Tarrach, Trapp and Kruse all contributed. All Wonderland singles and four tracks for a projected album were collected in 1973 on a Karusell sampler.

WONDERLAND BAND
Personnel:

ALBUM:

ACHIM REICHEL g, v FRANK DOSTAL v, lyrics

"No. 1" (Polydor 2371 125) 1971 One of Achim Reichel's strangest projects occurred in l97l, after the demise of Wonderland. His long time collaborator Frank Dostal followed him from this band. Together they recorded as Frankie Dymon Jr. as well as the very different Wonderland Band, whose album was an ambitious production featuring 25 guest musicians, among them Clauk-Robert Kruse (guitar, organ, vocals, arrangements), Helmut Franke (guitar), Ladi Geissler (guitar), Hans-Uwe Remers (piano, arrangements), Benny Bendorf (bass), Hans Hartmann (bass), Kalle Trapp (bass), Joe Nay (drums), Barry Reeves (drums) and Dicky Tarrach (drums, chimes, trumpets and trombones). The results sounded close to the eclectic solo album Die Grune Reise, but Reichel's echo guitars were in this case replaced by solid doses of brass! Wonderland Band's No. 1 was equally weird with boogie rock, vintage glitter rock and folky ballads spiced with incredibly strange brass arrangements. It was hardly a great success (however, there are highlights!) and proved to be a one-off, although a 1972 single featured two unreleased tracks: "Rock'n'Roll People" coupled with "King Of America".

WYOMING
ALBUMS:

NB: 2 was also re-issued twice on Bacillus - as BAC 2005 & 260-09-013.

same (Bacillus 6496 010) 1971 "In Prison" (Bacillus BLPS 19079) 1972

Wyoming was the artist name of keyboard-player Peter Bender. He played a quite mainstream pop-rock with folky touches on his first album. This makes it one of the cheapest of the black & white labelled Bacillus albums (the 6494-series) and it can still be acquired for 25 DEM. To be honest, it's not certain that you'll be satisfied with your value for the money, as the short songs sound very dated. Bender was helped by Rainer Marz (guitar, bass, vocal), Jurgen Ermisch (guitar, clavinet, vocal, percussion) and Bernd Billhardt (drums). It was a Peter Hauke production recorded in the Dierks studio, Stommeln. The gimmick window fold-out cover was designed by Walter Seyffer (of Nine Days' Wonder ) and Willi Holzel. The next Wyoming-album In Prison

(1972) had a very colourful painting by Klaus Holitzka. This was an improvement although there was little here beyond ordinary pop-rock. There was only one extended track, the 10 minute "Indian Wardance", which was surely the highlight. Marz helped again, in addition to Georg Rober (bass) and Curt Cress (drums).

XHOL (CARAVAN)/SOUL CARAVAN

Personnel:

ALBUM (as Soul Caravan):

TIM BELBE sax (HANSI FISCHER flt, sax) A OCKI BREUERN kb, tuba KLAUS BRIEST b "SKIP" d (-)"Get In High" (CBS 63268) 1967 (A)"Electrip" (Hansa 80099) 1969

ALBUM (as Xhol Caravan): ALBUMS (as Xhol):

(B)"Hau-Ruk" (Ohr Omm 56 014) 1971 (B)"Motherfuckers GmbH & Co KG" (Ohr Omm 56 024) 1972 This important group began life as a soul-rock combo named Soul Caravan in the mid sixties. They managed to get an album of such music out in 1967 and if you can't get it you will hear short extracts from it in the opening radio tuning of the Motherfuckers-album. In a mysterious way they became Xhol Caravan. Under this name they recorded Electrip in 1969, it was one of the first German progressive albums. It was released on Hansa and is now very rare, clean copies costing about 200 DEM. The cover artwork was very colourful and psychedelic, after all it was a 1969-release and it has many psychedelic (and even jazz and beat) influences in the music. The album started with a toilet flush, which gave way to three Zappa-esque fusion instrumentals. Side two opened with the long "Raise Up High", an energetic mayhem of aggressive playing (a kind of jazz-soul blues-psychedelia) with wild and gutsy vocals. This was the album that sort of kicked the unique German jazz-rock fusion into life, and inspired bands as different as Out Of Focus, Ardo Dombec, Ikarus, Kraan, Release Music Orchestra and Thirsty Moon, just to name a few. The band signed up with the sacred underground label Ohr. Two long live improvisations, recorded in July 1970, were released as Hau-Ruk (1971). The album showcased a couple of changes: Hansi Fischer had quit for Embryo, and their name had been shortened into Xhol. Musically it was arguably a "progressive" development on Electrip, offering even more time for instrumental work, particularly the wah-wah manipulated sax and organ of Belbe and Breuern respectively. "Breit" was a lazy fusion piece, which gradually built in intensity. Actually this wasn't too far removed from the live tracks on Soft Machine's third album. By contrast, "Schaukel" turned into an obscene rocking monster. Xhol apparently disbanded around this time, as their final album Motherfuckers GmbH & Co KG (1972) consisted of studio recordings made two years earlier - in fact it's even written 'two years old' in big letters on the handmade front cover, picturing the sleeve of a reel tape. This was another essential album, including a stunning 10-minute organ solo and a fine version of "Love Potion 25" (yep, the old standard, but here quaintly renumbered!). I don't know why this album wasn't released back in 1970, perhaps it was due to contractual difficulties with Hansa? It's a classic typical of the jazzy German underground.

If you are searching for more of the same, check out the first Missus Beastly album (1970). This album also featured the ex-Xhol member Hansi Fischer. It's a shame that Xhol failed to make the big masterpiece album that they really were capable of making. Their three albums hinted at marvellous innovation, who knows what they could have created, for example with Dieter Dierks producing them in 1971?

YATHA SIDHRA
Personnel:

ALBUM:

ROLF FICHTER moog, kb, vibes, g, flt PETER ELBRACHT flt MATTHIAS NICOLAI g, b KLAUS FICHTER d

NB: Re-issued in 1992 on CD by the American label Laser's Edge with original die cut cover & the music running unabrapted.

"A Meditation Mass" (Brain 1045) 1974

This group was responsible for creating one of the longest tracks of the early seventies. Their continuous meditation mass clocks in at just over 40 minutes. And this makes Yatha Sidhra one of the few bands that only got one track released, since this was their only release! The band was from Freiburg and was led by Rolf Fichter, who wrote this mass, sang and played moog, electric piano, vibes, guitar and flute on it. They acquired a recording contract with Brain, probably due to their relationship with Achim Reichel, who produced the album and wrote a poem for the cover. Reichel had a growing interest in such meditative music then, which also is slightly evident on his own solo albums for Brain, Zebra and Polydor. The cover of A Meditation Mass is worth mentioning - it's a detailed, oriental mantra painting. The original front cover had a stencil cut-in for the writing, while the second issue (also on the green Brain label, circa 1975) had a plain single sleeve, but was still good-looking! The mainly instrumental music was relaxing and had some very prominent flute parts.

ZARATHUSTRA
Personnel:

ALBUMS:

ERNST HERZNER v WOLFGANG REIMER g, v, perc MICHAEL JUST b, v KLAUS WERNER kb WOLFGANG BEHRMANN d

NB: Re-issued in identical sleeve on Second Battle SB 002 (1989) in a limited edition of 1,000 numbered copies.

same (Metronome MLP 15421) 1972

Hey, here's another legendary band, which was rambling around the Hamburg clubs more than twenty years ago! Formed way back in 1969, Zarathustra chose a great name, associated with both Nietzsche and Strauss. Throughout 1969, two of the members also were part-time members of the beat group Why Five, contributing to an obscure beat-age sampler Ausgerehnet Bahanen (Elite Special XZ LP 5105). Hardly distinguished from other raucous heavy progressive bands of the time, Zarathustra were still able to get a recording contract with Metronome in 1971. It seems that this label was quite open-minded when it came to signing new bands, but on the other hand always failed to promote their artists in a proper manners: I Drive (UK), Grail (UK), Prof Wolfff,

Second Life, Made In Germany, Hallelujah (UK), Os Mundi and Franz de Byl. Zarathustra were put into the Windrose Studios, Hamburg, in November 1971 with an unknown production team of Till Landsmann (producer) and Friedrich Bischoff (engineer). The resulting album was a tourde-force of energetic heavy progressive rock, a kind of Teutonic Uriah Heep ("Gypsy" was one of their live favourites) with some added Jon Lord-like organ licks. Six great tracks with "Nightmare" as the melodic highlight. The music was not 'progressive' in the sense of expanded instrumentation and arrangements, rather it was a straight power-rock album the way it used to be. Zarathustra broke up in Spring 1972.

STEFAN ZAUNER
ALBUM (up to '76):

"Narziss" (Ariola 27 026) 1976 On his solo albums, Stefan Zauner (vocals, guitars, keyboards) presented keyboards-dominated, light and soft symphonic rock comparable to Genesis or Yes. From the Autumn of 1975 to the Spring of 1979, Zauner was also a member of Amon Duul II and left his strong mark on Pyragony X (1976) & the next two. Klaus Ebert (vocals, bass, guitars), from the same Amon Duul II line-up, also contributed to Zauner's solo albums.

ZEBERON
ALBUM:

same (private) 1971 An unknown band who recorded one album.

ZIPPO ZITTERLINK
Personnel incl.: ALBUM:

WOLFGANG ORSCHAKOWSKI

"In The Poor Sun" (private) 1971 This band sounded like a cross between Guru Guru and German Oak jamming in a dark basement! The only person mentioned on the cover is Wolfgang Orschakowski, who is the one to blame for the five compositions included on the album. It might appeal to fans of the Creaminfluenced trio Friedhof . In the Poor Sun was released as a private pressing in a multi-coloured single cover.

ZWEISTEIN
ALBUM:

"Trip, Flipout, Meditation" (3 LP) (Phillips 6630 002) 1970 If albums like Seven Up by Ash Ra Tempel are too straight for your musical taste, why don't you try Zweistein. This was an utterly trippy concept triple album, dedicating an album each to the trip, flipout and meditation, respectively. The extremely weird sounds hardly deserve the term music. It was lavishly packaged with a multi-fold out silver cover and a mirror was mounted on the front sleeve. Not recommended!