Information implosion

Haboob - Haboob (1971)

Jimmy Jackson can be heard on albums by Amon Düül II , Embryo, Utopia, Doldinger’s Passport and Eberhard Weber, but this was a stab at his own band.

Very unusual mix of blues, funky-jazz with acid rock, avant-garde, and space rock. Jackson’s choir-organ is prominent in the mix of  Powell’s acid guitar and Green’s adventurous drum arrangements. Tracks like “Sooloo” are very strange with intense interplay as musicians feed of each other and create disturbing and spacey atmosphere.

Very cool and unique album, too bad it was the only one from Haboob.

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Erlkoenig - Erlkoenig 1973

Interesting krautrock album with organ and keyboards dominating most compositions. All these organs and keyboards coupled with melodramatic vocals give this album somewhat disturbing and dark melancholy feel.

Entire album has has very underground and low key feel to it. There is a lot of reverb on vocals, but there is not a lot of these here as it’s mostly an instrument album. Entire recoding gives a sense of an organic, almost live in studio, performance with very spacious sound with fairly good stereo image. Guitars play off the keyboards and organ very nicely especially on longer tracks like Thoughts. Although very well played overall, special mention must be made of superb and varied keyboard work by Eckhardt Freynik. Bonus tracks on GoD CD are OK but not as good as the album.

If you like your prog raw sounding with a LOT of dynamic keyboard/organ work get this one.

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Island - Pictures 1977

After neglecting my pet project here I figure I start again by adding a little blurb from “Crack In the Cosmic Egg” about dark and adventurous Swiss krautrock influenced band Island.

In essence, Island could be seen as some sort of Swiss supergroup, though really they were the evolution from a number of bands, originating from Deaf, whilst also interconnected with Toad (but not ex-Brainticket as often reputed) and Circus, as well as other lesser-knowns. So many origins and influences resulted in Island creating a refined and complex style. Apparently sessions exist with various line-ups circa 1974-1977, of which one such work is included on the recent CD reissue of their LP.

On their sole album PICTURES, which was aptly as gloomy and as strange as H.R. Giger’s visionary cover art, Island’s music oozed invention. Often quoted as the Swiss Van der Graaf Generator, Island had a similar feel, with a very odd instrumentation for a rock band and a vocalist who sounds like a hybrid of Peter Hammill (with a German accent) with a few Peter Gabriel touches. They were by no means copyists however, like Berlin’s acclaimed Van der Graaf Generator: Metropolis, Island had all sorts of unique elements at play, full of gloom and sinister lyrics. PICTURES has justly been acclaimed as one of the masterpieces of Swiss rock.

Since Island’s demise Peter Scherer moved into the fusion field, and later recorded an album together with American jazz experimentalist Arto Lindsay. Actually PRETTY UGLY (LP/CD Made To Measure MTM 23) from 1990 turned out to be a surprising blend of high-tech electro styles, and not all what one would expect!

This very interesting and very complex album was re-released by Laser’s Edge on CD in 1996. This CD is sadly OOP now.

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Heretic - 1984-88

A very interesting compilation from first two Heretic albums. Clearly influenced by Berlin School electronics but also by Heldon and Nekropolis. Not cosmic and tripped out, but dark and brooding in mood with slight psychedelic touches here and there.

The first few tracks are from Interface album and are more electronic in nature with electric guitar layered on top. They have a cold and detached feel to them. The Escape Sequence tracks are more dynamic and complex with electronics as background and a lot of instrumental layers on top.

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Liliental

A krautrock supergroup of sorts, with Dieter Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia), Conny Plank (Cluster, Mani Neumeier, plus producer on numerous krautrock albums), Johannes Pappert (Kraan, Mani Neumeier), Helmutt Hattler (Kraan, Mani Neumeier), Okko Bekker (A.R. and Machines, solo), Armus Tietchens (Cluster & Eno, solo).

The result is jazzy cosmic music with hints of ambient soundscapes and avant garde. It is hard to pin-down this album as it does not fall into any of the predetermined categories it swings back and forth between cosmic freakout and strange jazz-ambient. Futuristic album that relies on the past. Production of this one is truly amazing. Give it a try in good electrostatic headphones like Stax SR-007 .

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Guru Guru – Shake Well (1993)

Guru Guru - Shake Well (1993)

One of the more obscure Guru Guru albums from the early 1990’s lineup. Better than late 80’s stuff that was truly horrendous. From the very beginning this sounds nothing like Guru Guru. Production on this one is somewhat thin and squeaky clean, not in a good way.

Instrumentals are good, but songs with a lot of vocals are annoying, at times extremely annoying. Some songs sound like attempt at new wave, modern R&R and pop rock, horrific stuff that does not work at all. Teddy Bear covers is fucking ridiculous, yeah it’s a cover and not a usual Guru Guru parody.

It does have a lot of good moments, like Fräulein Doktor, Space Baby, Monkees Dance, Time, What Time?, Mimpi Manis and even Desire are very good; Desire has killer guitar solo. Bonus track Ooga Booga-Special [Live] has an awesome freak-out Mani and Archetti moment. Next album Wah Wah is a huge improvement. Moshi Moshi is also a great crazy album that is an improvement on this new 1990’s Guru Guru style.

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I always loved Out of Focus and Embryo, to me they were two of the more exiting jazz-rock oriented krautrock bands. So when I encountered this description in the THE CRACK IN THE COSMIC EGG book I knew I had to find this album.

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A rarity of 1980’s Krautrock, Kontrast saw ex-Out Of Focus members: Remigius Drechsler, Ingo Schmid-Neuhaus and Moran Neumüller, working together again after having been apart for several years.

Out Of Focus main-man Remigius Drechsler had been with Embryo on and off for a couple of years prior to this, and actually Kontrast was his project and not a proper band as such. In fact, one track is Remigius entirely solo, with the aid of some nifty multi-tracking! Most of the album, however, is pretty much live rockin’ fusion stepping on from the second disc of Out Of Focus’ FOUR LETTER MONDAY AFTERNOON, as a refined and complex fusion, deep groove music that rattles along magnificently, characteristic of the Munich scene, with the edge on solo upon solo, experimentation and weirdness.

KONTRAST (1983-1985)

Original LP cover

LP Remi Records 86001 (1986)

(c)THE CRACK IN THE COSMIC EGG by Steven Freeman & Alan Freeman.

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I could not find this LP or even MP3s anywhere, so obviously when Freemans released this on CD on their Cosmic Egg label with bonus materials I had to buy it.

Kontrast - Volume I & II CD booklet front

Here is my culinary comparison: Krautrock meets RIO in an old cafe and they have a cup off jazzy java with mushrooms and follow up with special whimsical rustic pastry

Great album with jazzy and experimental feel not unlike some of 80’s RIO bands, but overall more groovy, jazzy and with that unmistakable crazy kraut vibe. Hints of Out of Focus and Embryo as one might expect, but different from both of these bands and more in touch with Grotesk and with musical ideas close to Cassiber.

About this reissue: This is a very well done, beautiful and informative CD reissue form the Krautrock gurus on their Cosmic Egg label. On the level of GoD and LH reissues and as informative as any GoD CD I have seen.

Kontrast - Volume I & II CD booklet back

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More info about a long defanct German Record Label: ”’Delta-Acustic”’ that I already mentioned in my Code III review. The information below if from a great book about Krautrock THE CRACK IN THE COSMIC EGG by Steven Freeman & Alan Freeman.

LPs:

25-125-1 – Code III – PLANET OF MAN (1974) gatefold

25-126-1 – Seedog – WE HOPE TO SEE YOU (1974) gatefold

25-127-1 – v/a – KOPFSONGS FOLKLORE (1974) assorted folk soloists

25-128-1 – Sand – GOLEM (1974)

25-129-1 – v/a – ALTE MUSIK (1974) assorted medieval musics

10-130-1 – v/a – KUNSTKOPF DIMENSIONEN (1974)

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KUNSTKOPF DIMENSIONEN – Various Artists  (1974)

LP Delta-Acustic 10-131-1

”The sampler KUNSTKOPF DIMENSIONEN shows the full range of what was released, including some interesting sound experiments and a unique Code III track. Here’s the full catalogue of releases…”

Seite 1…

1. sound effects – Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 1974

2. Code III – Evolution

3. sound effects – U-Bahnhof In Berlin

4. Sand – Helicopter

5. sound effects – Ein Sonntagmorgen Auf Dem Hamburger Fischmarkt

6. undisclosed folk artist – Wild Rover

7. sound effects – Arbeitsszene In Der Nähe Eines Flughavens

8. Klaus-Michael Krause – Zwei Gitarrenstücke Von Robert De Visée

Seite 2…

1. sound effects – Besuch Im Delphinarium, Duisburger Zoo

2. Seedog – Espresso Brasil

3. sound effects – Hauptverkehr Auf Einer Straßenkreuzung

4. Chris Franklin – Some Evening In June

5. Code III – Eisenbahn-Impression “Walkin’ By Train”

6. sound effects – Auf Dem Rummelplatz

7. Klaus-Michael Krause – Joseph Bodin De Boismortier

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Sand – GOLEM (1974)

Here is a bit form info about ”’Sand – GOLEM”’ album from THE CRACK IN THE COSMIC EGG book:

”Originating from lower Saxony originally, the musicians of Sand were like many Berlin bands, being people drawn there by the unique possibilities Berlin had to offer. An early incarnation, as a five piece band, were known as P.O.T. (Part Of Time) who toured extensively, and settled for a while in Cologne, but never released anything. So, as a trio (without the bassist or drummer) Sand were formed in 1972 when they moved base to Berlin. Inspired by the spirit of the scene in Berlin, they went out of their way to be as original as they could.”

”Sand only made the one album: GOLEM, which has remained a little-known obscurity, due to being issued as one of the special projects organised for the Kunstkopf demonstration series on Delta-Acustic. Notable for being produced by Klaus Schulze, and also the unique creation of combining cosmic synthesizer, folk and rock musics, sans drums or any conventional instrumental structures, GOLEM is a mystical album rich with the creative spirit of the era. A little hint of Pink Floyd here and there, and obvious Schulze influence, are the only references I could quote as pointers. A really trippy album, with swirling string-synthesizers, cosmic electronics, beyond the nether regions of cosmic Witthüser+Westrupp. Magic!”

”The ULTRASONIC SERAPHIM release includes the GOLEM album, and also documents many other unreleased demo and rehearsal recordings by Sand, as well as solo recordings by Hannes Vester, and also by his later band Johannes Vester And His Vester Bester Tester Electric Folk Orchestra. It amounts to the definitive Sand history.”

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Amon Düül II – Only Human (1979)

I was avoiding this album  for many years now. Today I finally gave in and get a digital copy of it as I was thinking of buying it to complete my ADII collection.

Let me tell you something that you probably read many times before: the best thing about this album is it’s cover.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Gone are the wild freak-outs, even sophisticated psychedelic prog rock of latter day ADII like what you can find on Pyragony X and Made in Germany is gone.

What we have here is stupid disco and cheesy pop-rock.  Some of the songs are catchy and as far as pop goes this is not that bad, but as far as ADII goes we are scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Kismet is the only worthwhile song here.

This is the only Amon Düül II albums not worth having on LP or CD, unless you find it for $1 in a cut out bin. Get this one and Pyragony X only if you are a krautrock completist type.

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I stumbled onto this CD reissue in used CD section in one of my favorite NYC record stores. After reading the liner notes I garbed it.

I was expecting this band to be influenced by other French prog bands of that time, but they are nothing like their contemporaries. Bluesy, folky and jazzy prog with clear British psych influences. Not a trace of Zeuhl influence, in my opinion, anywhere on this album. Vocals I guess are an acquired taste, but if you don’t mind them there is a lot to like here.

P.S. Great art cover on this one.

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