Bröselmaschine - Bröselmaschine (1971)

Quite possibly the pinnacle of Krautfolk, Broselmaschine is certainly tops in the folk subgenre and is recommended to those interested in the lighter side of Krautrock. Broselmaschine combines the highly talented acoustic guitar playing of Peter Bursch (a master of the instrument who has published many instructional books on the subject), romantic vocals, and a mild Eastern influence highlighted by the use of sitar and flute. The album begins with 'Gedanken', a peaceful track with a slight renaissance-era feel, featuring acoustic and electric guitar, flute and romantic lyrics. Next the group performs the Scottish traditional 'Lassie' with multi-tracked vocal harmonies. Next, 'Guitarrenstuck', is a beautiful piece played with folk guitar and a soothing female vocal. 'The Old Man's Song' seems slightly out of place due to its use of wah-wah peddle, but this gives way to some rather ominous sounding Duul-ish acoustic guitar and folk percussion. 'Schmetterling' introduces an Eastern flavor to the album and is most notable for its sitar which reminds me a little bit of mid-period Popol Vuh. Bursch's guitar playing on this track is simply masterful and the track is given an extra boost from some atmospheric mellotron. 'Nossa Bova' stands out as a folk masterpiece with its incredible guitar work, folk percussion, and female vocals. This track has a peaceful quality similar to Paradieswarts Duul, the only difference being the musical ability of Broselmaschine's members. The album was produced by Rolf Ulrich Kaiser and engineered by Dieter Dierks and was first issued on Pilz in 1971. (krautrockgroup.com)

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C.A. Quintet - Trip Through Hell (1969)

Virtually no one outside Minneapolis heard of the C.A. Quintet during their late-'60s heyday. It was their fortune (or curse) to actually reach a considerably bigger international audience when their album was reissued in the '80s. Starting as a rather conventional pop-soul/garage band, their one and only album, Trip Thru Hell (1968), was a worthy slice of dark psychedelia. With spooky organ and the occasional trumpet of singer/songwriter Ken Erwin, the group's murky and macabre vision -- dotted with trips through hell, cold spiders, Colorado mornings, and the like -- was genuinely original and chilling. Trip Thru Hell only sold 700-800 copies when it was first issued, but after gaining status among hardcore '60s psychedelic collectors, it was reissued in 1983. (allmusic.com)

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Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh (1973)

This is probably the best place for anyone to start listening to Magma or Zeuhl music in general. Christian Vander manages to combine elements of jazz, prog, rock ,and classical with operatic vocals thrown in. The previous albums all had less of a Vander influence and definitely had a jazzier feel to them. While this one keeps some elements of jazz, it manages to combine other genres, themes, and elements that help make this Vander's magnum opus.

Although all of the lyrics are in the made-up language, Kobaian, this album is still quite enjoyable, but is still not for everyone, as evident in the other reviews of this album. Everything flows nicely together and builds. The music itself and the concept are truly excellent (althouh I'm not auite sure totally what the concept is, I'll have to reread the album notes). It's hard to pick a best a track seeing as the album all flows together, but I guess I would choose Ima Suri Dondai. It combines all of the elements, themes, and overall feel of the album in to one song.

This album is highly recommended, every Zeuhl fan must own this. It is truly a masterpiece of the sub-genre. No doubt about it.
(progarchives.com)

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Psychamania - Eccentric Sounds From The British Underground 1970-1973

This is a great compilation of psychedelic rock. I have only heard of a few of these bands before, bands like Rare Bird and Skin Alley. The tracks are taken from long forgotten, or maybe never even known in the first place, singles. The rest of the 21 tracks are from unknown, obscure bands, at least they are obscure to me! Paradise Hammer, Parson-Smith, Mosaic, Luv Machine, Frog, The Peddlers, Paul St. John are some of the bands represented on this. If you are a fan of of early 70's psychedelia you should get this.

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Goliath - Goliath (1970)

I was unable to find any real information about this band on the web, other than the band member's names, which was not much help as their names are on the dang back cover! Goliath were a short-lived but very promising UK band who were fronted by a lady singer called Linda Rothwell. The other members were Eric Eastman on drums & percussion, Joe Rosbotham on tenor sax & flute, Malcolm Grundy on guitar and John Williamson on bass. Their music had elements of rock, folk and blues, as well as an Eastern touch. A band with fantastic potential, they faded into obscurity, probably around the early 70's. Not to be confused with a US band of the same name that released an album in 1972.

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Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart - Bongo Fury (1975)

This is somewhat of a hodge podge of different styles and lyrical themes, but the best stuff is great indeed. "Advance Romance" has some of the most intense, compelling blues playing by anyone in the history of the blues on record--the slide guitar solo by Denny Walley, harmonica solo by Beefheart, and guitar solo by Zappa are all just tremendous. The guitar soloing in the middle of "Carolina Hard Core Ecstacy" is similarly superb. The Beefheart vocal numbers are among his most conventional on record--it is up to each person's personal taste if they like them more or less than "Trout Mask Replica" and other more adventurous works. All of this album is at least quite good, and the best of it hits Olympian peaks. (amazon.com)

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Chicken Bones - Hard Rock In Concert (1973)

German band Chicken Bones put out their only album as a private release in 1976, and I don't know what was going on with them, what they were smoking, or why they gave the album such a title, because the music really doesn't rock all that hard, and it isn't a concert album! The music is performed in the good old tradition of the early seventies heavy progressive scene. Most of the album is instrumental, and offers Rainer Geuecke (guitar) 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 vein. The band was highly creative and often moved very close to May Blitz, early UFO or Cargo, but with lots of nice moves and flowery guitar work-outs. This album has an excellent and well-balanced sound for a private release.

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Eiliff - Eiliff (1971)

Eiliff were an early 70s prog band who released two albums before breaking up. "Eiliff" is their 1971 debut. The band seemed quite influenced by early Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, and Van Der Graff Generator. Listeners are quickly treated to countless complex, yet gritty, sections on each of the 4 tracks. There is an emphasis on sax and electric piano interplay, but the album also features excellent guitar work (although some solos border on noodling). Most of the vocals reminded me of the Mothers Of Invention. They tend to be dissonant, somewhat sloppy, yet charming. Overall, this is great stuff if you enjoy early 70s prog.

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Frame - Frame Of Mind (1972)

Strongly interconnected with fellow Marburg band Pell Mell, though the musical connection is not always so obvious, Frame exhibited a style that had very little in common with them really, being much more influenced by the late-60's heavy psychedelia and blues rock by the likes of Deep Purple or Vanilla Fudge. Only some of the rhythmic structures hinted at the Pell Mell connection. Mixing in folky styles and progressive touches into their heavy rock style, their sole album Frame Of Mind bore the unmistakable stamp of Dieter Dierks at the mixing desk, with great use of dynamics and stereo dimension. Really varied, steering away from the mainstream of early-70's rock, with many classic moves and excellent vocals, all giving it that something special, it's an album that's still amazingly fresh even today. Andy Kirnberger was a featured guest on early Pell Mell albums, after Frame's demise he went on to the vastly inferior Hardcake Special, whilst Cherry Hochdörfer and Wolfgang Klaus moved to Pell Mell.

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Clear Light - Black Roses (1967)

Kind of a minor league version of the Doors, the Clear Light was a West Coast phenomenon, and although they didn't last too long, were an interesting group. A very good slice of Los Angeles psychedelica, the Clear Light were a six-piece band that combined folk, rock, psychedelica, and even a touch of classical to their sound. The end result, though, is a little ponderous and pretentious but strangely listenable. The big hit off this album was "Mr. Blue," a psychedelic folk song written by Tom Paxton. It's over six minutes long, and a bit overbaked, but it does have an odd appeal. The finer moments are guitarist Bob Seal's psychedelic folk-rock songs, namely "With All in Mind" and "They Who Have Nothing." Singer Cliff DeYoung went on to have a successful acting career, bass player Doug Lubahan played on the early Doors albums, Dallas Taylor went on to drum for Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young & John Sebastian, and keyboardist Ralph Schuckett became one of the more popular West Coast session players and arrangers. A lot of talent in a short-lived ensemble. Dated but charming West Coast psychedelica. (Matthew Greenwald)

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OK that's it for this week! Later.