Lots of downloads for last weeks folkie extravaganza, maybe I'll see if I have enough albums for another one sometime! Thanks to all who left a comment!

Amon Düül II - Vive La Trance (1974)

Amon Düül II's sixth album features songs that are much shorter in general than on previous albums, and more conventional in structure. This is a great album and I'm sure you all know all about the band so I won't go on about them. This is the remaster with bonus tracks.

Bitrate 320 w/scans Part 1 Part 2

Atlantis - Live (1975)Atlantis was the band that rose from the ashes of Frumpy, and of course featured the distinct vocals of Inga Rumpf. Besides Jean-Jacques Kravetz and Karl-Heinz Schott from Frumpy, other members came from Emergency and Curly Curve. More mainstream than krautrock, more soulful and funky than edgy, they were nonetheless a terrific outfit. This was released as a double LP and features tracks recorded live at Hamburg's Fabrik from 1973 to 1975.

High VBR w/covers Part 1 Part 2

Peter Bursch Und Die Bröselmaschine - Bröselmaschine 2 (1975)

This release features a completely different band than the one that made the first Bröselmaschine album, though obviously acoustic guitar master Peter Bursch is still on board! The album is still in a folky style, despite the band containing members of Guru Guru and Kraan. This is very nice stuff.

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Efendi's Garden - Efendi's Garden (1979)

I got this from one of the other blogs a long time ago, I think it was krautrockteam. It is a vinyl rip that I spent some time cleaning up, and it is a lot more listenable than it was, though not perfect. Anyway, this short-lived group featured singer Curtis Efendi, a couple members of Jane (Klaus Hess on guitar and Wolfgang Krantz on guitar and keyboards) and a bassist, drummer and saxophonist. One reviewer slags this as "musically bland" but I beg to differ. Not a great album to be sure this is still a very fun album, with clever songs and lyrics that are sometimes poignant and sometimes funny. Favorites are "Oh Boy" and "The King". Efendi has an odd voice but if you pay attention you see that he is a terrific singer.

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V.A. - Fast 'n' Bulbous - A Tribute To Captain Beefheart (1988)

This is one of those tribute albums where you only have heard a couple of the bands, half-remember a couple more and never even heard of the others. Nevertheless, every single track on this tribute smokes. Another vinyl rip, there's not a crackle or pop to be heard. Whether the band is trying to emulate the Captain, or trying to make the tune their own, all do a fantastic job. Seriously - every single track is great!! This is the best tribute album I have ever heard I think. Well one of the best anyway! Thanks to original uploader, 'tubert'.

01 The Dog Faced Hermans - Zig Zag Wanderer
02 XTC - Ella Guru
03 The Scientists - Clear Spot
04 The Membranes - Ice Cream For Crow
05 The King Of Luxembourg - Long Necked Bottles
06 The Beat Poets - Sun Zoom Spark
07 That Petrol Emotion - Hot Head
08 The Primevals - China Pig
09 Sonic Youth - Electricity
10 Good And Gone - Harry Irene
11 The Screaming Dizbusters - Frying Pan
12 The Mock Turtles - Big Eyed Beans From Venus
13 The Beat Poets - Gimme Dat Harp Boy
14 The Primevals - Crazy Little Thing

High VBR w/small covers Download

OK that's the new stuff for this week - link for comments is at the bottom of the post.

FROM THE ARCHIVES:

Embryo - Steig Aus (1972)

In 1972, before there were terms like 'fusion', 'world music' or 'krautrock', Embryo were blending these new sounds in extended free-form improvisations and inventing new types of music. Closer to 'Bitches Brew' than to the mind melting being done by fellow countrymen Amon Düül II or Guru Guru, Embryo brought together many different cultural influences in titles like 'Radio Marrakesh/Orient Express', 'Dreaming Girls' and the stunning 17 minute 'Call'. This is a great example of the jazzier side of krautrock, three long tracks with plenty of room for experimentation and improvisation. An essential album for krautrock fans.

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Love Sculpture - BBC 1968 - 1969

Supposedly these thirteen performances from the BBC Top Gear program are the only known live tracks that exist by Dave Edmonds' Love Sculpture. The material is some electric blues, and some pop flower-child stuff, with versions of Bizet's "Farandole" and a six minute long "Sabre Dance" from Khatchaturian. The hippy stuff doesn't hold up too well, IMHO, but it was the late 60's, after all. The versions of "Sweet Little Rock and Roller" and "Great Balls of Fire" seem like throwaway tunes, but the handful of blues pieces, like "Wang Dang Doodle", "Don't Answer the Door" and a few others definetely make this a worthwhile download.

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Emtidi - Saat (1972)

One of the great records from the Pilz catalogue, 'Saat' is a refreshing blend of cosmic acid-folk. Featuring the orgasmic English vocals of Canadian Dolly Holmes, the album contains six tracks which are destined to be a treat for sore ears. The album begins with 'Walking In The Park' which starts softly with angelic vocals and cosmicly-treated acoustic guitar, the song ends with a cosmic acid-laden guitar solo. Dierks' expertise for sound engineering shines through on this track as well as the entire album. 'Traume' is a celestial instrumental which utilizes Holmes voice as an instrument to create a serene feeling as her voice floats above the music, a technique similar to 'Great Gig In The Sky' from Dark Side. 'Touch The Sun', a cosmic favorite for many I'm sure, begins with five-minutes of cosmic flanger heavy synthesizer similar to that of vintage Klaus Schulze before maturing into an incredible folk ballad dominated by Holmes voice. The short tracks 'Love Time Rain' and 'Saat' owe more to the guitar based British folk sound; they are good songs but they lack the cosmic nature which makes the rest of the album so appealing. Finally, the energetic closing track 'Die Reise' introduces German vocals sung by Maik Hirschfeldt and a freeform rock sound which appears out of place on this album. However, the song does include a brilliant multi-layered synth section followed by a cosmic freak out containing organ, flute and electric piano. (krautrockgroup.com)

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Bakerloo - Bakerloo (1969)

I've seen reviews of this that slag it off as 'average' and 'typical', but I don't get that at all. They played a brand of power blues with a jazzy touch that is very appealing, and comparisons with Cream wouldn't be out of line, definitely the skills of the individual players were comparable. They were probably a 'musician's band' in that while they didn't light fires with the general public, they were well regarded by other musicians. They were, in fact, the band that opened for Led Zeppelin when Zep made their debut at the Marquee club in October of 1968. When guitarist Dave Clemson accepted an offer to replace James Litherland in Colosseum, they carried on with guitarist Adrian Ingram for a while, becoming even more jazzy, then morphed into a fine proto-prog band called Hannibal (see next post)

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Hannibal - Hannibal (1970)

Rising from the ashes of Bakerloo, this band was formed to fulfill a tour obligation, touring as Bakerloo Blues Line. After the tour was finished, it was decided to continue on, and the band's name was changed to Hannibal, after which they toured the UK with Black Sabbath and Free. They put out only this one album, which is an unheralded near-masterpiece of jazzy progressive rock, chock full of amazing guitar playing, and great lashes of saxophone and flute. A real tasty album not to be missed by fans of progressive rock from this era.

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Allright see you later.