With their self-titled debut, I wouldn't consider Cravinkel to be very krautrock or prog rock. The songs are fairly straightforward in structure reminiscent of earlier 60s Psych Rock. One could argue that it's not pushing any boundaries, but oh do they dominate the classic 60s sound. They are a 4 piece, founded by guitarist Claw Krawinkel (the Discogs profile claims him to be Gert Krawinkel but the German wikipedia says Claw), with second guitarist Klaus George Meier, Rolf Kaiser on bass, and George B. Miller on drums.
I think I'm being a tad bit misleading when I say that this album is relatively more straightforward and less experimental. Their songs are actually pretty intricate. Lots of sections, amazing vocal harmonies. The production is also totally solid, each instrument popping out with clarity. The 4th track 'Heaven' explores a bit of a folk vibe with some beautiful sounding hand drums. Other songs rock out with nice overdrive guitar tones reminiscent of Cream or Blue Cheer. They have been described as having some folk elements, but I don't really see it. As I stated earlier this is more classic Psych Rock with a heavy hard edge to it (Hard Rock was getting started around this time). I can imagine this kind of music having been cranked up to 11. I would also like to remark on the upbeat simplicity of the opening track 'Get a Feeling Going Round.' It makes for a great hard psych rock anthem to the spread of good vibes all round.
This album sort of creeped up on me in how I didn't initially think much of it. But I found myself always coming back to it. I think that getting into this LP helped me get more into classic 60s Psych Rock like Traffic, The Zombies or The Seeds. The performances are tight. The guitarist give off that effortless impression of having played these riffs hundreds of times. Going back to those fantastic vocal harmonies I mentioned earlier, I have to say they are some of the best and most memorable I've ever heard, the seventh track 'Lonesome Road' especially. Across the board solid performance and imaginative melodies and song writing, each track being pretty unique from each other. It's no wonder why I keep coming back to this record. The only less than stellar thing I would have to say about it is that the drums and the bass merely provide a good solid foundational groove, but that's sort of to be expected with the 60s Psych Rock emphasis on vocal and guitar melodies. Cravinkel did make a more krautrock oriented record the following year after this one, but I wasn't quite as moved by it as this one. I think they shine the most with this style of songwriting. It's a shame they didn't do more of it. Maybe someday a forgotten tape reel will emerge from the depths of the past. 9/10
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