Sub - 1971 - In Concert

At a Glance

Originally released in 1971 by Italian rock/pop label Help!, 'In Concert' was later re-released by Penner Records, Mayfair Music, and Garden of Delights. Sub, is a 5 piece hailing from Munich, Germany and consists of Christian Wilhelm on vocals, Klaus Kätel on guitar, Peter Stimmel on bass, Johannes Vester on keyboard, and Lutz Ludwig on drums. Aside from a 7 inch release in 1969 by Rex Records, this looks to be the only thing Sub ever put out.

A1. Substhin I (18:17)
B1. Off (3:56)
B2. Substhin II (2:35)
B3. Gimme Some Lovin' (3:53)
B4. Ma-Mari-Huana (4:52)
B5. Match I (2:25)
B6. Match II (2:32)

The Skinny

I really did not know what to expect coming into this album. Although Discogs.com categorizes it primarily as Hard Rock, I think Psychedelic is more accurate in this case. As you can see, it starts off with the whole-sided epic "Substhin I." Listeners beware if you don't like 'synth noodling.' I happen to like that sort of thing so it doesn't bother me (lucky for you it's only in this track). Their psych-blues style is reminiscent of Satin Whale's debut, but perhaps more rugged and not as academic. Substhin I is alright, showcasing each musician but I found it rather indistinct.

I think the stuff after Side A is where 'In Concert' really shines. "Off" (definitely my favorite track) is very interesting for is unusual rhythm while also managing to be very expressive, the vocals reminiscent of 60s psych rock. Christian Wilhelm does an excellent job with english lyrics that don't sound awkward. Non-native english vocals create their own unique style that I've come to associate with the krautrock sound.

I really like Ma-Mari-Huana. Horny and stoned soulchedelic love-mumblings that are almost reminiscent of Suicide's vocals with heavy phaser effects.

Overall I would describe 'In Concert' as quaint. Proficient in what it does. Not particularly above average or groundbreaking, but solid. The vocalist I'd say is definitely the standout of the bunch. If you are a fan of late 60s, early 70s psychedelic rock, looking for a new fix, this might be just what you need. Otherwise it's not something I'd recommend to anyone new to the genre. I give this album a 6/10.

Pärson Sound - 1966-68 - Pärson Sound (2001 RE)

The double disc self-titled Pärson Sound compilation is a collection of various jams spanning from 1966 to 1968 by a group who briefly went by International Harvester, until settling on the name Träd, Gräs Och Stenar (trees, grass, and stone). Never to see the light of day until being released by Subliminal Sounds in 2001, it captures some of the earliest instances of very hypnotic minimal psych rock drones. Although it's rather messy and lo-fi, they play with the utmost intensity and soul, making the lengthy durations feel more than worthwhile. I never once get the feeling that any of the tracks go on for too long.
 
The psych rock jam oriented aspect of Pärson Sound is a sound much more prevalent in a lot of the ones today (Acid Mothers Temple, Colour Haze, Pharaoh Overlord, Electric Moon, Electric Orange, ect). As such it seems ahead of its time, although didn't get released until much later when the style has become more acceptable and sought after. It's awesome getting the chance to hear such echoes from the past.

1-01. Intro
1-02. Tio Minuter (Ten Minutes)
1-03. From Tunis To India In Fullmoon (On Testosterone)
1-04. India (Slight Return)
1-05. A Glimpse Inside The Glyptotec-66
1-06. One Quiet Afternoon (In The King's Garden)

2-01. Sov Gott Rose-Marie - Parts 1-3: "It's Only Love", "Till Indien" And "Sov Gott Rose-Marie"
2-02. Skrubba
2-03. Milano
2-04. On How to Live
2-05. Blåslåten

The first of the 20 minute tracks is From Tunis to India in Fullmoon, which features hypnotic ripps riffing between saxophone and guitar, with an ominous cello floating in the background, although the lo-fi recording makes it a bit less audio than I'd prefer. One is especially reminded of Acid Mothers Temple's freak-out jams in its spontaneity its energy, and babbling vocals.

India (Slight Return) is a blissful, zen-ed out jam, much slower than the fast pacing in the previous track. After India it goes to a completely meter-less ambient drone of what sounds like eerie vocal manipulations and guitar feedback. One Quiet Afternoon is a noisy jam with some totally far out guitar feedback and weird vocal stuff. Overall a diverse range of ideas on the first disc.

Whereas all the tracks on Disc 1 seem significantly unique from eachother, disc 2 starts to come back with some familiar stuff. Track 1 of disc 2, Sov Gott Rose-Marie is pretty much an earlier version of India (Slight Return) (the former from December 1967, the latter from February 1968). Only this time it's significantly more well recorded and with clearer, sort of dirge-like vocals that come in on what I assume to be part 3.

Skrubba is an outdoor jam recorded in Stockholm, May 1968. It's the longest track clocking in at just under 29 minutes. Possibly my favorite of this comp for no particular reason I could give (it's not so radically different from their other slow jams) than the fact that it's pleasant and immersive in its length. One of the tracks that especially makes me wish it was better recorded, what with 6 instruments playing at once. There's an awesome solo at the end which I thought was some kind of woodwind, but am going to guess is in fact the soprano sax being played by Kjell Westling. The electric violin played by Urban Yman is also very cool. At this point I would say that I'm more into 'From Tunis to India' and 'India (Slight Return)' as far as favorite tracks go, but I still hold Skrubba in high regard.

Milano is an intense psychedelic explosion of cymbals that was initially meant to accompany a friend's art exhibition (wonder what it was). The groovy beat that it climaxes to at the end is so reminiscent of a sound that is prevalent in jam rock bands today. The transition into On How to Love via hand drums, bird sounds, and flute is just perfect. It's a great mellow song that contrasts well with the intensity of the previous, and the way the acoustic guitar, flue, hand drums meld together is so lovely. The field recordings of birds gives the whole thing a nod to their grounding in the outdoor (indeed they participated in a significant number of outdoor live events it seems).

The final track is unlike anything else. Blåslåten is a floating world of cascading saxophones and perhaps other horned instruments layered over eachother. I don't see any musicians listed under the credits but I assume the sax is by the same Thomas Tidholm from the other recordings. It makes for a nice finale contrasted from the other ones in its lack of meter or their usual lineup, ending with a silly little free jazz thing that I'm not 100% sure is preferable to leaving out entirely(if you're all for anti-aesthetic and not taking things too seriously: yay; If you're all for making the best sonic progression of things: nay).

The Pärson Sound compilation has always been one of my main go-to albums when it comes to jam oriented psych rock. Its early existence highlights the continuity of musical trends, and the ways in which some of the aesthetics we've come to love have come back full circle; another missing link emerging from the depths of time and forgotten tape reels. And we have labels like Subliminal Sounds to thank for it. A real treasure. Not the greatest in its technical prowess, but free in spirit. The recordings, picked within a 3 year gap, were very well chosen in their diversity and ordering. And I have to give it props for being perfect for any intense psychedelic trip, as it goes through such a variety of speed, intensity, and mood. Perhaps this sound was a bit too ahead of its time and they went on to have a somewhat different aesthetic as Träd, Gräs Och Stenar but in accordance to the psychedelic rock today, these guys really had the whole thing figured out from the start. 8/10

Eloy - 1973 - Inside

I mostly enjoy Eloy until up to about the mid 70s, before they transgressed entirely from prog/psych into power ballads. Their second album Inside is the one where I felt they really hit a sweet spot. Like scratching a particular itch that rarely gets scratched. They got progressively more progressive as their career started, Inside being a sort of transition period before becoming what I might consider too self-consciously conceptual, or maybe just the fact that their attempts at spoken word they later tried didn't work on me as well.

1. Land of Nobody
2. Inside
3. Future City
4. Up and Down
5. Daybreak
6. On the Road

I always found the first three tracks to be extremely memorable. Frank Bornemann vocals just seem to work best for me in songs like Land of Nobody. Every instrument has memorable personalities and take on their fair share of heavy duty instrumentation while managing to blend together. Furthermore, there`s nothing particularly dated I find their sound. Its not quite hard rock, psychedelic, or prog. In that sense I get a very refreshing and timeless quality from Eloy's earlier stuff, this album being where they got it just right. As a drummer myself I also appreciate Inside's wide range of rhythmic ideas. The use of falsetto in the finale I thought was tasteful, and not gimmicy/used as a crutch; ie its placed in the one climactic spot thats most appropriate for just a couple measures before moving on to other stuff. This album managed to be epic in non-cheesy ways that I'm not sure I could say as much for with their later stuff (I pretty much like their work up to their 1979 Silent Cries and Might Echoes release).

I'm not exaggerating when I say that the title-track is one of my favorite psych/prog releated songs. Certainly if one were to measure based on number of listens. It just has the most perfect momentum and progression that I've so rarely hear anywhere else. The image I get out of the guitar solo is a phoenix soaring up into the heavens and getting swallowed by the sun. It's an intense and aggressive and fast changing progression that is far more condensed than the previous track, which also highlights their diverse methods of songwriting.

And Future City certainly doesn`t rock out like anything else I`ve heard from as early as 1973. The closest comparison I can make to the interplay between the guitar and bass is Slint`s Spiderland. I just adore how different the tracks are all from eachother. After this almost math rock sort of sound we get the moody and emotional song in 3/4, Up and Down. I`ll refrain from more of my cheesy metaphors, and will just say that I always felt really in tune with the emotion in these songs. Up and Down picks up into this arduous, march that leads into a breakdown that, I guess does consist of a spoken word part. I dont generally feel like the Eloy`s non-native English works quite as well within the context of spoken word, this being no exception. Other than that its yet another excellent track.

Daybreak is more fast paced, and almost Can-like in its rhythmic complexity and diverse percussion. It also uses an exotic, unusual sounding musical scale that creates these really interesting melodies. After that the album ends with a nice two minute composition that has a groovy synth. Not my favorite vocals, but a nice guitar solo that rides along with the synth nicely, ending the album on a high note.

Inside is an example of a band hitting the right balance of creative elements. I also think its a good example of what hard rock can be or could have been, managing to bypass any gimmicks that might have later risen from that particular scene. It remains interesting and fresh with different ideas from start to finish, another advantage of the standard 40 minute vinyl in how it might have motivated a more concise and condensed body of work. It will be a great moment when I can find something else that scratches a certain itch in quite the same way as Inside. 9/10

Deuter - 1971 - D

Before Geog Deuter's reputation as a New Age ambient guru, he made an album quite unlike anything else. 'D' is an adventurous project, consisting of a variety of different experiments from ambient soundscapes to psychedelic guitar drones. Thankfully the recent re-pressings make this gem not so difficult to find, initially released on Kuckuck and later remastered in 2009 by Missing Vinyl and again in 2010 by Esoteric Reactive.

1. Babylon
     i. Andantino
     ii. Allegro 138 A
     iii. Andante
     iv. Allegro 138 B
2. Der Turm / Fluchtpunkt
3. Krishna Eating Fish and Chips
4. Atlantis
5. Grammastrahlen-Lamm

The album starts with an epic 15 minute piece in four sections that is very guitar intensive, going through a wide array of dazzling riffs and drones, with an exotic upbeat Middle Eastern in part four. Already Deuter demonstrates his wide ranging multi-instrumental abilities and a proficiency for modern cutting edge technology of the time period. He uses an impressive amount of layering that is very well mixed. Der Turm / Fluchtpunkt consists of some noisier guitar jam experiments accompanied by hand drums.

Krishna Eating Fish and Chips is a captivating and hypnotic sitar piece and manages to adequately hold my attention while clocking in at just over 10 minutes. Not only is Deuter impressive in his multi-instrumental variety, but also in his use of both dense and stripped down compositions layering wise. Atlantis is a more computer focused soundscape, with all kinds of trippy reversed audio effects, and a haunting synth amidst a watery, bubbly seascape. It is a delightful and effortless combination of both organic and electronic elements that makes this track so immersive and possibly the highlight (for me) of the whole LP. Truly a composition like none other. The album ends with a satisfying ambient synthscape that is so pleasant sounding yet tinged with haunted whisperings.

It's not often one finds an LP so adventurous and fearless, with a proficiency in multi-instrumentation and cutting edge electronic technology, resulting in such a well balanced magnum opus to the human imagination. 9/10

Sand - 1974 - Ultrasonic Seraphim (1996 RE)

There is a wonderful story behind the release of this double disc album, courtesy of the efforts of David Tibet and Steven Stapleton who distributed a collection of works from Sand on their United Durto label, including their 'Golem' LP from 1974 which had extremely limited pressings. The full story is recollected in way better detail than I could ever do on Nurse With Wound's Brainwashed page here.

Disc 1

(Golem)
1. Helicopter
2. Old Loggerhead
3. May Rain
4. On the Corner
5. Sarah
     I. Passacaille
     II. Per Aspera Ad Astra

6. Vulture I

(Born at Dawn)

7. Doncha Feel
8. Moonlightlove
9. Burning House

10. Vulture II

Disc 2

1. May Rain I
2. Desert Storm
3. Sarah (Alternate Version)
4. Power Station
5. Old Loggerhead (Alternate Version)
6. Helicopter (Alternate Version)
7. May Rain II

In-Depth Analysis

Sand is a trio, consisting of Johannes Vester on synth/vocals, Ludwig Papenberg on guitar and organ, and Ulrich Papenberg on bass.


Original cover of 'Golem'

One thing I like about so much krautrock is the sense of space. The fearless abandonment in droning and repetition. Sand is one of the best examples of this I've heard, the extend of what a relatively conventional-pieced band is capable of doing with minimalism. The result from Sand is the most surreal, immersive soundscapes. Songs that move you even though you can't remember any particular part to it (or maybe I should just lay off the weed). Provocative but without hook, and limited rhythmical structure. The interesting and unique thing about Sand is all the guitar layering, and the variety of purposes each layer serves, often as a percussive instrument. I also love the howling soundscapes, presumably done with the synth.

So many wonderful noises in this album. Trippy synth drones on May Rain, accompanied by Vester's phenomenal and haunting vocals. I want to also mention that even within Sand's minimalist style, there's a variety of different kinds of minimalism explore; different structures and elements.

Some of the tracks after Golem are great too. 'Vulture I' has some lovely synth/bass dronings. Also really dig the first track of Born at Dawn, 'Doncha Feel' which sounds like a psychedelic Irish folk song. Up to now, all the whole comp is very unique and one of a kind, but 'Moonlightlove' comes off to me as somewhat more conventional (not necessarily a bad thing but not really my cup of tea) ballad type composition. The use of regular piano is proficient but uninspiring. More great psychedelic folk in 'Burning House' though.

In 'Vulture II' we get a more intensive exploration of the synth/bass dronings previously heard in 'Vulture I.' Fantastic song, and adds to the wide variety of minimalism explored by this band.

The first track on disc two has a more stripped down, less muddy acoustic version of 'May Rain'. Also a generally more disciplined vocal take, although I do like the roughness of the muddier May Rain. Beautiful short little 2 minute piece.

Some of these songs have been less well preserved than others, so the apparent line-level hiss in 'Desert Storm' is not surprising. The notes on the Discogs page stated 'All other Sand material is taken from cassettes and 1/4" master tapes' so maybe this was from a cassette. In any case it's a great, raw sounding jam. Nothing exceptionally different from the other tracks but still somehow memorable. Maybe in its use of hand drums and the "arabic" type melodies.

This alternate version of Sarash is somewhat more minimal than the first, with less crazy noises and more drones in the first track. The emotion and atmosphere of the first half, with haunted vocals almost reminiscent of Ohgr from Skinny Puppy. The other section has intricate acoustic guitar that is accented by the bass. It's an absolutely gorgeous song and easily one of my favorite, if not most favorite tracks on this compilation.

'Power Station' is the longest track on the whole compilation and possibly the most far out and least accessible, in regards to its repetition. It by no means makes it any less good though, but it required slightly more patience. Some really awesome guitar and synth noises especially in the last third of it. The alternate versions of 'Loggerhead' and 'Helicoptor' are similar in their jammed out quality. If you don't mind lots of minimalism they are a very good 3 last tracks.

Technical Space Composer's Crew - 1969 - Canaxis 5

A one-off project by Holger Czukay (co-founder and bassist of Can) and Rolf Dammers inspired by the works of Karlheinz Stockhausen. It comprises of two whole-sided LP tracks full of experimental sound manipulations impressive for their time, especially on side B 'Shook Eyes Ammunition.'

Music Factory (Germany 1969) Tracklisting
A. Ho-Mai-Nhi (The Boat Woman Song)

B. Shook Eyes Ammunition

Spoon Rec. (US 1995) Tracklisting
1. Boat-Woman-Song
2. Canaxis
(bonus) 3. Mellow Out

Revisited Rec. (Germany 2006) Tracklisting
1. Boat Woman Song
2. Canaxis
(bonus) 3. Cruise
(bonus) 4. Epilogue

There is something magically haunting about side A, 'The Boat Woman Song.' Featuring ominous strings, and strange tape loop manipulations of exotic female vocals (field recordings of Vietnamese singers, as credited in the liner notes). The whole thing has this moody, autumnal vibe to it.

It is interesting to note that an excerpt from 'Boat Woman Song' was featured on the OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music compilation, accredited to Holder Czukay which perhaps calls Rolf Dammers involvement into question.

There is nothing quite like this album. There is especially nothing quite like the side B track 'Canaxis.' It features some hypnotic other-worldly modular synth noises and obscure tape-loops. It is apparent that Holger Czukay had access to some great gear as well as archives of exotic recordings. A truely astounding collage of somber and meditative drones and loops that are very well put together.

The album was originally released privately on Can's short lived Music Factory label in 1969. It is interesting to note that there have been bootlegs purporting to be of the original pressings (not surprising considering that they sell for over $1,000). Can's other label Spoon re-released it in 1982. A second re-release in 1995 added the additional song Mellow Out. The Revisited Rec. release in 2007 added an additional track, renaming 'Mellow Out' as 'Epilogue'. Both are credited with being "from 1999 performed 'Magazine' multimedia project within Can Solo Projects live." 'Cruise' features more bizarre experimentation in sound collage, including creepy children voices at altered pitches. It is a very strange juxtaposition of things that don't really seem to fit. I've never heard anything quite like it. 'Epilogue' (alternately titled Mellow Out in other releases) is a sweet little 2 minute jam with guitar and sax.

Canaxis 5 is a real gem, a great recommendation for any Can enthusiast, or those with an interest in early sound experimentation. 9/10

Xhol - 1971 - Motherfuckers GmbH & Co KG

Xhol initially went under the name Soul Caravan in 1967 with their first LP 'Get in High', their most formal release of psych rock with some heavy James Brown influences. By 1969 they went by Xhol Caraven for their second LP 'Electrip', which hit a sweet spot between formal and jam oriented song writing (an excellent release which I might even review some other time). In 1971 they went simply by Xhol with their release Hau-Ruk, a very far-out two track LP, each song clocking in at over 20 minutes. Hau-Ruk is still a bit of an enigma to me. Is it written out? Is it entirely improv? What did they have in mind? During the same year they come out with 'Motherfuckers', which seems to revert back to the balance that Electrip had.....except much less coherent song writing. So somewhere in between Electrip and Hau-Ruk.

Unfortunately, I can't find the formal credits denoting the names of the performers. But I gather there being bass (Klaus Briest), keyboard (Öcki Brevern; r.i.p.), drums (Skip Van Wyck), sax (Tim Belbe; r.i.p.), and vocals (also Tim Belbe?).

Tim Belbe

1. Radio
2. Leistungsprinzip
3. Orgelsolo
4. Side 1 First Day
5. Grille
6. Love Potion 25

The progression of 'Motherfuckers' is odd. It starts out with this "radio" of what might be various live snippets for a couple minutes, followed by a 1 minute intro consisting of all band members, followed by a 9 minute keyboard drone. It seems that Leistungsprinzip was written out, and Orgelsolo is an improvisation. It manages to stay fairly interesting even though it seems to meander without any sort of progression. It's not too unlike some of the later parts in that Peter Michael Hamel LP I reviewed before.

Side 1 First Day also sounds like a jam, this time with a flute leading the way (I have no way of finding out who it is). It's also pretty and a bit meandering, but with some excellent keyboard soloing and interplay with the bass guitar. The inclusion of more instruments makes it somewhat more inviting than Orgelsolo. It's apparent that these musicians have a keen, lush sense of melody, but with a very laid back attitude. I appreciate the field recording of the cricket at the end, as well as what sounds like a bike spool throughout Orgelsolo. The cricket sound continues well into the next track, which later gets accompanied by flute and hand drums. More laid back jams. A sweet little ditty but rather forgettable.

Now finally we come to the reason why I chose to review this album. Overall, I wouldn't call 'Motherfuckers' to be very ambitious or fleshed out, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to consider Love Potion 25 to be one of the greatest krautrock songs of all time! It clocks in at around 13 minutes and mostly consists of the most epic 10 minute keyboard and sax solo sandwiched between two basic chorus structures. This is a song I always find myself coming back to. The structure and energy are unprecedented. The vocals have this powerful, commanding force with a great classic "CCR-esque" reverb effect. The basic lyrics of the song is a play off of the Psych Rock number Love Potion No. 9, modified for psychedelic drug references galore (LSD 25). The chorus and verse take up just the first 2 minutes of the song before the solo kicks in, throughout which the bass weaves in and out beautifully. The way the vocals come back in after all the soloing is something to behold. If you don't have the patience to hear the rest of this album for god's sake, make sure you hear this song at least!

Like I said before, 'Motherfuckers' is a strange album. It catches one off guard with the phenomenal last track after a bunch of rather minor and forgettable jams (the best of those being Side 1 First Day by far). The LP seems to show a degree of self-awareness as to this fact with what looks like a scanned sleeve of its own test printing? Not to mention the album name. Very strange. But seriously, go listen to Love Potion 25. Maybe give the rest a try later if you're a real nerd, but there won't be more where that came from unfortunately. It is doubly unfortunate that it was their last album. Makes one wonder what they might have done had they sustained such a level of ambition. 6/10