In Agitation Free's first album they did laid back psych rock jams with middle eastern influences, kind of reminding me of Caravan's first LP. But their second LP '2nd' is a whole other story.
The band started out with a tumultuous, ever-changing line-up that didn't start to settle until around 1971. As such, the two remaining members from the band for the recording of '2nd' are bassist Michael Günther and guitar/bouzouki player Lutz Ulbrich (he played a zither in the previous LP). The other three members are Stefan Diez on guitar, Burghard Rausch on drums, and Michael Hoenig on synth.
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| greek guitar 'Bouzouki' |
A1. First Communication
A2. Dialogue and Random
A3. Laila Part I
A4. Laila Part II
B1. In the Silence of the Morning Sunrise
B2. A Quiet Walk
a) Listening
b) Not of the Same Kind
B3. Haunted Island
One thing I favor highly in an album is diversity, and 2nd has a lot of it. Far-out synthscape and intricate guitar melodies will be found all throughout. It starts with the delightful and highly accessible epic 'First Communication.' From there it gets a lot stranger. Whereas 'First Communication' was mostly this complex and melodically lush prog rock piece, the next track 'Dialogue and Random' is a strange synth-only experiment reminiscent of Morton Subotnik. Short but sweet. It kicks off right back into some prog rock awesomeness with Laila. I especially like the groovy bass playing in Part II. In the Silence of the Morning Sunrise is this moody, almost noir attitude groove, and featuring awesome synth bird sounds near the end.
A Quiet Walk is a real oddity. Sparse and eerie, with all kinds of awesome "haunted house" synth noises that goes into a fast rhythm guitar heavy thing in the second half (indeed its called 'Not the Same Kind'). The closing track Haunted House is extremely interesting. There is no way I can adequately describe the vibe to it, but it's something that's really one of a kind. And the way in which the album leads up to it as a closer only serves to add to its sense of mystery. It's one of those songs that grows on you with each new listen.
2nd is an example of the more adventurous 70s rock groups who treated their LP as a thematic "artpiece" to be taken in as a whole, with the concise use of each element, reminiscent of Faust. It's something to mull over, something that commands full attention. And it changes meaning/significance after each playthrough. I highly enjoy albums that are capable of doing that for me. 9/10
