Ernst Schulze - 1971 - Paranoia Picknick

Ernst Schulze, vocalist and co-founder of superstar German rock group Ihre Kinder, made this curious debut in 1971. For the most part its a folk record. Kind of. Well, not really. Maybe it's because it's what im used to, or maybe its because a lot of folk is very centered around the stories and I'm unaccustomed to the German language (for now), but its the tracks that divege from the traditional format and are more experimental and psych rock I found to be most memorable.

A1 - Ich Sehe Immer Wieder Grün
A2 - Der Traumtänzer
A3 - Synthetischer Orient Nr. 1
A4 - Nur Ein Spanier
B1 - Kirchenlied
B2 - Kurt Mittag, 55, Staatenlos
B3 - XY
B4 - Paranoia Picknick
B5 - 10 Finger Blind  

First off, Schulze's vocal prowess is simply wonderful throughout. Sonny Henning's rhodes-esque piano totally rocks out with bassist Walti Schneider and guitarist Wolf Stumm in "Der Traumtänzer" (A2), which seems to be the only track on the LP to really rock out with the exception of "XY". And like the group Agitation Free from around the same time period, they explore some Middle Eastern influences in "Synthetischer Orient Nr. 1" (A3). The fourth track "Nur Ein Spanier" always stuck out to me with its intense energy, and Jack Grunsky's eerie, forlorn harmonica playing.

I feel like there's something lost in being unable to understand the German language, particularly in the somewhat more traditional sounding folk pieces on side B which sound like they might be rather story oriented (an issue I hope to rectify in the near future). The song "XY" is the other track that really rocks out, but more oriented towards Wolf Stumm's creamy-overdrive guitar and a sax player who is not credited.

The last two tracks are the really freaky experimental stuff I so much adore. Title track "Paranoia Picknick" is a haunted collage of voice recordings. "10 Finger Blind" is kind of industrial, almost Neubauten-esque. Overall its a diverse one of a kind record with such a variety of styles of composition. I'd definitely recommend this record to anyone looking for something a bit different in their quest for 70s psych and folk rock. 8/10