Outer Music Diary

All of the following bands sound similar to me. I think a blindfold test would be tough… The first 3 listed are pretty good while Agamemnon is just too sleepy for me.

Shaa Khan – The World Will End on Friday. 1978. Before Sky became an almost exclusive electronic label, they experimented some with symphonic progressive rock. Shaa Khan, Octopus and Ramses are three of their most known bands in this area. Shaa Khan is yet ANOTHER laid back German prog rock band. Bands like Novalis and Grobschnitt were huge influences in their day and Shaa Khan draws directly from this well. Of course, Pink Floyd must be mentioned as well. The English vocals are awkward, a feeble attempt at attempting a Peter Gabriel style. Nice guitar leads and 5 long compositions, so I’m sure a reissue would sell pretty well actually. They have a second album that I’m told is much more commercial. File along with Faithful Breath, Indigo, Pancake, Fly, etc…

Fly - Die Fahrt mit dem Gläsernen Ballon. 1979. Primarily instrumental melodic progressive rock similar to many from the time and place like Novalis, Indigo, Minotaurus, etc… Goes at its own pace, with seemingly nowhere to go. Pleasant and soothing. I like that they use the German language here – another reference to Novalis. I had this on my curiosity list for years. It wasn’t worth the effort.

Pancake – Out of the Ashes. 1977. “Out of the Ashes”, Pancake’s second album, is so very heavily indebted to “Wish You Were Here” Pink Floyd that it’s almost embarrassing. Of course, other typical slow moving German symphonic acts come to mind as well like Minotaurus, Fly, Shaa Khan, etc.. I had the Blubber Lips LP back in the early 90s, but just couldn’t see holding onto it. This revisit didn’t change my mind. The final album, “No Illusions”, is much better and is in a different style with female vocals.

Agamemnon – Part 1 & 2. 1981. Swiss group that is similar to other slow moving German symphonic groups of the day like Waniyetula (known by most folks as Galaxy on LP), Albatros, early Faithful Breath and Indigo. Garden of Delights has been pretty successful in getting these types of albums out. According to the LP (which I had owned for a few years in the 1990s), there was supposed to be a Part 3 & 4, but guess they lost interest in ol’ Agamemnon. I would’ve too. zzzzz

Hallelujah – Hallelujah Babe. 1971. I first ran into the Hallelujah album through the Germanofon bootleg in the mid 90s. I have almost no recollection of it from that period, other than to know I sent it back immediately. Hearing it again for the first time in 12 years, I’m a bit surprised I was so hasty. It’s actually a pretty good album that combines heavy rock with poppy folk. Hallelujah were a British duo, unique in that both were independently working in Germany playing with other bands participating in that fertile scene. Being a duo from England that plays a mix of heavy rock and folk should make one think of Tractor immediately. And that’s not a bad comparison, though Hallelujah weren’t quite as heavy nor as folky in the traditional sense. In fact, a couple of the Hallelujah tracks are quite catchy, and are highlights of the album. About half the album is average, so maybe not essential, but certainly worth hearing. The original LP came out on Metronome, the eventual parent of the Brain imprint. Basically any rock based album on Metronome from 1970 to 1971 would have been on Brain had the label existed then (others include Second Life, Os Mundi’s “Latin Mass”, and a few more). In 2003, Long Hair did get out a legit reissue with one short bonus track.

Electric Mud – s/t. 1971. Here’s one I had a long time ago on the Lost Pipedream imprint. I didn’t care for it at all back then. But on this revisit, I can see the value. Electric Mud play a typical heavy Teutonic psych prog, with German vocals, similar to Necronomicon, Prof Wolfff and Eulenspygel. 4 long tracks, with a distinctly doomy vibe. I notice the album gets better with each listen. This CD has been OOP forever. Garden of Delights has picked up most of the Lost Pipedreams back catalog, and probably Electric Mud will get a similar treatment at some point.

Certain Lions & Tigers - Soul Condor. 1970. Another one of those confusing discography bands. I would say most folks know the group as “Soul Condor” because of the misleading 1974 BASF second press. But the original has the band name as Certain Lions & Tigers. Pretty cool funky horn rock album done by some old Kraut jazzers trying to cash in and “get hip”. Some exploito covers, but mainly this kicks major booty. And the playing and production are impeccable, as expected. I need a little more time with this one to see if it’s a major player or not.