| # | Artist | Song (click to play) | Album | Year | CD label |
| 1 | Eloy | Castle in the Air | Floating | 1974 | EMI |
|
"Of all the Eloy albums in their vast catalog, this one is by far my
favorite, an improvement on what began with "Inside" Long incredibly
charged songs with lots of Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull influence, yet taking
all of those pointers and combining them into something identifiably German.
"Floating" has now been reissued and remastered for Eloy's 30th anniversary,
with bonus tracks. This is probably one of the best starting points for the
group, it is one of the earliest German symphonic rock albums of note."
- Mike McLatchey, of Expose Magazine and Gnosis Eloy Homepage | |||||
| 2 | Et Cetera | Thursday Morning Sunrise | Et Cetera | 1972 | LP only |
| Et Cetera is led by Wolfgang Dauner, who plays keyboards, synthesizers, flute, trumpet, and percussion. Other notables on this album are guitarist Sigi Schwab, also of Embryo, and bassist/cellist Eberhard Weber. I find Weber's contribution particularly intriguing as everything else I have heard by him is of the ethereal ECM jazz style. This Et Cetera album is highly experimental, reminding me mostly of Igor Wakhevitch's early albums. The music is divided between some intense psychedelic jamming and very experimental moments with emphasis on sythesizers. Two other Et Cetera albums followed with only Dauner and drummer Fred Braceful in common on any of the albums. The 2nd album includes Larry Coryell on guitar. | |||||
| 3 | Metropolis | Birth | Metropolis | 1974 | Germanofon (boot) |
| Metropolis seemed to be compared to Van der Graaf Generator mostly, but, I do not hear that so much. Musically, I am reminded somewhat of Cornucopia's _Full Horn_. But, Metropolis has a very strong emphasis on vocals. But, thankfully it does not detract at all from the album. Often when a band concentrates on vocals, the music can be boring by playing simplistically in support of the vocals. But, Metropolis has a very strong undercurrent of rich musical arrangements. Not only that, but, the vocals are great! The band features both a male and female lead vocalist who are often harmonizing or sparring in the lead vocal spotlight. The vocals remind me mostly of Jefferson Airplane. An excellent album that has yet to be released legitimately on CD :-( | |||||
| 4 | Tangerine Dream | Movements of a Visionary | Phaedra | 1974 | Virgin |
|
"_Phaedra_ marked a dramatic transition as Tangerine Dream moved to the then
new Virgin Records. Buffered by all the latest in syntheiszer equipment,
Tangerine Dream would now record two of their most well-known albums,
_Phaedra_ and it's follow-up _Rubycon_. _Phaedra_ features two group
improvisations of which this is the shorter. To attempt to describe
Tangerine Dream's music at this point would be near impossible, but expect
mellotron, sequencers, organs, flutes and other synthesizer wizardry. A
classic."
- Mike McLatchey, of Expose Magazine and Gnosis Tangerine Dream Home Page | |||||
| 5 | Tortilla Flat | Tortilla Flat | Fur ein 3/4 Stundchen | 1974 | LP only |
|
"A highly-rated rarity from Germany, and one that has unfortunately not seen
the light of day on digital format. Tortilla Flat were influenced by both
Canterbury stylings and some jazz-rock featuring a warm electric piano,
bass, and lots of flute and guitar. While I have occasionally seen Tortilla
Flat compared to Camel, this is mostly inaccurate. In fact, Tortilla Flat
are more angular, and as the album goes on, it also gets darker. Superb,
near-classic material."
- Mike McLatchey, of Expose Magazine and Gnosis | |||||