Comment by Charlie Miller:
Two years after their first Conny Plank produced solid effort comes
this considerably more Krautrocky slab of strangeness. The addition of a
solid hard rocking new guitarist, Apostolos Papanikolaou, to the only
slightly altered original strong rhythm and brass band makes this a rockier
, but more experimental lp, than Gorilla. Although the lyrics are sung in
English, I'm not sure if there is a theme or "concept" to this lp, whose
cover sports the image of a highly unatrractive, heavily made up glam
rocker. A mug shot of this "Lady Pig" accompanies the photos of the band
members on the rear cover, including the lead vocalist, Rainer Erbel, so I
don't think that he is a band member. If this is a Krautrock mockery of
Ziggy Stardust, it is not obvious, and I'm still wondering what it all
means (if anything). Erbel's brusque vocals worked so well on Gorilla,
flowing and complementing the music. Here it sometimes feels like a Tom
Jones type macho pop singer fronting the band, almost like some kind of
inside joke. Consequently, the vocals are a bit trying and grating on the
nerves, but when the band kicks in between vocals, they really shine. Some
seriously good jamming between all the brass, guitars, and percussion (there
are no keys) makes it all worthwhile. Not an easy listen, but for sure a
worthy one if you have the patience.
Musiker
Steinsiek, Heiko (drums, percussion)
Maas, Michael (bass, guitars)
Papanikolaou, Apostolos (lead guitar)
Stremmel, Rüdiger (tenor, alto, soprano saxes, flute, vocals)
Kreutner, Hubertus (trumpets)
Erbel, Rainer (vocals)
Ausgaben
Brain - LP - 1974
Germanofon (Bootleg) - CD -
Two years after their first Conny Plank produced solid effort comes
this considerably more Krautrocky slab of strangeness. The addition of a
solid hard rocking new guitarist, Apostolos Papanikolaou, to the only
slightly altered original strong rhythm and brass band makes this a rockier
, but more experimental lp, than Gorilla. Although the lyrics are sung in
English, I'm not sure if there is a theme or "concept" to this lp, whose
cover sports the image of a highly unatrractive, heavily made up glam
rocker. A mug shot of this "Lady Pig" accompanies the photos of the band
members on the rear cover, including the lead vocalist, Rainer Erbel, so I
don't think that he is a band member. If this is a Krautrock mockery of
Ziggy Stardust, it is not obvious, and I'm still wondering what it all
means (if anything). Erbel's brusque vocals worked so well on Gorilla,
flowing and complementing the music. Here it sometimes feels like a Tom
Jones type macho pop singer fronting the band, almost like some kind of
inside joke. Consequently, the vocals are a bit trying and grating on the
nerves, but when the band kicks in between vocals, they really shine. Some
seriously good jamming between all the brass, guitars, and percussion (there
are no keys) makes it all worthwhile. Not an easy listen, but for sure a
worthy one if you have the patience.
Musiker
Steinsiek, Heiko (drums, percussion)
Maas, Michael (bass, guitars)
Papanikolaou, Apostolos (lead guitar)
Stremmel, Rüdiger (tenor, alto, soprano saxes, flute, vocals)
Kreutner, Hubertus (trumpets)
Erbel, Rainer (vocals)
Ausgaben
Brain - LP - 1974
Germanofon (Bootleg) - CD -
