Ardo Dombec - Ardo Dombec

 3.999 stars really. The only reason why this does not get four is that although excellent , this is not a must . This sole album ( and ultra rare vinyl ) is a typical product of those years in germany and there are many examples of this. I would not say this is a typical Krautrock in the understood value ( Guru , AD II , Can , Ash Ra etc.. ) but more of a proto-prog in the style of Gracious , Raw Material etc.... However , this is a typically tasteless cover such as most groups from Germany did for the joke and for the shock - After all this is rebelious R N'R . Provocation was really their thing as this has one of the shortest track ever layed down on vinyl : the 8 second Oh , Sorry that came complete with a loud scratch that made you jump out of the sofa to see what the problem was. For the rest , the music is excellent but slightly sloppy in production and the sung English lyrics are not perfect. Definitely worth a spin but there are other priorities.(Sean Trane )

From in Germany

Eclectic Progressive Rock

Ardo Dombec - Ardo Dombec -1972

Tracks.

01. Spectaculum (4:02)
02. Supper Time (3:19)
03. A Bit Near the Knuckle (4:32)
04. Clean-Up Sunday (6:50)
05. Downtown Paradise Lost (5:52)
06. Oh, Sorry (0:08)
07. 108 (4:36)
08. Unchangable Things?! (5:58)
Bonus tracks:
9. Heavenly Rose (3:54)
10. Open The Door, Open Your Mind (2:11)
11. Young And Strong (3:15)
12. Riverside (4:15)
Total Time: 46:52

Members.

- Helmut Hachmann / sax, flute
- Harald Gleu / guitar and vocals
- Wolfgang Spillner / drums and vocals
- Michael Ufer / bass

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Grobschnitt - Grobschnitt

From in Germany

Symphonic Progressive Rock

Grobschnitt - Grobschnitt - 1972

Tracks.

01. Symphony: (13:44)
a) Introduction
b) Modulation
c) Variation
d) Finale
02. Travelling (6:50)
03. Wonderful music (3:40)
04. Sun trip: (17:43)
a) Am Ölberg (Mount of Olives)
b) On the way
c) Battlefield
d) New era 
Bonus track on cd release:
05. Die Sinfonie. Live at Volkspark, Germany, Sept. 71 (29:40)
Total Time: 71:37

Members.

- Stefan Danielak (Wildschwein) / rhythm guitar, vocals
- Joachim Ehrig (Eroc) / drums, percussion, electronic effects
- Axel Harlos (Felix) / drums, percussion
- Gerd-Otto Kühn (Lupo) / lead guitar
- Hermann Quetting (Quecksilber) / organ, piano, spinet, percussion
- Bernhard Uhlemann (Bär) / bass, flute, percussion

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Abel Ganz - Shooting Albatross

At about 24 years after their debut album Gratuitous Flash (1984) and 14 years after their latest studio-album The Deafening Silence (1994), Scottish formation Abel Ganz has released a comeback CD entitled Shooting Albatross.

Since Abel Ganz started to make music in the Eighties their sound is considered as neo-prog (like contemporaries Marillion, IQ and Pendragon) but on this new album my musical impression is that the sound is a blend of Seventies inspired symphonic rock and folk music. The four long compositions (between 12 and 24 minutes) contain lots of shifting moods and a lush instrumentation like the use of the Indian sitar (electric version in Sheepish) and the Greek bouzouki (in Sheepish en Ventura).

I enjoyed the contrast between the folky interludes featuring 12-string acoustic guitars, whistles, banjo, mandolin and flute (beautifully blended with instruments like the harpsichord, Mellotron or classical guitar) and the symphonic rock parts with electric guitar (fiery, wah-wah drenched in So Far and a strongly build-up, sensitive solo in Ventura) and vintage keyboards like the Fender Rhodes elektric piano, the Hammond organ, the Minimoog synthesizer and the unsurpassed Mellotron, I didn't know that Abel Ganz was able to make such a captivating progrock! The vocals are handled by several singers, including Alan Reed (in the long track So Far), of Pallas fame but once he joined Abel Ganz.

I hope this new Abel Ganz album will got the attention it deserves, for me it was almost a musical revalation!  (progarchives)

From in UK

Neoprogressive Rock

Abel Ganz - Shooting Albatross - 2008 

Tracks.

01. Looking For a Platform (15:06)
02. So far (23:31)
03. Sheepish (12:55)
04. Ventura (14:38)
Total Time: 65:25
Members.
- Hugh Carter / ac. guitars, flute, keyboards, perc, backing vocals
- Stevie Donnelly / bass guitar
- Stuart "Mick" MacFarlane / lead vocals, ac. & elec. guitar
- Davie Mitchell / guitars
- Hew Montgomery / keyboards
- Denis Smith / drums and backing vocals

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