Prof. Wolfff. 1972 Germany

Prof. Wolfff were yet one more representative of the organ driven Krautrock movement of the early 70s. They are also one of the very few bands from that era to actually sing in German. But this is no Deutschrock album - the music is pure Hammond / guitar driven progressive hard rock like a cross between Gomorrha and Haze. There's a bit of light flute as well. A couple of the tracks have a commercial slant due to the nature of the chorus' such as 'Das Zimmer', 'Mißverständnis', and 'Hans Im Glück'. But have no fear, the music itself is a bullseye for the classic 1972 German style. The album was originally released on Metronome, but had it come out a few months later, I would imagine it would have found itself on the label's newly minted Brain imprint. Necronomicon, Zarathustra, and Virus' Thoughts are other guideposts here. A very fine release, and collectors of the scene should not miss it.

Ownership: LP: 2011 Second Battle. Purchased online not long after release. At the time, it was a supplement to my CD copy (1998). But since they're both on Second Battle, and essentially have the same packaging and music contents, I was prepared to let one go. The decision was made for me when a friend recently made me a great offer for the CD (which is actually the rarer of the 2 in this case).

As for the packaging, the album features a cool gatefold cover with fantastic artwork, and lyrics inside the gate. Second Battle has a solid reputation for putting together beautiful reissues on vinyl. But they usually offer little else. In this case they provide a large booklet with newspaper reviews and photos. But no essay unfortunately. Given that originals are super expensive, this is likely to be the final copy for me.

3/19/12