---1/17/01
Solar Music Live is the follow-up album to Rockpommel's Land which gives the listener a glimpse into their ever-evolving and creative live show. This is about Grobschnitt living up to its potential and doing what they do best. Taking album #2 of Ballermann as its base, this live effort adds a whole new energy to the original recording. One of the strongest recordings of its kind - the listener will be hard pressed not to be entranced by its power. Lupo's guitar here is particularly engaging and Eroc's drumming is quite powerful.
Rockpommel's Land (1977)
---10/18/23
That may very well be the last time I'd heard this album in full, which is why the record is now making its debut into the UMR. I'll also note that the track isn't just a long jam, but does feature many changes in the progressive rock tradition. Ultimately 'Solar Music' is Grobschnitt's signature composition.
Ownership: 1978 Brain (LP). Gatefold. Acquired in 1989.10/7/89; 1/17/01 (review); 10/18/23 (update)
---1/17/01
Rockpommel's Land represents another major shift for Grobschnitt. Here they play a symphonic music in the Yes / Genesis tradition. Considered their masterpiece by many fans, I didn't find the album near as compelling as their earlier psychedelic Krautrock works. And while it's better than the predecessor Jumbo, it's still a bit of a disappointment compared to what it could have been. The problem is this kind of symphonic rock style is not Grobschnitt's forte I'm afraid. I also feel Wildschwein's heavily accented English vocals are not well suited for what the genre calls for. However, I still enjoy the complex instrumental breaks, so overall I can still recommend. But start with the first album or anything that has 'Solar Music' on it.
---8/3/23
After all these years, Rockpommel's Land is beginning to resonate with me. The review above was altered slightly from the original after a +1 sitting. Last night's listen elevated it one more point. The problem for me had been expectation setting. I loved their debut and the Solar Music suite, not so much their vocal led songs, especially their goofier material. Rockpommel's Land is a serious symphonic work, with admittedly a silly story behind it. And it's really the only album like it in Grobschnitt's canon. I'm at a point now where this album is likely to have a spot in the collection for a long time.
Ownership: 1977 Brain (LP). Gatefold with insert. Original orange label. Acquired in 1989.Previously owned: Repertoire (CD) Booklet with history. Includes one live 16 minute summary track of the album. 1989; 1/17/01 (review); 2008; 10/10/13; 8/3/23 (update)
Ballermann (1974)
Grobschnitt were a zany theatrical bunch almost to the point of being a comedy troupe using the German language. They showed elements of this kind of drama on the debut - as in the opening sequence which features a mock choir. But, for the most part, the humor was subdued and not a large part of their repertoire. But by the second album, they began to incorporate more humor and zaniness into their compositions. Ballermann is the result of these conscious efforts. Personally, I feel the music can sometimes play second banana to their almost goofy approach and they begin to lose focus on the things that made the first album so great. As well vocalist Wildschwein starts to affect his voice in an annoying, silly way. However, Ballermann is a double album and each disc represents a new style for the group. The second LP shows another, yet unrevealed, side of the band. Grobschnitt introduces their space rock sound which they tag as 'Solar Music'. As a pure play space rock band, Grobschnitt is almost unmatched. Much different from the more atmospheric German acts like Ash Ra Tempel or Gila, Grobschnitt take on a more direct approach to jamming space music. The guitar roars, the keyboards soar and, as a bonus, it's almost entirely instrumental. Eroc's drumming propels the band to great heights. A classic of it's kind. As a whole Ballermann is a very good album though somewhat marred by their craziness. I should add that many listeners consider their humor a plus.Ownership: 1975 Brain (2xLP). Gatefold. Second press with green label but no Metronome. Acquired in 2022.
First copy: 198? Brain (2xLP). Gatefold. Acquired in 1987.5/29/87; 1/17/01; 4/25/22 (review); 1/20/23
The German group Grobschnitt were one of the more famous bands from the classic 70's Krautrock era. They had a long and varied history that spanned over 20 years and were quite popular in their native Germany. Their music was characterized by theatrical sequences, space rock jamming, a large dose of humor, along with creative songwriting.
Grobschnitt's self-titled debut was a dynamic opening for the band, and is simply a superb slab of heavy prog rock. Hard psychedelic driven guitar and Hammond organ lead the instrumental parade, whereas the crack rhythm section push the proceedings along with constantly changing and complex rhythms. Guitarist "Lupo" has a very sharp edged sound and plays in a constant fiery/heavy blues mode, while drummer "Eroc" is a master of creating and maintaining the tempo for the complex yet energetic compositions. The four tracks contained within recall other heavy German bands of the day like Orange Peel, Prof. Wolfff, 2066 and Then, and even Inside era Eloy. Had this been Grobschnitt's only album it surely would've gone down as one of the great one-off Krautrock classics. As it turns out, it may very well have been their shining moment, though no doubt much great music was to appear in their future, including the can't miss space rock suite 'Solar Music'.
Ownership:
Grobschnitt (1972)
Grobschnitt's self-titled debut was a dynamic opening for the band, and is simply a superb slab of heavy prog rock. Hard psychedelic driven guitar and Hammond organ lead the instrumental parade, whereas the crack rhythm section push the proceedings along with constantly changing and complex rhythms. Guitarist "Lupo" has a very sharp edged sound and plays in a constant fiery/heavy blues mode, while drummer "Eroc" is a master of creating and maintaining the tempo for the complex yet energetic compositions. The four tracks contained within recall other heavy German bands of the day like Orange Peel, Prof. Wolfff, 2066 and Then, and even Inside era Eloy. Had this been Grobschnitt's only album it surely would've gone down as one of the great one-off Krautrock classics. As it turns out, it may very well have been their shining moment, though no doubt much great music was to appear in their future, including the can't miss space rock suite 'Solar Music'.
Ownership:
1972 Brain (LP). Gatefold. Green label with Metronome. Acquired in 2000.
Grobschnitt's third, Jumbo, can be considered a natural progression from Ballermann. No doubt attaining a modicum of success on the previous album, Grobschnitt decided to continue along the path of the song-based portion of their predecessor. In some ways they've actually surpassed Ballermann as the songs are more clever and the music somewhat more interesting. There's a strong Genesis element here, with a bit of their goofball interjections to annoy. Unlike Ballermann, there are no space rock opuses to offset the shorter songs. Still, I find this album more enjoyable as I get older. The German version (aka Mit Deutschen Texten) is exactly the same music - but with German lyrics sung on top. So there's really no point in obtaining both separately. Unless you're a linguist of course.
Ownership: 1975 Brain (LP). Green label no Metronome. Acquired in 2014.
Previously owned: 1998 Repertoire (CD). Booklet with full liner notes. This release has both the English and German lyric versions. Acquired in 2014.
Die Grobschnitt Story 0 is all about the earliest incarnation of
Kapelle Elias Grobschnitt (1971), and as such, much of the material will
also be found on the self-titled Grobschnitt album. In fact, the entire
first album is presented here, but in slightly different form (no
string quartet for example) - though there are not enough differences to
make this an essential purchase - on its own that is.
However there is close to 30 minutes of unique material here, starting with track 6) 'About My Town' (8:56), a very fine jazz inflicted progressive rock number with plenty of those great Lupo guitar solos. 'Fallstone' (5:25) follows with Eroc's martial drumming leading the way while Wildschwein shreds away on rhythm guitar and Lupo once again comes in with some fine solos. Disc 2 opens with 'Das D-Lied' (4:03) and 'Das Teelied' (3:15) both splendid little psychedelic blues rock numbers in the Krautrock tradition. 'Die Maschine' (7:49) is perhaps the best of them all, starting out with power chords like early Black Sabbath. But at the point where you would expect Iommi to start riffing, the band goes into jazzy jamming mode and Lupo unleashes some great wah-wah solos. These five tracks alone would have made for a great archival album, so having the bonus of the entire first album in raw form is just icing on the cake. The album closes with a live version of 'Das D-Lied' (4:33) and the final track, on the surface at least, looks like a real boon for collectors: A 31 minute live version of 'Die Sinfonie'. However this is the same bonus track as found on the 1998 Repertoire CD, so if you have that already, then nothing new here. All in all, a fantastic historical document from one of Germany's finest progressive rock bands of the 70s.
Ownership: 2010 Made in Germany (2xCD). Tri-fold digipak. Booklet with extensive liner notes from Eroc. Acquired in 2012
1998 Repertoire (CD). Booklet with liner notes and a 29 minute bonus track. Acquired in 1998.
First copy: 198? Brain (LP). Black label. Acquired in 1987.
5/27/87; 1998; 1/17/01; 4/15/18 (review)
5/27/87; 1998; 1/17/01; 4/15/18 (review)
Jumbo (1975)
Ownership: 1975 Brain (LP). Green label no Metronome. Acquired in 2014.
Previously owned: 1998 Repertoire (CD). Booklet with full liner notes. This release has both the English and German lyric versions. Acquired in 2014.
5/27/14; 12/31/16 (review)
Die Grobschnitt Story 0 (1971)
However there is close to 30 minutes of unique material here, starting with track 6) 'About My Town' (8:56), a very fine jazz inflicted progressive rock number with plenty of those great Lupo guitar solos. 'Fallstone' (5:25) follows with Eroc's martial drumming leading the way while Wildschwein shreds away on rhythm guitar and Lupo once again comes in with some fine solos. Disc 2 opens with 'Das D-Lied' (4:03) and 'Das Teelied' (3:15) both splendid little psychedelic blues rock numbers in the Krautrock tradition. 'Die Maschine' (7:49) is perhaps the best of them all, starting out with power chords like early Black Sabbath. But at the point where you would expect Iommi to start riffing, the band goes into jazzy jamming mode and Lupo unleashes some great wah-wah solos. These five tracks alone would have made for a great archival album, so having the bonus of the entire first album in raw form is just icing on the cake. The album closes with a live version of 'Das D-Lied' (4:33) and the final track, on the surface at least, looks like a real boon for collectors: A 31 minute live version of 'Die Sinfonie'. However this is the same bonus track as found on the 1998 Repertoire CD, so if you have that already, then nothing new here. All in all, a fantastic historical document from one of Germany's finest progressive rock bands of the 70s.
Ownership: 2010 Made in Germany (2xCD). Tri-fold digipak. Booklet with extensive liner notes from Eroc. Acquired in 2012
9/4/12 (review)
Previously owned: Merry-Go-Round; Volle Molle; Sonnentanz; Die Grobschnitt Story 1
9/4/12 (new entry)
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