Since we're cooking on the hard rock / heavy blues psych / progressive rock borderland, it's hard to avoid stepping back into 1971 Germany - where there were dozens of such bands. Kin Ping Meh's debut is a classic of the style, with great guitar riffing, and Hammond organ solos at every turn. The vocals have that wonderful Teutonic slightly-out-tune heavily accented English that seemed to be all the rage back then. The drums are even phased, indicating that perhaps Dieter Dirks walked in to knob twiddle a bit (but it was indeed Conny Plank - so the street cred here is off the charts). The lyrics would make any of today's motivational speakers proud "..don't you know we need each other" (ad infitium) and "Too Many People..le...le.. TRY to PUT ME DOWN". The latter track being the only low point, with a bloozy boozy harmonica driven sound. As if to make up for this letdown, Kin Ping Meh blow the speakers out on the followup track, the exceptional Drugson's Trip. Some mellotron and extended space rock jamming only add to the vibe of yet another great 1971 German release. Unfortunately this was to be the only decent album from Kin Ping Meh, who seemed anxious to find their audience on American radio. With no such luck, despite multiple tries.
Personal collection
CD: 2004 Polydor /Universal
The Universal CD comes in a fine digi-pak, with a full history that I'm sure was also provided on the Repertoire CD (same reviewer). Unfortunately, this version leaves off the bonus tracks, though I haven't seen anyone speak that highly of them in any case.
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