Over 12 years ago I wrote the following, while covering the Vlotho 1977 album proper: "'Getalongwithasong' is the requisite Embryo appearance. They are certainly the "name" band in these festivals and they let absolutely no one down. This is a track that would show up on Apo Calypso but in an extended 14 minutes form at that point. Garden of Delights has announced their intention to release Embryo's entire Umsonst concert on CD."
7 years after I posted that, Garden of Delights came through with that release. And 5 years after that I finally got around to purchasing it - primarily because the label's product is notoriously difficult to source here in the States. And what of the full concert - did it live up to expectations? Absolutely. You have to be predisposed to like this stage of the band though. The 1975 to '78 era of Embryo is definitely the most user friendly and, dare I say, commercial period for the legendary group. A major reason Embryo are so listenable during this stage lays with guitarist Roman Bunka. He has a good voice - much warmer than the usual English singing from Germans back in those days. And his guitar playing and tone is perfect for this set up. The music is jazz funk - Krautrock style. There's always an edge to their instrumentation. No extreme highs here, just an album that is easy to listen to. Comfort food for established fans. And the music is mostly unique to this release, offering up the same kind of thrill one gets from an archival Tangerine Dream release for example.
Ownership: CD: 2017 Garden of Delights. Recent online acquisition (2022) as noted above. Has the usual great history and photos the label is known for. The history is relatively truncated, primarily dedicated to this release alone. And that's because GoD had already exhaustively covered the band to this point.
12/9/22 (new entry)
sounds great!
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