A very important album from my collection. This was the very first Embryo album for me to own, with Embryo's Rache, and Bad Heads and Bad Cats to shortly follow within the same month (from the same store). It was January of 1988, and I'm fresh out of college and hungry for European prog. Of all their albums, this is the one that best blends their future world music excursions with their past jazz rock tendencies. And barn burning opener 'Strasse Nach Asien' may very well be the single best track that blends the two. The 2 minute 'Paki Funk' is one of those tracks you wished would extend to 15 minutes. 'Lost Scooters' is stunning - one of Roman Bunka's finest contributions. He was truly a gifted songwriter (and singer). The noisy punk rock of 'Es Ist, Wie's Ist' is so anti-Embryo that its placement here is nothing short of brilliant. 'Kurdistan' is another jazz funk piece that I can only hope to hear a 20 minute version of one day. The rest - more or less - goes under the heading of "World Music", though to be fair it's regionalized. I particularly enjoy the Afghanistan pieces. Hard to imagine what that country once was versus what it was to become. Embryo got there just in the nick of time before the Soviets wreaked complete havoc. The gatefold cover with the libretto is also stunning. So many stories and details. Whatever anyone says about Embryo, no group of people can ever claim to be as committed to a non-commercial stance as these guys. I think they're crazy, and wouldn't put myself through what they did, but my admiration is off the charts. Most everyone else who makes a similar claim is a phony. 54 years of Embryo proves that one can maintain conviction of a virtuous principle without swaying, even though band leader Christian Burchard is no longer with us. I will treasure this LP until the end.
Ownership: 1979 Schneeball. 2xLP. Gatefold with booklet. Acquired as noted above from Seldom Scene Records in Carrollton (DFW area).
1988; 1989; 1990; 2/3/23 (LP 4.7); 4/7/23 (new entry)
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