Epitaph - Stop Look and Listen. 1972 Germany

As with Abacus and Kin Ping Meh, Epitaph took more of a UK approach to prog rock on their debut. And all 3 groups switched gears on their sophomore effort and moved towards hard rock - perhaps even the rural variety of said genre. Of this sample size, Epitaph's second album is the clear winner. Guitar is the focus, but they haven't yet dropped the organ, most notably heard on the lengthy 'Fly' track, a vestige of their Krautrock past. This is the album that allowed their international breakthrough follow-up Outside the Law to happen. With only 5 tracks, there's plenty of room for guitar based jamming. An excellent entry for hard rock fans, lesser so for Krautrock and prog.

Ownership: LP: 1972 Polydor. Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition. First time for me to own this title in any format.

1/29/22 (new entry)

Epitaph - Return to Reality. 1979 Germany

Epitaph faces the same problems of many progressive bands from the early 70s - they change. Their 1971 debut is a superb slice of Krautrock followed by a couple of fine hard prog albums. They disappear for about 5 years, and reemerge with a fetching cover and some lengthy tracks. A new prog album obviously? Ehh... No.

When I first started deep diving into the bins in the mid 80s, this album showed up. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Some 35+ years later, and here we are again with the LP in hand. I already know it's not a prog album. Let's hear it with a different perspective, which is what I should have done back then too. Youth.

OK, yes, I like this album. Very strong hard rock entry, and the extended tracks allow Epitaph some room to maneuver with more ideas. They're a 5 piece with excellent keyboard work and dual guitars. It's not a strikingly great album, but very professional. And much better than some of the pandering hard rock bands in the US and UK during the time. This isn't a commercial album at all, even if it has some friendly hooks. The best way to approach albums like this is to strip away their legacy and the Brain label, and pretend you just found a private pressing from Nebraska by a band called Epitaph. Believe me, it makes a difference. One's mind drifts to a different landscape, and the music fits that narrative. SFF this is not. Quality hard rock is the game here. Keeper.

Ownership: LP: 1979 Brain. Single sleeve. Orange label. Recent acquisition from an antique mall. I generally avoid antique malls, as the records are almost always multi-X higher priced than retail and usually in crap condition. And that's mostly the case at this antique mall as well. But this particular dealer has quality merchandise at competitive prices (i.e. a bit lower than local b&m's). I picked up a couple of other commodity items as well. I'll be back to this table again. Oh - a word about the cover. It's what we today call "cheesecake". And she's a pretty model. Just don't look too close under the arms...

Epitaph - Outside the Law. 1974 Germany

Outside the Law is the 3rd effort from German rock band Epitaph. Recorded in Chicago, this album really stretches the definition of the term Krautrock. At this point, it is very clear the band is aiming their sound towards American audiences, and even the titles refer to common southern redneck themes. Couple that with the twin guitar attack, and one cannot ignore The Allman Brothers reference here, though as others have stated, Wishbone Ash is also a fair guideline - especially when one considers bandleader Cliff Jackson is British. A fine album (especially side 2), though not at the level of its two heavy rock predecessors, most notably the debut.

Ownership: CD: 2000 Repertoire. Features a fine sound, and full liner notes that explain much about the band and recording. Many sources continue to maintain that the German release on Membran is the primary, though I don't think that is historically correct. Especially when one considers the Membran label says "An Billingsgate Production" (sic), and that Membran was primarily a distributor. The US label went bankrupt not long after this, and left Epitaph in a lurch for awhile. I bought the Billingsgate LP while still in college in the middle 80s (used, on the cheap - of course), but it wasn't much to my liking back then.

11/9/16 (new entry); 2/14/23

Epitaph - s/t. 1971 Germany

Epitaph were a German heavy rock band, typical of the 1971 genre, with a UK vocalist in tow which is always a plus (if persisting with the English language that is). 'Moving to the Country' starts the album off somewhat inauspiciously with that sort of breezy rural rock which dragged down their more famous later album Outside the Law. 'Visions' switches gears radically. Basically a symphonic ballad with a tremendous amount of mellotron. After this, Epitaph go for the "long form" track with extensive stretches of guitar jamming, which is certainly their forte. 'Little Maggie' gives us a "head fake" that it's going to be another rural affair, before tossing the composition aside so they can get down to the business of jamming. Arguably the album ends at its apex with 'Early Morning'. An excellent debut by an otherwise mediocre band that deteriorated as they went on. Though the followups Stop, Look, Listen and Outside the Law are quite good as well.

Personal collection
LP: 1971 Polydor
CD: 2005 Polydor/Universal

The Polydor/Universal CD comes in a fine digi-pak and features 5 bonus tracks that are quite good in their own right and make an excellent supplement to the album proper.