1. Fire, water, earth & air
2. Fire (you give me some sweet lovin')
3. Water (keep on rollin') (16:57)
4. Earth (Angel) (5:20)
5. Air (let the sunshine in) &
6. The end (10:53)
- Klaus Hess / Les Paul De Luxe, Gibson Firebird guitars, lead vocals
- Martin Hesse / Gibson Thunderbird bass, backing vocals
- Werner Nadolny / organ, strings, Moog synth, piano
Jane was among the most commercially successful groups in Germany in the seventies. The band was founded in 1970. After their appearance at the Little Woodstock Festival, Hannover in June 1971, a recording contract with Brain Metronome was secured. With vocalist Bernd Pulst they recorded Together in Star Studio, Hamburg in late 1971 with Konrad Plank. This was an impressive debut with a dominant guitar and organ style. Of most interest were the extended tracks "Spain" (11:53), "Hangman" (9:58) and "Daytime" (8:05). It is tempting to compare Jane's characteristic slow, classical influenced heavy rock arrangements to the music of groups like Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly or early Deep Purple. Jane had developed these elements into a polished 1971 'progressive sound'. Indeed their patented rock sound wouldn't change too much during their long career. Some would say their music is far too predictable, easy-going and pompous. Label manager Gunter Korber produced Jane's first four albums.
For many people, the low-point of Together had been the turgid vocals of Bernd Pulst. He quit Jane in April 1972 and reduced the group to a quartet. Just before Here We Are, recorded at Windrose Studios, Hamburg, Charly Maucher fell ill and was replaced by Wolfgang Krantz. This was another great album, featuring both long instrumental work-outs and some good shorter songs. The highlight was definitely the nearly instrumental opening track "Redskin" (8:54), which comprised slow heavy rock with guitar and organ reminiscent of Pink Floyd. The four tracks on side two revealed the rawer and heavier side of Jane. Quite a few people quote this album as their favourite by Jane. Although this music was dismissed by the reviewers, the commercial response was great. Jane, Eloy, Novalis and others enjoyed long lasting and/or increasing success with their accessible records. Merely a month after the recordings of Here We Are were finished, Nadolny quit to form his own band Lady. Maucher thus returned to Jane again and for a short while their characteristic organ sound was abandoned.
On Jane III Hess and Krantz fought twin guitar battles instead, resulting in a more ordinary heavy rock sound. This album (recorded at Conny's Studio in February 1974) also opened with an excellent long and mainly instrumental track: "Comin' Again" (9:40). In general it was a highly enjoyable album. More changes in personnel followed in the Summer of 1974: Maucher and Krantz quit Jane to form Harlis. Their replacements were Martin Hesse and Gotfried Janko (previously the leader of Dull Knife). Janko brought back the organ sound for the album Lady (recorded at Conny's studio during November 1974 and January 1975), but also brought in some rather misplaced gospel-soul vocals. One felt that this album was an attempt to continue their increasing success with easy-going heavy pop. Luckily enough former organist Werner Nadolny soon replaced Janko again.
The concept album Fire, Water, Earth & Air was a more rewarding album than its predecessor. It was their first self-produced one, recorded in dummy-head stereo at Plank's studio in November 1975. Synthesizers were now introduced, resulting in a typical late seventies symphonic sound. For a large tour in March 1976, Nadolny had quit again. This time the replacement was a better choice than in the case of Janko: Manfred Wieczorke, previously of Eloy. His first recording with Jane was a double live album: Live At Home (1976). It was recorded in their hometown of Hannover in August. As with most other live albums, it was mostly of interest for fans and quite superfluous for others.
One of the leading second-generation San Franciscan bands, this group's music was dominated by the excellent violin playing of classically-tutored La Flamme, who also produced their records. Their debut album made an enormous impact and contained the stand out song White Bird. This was one of the classic albums of the era and the twin vocals of La Flamme and Panie Santos blended together beautifully on tracks like White Bird, Hot Summer Day and Girl With No Eyes. Side 2 is dominated by the sleepy, drug-influenced Bulgaria and the Eastern-influenced Bombay Calling, it is slightly marred, however, by a rather tedious drum solo on the final track Time Is.
Linda La Flamme then left the band and Fred Webb was also introduced on keyboards for follow-up Marrying Maiden. Jerry Garcia guested on this record, too, playing banjo and pedal steel guitar. Although inferior to their debut effort, this album contained some fine tracks too, Don And Dewey and Hoedown were effective instrumentals, whilst the laid-back back harmonies of the first LP were in evidence on The Dolphins, Essence of Now, Let A Woman Flow and Do You Remember The Sun?. However, the follow-up Choice Quality Stuff marked a clear downward turn. The laid-back mysticism of their earlier songs had been replaced by a rather unimaginative 'good time' sound. The album had its moments, however - The Grand Camel Suite was a competent instrumental - but it was enormously disappointing. The follow-up live album was unable to reverse this trend and further personnel changes reduced the band to a mere shadow of its former self, as did subsequent albums.
It's A Beautiful Day reformed for a performance at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco on November 29th 1997. The line-up will consist of original members David LaFlamme, Mitch Holman, Val Fuentes and Hal Wagenet, plus long-time vocalist Linda Baker LaFlamme and new keyboardist Larry Blachshere. ~ (Vernon Joynson/Patrick Brown)
Ikarus were one of the first German progressive jazz-rock fusion bands and had a very varied sound. The band was led by Jochen Petersen, who later produced many a Brain album. Their album comprised complex arrangements and melancholic melodies inspired by early King Crimson. Ikarus also adapted that group's talent for building up long tracks from several individually subtitled themes. Their lyrics critically scrutinised the behaviour of mankind with a particular focus on our darker sides. Nowadays this album is very hard to get hold of, but is still the cheapest of the three albums on the Plus label.
Nuremberg's most valuable contribution to the polit rock scene was the group Ihre Kinder. In the mid-sixties the pop band Jonah & The Whales was assembled, consisting of Jonas Porst (drums), Sonny Hennig (vocals), Thommy Roder (bass), Ernst Schultz (guitar) and Georgie Meyer (violin). In 1966 they recorded a cover version of "It Ain't Me Babe" for a single on Vogue (DVS 14511). This proved to be an ill-fated one-off attempt, and the group disbanded. However, in 1968 Jonas Porst and Sonny Hennig decided to form a new group. Ihre Kinder was to be a politically aware band using German lyrics. Porst's dad was a quite rich man, able to support the forthcoming activities. Porst himself soon gave up the drumming and became Ihre Kinder's producer and manager. Several demo tapes were recorded but no record companies were interested. In July-August 1969 an album was recorded in the Clerks Studio at the band's own risk; and was eventually released by Phillips. Mack had now been replaced with Walti Schneider. A female vocalist, Judith Brigger, also took part in this project. The album admittedly sounds quite dated today, featuring 12 short and easy-going folk-pop songs. Still it must be honoured as it is one of the first records (of Deutschrock!) with German lyrics.
Leere Hande (1970) was a great improvement, their first true folk-rock album. The arrangements here were more varied with more use of organ, flute and electric guitars. The band had also absorbed some progressive touches from groups like Traffic and Jethro Tull. The 11 songs themselves were more memorable than those on the previous album. Some of them were written by Ernst Schultz, now added as Ihre Kinder's sixth member, the rest came from Sonny Hennig. Leere Hande was recorded during January and February 1970 in Union Studio, Munich, with Thomas Klemt engineering. It was the first release on the Kuckuck label, generously enclosing a lyrics insert and a large poster.
2375 004 went even a step further, as it was released in a denim jeans cover, even featuring washing instructions! It was recorded at the same venue as its predecessor in August 1970. Tommi Roeder had now replaced Walti Schneider. This album, entitled after its own catalogue number, was a further development towards varied progressive folk-rock and some would say that it is their best one musically. Some of the compositions of Ernst Schultz were even slightly experimental ("Toter Soldat"). In 1971 Ihre Kinder released their first single: "Die Graue Stadt" coupled with "Komm Zu Dir". After this, Sonny Hennig quit the group to realize his solo ambitions. Ernst Schultz broke with the management and took over the leadership of Ihre Kinder.
Hennig contributed as guest on Werdohl, named after a small German town in Sauerland. The group now produced themselves, in Bavaria Studio (July-Sept. 1971). The technical quality had improved, but musically the band had passed their creative zenith. In Autumn 1971 Schultz set off to record his first solo album, resulting in the end for Ihre Kinder. In January 1972 Sonny Hennig put the band into new life. (F) line-up recorded the rather superfluous Anfang Ohne Ende. Another incarnation gave concerts in 1974. Hennig and Grun then founded a horrible soul pop-rock band named Powerful Tramps before regaining some musical sense for Meistersinger & Ihre Kinder, a quintet that recorded two albums in the late seventies. Guitarist Muck Groh founded Aera after his years with Ihre Kinder and recorded his solo album Muckefuck in 1979.
IGRA STAKLENIH PERLI, the ultimate ex-Yugoslavian space/psychedelic rock band, was formed in 1976 in Belgrade, Serbia, having been named after the famous novel by Hermann Hesse - "Das Glasperlenspiel" (The Glass Beads Game). The original line-up consisted of: Zoran Lakic (keyboards), Vojkan Rakic (guitar), Predrag Vukovic (percussions) and Drasko Nikodijevic (bass & vocals). In late 1977 Dragan Soc joined the band as drummer while they played live concerts at Belgrade clubs, preparing to start recording their first album, which they did in mid 1978. Upon its release the next year, the band gained reputation for elaborated visual stage effects and light show directed by their friend Goran Cvetic. Nikodijevic was replaced by rock journalist Slobodan Trbojevic on bass prior to recording the second album in late 1979. After its release in 1980 the guitarist Ivan Pajevic replaced Rakic and Nikodijevic was back on bass, but shortly the band ceased to exist. Nikodijevic and Rakic later formed post-punk/neo-psych White Rabbit Band but in late 1980s moved to USA where they continued under the name White Rabbit Cult. The remaining members together with German publisher Thomas Werner released at the beginning of 1990s three albums of ISP old live material and album outtakes for the German-based label Kalemegdan Disk.
IGRA STAKLENIH PERLI labelled their music style as "stream of consciousness music". Their both studio albums, the first eponymous "Igra Staklenih Perli" from 1979 and the second "Vrt Svetlosti" from 1980, are pretty similar in sound and resemble the style from early PINK FLOYD and HAWKWIND psychedelia, to German kraut-rock (notably CAN and TANGERINE DREAM), to HILLAGE-era GONG among many. Interesting music effort especially considering the fact it was the new wave boom period when they tried to pursue a quite different music philosophy.
Recommended listen to any devoted prog fan. Since all their albums were issued on vinyl format it might be difficult task to find them, but Kalemegdan Disk may be a good starting address.
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