genre: prog
country: germany
quality : lossless (flac, cue, log, booklet scans, size: 430 mb), mp3 (320k, booklet scans, size: 113 mb)
time: 58'34"
issue: remaster
ProgressiveRock :
Hoelderlin's third album was recorded less than a year after their last and was another foray into British prog. Hans Baar replaced Peter Kaseberg on bass, while Joachim Kaseberg put his guitar down to concentrate on live-sound. Jorg-Peter Siebert guests on wind instruments. The album is divided into two halves as the title suggests. Side one, the "Clown" side, consists of songs proper. "Mad House" is reminiscent of Genesis circa Selling England, but here that's more of a good thing. Jochen Grumbkow's clavinet guides the track along, with Nopps Noppeney delivering an excellent vocal. Jochen takes his turn at vocals on "Your Eyes". "Circus" has a more complex structure, yet its several sections merge together effortlessly. Jochen's organ takes prominence as the band plays through the remarkable progressive arrangement. As you may have guessed, the second "Cloud" side is much more atmospheric. The simplicity of the Baar penned "Streaming" belies its effectiveness; fluid and ethereal, it rides on top of Bruchmann's drumming effortlessly, then seguing into "Phasing". Guided by a gentle electric piano and violin, the main melody swells over a hypnotic bass line, approaching critical mass. Beautiful and unpretentious, it’s one of the best examples of Prog, especially from a non-British band. As before, Hoelderlin's album was immaculately recorded and produced by Conny Plank and released on the German Spiegelei label.
1. Mad house (6:50)
2. Your eyes (6:05)
3. Circus (9:09)
a) Tango mili
b) Marching
c) Sensations
4. Streaming (7:07)
5. Phasing (12:12)
6. Traum (Bonus track, Live 1974) 15:52
- Hans Bäär / bass, guitars
- Michael Bruchmann / drums, percussion
- Christian Grumbkow / lead guitar
- Joachim Grumbkow / keyboards, cello, vocals
- Joachim Käseberg / live sound
- Christoph 'Nops' Noppeney / viola, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Jörg-Peter Siebert / saxophones, flutes, percussion
