(German 1970 - 1989, 2007 - Present)
As was common with many German bands of the time, Grobschnitt sang in English until the early 1980s, despite touring exclusively in West Germany. The band accrued a loyal fan base through its live performances which included pyrotechnics and German comedic sketches. Highlight performances include Solar Music, an extended mostly instrumental piece which lasted up to an hour. Grobschnitt were also known for their stamina on stage, frequently performing shows in excess of three hours.
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| Grobschnitt 1981 |
Album Review
During the 70's and 80's I bought a lot of German progrock albums - bands like Eloy, Jane and Can.
There were a number of Import Record Stores in the Melbourne CBD, and a particular favourite of mine was located in a small arcade between Little Flinders and Swanston Street. I spent a small fortune in this shop but this was how I heard these great German bands for the first time, and it was here that I heard Grobschnitt's 'Snowflakes' while browsing through the racks of European bands. It was also the amazing covers that often caught my attention, and Volle Molle's cover sealed the deal that particular day. Gee I miss those days.
On this album you can enjoy that humour from the very first moment but I'm afraid that only Europeans will understand the humour. They are very cynical about the impact from Coca Cola (a long and funny conversation in German on "Coke-Train-Show" which probably entertained the actors more than the audience - maybe you just had to be there) and the awful 'music' from the Village People (during the song "A.C.Y.M" they sing that 'only a dead Village People is a good Village People'). The music on this live album is a blend of pop, rock and symphonic rock, ranging from mellow featuring the Mellotron or romantic pop to prog 'n' roll with fiery electric guitar and powerful organ work.
"Wuppertal punk" is a standoutish track with its swinging rhythm, a funny introduction of all the band members and a strong guitar solo, accompanied by Fender Rhodes piano. In "Waldeslied" you hear duo-acoustic guitar play, which sounds very warm. The highlight is a wonderful and strong 16 minutes version from their magnum opus "Rockpommel's Land", in fact this is the only part of this album that contains the great progrock sound from the Seventies.
The bad news is that there's a lot of filler on the disc, at a mere 45 minutes already too brief by compact disc standards. The track "Beifall" is nothing more than 85 seconds of applause and quite frankly is overkill. Thankfully the CD release of this album allows you to easily skip this 'mundane track'.
"Volle Molle" (the title translates as "a full glass of beer", or words to that effect) is certainly not
the best introduction to this unique band. But it makes a decent companion volume to the masterpiece of "Solar Music Live", presenting the other side of the schizophrenic Grobschnitt coin.
Although this is a good live album, I must admit that I prefer their more symphonic sounding "Solar music live".
This post consists of FLACs ripped from my pristine, vinyl (one of my many prized German pressings) and includes full album artwork and label scans. As a bonus, I have included an alternative live version of "Wuppertal Punk" which is longer and more of an instrumental jam, and fits in nicely with this set.
Tracks Listing
01. Snowflakes (4:45)
02. A.C.Y.M. (6:48)
03. Wuppertal Punk (8:02)
04. Beifall (applause) (1:25)
05. Waldeslied (4:37)
06. Coke-Train-Show (3:15)
07. Rockpommel's Land (16:36)
08. Wuppertal Punk (Alternate Jam) [Bonus Track]
Line-up / Musicians:
- Stefan Danielak (Wildschwein) / lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Joachim Ehrig (Eroc) / drums, metal sheet f/x
- Wolfgang Jäger (Popo) / bass
- Volker Kahrs (Mist) / keyboards
- Gerd-Otto Kühn (Lupo) / guitars
- Toni Moff Mollo / vocals
Grobschnitt Live Link (386Mb)
Pipe Records (pronounced Pipay I think). One of my regular haunts as well. I miss all those record stores :(
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