For the second LP, Wolfgang Krantz had to fill in for Maucher, who was sick, and Panka took the place of Bernd Pulst as lead singer. The initial success and their convincing live performances made Jane an attraction on the national touring scene. The band constantly commuted back and forth between stage and studio and absorbed numerous changes in the line-up effortlessly and without any quality loss.
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| Jane |
Jane went through a maturing process and perfected their style, which had a certain tendency to mysticism and was by now well in demand all over Europe. For the 1975 album, 'Fire, Water, Earth & Air', the band (Nadolny had returned to take over Janko's place) experimented with the dummy head recording technique. Established music magazines like Record World compared their complicated song structures to those of bands like Pink Floyd. The national music press found it harder to warm up to the ambitious band from Lower Saxony and overlooked the impressive echo from the music press abroad, very good sales figures and filled concert venues.
When Jane set out on a sixty-concert tour through Germany in March 1976, Manfred Wieczorke from Eloy stood in for Nadolny and played the keyboards. The four musicians documented this phase of their career with a double album called 'Live'. In the first weeks after its release, 'Live' sold more than 100,000 copies, making them the best-selling German rock act of their time after Udo Lindenberg and Kraftwerk.
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| Jane 1976 |
Threatening musical images and "guitar riffs played Black Sabbath-style" (Musik Express) dominated the 1977 album 'Between Heaven and Hell'. By that time, Jane no longer needed to fear comparisons with the international competition. In Switzerland, they even outsold Pink Floyd for a while and reactions from the US were positive as well.
In the fall of 1977, Jane received the "Golden Brain Label" from their record company, recognizing 300,000 albums sold in Germany. A year later, in the summer of 1978, that number had already reached 500,000. This made Jane the third-best-selling German band in the country, behind Udo Lindenberg and Kraftwerk.
1978 saw the release of 'Age of Madness' following a new, better paid record deal, a sellout tour through twenty cities plus a number of appearances on TV. Jane stayed true to their ponderous, romantic rock. The eighth album was the first to be recorded in the band's own 24-track studio situated in an idyllic half-timbered house in the village of Sarstedt, 30 kilometres south of Hanover. Jane's top-form performance seemed to stem from their new independence and new-found motivation and inspiration.
'Age of Madness' rocked it out a little harder maintaining emotional spacey timbres and was released internationally, being presented in clear and red vinyl formats on the now defunct Canadian label Bomb Records. A successful European tour ensued but Weiczorke departed in early 1979, leaving just a trio to tackle their followup LP "Sign No.9" which was nothing short of a disaster.
Album Review
Age of Madness was the end of their space rock phase, and what they demonstrated on 'Between Heaven & Hell', you'd think they were able to continue on the greatness of that album. Unfortunately that's not quite the case. The instrumental title track is actually quite good, has more than a hint of Eloy in it, which is really no surprise when you know that Manfred Wieczorke is responsible for the keyboard playing (he left Eloy after the fiasco of Power and the Passion - itself a great album - for a more financially stable band, in this case, Jane).
That burst of classic Hammond organ grunge kicking off the album was a conscious throwback to an earlier, heavier Jane: the musical equivalent of slipping into an old pair of sneakers after a formal night on the town. The song itself was still uncomfortably in debt to Pink Floyd, but with a welcome economy of style compared to the bloated, faceless wall Roger Waters was erecting at the time.
In the fall of 1977, Jane received the "Golden Brain Label" from their record company, recognizing 300,000 albums sold in Germany. A year later, in the summer of 1978, that number had already reached 500,000. This made Jane the third-best-selling German band in the country, behind Udo Lindenberg and Kraftwerk.
'Age of Madness' rocked it out a little harder maintaining emotional spacey timbres and was released internationally, being presented in clear and red vinyl formats on the now defunct Canadian label Bomb Records. A successful European tour ensued but Weiczorke departed in early 1979, leaving just a trio to tackle their followup LP "Sign No.9" which was nothing short of a disaster.
Album Review
Age of Madness was the end of their space rock phase, and what they demonstrated on 'Between Heaven & Hell', you'd think they were able to continue on the greatness of that album. Unfortunately that's not quite the case. The instrumental title track is actually quite good, has more than a hint of Eloy in it, which is really no surprise when you know that Manfred Wieczorke is responsible for the keyboard playing (he left Eloy after the fiasco of Power and the Passion - itself a great album - for a more financially stable band, in this case, Jane).
That burst of classic Hammond organ grunge kicking off the album was a conscious throwback to an earlier, heavier Jane: the musical equivalent of slipping into an old pair of sneakers after a formal night on the town. The song itself was still uncomfortably in debt to Pink Floyd, but with a welcome economy of style compared to the bloated, faceless wall Roger Waters was erecting at the time.
The title of the next song is fully in accordance with its content. "Memory Symphony" is a very nice and tranquil instrumental song. A good balance with very expressive keys and of course a sublime guitar play (but this is a "Jane" TM). In my opinion, this is one of the highlights on the album. So much so, that I attemped to learn how to play this on my hammond synth, when I was in garage band back in the late 70's, but the other band members weren't really into Krautrock, and so it never got off the ground.
The next track Auroville is a great instrumental and could have featured on Floyd's 'Obscured By Clouds' and no one would have been none the wiser. These first three tracks are not complicated compositions, Jane has never been know for extravagant arrangements, but the athmosphere is very nice as always with wonderful keyboards and tasty guitar playing.
The next track Auroville is a great instrumental and could have featured on Floyd's 'Obscured By Clouds' and no one would have been none the wiser. These first three tracks are not complicated compositions, Jane has never been know for extravagant arrangements, but the athmosphere is very nice as always with wonderful keyboards and tasty guitar playing.
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| Jane 1978 |
The marriage of Jane's trademark psychedelia with country and western motifs in "Love Song" shows a willingness to break new ground; even if this may have been commercially motivated, it doesn't seem like compromise. For a heavier repeating loop, try "Bad Game" - again, Jane takes a riff where it has gone before, again and again, and does it better than anyone, thanks to Hess and Wieczorke, amply backed by the rhythm section.
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| Martin Hesse & Klaus Hess |
"With Your Smile" is another highlight, kicking off mid-song and highlighted by some of Hess' best work and a near danceable beat. It is the ultimate expression of Jane's paradoxical blend of professionalism and amateurism.
The album is occasionally lit by incandescent flashes of energy, typically sparked by guitarist Klaus Hess, and the next track "Get this Power" sounds like a psychedelic jam with harmonica, guitar and a driving rhythm section lead by Panka on drums. This is definately the album's wake up call, in case the listener has dozed off earlier!
The album is occasionally lit by incandescent flashes of energy, typically sparked by guitarist Klaus Hess, and the next track "Get this Power" sounds like a psychedelic jam with harmonica, guitar and a driving rhythm section lead by Panka on drums. This is definately the album's wake up call, in case the listener has dozed off earlier!
JANE ⚡ Get This Power ⚡ Live 1978, Germany
Finally we come back to progressive rock with the last 2 tracks, the wonderful dreamy instrumental "Meadow", a very delicate piece of music showcasing Wierczorke at his most sensitive (and another highlight of the album), followed by an encore "Age Of Madness Part II" which closes the album in a good symphonic way.
Overall, this is an enjoyable album to listen to and a personal favourite of mine. However, others may not agree - based on reviews that I have read at progarchives.com and alike. To be honest, I have a soft spot for this album as listening to it takes me back to the time when I nearly had a chance to perform "Memory Symphony" with my band some 45 years ago. Hmm...now that I think about it, it's a bit ironical that it's called "Memory Symphony" !
Overall, this is an enjoyable album to listen to and a personal favourite of mine. However, others may not agree - based on reviews that I have read at progarchives.com and alike. To be honest, I have a soft spot for this album as listening to it takes me back to the time when I nearly had a chance to perform "Memory Symphony" with my band some 45 years ago. Hmm...now that I think about it, it's a bit ironical that it's called "Memory Symphony" !
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| Left: My Cover [With incorrect track order] Right: Other Releases [With correct track order] |
This post consists of FLACs ripped from my vinyl copy (an import featuring Brain's orange label) and includes full album artwork for both vinyl and CD, along with label scans. One interesting anommily with my pressing is the incorrect track listing (order) on the back cover. Discogs lists this German release and appears to be the only release with this annomily. The track order and label listings are correct nevertheless (See scans of these covers above).
Tracklist
A1 - Age Of Madness 5:45
A2 - Memory Symphony 4:25
A3 - Auroville 3:40
A4 - Love Song 3:53
B1 - Bad Game 5:14
B2 - Get This Power 2:40
B3 - With Her Smile 4:20
B4 - Meadow 3:27
B5 - Age Of Madness (Part II) 2:39
Jane were:
- Klaus Hess - guitars, vocals
- Martin Hesse - bass, vocals
- Peter Panka - drums, percussion, vocals
- Manfred Wieczorke - keyboards, vocals
Age Of Madness Link (202Mb)
