01	Closing Time						03:24
	02	Wenn schon, denn schon						03:37
	03	Schnupfer						05:17
	04	Waste Land						05:09
	05	Makrojel						06:00
	06	Prickel Pit						03:53
	07	Portland Town						03:55
	08	I'm On My Way						05:03

Comments:
Rufus were a heavy progressive rock band whose style was very similar to early-70s Jethro Tull. The songs feature heavy guitar sections, flute, and English vocals(although there are a few instrumentals). Once in a while, the band calms down a bit with acoustic guitars, and bit of mellotron(nothing to get excited about!), but the overall emphasis is on fast tempos, quick ideas, and great songwriting. One song("Portland Town") suffers from dumb lyrics, but, fortunately, the band finishes the song with a great instrumental section. If you are a fan of Spring you will probably like this CD.

Compositions: 8/10
Vocals(in English): 7/10
Recording Quality: 8/10


RUFUS ZUPHALL
Personnel:
GUNTER KRAUSE g, v
THOMAS KITTEL g, kb B
KLAUS GULDEN flt, perc
(HELMUT LIEBLANG b) A
MANFRED SPANGENBERG b B
UDO DAHMEN d
ALBUMS:
(A)"Weiss Der Teufel" (Good Will 10001) 1971
(B)"Phallobst" (Pilz 20 21099-5) 1971

NB: Re-issue of 1 on Little Wing (LW 1009) in 1989 in different cover. Also re-issued on CD.
Re-issue of 2 with the original fold-out cover, but with the "Pop Import" mark ca. 1981.
An experienced progressive rock collectors will know about this excellent group from Aachen, which can arguably be dubbed the German Jethro Tull. Rufus Zuphall's first album Weiss Der Teufel has gradually gained legendary status. It was recorded in the Netherlands and released as a private pressing in 1971. The crew that recorded this stunning garage rocker with Erich Engels (percussion on one track). All five tracks were recorded live in the studio, resulting in a raw and unpolished sound. Just like Jethro Tull, Rufus Zuphall drew influences from both folk and the blues. The side-long title track "Weiss Der Teufel" incorporated the old Gerschwin-standard "Summertime". This developed into a very twisted and frenetic flute solo! Some people regard this track as one of the finest moments of German rock. (Note: two other interesting versions of "Summertime" have been recorded. The Zombies did a charming, jazzy beat version in 1966 and the Dutch group Brainbox, featuring Jan Akkerman on guitar, released a more progressive interpretation in 1969.) Other great tracks were "Knight Of Third Degree", in a peaceful, folky mood with massive percussion, and "Freitag", featuring one of the most raucious guitar breaks of German rock! Weiss Der Teufel is a great album, typifying the raw-edged, largely instrumental early progressive rock.

Their next album Phallobst (recorded in the Dierks Studio from July to August 1971) featured new members Thomas Kittel and Manfred Spangenberg. This album was more polished and had a wider dynamic and instrumental range (mellotron, clavinet and acoustic guitars were added). Particularly strong was the album's second side with two fine instrumentals: "Prickel Prit", strongly flavoured by the blues, and "Makrojel" electric folk-rock with flute to the fore. "I'm On My Way" closed the album in a quiet way.

In 1989 Little Wing re-issued the first Rufus Zuphall album in a magnificent new cover design. But still more exciting was their 4 LP box (+ large booklet and a bonus single) of 1994 with Phallobst and lots of previously unreleased material, comprising a complete concert from June 1972, demos for their unreleased third album and a couple of tracks recorded prior to Weiss Der Teufel. The quality of the recordings were generally good and this set is indispensable for Rufus Zuphall fans!



PHALLOBST - 1971 (Pilz 20 21099-5)

Closing time / Wenn schon, denn schon / Schupfner / Waste land / Makrojel / Prickel Pit /
Portland Town / I'm on my way

LP-Reissue (1993): Little Wing 1039 /
CD-Reissue (1995): Spalax 14951 (France)



Sjef Oellers 7-April-2001 Phallobst

Phallobst is the second and last (officially released) album by Ruphus Zuphall. Emphasis is on guitar/flute interplay, but I am not reminded of Jethro Tull as much as on their first album. The more rocking tracks remind me of the Thoughts album by the German band Virus. There are a few quiet folky parts that sound more like Bert Jansch/John Renbourn. Vocals are sparse and sound like a cross between Bert Jansch and Ian Anderson. The music is not overtly complex or sophisticated, but the music remains interesting throughout the album. A nice album with some cool guitar playing.