01	Day Of A Daydreambeliever						19:23
	02	Morning Sun, Version 127 (For The Charts)						03:03
	03	Spot On You, Kids						12:22
	04	And The Madness...						04:00

(p) 1973 Brain Records
(c) 1997 Repertoire Records

CORNUCOPIA
Personnel:
· WOLFGANG KAUSE v
· WOLFGANG BARTL b
· CRISTOPH HARDWIG kb, g
· WOLFGANG GAUDES d
· KAI HENRIK MOTLER g
· HARRY KOCH effects, perc
· RUDY HOLZHAUER perc
ALBUM:
1. "Full Horn" (Brain 1030) 1973
This was a band of considerable size. There were also important musical contributions from producer Jochen Pedersen, previously a member of the little known group Ikarus, who released an album for the Plus label. On Full Horn (1973), Cornucopia presented a weird and eccentric jazz-rock fusion that is so varied and continuously shifting that it is hard to describe the music. The same could be said of their label mates Thirsty Moon. The album started with a 20 minute suite called "Day Of A Daydream Believer". This one was an attempt to link very different pieces of music (and twisted weirdness). The result was erratic, but quite interesting and unusual. On the other end of the scale, "Morning Sun" (3:07) was a tuneful little pop rock song. The remaining two tracks fall between these extremes. All were written by the Cornucopia leader Cristoph Hardwig. The album is rare, but not very much in demand, and therefore still affordable.

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Cornucopia stood for fantasy, originality and variety. On their only album, "Full Horn", recorded in 1973, Cornucopia played an eccentric fusion rock that was as convincing in the 20-minute suite "Day Of A Daydreambeliever" as in the compact three-minute rock song "Morning Sun". Cornucopia cleverly avoided being too predictable and added their unique, intellectual style to the slowly growing German rock evolution. Responsible for their style was producer Jochen Peterson, a former member of "Ikarus".

The septet met 1972 in Hamburg and consisted of Wolfgang Kause (voc), Wolfgang Bartl (b), Christoph Hardwig (key, g), Wolfgang Gaudes (dr), Kai Hendrik Motler (g), Harry Koch (perc, effects) and Rudy Holzhauer (perc). The "lyrics are worth paying attention to and they have a richness of musical ideas" (Sounds). These ideas mainly sprang from Christoph Hardwig's mind and were brought to perfection by the entire team.

Even in the early stages of the developing German rock scene, Cornucopia embodied the principle of a democratic band and were only marginally influenced by Anglo-American institutions like "Vanilla Fudge" and "Genesis".

"Full Horn" remained Cornucopia's only album. Why the Hamburg band never was as successful as they would have deserved remains open to speculation. One of the reasons for their failure, perhaps, is that Cornucopia did not do enough for their image and had problems accepting the rules of the business. The band insisted on their liberties and only reluctantly fulfilled their promotion duties. They had hoped to get a lot of recognition for "Full Horn", but when it failed to materialise, Cornucopia were so disillusioned that in 1974 they gave up.

Christian Graf

Taken from the CD Reissue of "Full Horn" (Repertoire PMS 7049-WP)



Cornucopia - "Full Horn" (1973) A very complex and weird one-shot from Germany. Actually, when it comes to complexity, rawness and disharmonious elements, these guys tends to remind me of Il Balletto di Bronzo's "Ys". Of course, "Full Horn" didn't have the same fantastic atmosphere and is never close to equal the Italian masterpiece but it's still a very good, interesting and unique progressive rock album. The 20-minute suite "Day of a Daydream Believer" takes up the first side. The composition never stays the same and shifts from raw and disharmonious parts to softer and more atmospheric passages, often dominated by a spacey organ and vocal-harmonies. The arrangements include lots of organ, thundering bass & guitar work, energetic drumming and also some flute & saxophone. Possibly one of the weirdest and most complex tracks to ever come from the German progressive rock scene. Side 2 starts with a rather poppy and light tune, but we're taken back to the style of the first side again with the 12-minute "Spot on You, Kids". A few passages on the album (like the two first minutes on the closing track "And the Madness...") seems to be weird only for the weirdness' sake, but most of it is a truly enjoyable and challenging listen.



Cornucopia - Full Horn (1973)

Cornucopia were a German group that played a style of dark, almost symphonic, fusion-tinged progressive rock. Bands like Kraan, Ikarus and Eiliff are good reference points, but Cornucopia probably isn't quite as good as any of the above, despite the presence of Ikarus' flautist Jochen Peterson. Stylistically, Cornucopia is quite a bit heavier, defined largely by chugging organ and strident, determined basslines rubbing up against massive, Sabbath-like guitar dirges. Though the band featured a whopping seven members, the majority of the group make only minor additions to the overall feel. Flute and saxophone lines often appear to spice the proceedings and complement the main dialogue of guitar and organ, but rarely assume a central role, and though the liners list the presence of two auxiliary percussionists, their contributions are rarely felt in any significant way. Unfortunately, as can sometimes be expected from German groups, the vocals and lyrics are pretty goofy at times, but generally de-emphasized in favor of the often startling instrumental work.

The album highlight is clearly the lengthy album centerpiece "Day of a Daydreambeliever", which progresses through a series of consistently interesting, darkly melodic themes. While some of the solo sections tend to drag a little too much for my tastes, it is an excellent piece overall. The success of the first side is carried over onto "Spot on You, Kids", a twelve minute number which, despite testing my tolerance for the silly vocals, still manages a number of stunning sections. The dual-tracked, reverb-laden guitar solos are particularly haunting here. The song segues nicely into the sustained guitar and organ layers of "And the Madness...", which recalls Jane or even Pink Floyd. The only throw away cut here is the mercifully short, dinky pop tune "Morning Sun". A solid album overall. - Greg Northrup [July 2002]


1. Day of a Daydreambeliever - 19:22
Humanoid Robot Show
Hope Part One
Desillusion
Hope Part Two
Death of a Clown
D-d-daily Review
Night, Night - Mankinds Motor Dream
The Sound of National Coughing
2. Morning Sun, Version 127 (For the Charts) - 3:03
3. Spot on You, Kids - 12:22
4. And the Madness... - 4:01

Wolfgang Kause - Vocals
Wolfgang Bartl - Bass
Christoph Hardwig - Keyboards, Guitar
Wolfgang Gaudes - Drums
Kai Hendrick Motler - Guitar
Harry Koch - Percussion, Effects
Rudy Holzhauer - Percussion
Guest:
Jochen Peterson - Sax, Flute, Guitar