01	Sahara						05:40
	02	Nickel-Odeon						09:22
	03	Drummer's Dream						06:18
	04	Morning Song						05:49
	05	Magic Train						13:24
	06	Solar Music, Part 1						17:35
	07	Solar Music, Part 2						15:58

Grobschnitt


Grobschnitt (1972)
Ballermann (1974)
Jumbo (1975)
Rockpommel's Land (1977)
Solar Music Live (Live 1978)
Merry-Go-Round (1979)
Volle Molle (1980)
Illegal (1981)
Razzia (1982)
Kinder und Narren (1983)
Sonnentanz (Live 1985)
Fantasten (1987)
Last Party (1990)

Compilations/Other Recordings
Die Grobschnitt Story Vol. 1 (1994)
Die Grobschnitt Story Vol. 2 (1998)

County Of Origin: Germany
Established: 1968
Styles: Symphonic, Krautrock




Grobschnitt (1972)


Grobschnitt (which translates to Rough Cut) were one of the seminal German bands of the 1970s. Their popularity peaked in the latter part of the decade with their trademark zany stage presentation, elaborate light shows and "Solar Music" jams that would quite frequently go on for hours. What really makes the band unique to the German scene is their bizarre sense of humor. Indeed, their self-deprecating silliness makes them much easier to take than Eloy's frequently annoying (and badly written) cosmic musings. Sure, Rockpommel's Land is pretty goofy, but if one looks at it as a children's fable, one can forgive the album's lyrical shortcomings.

That preamble brings me to Grobschnitt's debut album. For a band's first album, this is quite a remarkable beginning. Similar in style to the Krautrock bands of the period, i.e., Wallenstein, Spermull, and Mythos, it's a much rawer affair than what would follow in just a few years. Happily, it's also one of the band's very best albums! "Symphony" opens the album in grand style, and at 13 plus minutes, one can hear influences as diverse as Pink Floyd, Santana and Deep Purple. The track's opening theme is quite heavy and wouldn't be out of place on Deep Purple In Rock. From there it morphs into a nice Latin American-like groove in which guitarist Lupo emulates Carlos Santana very convincingly. The fact that Grobschnitt employed two drummers at this point reinforces the Santana comparison, especially in their frequent use of ethnic percussion. Then the track becomes spacey and quiet, and ever so slowly builds in intensity until the crescendo finale. The second track, "Traveling", also opens very heavily, before locking into that Santana groove once again. I am very much reminded of Abraxas here. The shortest song, "Wonderful Music", is a bit hokey, and with its cheesy hippy lyrics and recorder soloing, reminds me of Jefferson Airplane on a bad day.

"Sun Trip", the longest track, closes the album, and is the most typically "German" of the bunch. "Solar Music" more or less evolved from "Sun Trip", though on this album, the band's spacey improvisations are considerably more aggressive. After a bit of German narration, the piece kicks into high gear. I guess if I were to make a comparison, it would be to Nektar's A Tab in the Ocean. Needless to say, it kicks butt, while it also slows down in the middle for some interesting cosmic psychedelia. The CD reissue on Repertoire Records includes a live bonus track, "Die Sinfonie", and at 29 minutes, really shows the band's excellent improvisational skills. It's the same piece of music that opens the album, but played completely different. I find most bonus tracks to be album filler, but for anyone into Grobschnitt, this song will be historically valuable. Recorded live in 1971, it shows many sides of the band that would be developed during the next few years. Grobschnitt's debut is a great start to a varied career. It may not appeal to the same audience that enjoys Jumbo or Rockpommel's Land, but taken on its own terms, I find it to be just as strong as any of their albums. Give it a shot. - Steve Pettengill [October 2001]


1. Symphony - 13:47
a. Introduction
b. Modulation
c. Variation
d. Finale
2. Traveling - 6:48
3. Wonderful Music - 3:38
4. Sun Trip - 17:45
a. Am Olberg (Mount of Olives)
b. On the Way
c. Battlefield
d. New Era

Bonus Track:
5. Die Sinfonie (Live) - 29:40

Stefan Danielak - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Joachim H. Ehrig (Eroc) - Electronic Effects, Drums, Percussion
Gerd O. Kuhn (Lupo) - Lead Guitar
Bernhard Uhlemann (Bar) - Bass Guitar, Flute, Percussion
Hermann Quetting (Quecksilber) - Organ, Piano, Spinet, Percussion
Axel Harlos (Felix) - Drums, Percussion

Repertoire Records - PMS 7093-WP


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Ballermann (1974)

This album foreshadows the later symphonic style that is featured on Rockpommel's Land, but also has a hard rock element. Additionally, the studio version of the legendary "Solar Music" suite is featured on this album, which has an improvisational and unstructured air to it.

The album starts off with an extremely bizarre, incomprehensible monologue by drummer Eroc, which I totally don't get, but which sets the tone for the kind of cheesy humor that pervades the rest of this album. The first five songs are great, with some tasteful guitar playing and beautiful piano and keyboards. A lot of the material reminds me of Nektar, in that it's prog with a lot of keyboards, but also with a significant guitar presence, lending an enjoyable hard rock feel. The music is generally very melodic, and there are moments of high flying dual guitar soloing that are totally great. The vocals take some getting used to, especially since the lyrics are very bad. To Grobschnitt's credit, there isn't as much of a silly accent as there is on any of Eloy albums, which is a plus. Despite this, Stefan Danielak definitely has a strange and unique voice which certainly has the capability of turning some listeners off. He has a slightly nasal tone that sort of floats around over the music, yet it is still quite emotional and I didn't have a tremendous problem with it on first hearing him. As far as the terrible lyrics, they can be sort of funny, and don't harm Grobschnitt too much, in that their music has a kind of goofy and irreverent air to it anyway.

After the first half of fairly structured music, along comes the intense "Solar Music", delivered in two parts. The studio version is God-like and the live version on the Solar Music Live album is even better. The intense jamming and soloing on this song, coupled with the more vocally oriented stuff from the first half, make Ballermann a winner. I would suggest this album as a good place to start with Grobschnitt, as it represents a good cross section of their rather diverse approach. - Greg Northrup [2000]


1. Sahara - 5:33
2. Nickel - Odeon - 9:14
3. Drummer's Dream - 6:11
4. Morning Song - 5:42
5. Magic Train - 13:20
6. Solar Music (pt. 1) - 17:28
7. Solar Music (pt. 2) - 15:58

Stefan Danielak (Wildschwein) - Guitar, Vocals
Joachim H. Ehrig (Eroc) - Synthesizer, Drums, Vocals
Volker Kahrs (Mist) - Keyboards, Vocals
Gerd Kuhn (Lupo) - Guitar, Vocals
Bernard Uhlemann (Bar) - Bass, Flute, Percussion


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Rockpommel's Land (1977)

Well, I'm sort of on the fence with this one. On one hand, this album sort of represents everything that critics hate about progressive rock. One reason for this is the fact that it's a full-on concept album at its most ridiculous. Rockpommel's Land has something to do with a little boy named Ernie who gets swept up a magic dragon named Maribu, after which they proceed to have numerous adventures. Pretty lame, but then again Grobschnitt's bizarre humor is well known, and it's certainly feasible that the whole thing might be some sort of tongue-in-cheek parody. It definitely must have taken some balls to do something this pretentious and twee as this as late as 1977, when the whole movement had sort of died down. Plus, the lyrics are pretty poor, which makes the concept as a whole pretty thin and laughable, intentionally so or not.

On the other hand, there is some great music here. Rockpommel's Land is very different from the other Grobschnitt albums in that it draws its influences primarily from the classic symphonic bands like Genesis and especially Yes, though Grobschnitt definitely manages to inject their own style and bizarre idiosyncrasies. Stefan Danielak's vocals have an airy tenderness to them, and though they are quite nasally and odd, they somehow fit in with the music quite well. The music is grandiose, melodic and often very beautiful; this is symphonic progressive rock in all its pompous, pretentious glory, without being totally derivative. I find it difficult to make an emotional connection myself due to the ridiculousness of the lyrics, and overall the tone isn't as successfully charming and humorous as their Ballermann album. This is not what I would consider Grobschnitt's best work, though many fans, particularly those of a strictly symphonic progressive rock disposition, will love it. It has nearly all the criteria. - Greg Northrup [2000]


1. Ernie's Rise - 10:53
2. Severity Town 10:05
3. Anywhere - 4:13
4. Rockpommel's Land - 20:55

Bonus Tracks:
5. Tontillon

Stefan Danielak (Wildschwein) - Guitar, Vocals
Joachim H. Ehrig (Eroc) - Synthesizer, Drums, Vocals
Volker Kahrs (Mist) - Keyboards, Vocals
Gerd Kuhn (Lupo) - Guitar, Vocals
Wolfgang Jaegar - Drums

Metronome Musik GmbhH - 837 985-2


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Solar Music Live (1978)


Essentially, this album is the intense instrumental Grobschnitt piece "Solar Music" from Ballermann, stretched out over a full album in a live setting. Indeed, this is a fantastic, spaced-out piece, and one that should put all early Pink Floyd fans, at the very least, on notice. The album features great musicianship throughout and the guitar soloing is glorious, managing to sustain a high energy level throughout the entirety of the performance.

Some call this the best live album of all time, and I would be tempted to agree. To be sure, this is a very different beast than the preceding studio album, the straight-laced symphonic work Rockpommel's Land. Solar Music Live, in contrast, is a dense, energetic, and powerful jam, as well as being predominantly instrumental. Letting this album play over and over and allowing it to sink in is essential to appropriate enjoyment. Surely, this is a fantastic album, and one which is among the few truly essential live documents in the progressive rock genre. - Greg Northrup [2000]


1. Solar Music I - 3:55
2. Food Sicore - 3:50
3. Solar Music II - 5:57
4. Mulheim Special - 11:59
5. Otto Pankrock - 7:27
6. Golden Mist - 10:06
7. Solar Music III - 9:17

Stefan Danielak (Wildschwein) - Guitar, Vocals
Joachim H. Ehrig (Eroc) - Synthesizer, Drums, Vocals
Volker Kahrs (Mist) - Keyboards, Vocals
Gerd Kuhn (Lupo) - Guitar, Vocals
Bernard Uhlemann (Bar) - Bass, Flute, Percussion

Metronome Musik GmbhH - 837 984-2