THOUGHTS

One of a very short list of German bands that eschewed the temptations of Krautrock and looked to the English Canterbury Scene for inspiration ( i believe Tortilla Flat was the only other German band to go this route). The Heidelberg based ZYMA stands out not only for appearing last in alphabetical order on Canterbury lists but also for its unique style of jazz-fusion that it was flavored with heavy bass-driven funk grooves, Keith Emerson keyboard heft and feisty vocal interactions between drummer Udo Kübler and the feminine charm of Dorle Ferber who also played violin and flute. The result was an oddball mix that add those charming Canterbury jazz chord progressions and instantly lovable keyboard warmth.

Although formed as far back as the golden prog year of 1972 by keyboardist Günter Hornung, this sextet didn't release its first of two albums until 1978, a few years after the Canterbury bug had waned a bit as the public's appetite for progressive music had suddenly been replaced by simpler pop and punk sounds however make no doubt about it, some bands like ZYMA were hell bent for leather in keeping the classic sounds alive as heard on the band's debut THOUGHTS. Right away from the getgo ZYMA stands out of the massive list of prog bands that populated the 1970s with an interesting concoction of Canterbury influenced jazz-rock but also incorporated heavy doses of folk, classical piano runs and even space rock all within the opening title track alone. The beauty of THOUGHTS is that it is, well, quite thoughtful in how all the musical elements are strewn about in the exhilarating flow of progressively infused rock performances.

The original consisted of five tracks with four of them exceeding the eight minute mark thus leaving a lot of time for thoughtful development of mood enhancing prog workouts including bass grooving jam sessions such as heard in the beginning of the second track "Businessman" which seems to incorporate symphonic prog references in the vein of Renaissance (Annie Haslam has been cited as the most similar female vocalist for Dorle) along with the homegrown jazz-fusion bombast of Tortilla Flat, however what really sets this visionary band apart was the addition of the violin which completely takes things in a different direction. Add to that those crazy symphonic ELP keyboard workouts that incorporate the period piece sounds of the Fender Rhodes, minimoog, piano and harpsichord with some solos getting all wild and crazy and even entering Keith Emerson territory! Oh yeah baby!

After the proggier than thou workout of "Businessman,"One Way Street" takes the listener on a completely different journey with call and response vocals and a complete curveball detour into a sound collage with vibraphones keeping it all focused on a journey. The track is somewhat based on what sounds like a Canterbury piano run but once again there's somewhat of a Renaissance feel as well especially on boogie-woogie piano runs heard on albums like "Scheherazade and Other Stories." Add to that a few Hatfield and the North references and you are dealing with an interesting array of proggy ideas all freewheeling on overdrive! And speaking of Hatfield and the North, no other track on board sounds more like that pioneering supergroup than the closing "Wasting Time" which features Northettes sounding vocals as well as those one-of-a-kind chord progressions however ZYMA implements a very energetic bass groove as well as violin which keeps it somewhat original despite the clear influences.

Overall THOUGHTS is a quite beautifully constructed album even though certain parts are quite derivative of other artists and the album could've been streamlined a bit further into the band's own stylistic approach but in the end ZYMA's debut is quite a beautiful album that makes each track count in terms of creative expression therefore this album is quite easy to listen to as there are so many unique elements added to ensure that THOUGHTS wasn't just a copy and paste album but rather a fascinating construct of influences and idiosyncratic insertions. If you're lucky you own the so far only reissue in the form of the Garden of Delights CD reissue that came out in 1998 which features two bonus tracks which take the band into even stranger territories but it's the original 1978 album that will keep you coming back and ZYMA crafted one of the Canterbury essentials IMHO.