UHRSPRUNG

Excellent German group, propably from Hamburg, associated with the political Rock movement of the country, but structurally much closer to Progressive Rock.They started as an 8-piece act with Kalla Wefel on bass/guitar/voice, Peter Robert on keys, Carl-F. Doerwald on voice/flute, Klaus-Peter Harbort on drums, Hans-Werner Schwarz on guitar and three additional members in choirs, Birger Holm, Axel Ratsch and Philippe Ressing.Their debut ''Uhrsprung'' was recorded at The Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and it was released in 1976 on Trikont.

Das Uhrsprung, that is the alarm clock, ticks at the start of the listening, giving birth to a complex, emphatic and intricate Progressive Rock album, somewhere between the symphonic side of GROBSCHNITT and the adventurous workouts of GENTLE GIANT, although Oktober were actually a very original group.The long tracks consist of very complicated but conveincing music, full of stunning breaks and time signatures, highlighted by the tremendous synth acrobatics of Robert and the impressive guitar work of Schwarz.Plenty of Classical interludes and some more spacey themes are also present, while the vocals are extremely theatrical and sometimes over the top with eerie choirs, propably with satirical lyrics and sung in German.Melodies are not absent either with a rather NOVALIS approach, but generally this work shows glimpses of a masterful effort in the amazing interplays and the combination of rich, intense music with its strong lyrical content.Piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers change all the time, creating obscure textures of genuine musical progress.

An overlooked, rare gem of Kraut/Symphonic Rock.It contains all the fundamental components of a great Progressive Rock album, resulting a beautiful and very original album with impressive and memorable compositions, despite its complex nature.Highly recommended.

This is one of those albums where the word "obscure" is not an exaggeration in the least. Just try finding information about this band and you'll see what I mean. Also it has yet to be released on cd which certainly helps keep this band from becoming more well known. It's interesting that they sing in German because most Krautrock bands sang in English. The thing that struck me the most when I first heard it was the vocals which are interesting to say the least. While this band is listed under Krautrock(and I don't disagree with that) there are lots of Symphonic flourishes which bring GROBSCHNITT to mind. Still this is an adventerous album with lots of interesting ideas. Bizarre is a word that comes to mind quite often.

"Famile" gets things started and it starts with a clock ticking then an alarm going off before the band kicks in hard. It then settles right down as solo double tracked vocals come in(yikes) then organ and spoken words which really remind me of WIGWAM's "Pride Of The Biosphere". It does kick back in quickly though. Love the melancholy 2 minutes in, especially the synths as the vocals return. Great sound again before 4 minutes with all that melancholy. Nice guitar here as well. And check out the drumming late. Nice. "Schule" opens with the sounds of an office I think with the phones ringing and people talking in the background. It kicks in with some nice bass and drums as the vocals join in. Man I really enjoy the instrumental work, especially the synths which sound really good. A guitar solo is followed by flute before 3 minutes. More excellent bass and drums in this almost all instrumental track.

The last three songs are all over 8 minutes in length and "Betrieb" is up first. This is more Symphonic and laid back with lots of vocals early on. The guitar grinds away after 2 minutes as the vocals return almost speaking the lyrics as the guitar continues. A change 3 1/2 minutes in as it becomes silly including the vocals. Another change before 5 minutes as percussion leads the way with distant vocals. "Staat Und Solidaritatslied" picks up quickly with synths, drums and flute leading the way. Vocals join in. This is really good. A calm after a minute but not for long. Great sound after 1 1/2 minutes. Passionate vocals join in. Catchy stuff before 4 minutes then we get a calm with synths and melancholic guitar taking over. Vocals are back. Organ after 5 1/2 minutes then it kicks in hard with guitar. Nice. Such a proggy track. "Der Traum Des Schmieds" blesses us with those melancholic synths before it turns heavy briefly. Vocals and a calm follow as this continues until after 2 1/2 minutes when it picks up without vocals. Vocals are back as the heaviness comes and go. Check out the guitar after 4 1/2 minutes. Great sound here. Melancholic synths are back as the guitar stops. A Symphonic vibe takes over reminding me of YES after 6 minutes.

Man those vocals have character although they certainly won't be for everyone. This is a real find for me though as that Krautrock spirit is felt throughout this album. Adventerous and interesting are words that come to mind. A solid 4 stars and maybe closer to 4.5 stars.

Oktober is an obscure German band who released 3 albums between 1976-1979. The band's name is a reference to the October Revolution of 1917. They were one of several so called German 'polit rock' bands of that time similar to Floh de Cologne, Ton Steine Scherben, Lokomotive Kreuzberg and others. These bands emerged after the 1968 protest movement as part of the extra-parliamentary opposition in West Germany. Common to all of them were lyrics sung in German with a political agenda against the ruling political system and the establishment.

The debut album of Oktober is called 'Uhrsprung', which is a creative composition of the words 'Uhr' (clock) and 'Sprung' (leap). Both words together can associate with a clock that is ticking, a time that will come and the word 'Ursprung' which means origin. The vocals are sung in a theatrical manner like a layman choir, not in the way of trained singers, because they represent the voices of the common people who declaim against the system, proclaim demands and dream of a better future.

The album consists of 5 tracks. The first three Familie (family), Schule (school) and Betrieb (work place) focus on the areas of life, where the person experience oppression. The forth song Staat und Solidaritätslied (state and solidarity song) is about the political fight in the state, and the last song Der Traum des Schmieds (dream of a blacksmith) is a dream about the awakening of the workers class.

The musical style is pure high quality progressive rock similar to Yes, Genesis, ELP or Gentle Giant. Notwithstanding these influences, the band manage to create an own distinctive sound with excellent instrument playing throughout on the symphonic side of prog. Unlike in Anglo-American countries, in Germany there is a strict separation between 'popular/rock/jazz music' and 'classical music'. Crossing the borders between rock and classical, as is done here, can be regarded as an affront against the establishment, so the use of this style is not surprising. It can be seen as the music of the future, where its 'progressiveness' is meant in the sense of historical advancement.