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REBIRTH

Birth Control

Heavy Prog


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Birth Control Rebirth album cover
3.68 | 107 ratings | 7 reviews | 17% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1973

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. She's Got Nothing on You (5:04)
2. Mister Hero (6:42)
3. Grandjeanville (1:03)
4. No Shade Is Real (4:41)
5. M.P.C. (1:56)
6. Together Alone Tonight (10:28)
7. Back from Hell (8:08)

Total Time 38:02

Line-up / Musicians

- Bruno Frenzel / lead guitar, alto sax (2), vocals
- Dirk Steffens / lead guitar, 12-string guitar (3), vocals
- Zeus B. Held / organ, electric piano, Mellotron, trumpet & trombone (2), flute (5)
- Peter Föller / bass, triangle (6), lead vocals
- Bernd Noske / drums, Moog drums (7), percussion, lead vocals

Releases information

Artwork: CBS Schallplatten GmbH

LP CBS ‎- 65 963 (1973, Germany)

CD Columbia ‎- 483600 2 (1995, Europe)
CD Repertoire Records ‎- REP 4943 (2001, Germany) Remastered by Eroc

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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BIRTH CONTROL Rebirth ratings distribution


3.68
(107 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(17%)
17%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(48%)
48%
Good, but non-essential (29%)
29%
Collectors/fans only (6%)
6%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

BIRTH CONTROL Rebirth reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Progbear
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars A massive overhaul in the lineup this time round, with not only a new keys player (Bernd "Zeus B." Held) but also a new singing bass player (Peter Föller) and, in addition, a second lead guitarist (Dirk Steffens). True to form this was a transitional release, with the band resisting the recent prog-rock developments of HOODOO MAN, opting instead for a more pedestrian boogie-rock approach that brings to mind Grand Funk Railroad, Uriah Heep or ZZTop. On the plus side, this is fine for Peter Föller, whose gruff, bluesy voice is well-suited to this type of material. On the minus side, it feels like a big step backwards artistically speaking.

The only diversions from the straight-ahead guitar-rock style are the two short instrumentals-Steffens' acoustic guitar spotlight piece "Grandjeanville" and Held's jazzy and mellow "M.P.C."-and "Back From Hell". The latter is more or less in the progressive hard-rock style of HOODOO MAN, and is easily the highlight of the album. I could have done without the extended drum solo, though, Moog-drum or no Moog-drum.

Easily the least interesting of their early albums. Get HOODOO MAN first from this era, and this one last (if you must).

Review by Seyo
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars "Rebirth" is usually overshadowed by its predecessor "Hoodoo Man" which was often regarded as the band's peak. However, I find "Rebirth" if not better then surely more interesting and refreshing release, due in part to the change of music style. Here we have diversity from heavy boogie hard rock to funk to acoustic ballads. If you like DEEP PURPLE/URIAH HEEP style of "progressive hard rock" then you will enjoy this album. Apart from strong favorites "Back From Hell" and "She's Got Nothing On You", I suggest to pay attention to excellent "Mister Hero", a brass and clavinet filled power funk number, for me the best moment on the album. Overall I would rate this at 3,5 stars, slightly better than "Hoodoo Man". Oh, and by the way - BIRTH CONTROL has nothing to do with KRAUTROCK!
Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Fourth album from this band for quite a line-up change. I quite liked their first two ones (and the heavy prog genre as well) and even if the band might call this one as Rebirth, I wouldn't go that far while speaking about this work.

If the opening number is quite decent, "Mister Hero" features too many boring and funky parts to please me, even if some very good organ play is featured during the second and last part of this song. But all these trumpets are really unbearable IMO.

If you are ever familiar with "The Knife" (yes, THE one), you will be surprised by the intro of "No Shade Is Real". Not for long, unfortunately. Vocals kind of ruin this one but the instrumental and heavy keys oriented part does deserve a mention.

"MPC" is an incredibly soft (but alas waaaaaaay too short) and one of the most beautiful musical moment out of this album. Deep, emotional, and profoundly beautiful. Nothing to do with "Together Alone Tonight". A "shouting" event with little inspiration, I'm afraid. Some good keys here and there as well as good guitar breaks is holding this album out of water. But only by an inch.

The best of Rebirth being "Back From Hell" (which is the closing number). An orgy of great keys and a fantastic rhythmic section. The highlight. A great drum solo (which is not frequent on a studio album) is featured, and I tend to like such efforts when performed at this level.

I can't really say that this "Birth Control" record is great. Just a good album. Three stars.

Latest members reviews

5 stars Rebirth is from Birth Control's best period,and their best album. The band straddle the world of jazz rock and their heavy prog background in a really effective and refreshingly creative way with this record, which could very well satisfy fusion lovers, as well as those of heavy prog. This is not ... (read more)

Report this review (#623129) | Posted by presdoug | Monday, January 30, 2012 | Review Permanlink

4 stars REALLY: 4,11 (VERY GOOD BUY! Excellent addition in your discography!) Good album. Too Americam. And this to the end is a big merit. Why from that originality that does not ruin. It admit to have bought this album for "She's Got Nothing On You" that I listened to varied times on the radio stat ... (read more)

Report this review (#65442) | Posted by | Thursday, January 19, 2006 | Review Permanlink

4 stars A much underrated album. It not only contains the all-time stage favourites 'Back from hell' and 'She's got nothing on you' but also great songs like 'No shade is real' (my personal B.C. favourite) an 'Mr. Hero' (with a brass arrangement which works surprisingly well). Apart from 'Hoodoo Man' ... (read more)

Report this review (#57014) | Posted by ekaton | Saturday, November 19, 2005 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Together with "Hoodoo Man" this album marks the peak in the career of the german Krautrock-pioneers BirthControl. THIS IS HIGH-CLASS-PROGRESSIVE ROCK, without any filler on the album. Each track has specific characteristics: First of all, we have the organ-dominated opening number "She´s got noth ... (read more)

Report this review (#28905) | Posted by | Sunday, January 23, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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