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OHRENSCHMAUS

Ougenweide

Prog Folk


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Ougenweide Ohrenschmaus album cover
3.73 | 22 ratings | 4 reviews | 14% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 1976

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Bombarde-Ment (1:10)
2. Kommt Ihr Jungfern Helft Mir Klagen (5:03)
3. Eines Freitags Im Wald (3:11)
4. Pferdesegen (Contra Uermes) (2:00)
5. Bald Anders (6:32)
6. Im Badehaus (3:08)
7. Owê Wie Jaemerliche (4:21)
8. Engelboltes Tochter Aven (3:01)
9. Rumet Uz Die Schäemel Und Die Stüele (1:54)
10. Alfol (1:00)
11. Der Schlemihl (3:55)
12. Merseburger Spieluhr (0:37)

Total time 35:52

Line-up / Musicians

- Olaf Casalich / vocals, drums, percussion, tubular bells
- Minne Graw / vocals, harmonium, piano
- Wolfgang Henko / acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, vocals
- Stefan Wulff / bass, piano, zither, accordion
- Frank Wulff / acoustic guitar, mandolin, flute, recorder, Indian harmonium, bouzouki, bombard, vocals
- Jürgen Isenbart / glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, drums, tubular bells, vocals

With:
- Achim Reichel / backing vocals (4), producer
- NDR Sinfonieorchester / strings (2,5,7)
- Peter Hecht / string arranger & conductor (2,5,7)
- Stewart Fahey / trumpet & trombone (6)

Releases information

Artwork: Pete Dine (photo)

LP Polydor ‎- 2371 700 (1976, Germany)

CD Bear Family Records ‎- BCD 16779 AH (2006 , Germany) Together with 1976 album "Eulenspiegel" on one disc, new cover

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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OUGENWEIDE Ohrenschmaus ratings distribution


3.73
(22 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(14%)
14%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(55%)
55%
Good, but non-essential (27%)
27%
Collectors/fans only (5%)
5%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

OUGENWEIDE Ohrenschmaus reviews


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

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
4 stars Third album from this Hamburg sextet and the second with the same line-up, Ohrenschmaus (ear-fest in German) is slightly different album (the one that broke them nationally), this short (34 mins) album is a little more upbeat (even danceable at times) and is yet another essential album of theirs. Sporting a charming artwork (the kid is of the Wulff brothers' family), the album is again full of old Middle High German texts (from the 13th Century) put to the group's music or traditional songs.

After a rather difficult start (the opening track is thankfully short, but sounds eerily badly played), the album settles quickly into its groove with the jumpy Kommt (the middle section is superb) and the reflective Freitags with its dominating piano. The album climaxes with the superb Bald Anders, which is constantly evolving and twists your hearing sense silly. After the charming Owe Wie Jaermerliche (where Minne Graw's voice reaches treble peaks), the instrumental Engelboltes is sending the listener to heaven again, with delightful drumming, great flute work. Around the end of the album we are treated to a superb Der Schlemihl track and a short outro.

Yet another great album that only confirmed Ougenweide's reputation as a adventurous group, reaching into pre-classical and medieval music (much like Malicorne did in the same years) and if the album is also essential, once linked with the following Eulenspiegel album, it becomes a must-have.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars In 1974 the Hamburg-based monthly magazine ''Sounds'' wrote for Ougenweide:''The lyrics aren't from Volkslieder, but from old German poesy, and namely so old that its language isn't comprehensible today and has to be translated.''.And that's was a fact, because the band started to use texts drawn from the Merseburg Incantations, a series of spells dating since the 9th centure and written in Ancient German.By 1975 the band had shared the stage with similar-sounding acts and artists like Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Amazing Blondel and Alan Stivell.Entering 1976 they would release their third album ''Ohrenschmaus'', recorded at the studios of Polydor in Hamburg.

''Ohrenschmaus'' sets the new standards of the band, which were now a blend of Folk Pop and an elaborate soft Prog Rock, containing some impressive instrumental work for such a smooth style chosen.Flutes, pipes, percussion, acoustic guitar and mandolines still dominate Ougenweide's music, but the electric guitars and omnipresent piano along with the constant use of bass pushes the band a tad closer to the basic principles of Prog Rock.And while the short tracks are basically acoustic explorations on Medieval Music with heavy vocal content and a clear insistence on delivering a raw side of archaic soundscapes, the longer ones showcase Ougenweide's highly artistic nature with regular bass and drum entries and some qualitive interplays on piano, flute, acoustic and electric guitars.You can even hear some pre-Classical textures, JETHRO TULL-esque vibes through the theatrical vocals and rhythmic lines, based on flutes, piano and strings, and HOELDRELIN-like elaborate arrangements with a light symphonic nature thrown in a heavy Folk content.The flipside appears to be musically stronger with all these elements present, archaic tunes blended with light rock qualities and symphonic arrangements, apparently having more space for instrumental lines and a generally lifted level of energy with more pronounced electric parts.

Solid Prog Folk.The odd Kraut Folk sound of the earlier days has given its place to a more human mixture of mellow Prog and Folk, the result is mostly pretty fine and the room for some instrumental exercises has expanded.Recommended.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Ougenweide were a German group on a similar medieval kick to the likes of Steeleye Span in the UK; indeed, their name and several of the sources they take their lyrics from are in archaic High German, so the overall effect is a bit like an Anglophone folk band performing in Chaucer's English. This is a mellow, sunny folk-rock album with extensive medieval influences, much like the sort of thing that the UK's own Gryphon might have turned out during their Midnight Mushrumps phase, offering a charming and approachable structure within which they work more esoteric medieval motifs and techniques. Not a classic of its type, but a decidedly enjoyable one nonetheless.

Latest members reviews

4 stars Ougenweide is the german answer to the British folk movement, especially to Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and Pentangle. If you listen to Ohrenschmaus for the first time, please skip the first song called bombardement, which is a enthousiastic marsbeat with bagpipes: this will enhance you ... (read more)

Report this review (#642795) | Posted by the philosopher | Tuesday, February 28, 2012 | Review Permanlink

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