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THIRSTY MOON

Jazz Rock/Fusion • Germany


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Thirsty Moon biography
Much collectible Brain label was somewhat of a specialist in releasing German progressive Jazz-rock in the early 70's. Among which were RELEASE MUSIC ORCHESTRA, CORNUCOPIA, EMERGENCY, and THIRSTY MOON. These guys came from Bremen (south of Hamburg) and their debut was produced by Petersen (ex-IKARUS), giving them a typical instrumental jazz-rock sound of the era.

Their first three albums are well worth a spin if you are into that type of music although to my knowledge, their albums have yet to find themselves on an official CD release.

: : : Hugues Chantraine, BELGIUM : : :

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THIRSTY MOON discography


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THIRSTY MOON top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.76 | 62 ratings
Thirsty Moon
1972
3.84 | 52 ratings
You'll Never Come Back
1974
2.79 | 27 ratings
Blitz
1975
3.38 | 14 ratings
A Real Good Time
1976
3.00 | 12 ratings
Starchaser
1981

THIRSTY MOON Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.32 | 12 ratings
I'll Be Back - Live '75
2006
3.86 | 7 ratings
Lunar Orbit - Live at Slagge's Hotel 1976
2011

THIRSTY MOON Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

THIRSTY MOON Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.67 | 3 ratings
Trash Man
2000

THIRSTY MOON Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

THIRSTY MOON Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Thirsty Moon by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1972
3.76 | 62 ratings

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Thirsty Moon
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars THIRSTY MOON were a German Jazz Rock/Krautrock band who released two absolutely incredible albums in the early seventies. This is the debut from 1972 and what a debut! A seven piece band here with an experienced Jazz man in Willi Pape who adds sax, clarinet and flute. He will go on to play with the band DENNIS who released a killer album in 1975. Interesting that this album is produced by Jochen Petersen who played horns and guitar in IKARUS another band I'm a huge fan of. We get a guy playing organ and another playing electric piano. Six of the seven members play percussion and one of those only plays percussion and congas. Of course we get drums, guitar and bass too.

In the liner notes they mention that several of the songs on this album were played on the radio in Bremen their home town. A different time. The opener is worth the price of admission and I would suggest every fan of good music should hear this song. The vocals throughout are in English and man this guy has such a great voice. When he arrives in this song around 1 1/2 minutes in he brings such a warmth and a feel good vibe. Some power in this one and the sax impresses. Check out how it ends as it self implodes in an experimental manner. Favourite song right there. "Big City" is close behind opening with traffic and crowd noise that eventually fade as it then builds with some outstanding bass. The electric piano makes me happy then sax before 2 minutes. So much going on too. The electric piano is back after 5 minutes then guitar. Again the bass is huge here. The closer "Yellow Sunshine" is 21 1/2 minutes long and it does impress. Like the clarinet and guitar. Narration too sounding futuristic. An experimental ending but man what a trip this one is. I have to mention the very dissonant sax on "Rooms Behind Your Mind" and the guitar that hits us like a runaway truck a minute in on "Love Me" and he keeps up this fast and intense playing for 1 1/2 minutes!

Again if you can pick up either or both of the first two THIRSTY MOON albums I wouldn't hesitate.

 Thirsty Moon by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1972
3.76 | 62 ratings

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Thirsty Moon
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars By 1972, the Krautrock scene had blossomed way beyond the hub cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf into a national phenomena attracting an unprecedented number of talented musicians taking a stab at their best spaced out prog rock. Bremen wasn't exactly the epicenter of the scene but did produce some top notch acts like THIRSTY MOON. The band was initiated by the two brothers, guitarist Jürgen Drogies and percussionist Norbert Drogies after splitting up from a band called DRP. After recruiting a whopping five other members they formed THIRSTY MOON, then recorded some demos and sent them out to Brain Records which was one of the Krautrock heavy hitters of the day pumping out many of the well known names such as New!, Cluster, Grobschnitt, Caravan, Atomic Rooster as well as lesser known acts such as the Wolfgang Dauner Group. The band gained a record deal and released their eponymous debut album in 1972 which included the mixing duties of Conny Planck who would become famous for his 80s involvement with Ultravox and the Eurythmics.

The Drogies brothers managed to recruit a stable lineup but one that didn't see eye to eye in musical taste. While the brothers themselves preferred the harder edged blues rock style of Hendrix and Steve Winwood's traffic, most of the other members were more into the jazz-rock styles of bands like Soft Machine and the "Bitch's Brew" era of Miles Davis. The result of their first album is a creative mishmash of both these musical worlds and dished out in creative doses that allow each track to stand out as totally distinct from the other. The album consists of only five tracks with the first four completing the first side of the original vinyl edition and the monstrously long "Yellow Sunshine" swallowing up the entire B side at 21 minutes and 25 seconds. The seven musicians on board unleash a plethora of sounds including electric guitar, bass, saxophone, clarinet and flute. There are two keyboardists with Hans Werner Ranwig dishing out the ubiquitous organ sounds while Michael Kobs handles the electric piano. There is also a larger than usual percussion section with Erwin Noack contributing congas and regular rock drums as well as the Drogies brothers both adding extra percussive touches.

"Morning Sun" begins the albums with a rather typical jazz-rock style that wouldn't sound out of place on, say, an Embryo album but beginning with "Love Me," the band gets more creative and progressive with not only catchy jazz-infused melodies but jumpy, jittery time signature workouts as well as an extra serving of percussive delights. This one is super cool as it has quirky key changes with energetic bombast before simmering down into a mellow jazzy rocker. "Rooms Behind Your Mind" is a short little heavy rocker that offers some substantial guitar delivery as well as a rather funk inspired bass section. While most of the music focuses on instrumental heft, this one displays the Ranwig's lead vocals as well as an Ornette Coleman inspired sax solo that is electrified and sounds like what John Zorn would make famous a decade later. One again the tribal conga drumming offers an intense percussive spine while the dreamy organ fills add an atmospheric touch to the heavy rock drive. "Big City" clocks in at over eight minutes and is a cool original sounding track that offers background sound effects of "Big City" activities with some sort of "dripping" metal percussion that creates a totally indescribable sound. This one is also a nice mixture of Krauty psychedelic rock with jazz-rock. The grand finale is the epic "Yellow Sunshine" which wends and winds through many different moods throughout its 20 minute plus timespan. It begins as a totally ambient spaced out affair but evolves into a melodic rocker that offer moments of bombast as well as freakier segments with none outlasting their welcome.

THIRSTY MOON remains one of the more obscure Krautrock bands to have emerged from Germany's fertile progressive rock scene and admittedly this debut eponymous release failed to inspire me upon first listen. After a few more spins though the entire thing clicked and began to display its creative uniqueness that separates them from the usual Krautrock suspects. While not jazzy enough to be considered a true jazz-rock band, there are more than enough brass moments and compositional approaches that are only a couple steps away from that labeling. This debut album is a brilliant mix of the heavy psych rock of the late 60s and the tripped out ambience of artists like Klaus Schulze or Tangeine Dreamn all topped off with the jazzy and occasionally folk flavored aspects. For me the extra percussive drive makes this one all the more addictive but all the elements are laid out in highly original compositional approaches. Definitely a band that deserves a lot more recognition in the modern day.

 Blitz by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1975
2.79 | 27 ratings

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Blitz
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Suedevanshoe

3 stars Wow, what a change in direction! Thirsty Moon's first two studio albums are top notch hard rocking kraut affairs. This one is not. It's difficult to categorize, very uneven, and, for me, unprecedented. Difficult to categorize in that the musical styles jump all over the map. It's uneven in that one minute Thirsty Moon seems to want to sound like early '70's Harvey Mandel - sometimes rough, sometimes funky, all instrumental. The next song tries to emulate the Meters with its looping funky beats and slick percussion. Then Thirsty Moon will do there best 3 minute Kraut rumble like the opening "Lord of Light" that goes into a pre disco tune "Riding in the Rain" that could as easily have been recorded by Mandrill.

This is unprecedented to my ears in that a progressive group taking such a drastic change in sound exploration takes my breath away. It's obvious this record is influenced heavily by american R and B.

It's taken me five years to develop a taste for it's kitsch factor. I love short instrumental albums, funky beats, and truly "experimental" sound. This wasn't experimental music, it was an experimental approach that failed miserably and led to the dismantling of a true Kraut powerhouse. To me, it's an interesting album, an endearing anomoly.

In my collection it gets four stars. For the average prog listener, I'd say it merits two maybe. Therefore, three it is

 You'll Never Come Back by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1974
3.84 | 52 ratings

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You'll Never Come Back
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by stefro
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Led by the Drogies brothers, Thirsty Moon were a Bremen-based progressive rock outfit who played a spacey, fusion-prog mixture that featured elements of jazz, Pink Floyd-style cosmic rock and intense psychedelic flourishes. Often lumped in with the broad-ranging 'krautrock' crowd - a mistake - Thirsty Moon actually existed in the hazy area between full-on progressive rock and jazz-influenced psychedelia, making them a hard act to categorise. Their first two albums were very much remnants of the 1960's, yet by 1975's 'Blitz' the group had adapted towards a less experimental and more streamlined form of rock designed to capture the attention of radio programmers nationwide. However, for the real Thirsty Moon experience, it is both the group's self-titled debut from 1972 and 1974's superior 'You'll Never Come Back' that prove the key albums, showcasing the German outfit, albeit briefly, at their very best. Issued on the legendary Brain imprint, 'You'll Never Come Back' finds Thirsty Moon eclipsing the imaginative- yet-jumbled form of their debut album, and instead composing lengthy flights-of-fusion-fancy tinged with Eastern mysticism, the key proponent of 'You'll Never Come Back' being the fuller, richer production. The highlights include the fourteen-minute space-time marathon 'Trash Man', and even more so, the epic, cosmic psych-fusion of the wonderful title-track, a twelve-minute freak-out of rather beautiful sonic proportions. A lushly-realised slice of ambient progressive fusion, 'You'll Never Come Back' proves a masterful experience from a group who deserve a higher profile; fans of Ash Ra Tempel, Pink Floyd, Eela Craig, Agitation Free and Soft Machine are urged to investigate right away. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2013
 A Real Good Time by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.38 | 14 ratings

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A Real Good Time
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

3 stars Forth album of this little known band from Germany. Another album with intresting and funy cover art A real good time from 1976 is another worthy album. This time no more lenghty pieces, all are under 6 min and in some parts they sound little, just little more mainstream as on You'lll never... Jazz rock with brass passages and here and there some progressive elements added, a good combination but I think the album sounds date it in some parts, like on On a Saturday night , a bland and dull piece, totaly forgetable. The music begun really to move with A real good time , Cloudy Sky or Sundance, quite good pieces that incapsulates everything Thirsty Moon has good to offer in thet period. Maybe not as solid as You'll Never Come Back but defintly worth checking out. 3 solid stars, nothing more or less. One of the bands that somehow gone unnoticed when talking about german bands from the'70s.
 You'll Never Come Back by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1974
3.84 | 52 ratings

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You'll Never Come Back
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

3 stars 3.5 really

Thirsty Moon was one of the german bands from early '70s from Brain records label together with Emergency or Cornucopia who wanted to make a name in progressive/jazz rock field. Well, the second album You'll never come back from 1973 is definetly their best work from the catalogue and for sure an album that must be discoverd by younger generation. This one of those albums that aren't instantly catchy, I begun to fuly appreciated only 5-6 listnings. Combining jazz rock passages with some progressive moves and aswell interluded with long spacey instrumental sections with brass parts this album is a winner.. Trash Man is the perfect example and the best tune of the album. Only 5 pieces, two of them quite long where the musicianship is more then ok, lots of tempo changes, sax make quite a nice figure here. This is a pleasent album, with plenty of memorable passages, maybe nothing is groundbreaking or inovativge, but is well constructed and aswell a very nice voice from Harald Konietzko. The funny erotc cover art is aswell intresting like the music. 3-3.5 stars for me.

 Thirsty Moon by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1972
3.76 | 62 ratings

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Thirsty Moon
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Ogilla

5 stars Unique kind of Jazz, weird effects, especially on guitar and keyboards. Lots of 'air' instruments added. Powerfull bass lines, nice drums. Thirsty Moon never sticks to the conventional, instead, seems to just play for themselves, wich can lead you to an enormous appreciation, or a '[%*!#] this band' kind of feel. Percussions also are a big part of the album, giving that groove to lead you trough the songs without loosing any interest. Saxophone playing is precise, cutting trough your speakers the way I like it. The singer's voice is excellent, fitting really well to the music. Give this a try, and you'll see if you're a 'now that's brilliant job!' kind of person, or a 'damn this is so much crap'. 5 stars to raise the pathetic score people give this album, it's a well-earned 4 stars.
 Thirsty Moon by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1972
3.76 | 62 ratings

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Thirsty Moon
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars A significant name of the German krautrock scene,THIRSTY MOON were found in Bremen in 1972 and started as a 7-member band.By the same year their epontmous debut was already recorded and released by Brain Records.

It consists of four short tracks and one epic jam,clocking at over 20 minutes.The album follows the typical German mode of krautrock with strong interplays,long jamming and a lot of space for endless improvisated musicianship.Saxes are everywhere played by Willie Pape and ranging from smooth passages to abstract heavy parts.There is also some lovely percussion work throughout the listening,featuring also nice organ and groovy electric pianos.Vocals are English with a rough edge,which fit very much to the band's style,while the epic of the album conatins also a lot of spacey parts,charcterized by the unbelievable saxes,the great percussion work and the smooth flutes.Sometimes it seems that the tracks are out of any logical structure,but repeated listenings will give you the time and chance to appreciate THIRSTY MOON's undenieable talent.Headed mainly to fans of jazz and kraut rock with heavy emphasis on good jams and improvisations!

 You'll Never Come Back by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1974
3.84 | 52 ratings

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You'll Never Come Back
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars THIRSTY MOON are a German band who play a Jazz Rock style of music with flute, sax and cello besides the traditional instruments. Lots of percussion as well.There are vocals (English) on two tracks. Lots to like here and I love the jamming hypnotic style they often offer up.

"I See You" opens with a catchy ryhthm with lots of percussion and keys. A change 2 minutes in as it settles down with vocals. A new melody a minute later that is quite relaxing and trippy with lots of guitar. Vocals return 4 1/2 minutes as sax comes in as well. Sax become more prominant 6 minutes in. "Trash Man" is the longest track at 14 1/2 minutes. Lots of tempo changes early as they switch gears a lot. Vocals before a minute. A complete change 2 minutes in as acoustic guitar and light drums take over. Back to a heavy beat 3 minutes in with strong vocals. Sax after 4 minutes. I like the organ after 5 minutes, great sound 6 1/2 minutes in. Sax is back a minute later. Guitar really starts to get aggressive 11 minutes in. Another good melody 13 minutes in with drums leading the way. Sax is back late. This song is excellent. Love the twists and turns.

"Tune In" has such a good intro. Great beat as sax plays over top. The tempo picks up 2 minutes in as sax continues to lead the way. A really good song. "You'll Never Come Back" has no melody or beat until 2 1/2 minutes in when drums and sax come in. The sound builds. Piano and bass 5 minutes in. It settles with cello after 6 1/2 minutes. It gets experimental a minute later. A good beat with sax 8 1/2 minutes in as sax starts to lead the way. Flute after 12 minutes to end it. "Das Fest Der Volker" is a fairly mellow track that builds.

This one took a while to click but now I wonder why it took so long. I like their ideas and style. An interesting and enjoyable listen. Quite the erotic cover art as well.

 Thirsty Moon by THIRSTY MOON album cover Studio Album, 1972
3.76 | 62 ratings

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Thirsty Moon
Thirsty Moon Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Atavachron
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Rich and warm first entry from a helluva band though it may take a few tries to get into this generous record, prog-jazz-space orchestra Thirsty Moon definitely came to play. Seemingly a jam album but that appearance fades as we begin to notice the clear vision, musicianship, taste, and subtle German precision. The band is given life by leader Norbert Drogies' hungry performance on drums and brother/co-leader Jurgen's support on guitar. No waiting here, the energy kicks right in for 'Morning Sun', pumping muscle turning into a smooth respite, Michael Kobs' cool electric piano, great layers of brass from Willi Pape and a bit of Krautrock trance. Strange and playful psych tune 'Love Me' is built with care, and 'Rooms Behind Your Mind' explodes with progressive energy, wild squawking from Pape, Hans Werner Ranwig's beautiful organ and Jurgen's black riffs. And 'Big City' lives up to its name, a sprawling nine-minute urban dig that smells of heat, fumes, food, people and life as it bustles forward. Twenty minute dirge 'Yellow Sunshine' is an ambitious opera that unravels gradually, only giving up its treasure to those who listen in full, packed with horn arrangements, killer organ, wailing space odysseys and amazing moments.

Like a shy but deep and brilliant person, Thirsty Moon is something you must invest some time into to benefit from, only later returning with stories of adventures in the night.

Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition.

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