KRAAN

Let It Out appeared when the German Fusion band was at the top of their popularity. Some line-up changes occurred during the process (keyboard player Ingo Bischof from KARTHAGO was added, and saxophonist Johannes Pappert left before finishing the album; he formed his own Fusion band ALTO). After the producer Conny Plank's suggestion, the recording was made in the country house where the band used to practise.

Near-instrumentals 'Degado' and 'Heimweh nach Übersee' feature some vocalising, as well as the Kraftwerkian, experimental 'Der Maschine'. There's only two songs with proper vocals. The deliciously funky 'Bandits in the Wood' is about paranoia. I enjoy especially Bischof's airy keyboards in it, but the stressed singing is rather bad. Good humoured instrumentals such as 'Luftpost' and 'Prima Klima' seem to mix CAMEL-like flexible melodies, the virtuosity of American Fusion (Return To Forever) and the lightly funky groove of STEELY DAN. An interesting and happy natured album by one of Germany's too forgotten jazzy prog bands that I should get some more. 3½ stars.

This is the best known album from this German band and also a fan favourite. There are some differences here compared to the band's first two albums. The main difference is, unlike the first two self-produced albums, this was produced by legendary producer/engineer Conny Plank who would continue to work with Kraan in the future. Another difference is that they get more accessible and song-oriented here, whereas the first album was very Krautrock sounding and improvisational and the second somewhere in between the two. Andy Nogger is also the last album with the original four piece line-up; the next album will add a keyboardist. There are vocals here in English, but it is still the actual music that grabs your attention. This is jazz and funk influenced rock music with great bass work from Helmut Hattler, with the saxophone being altered and modified; sometimes it sounds a keyboard.

"Stars" is some jazzy funk rock which features some Middle-Eastern inspired guitar lines. Also a bluesy guitar solo. The title track is the highlight of the album...prog-funk at its finest. This features a great memorable guitar riff and a melody on modified saxophone to die for. The rhythm section is as tight as tight can get. The only drawback may be the vocals - they are delivered in a weird way (as if the singer was intoxicated) that doesn't really add to the song. Would probably make a better instrumental, but it's still a great song anyway. "Nam Nam" is another standout track. Beginning as a smooth jazzy laid-back rock song, it picks up the pace later. Lots of room for the members to jam and solo. Great instrumental.

"Son Of The Sun" is a strong vocal song. Hattler's bass work is great here. The drumming stands out as well. Spacey sound effects at the end. "Holiday am Marterhorn" is a live favourite. Great melodic guitar and bass lines in this track. The melodies the saxophone plays are great as well. The interplay between the instruments is very well done. In concert this track gave the group lots of room to jam and improvise. You get a hint of all that on the studio version. Another standout instrumental.

"Home" starts out both spacey and jazzy. Goes into a groove as the vocals arrive. Lots of spacey effects here. I love the basslines in "Yellow Bamboo." The melody on saxophone is superb. Gets looser for awhile with some Middle-Eastern inspired sax playing. More studio altered sounds towards the end. A solid studio album (thanks to Mr. Plank) but like King Crimson and Magma, Kraan are at their best in a live setting. If you like your prog with some funkiness to it, give this a try. 4 stars.

This is KRAAN's latest called "Diamonds" released in 2010. I had high hopes for this one after being completely taken by their previous two records called "Through" and "Psychedelic Man" respectively. Both have a sound that is so different from their seventies days but I love them both. Well that sound is still here even though they're down to a trio as the keyboardist Ingo Bischof has left. The one problem is that they have implimented some dance beats to their music. Not a lot fortunately but enough to feel embarrased a couple of times when customers were in the store as I thought to myself "My store ain't no stinkin' disco !" Oh well there's not a lot but this is a definite step down from the previous two albums hence the 3 star rating.

Gotta love the cover art though as we see someone on the street painting on a canvas and the result is the album cover from "The Psychedelic Man". "Akua" is laid back and relaxing. It's barely mid-paced with a beat and more. "Diamonds" is funky with vocals although it changes each time on the chorus to an uplifting mood. I like it. "Marienbad" has a rich sound and a solid beat in this laid back song. Beautiful stuff. "The Schuh" is uptempo with vocals and I like the bass after 4 minutes. "Neu-Rosenheim Suite" is another mid-paced rich sounding instrumental.

"Ring My Bell" has a heavy beat as the bass kicks in with whispered vocals. He then sings as themes are repeated. Prominant guitar comes and goes. "Soul" is my favourite. A nice heavy rhythm kicks in and this sounds so good. "Club 20" kicks in with a beat. I like this. Melancholic guitar comes and goes. Some great sounding bass after 2 1/2 minutes then a dance beat. Yikes ! "Ab Nach Kaspel" is all about the dance beats. No thanks. "Am Hafen" is a nice relaxed tune. "Zoe's Zoo" ends it and I love the tone of the guitar. It's almost spacey 3 minutes in then the guitar with a beat returns. Great way to end the album.

Lots to like but some misses too.

I like a lot of progressive music, but Kraan is the group I listen to the most--primarily because they have music that suits each type of mood. If I want experimental, I listen to their first album. If I want music to turn up loud and swill beers to, I'll turn on Wintrup or Andy Nogger. If I want fusion, they have many prime examples. If I want contemplative, watered down (not a negative for me) rock with hints of jazz I'll turn on Flyday of Through.

Let it Out isn't their best album, but it encapsulates the spirit Kraan's history. The songs are rollicking (Bandits in the Woods, Let it Out), jazzy (Luftpost, Prima Clima), experimental (Die Maschine) and watered down (Degado, Picnic International), making for an uneven album.

Still, this album is a hell of a lot of fun, and the last in their discography where Kraan seems to really "Let it Out".

That's why I like Kraan the most over the other prog groups in my collection. They obviously have fun playing whatever material is in front of them, and I find so much prog is buoyed by bombast and technicality and surreal imagery the fun gets sucked out.

An album filled with spirit that embodies the past, present, and future of this great German kollektiv.

Featuring an eclectic sound heavily-informed by elements of avant-garde jazz, ethnic folk and psychedelic experimentation, Kraan were surely one of the most underrated of the German acts to be collected under the far-reaching 'krautrock' banner, though like many similar groups their reputation has since been deservedly re-evaluated. Released in 1972, this self-titled effort was the first of four albums - 'Andy Nogger', 'Wintrup' and 'Let It Out' being the other three - that explored a kind of ethnic rock style, though later efforts, such as the incendiary 'Kraan Live', would see the group morph considerably into much more jazz- orientated outfit. However, it is the group's fiercely-original earlier material that best exemplifies their trademark style, this debut the pick of a pretty fine bunch of albums thanks to a clutch of energetic tracks, the finely-worked 'M.C. Esher', it's exotic follow-up 'Kraan Arabia' and the lengthy, ethnic-spiced, multi-part epic 'Head' - which features a killer opening guitar riff - taking the listener on a hazy jaunt through colourful krautrock territory. The group's main man is by all accounts saxophonist Johannes Pappert, and here he is ably assisted by guitarist Peter Wolbrandt - who also provides vocals - bassist Helmut Hattler and drummer Jan Fride, each of whom are given plenty of time and space to express their considerable instrumental powers, the breathless band interplay that fills much of the eighteen-minute-long 'Head' reaching skill levels most top progressive rock groups would be proud of. Imagine a slightly more acoustic and less abrasive version of Can crossed with the organic tones of Yatha Sidhra and a strong jazz bent and you kind of get the picture, though Kraan's sonic blueprint(just like their deliberately off-key vocals) remains a pretty singular one. Heralded as a major influence on a diverse array of modern acts, a prime example being Brit psych-crusties the Ozric Tentacles, this is yet another representation of the wonderful diversity on offer during the peak years of the German underground. Inventive, interesting and exhilarating, this comes highly recommended. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Kraan - Live (1975)

Kraan is a German rock, krautrock and jazz-rock influenced group. I have never listened to other records of the band, but I was excited to listen to the band for the first time. On Kraan Live we find a brilliant group of tight-playing live musicians with immense rhythmical talent. The album has little song-writing and perhaps the melodic side isn't too strong on most tracks, but it's simply great to hear a band plays so tight and the recording sound is among the best I ever heard. The band has a 'light' sound with the a subtle bass (with some melodic parts), the best of drums, great funky rhythmical guitar and some electronic sounding wind-section.

Kraan plays both long tracks with plenty space of improvisation and some shorter tracks. Overall the atmospheres are quite happy with at times an almost Canterbury-feel crazy happiness. Some parts of the live set are really exciting (mainly on side one, two and four) and some tracks are a bit too neutral in atmosphere for my taste. Mainly both Andy Nogger parts and Lonesome Liftboy suffer from this aspect. On side two Holiday am Matterhorn and Sarahs Ritt durch den Schwarzwald are both brilliant tracks and the excitement and rhythmcial development, solo's and tight playing are a real winner. Kraan Arabia is also a strong track on side four with some interesting sections and eastern influences.

As mentioned before, the production of this live album is perfect. I would not have mind mixing the loose live recordings into one fluent live mix.

Conclusion. Great, mainly instrumental rock live-album with jazz-rock influences that is very attractive for people who are musicians themselves and fans of the band. Somehow I just admire how professional this album sounds. Not per se an excellent addition to a prog-rock collection, but worthwhile for every-one who wants to hear some great musicians delivering the goods. Three and a halve stars. I decided to lift the record to four stars because of the replay it has had. It also works very well when I have company.

As far as I know, Kraan didn't make anything valuable since Wiederhoren, although their music in the eighties can be acceptable, if no progressive dimension is expected, especially if one keeps in mind the general trend in that time. After 2000. Peter Wolbrandt led-Kraan didn't even try to revive and reactualize the spirit and excitement of their brilliant and successful albums from the seventies, remaining in the field of easy and non-demanding ambient jazz-rock, that could be easily listened to while driving home from work or to a nearby picnic. Not to be misunderstood, Peter Wolbrandt, Ingo Bischof and company are very good musicians, but Kraan without kraut elements is likely to be doomed to mean and paleness. Psychedelic Man is no exception at all, even though there are some fine songs in it like Dakkar, Miracle Days and Come Back. Of course the better side of the package is the bonus dvd disc Live at Finkenbach Festival 2005. To see Kraan on the screen, with video and sound excellence, is a sort of privilege to all Kraan loyalists who consider their Live 1975. to be one of the best achievements in the history of rock. The dvd list tells a lot: the repertoire brings songs from Wiederhoren and older albums, including inevitable Kraan Arabia, inspired by a melody from Radio Bagdad. The whole concert proves that Kraan is definitely capable of offering us something more interesting (and progressive of course!) than the products that have been coming out from the studio in the last thirty years.

KRAAN had been disbanded for many years when two lucrative offers to reunite came to them almost simultaneously from two different festivals. A lot of money was waved in their faces to come out of retirement and play live again. And of course they did it as this live album shows.They played both festivals and this recording gives us a glimpse of those two shows. Both concerts were so successful that the band re-united for good and have put out three new studio albums since.The band made the descision ahead of time that they would just play the songs that were fun to play live instead of playing fan favs only. And that joy and energy really comes across in the performances here.

They get right to it on "Let It Out" with vocals and a beat. Piano and bass join in. Catchy stuff. Love the instrumental section from 2 1/2 minutes to before 5 minutes when the vocals return. Fantastic opener ! "Borgward" has such a great sounding intro and I really enjoy the guitar before 2 minutes as the drums and bass pound and throb relentlessly. Piano replaces the guitar after 4 minutes but the guitar returns before 6 minutes. Another amazing track.

"Let's Take A Ride" is where they slow it down a little but i'm still weaving and bobbing to the tunes.Vocals from the start and we get a tasteful guitar solo after a minute. A keyboard solo comes in a minute later followed by a calm as this sexy rhythm continues with vocals. "Halo Jaja-I Don't Know" opens with drums then bass and piano follow.The tempo picks up 5 minutes in with guitar and drums leading the way.

"Vollgas Ahoi" opens with relentless drum work with bass and guitar. There's so much going on. Intense. Keyboards 2 1/2 minutes in then synths a minute later. Great track ! "Dinner For Two" sounds like MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA to start.These guys are tighter than Dean Martin on a Sarurday night.Check out the bass ! Hattler is a bass god ! "Far West" sounds so good when the guitar comes in playing over top. A cool instrumental track.

"Yaqui Yagua" kicks in after a minute. Hell yeah ! It settles back before 3 minutes and vocal expressions follow and they will come and go. "Jerk Of Life" opens with guitar as the rhythm joins in. How catchy is this when the vocals join in.

"Nam Nam" is classic KRAAN folks.The bass, drums, guitar and later the synths. Check it out after 9 minutes with the electric piano, bass and drums. Killer ! Great sound 11 1/2 minutes in as well. "Andy Nogger" ends it, and these last two tracks from the "Andy Nogger" album couldn't be more appropriate for that honour.

This was a blast just like their classic live album from 1975.

Kraan is the funky jazz-rock/Krautrock band from Germany with a Dutch name. This is their first live album and possibly one of their best releases; I've only heard this and the studio follow up where they add a keyboardist to the line-up. This sounds great for a live album, being engineered by legend Conny Plank, but there could be overdubs. I never heard the studio originals yet, but I can tell there is quite a bit of jamming and improv going on in some of the songs here.

"Hallo Ja Ja, I Don't Know" and "Lonesome Liftboy" seem to be exclusive to this set, not appearing on studio albums. The later has gorgeous melodies. Such a beautiful piece of music, I just love this song. If you hear this song and think it sucks you were literally born with no soul. Love the sound of the snare drum here. Great sax/guitar unison playing as bassist Helmut Hattler does his thing underneath them. I love his tone and playing style, one of Germany's best bassists.

The other songs are from the first and third Kraan albums; nothing from the second. "Jerk Of Life" is nice melodic funky jazz-rock. Vocals in this song. In a perfect world this song would have been a hit. "Nam Nam" is long and I'm assuming contains a lot of improv. Great drumming in the middle. Steady handclaps from the audience at one point. "Holiday am Matterhorn" is another extended piece with lots of jamming and improv. Great melodies in this track. "Sarah's Ritt durch den Schwarzwald" is some aggressive funky fusion.

"Andy Nogger" is divided in two, the second part subtitled "gutter king." A melody on sax from the studio original was sampled by French electronic duo Justice but not credited. Oddly enough, on the same album they sample (and credit) RPI band Goblin. This is a great song with vocals. Great chord changes during the sung parts. Love the sax/guitar unison playing during "gutter king," which is the longer of the two parts. "Hallo Ja Ja..." is a very funky track. Contains vocals while the sax is modified to sound like a keyboard.

After 1 1/2 minutes is some really great melodies. These melodies get repeated later on. As with other parts of the album, I like the unison guitar/sax work here. The music stops over halfway with the audience and a stage announcement being given a phasing effect. Those melodies come back again but are now played in a much faster and rocking manner. Near the end you hear harmony vocals which sound like a cross between Magma's vocalists and Hatfield & The North's Northettes. Love the bluesy ending.

"Kraan Arabia" has some Middle Eastern style melodies. Another long track which I assume includes a fair amount of improv. Some good guitar playing in this song. Sax solos for awhile. Drumming gets interesting near the end. This is one of the better live albums from the 1970s that I have heard. The music is raw and funky, yet melodic and jazzy. You can shake your booty to the music and hum the melodies later. Love the modified sax which sometimes sounds like a synth or organ; some of the best melodies here are done on sax. Kraan started out more Krautrock sounding but after this album will get more funky and commercial sounding. Great live album. 4 stars.

There's no doubting the fact that Kraan could play, of that there's no question. So why is this so uninteresting?

The problem with Kraan is that they seemed to set themselves a first class conundrum and were never able to find a way out.

I do like their Marillion sounding guitars - but there no emotion in this recording at all, It's nice enough with plenty of colour and liveliness. It's just that it sounds so sterile and uninvolving. I guess that's the curse of prog bands of the late '70s where so many genres appeared out of the blue. Kraan tried to please everyone with this album - but pleased no-one. Me included.

This certainly won't be anyone's favourite album of all time - but in saying this, if you can switch off your mind, make it blank, and listen - it definitely has its moments. Two tracks in particular spring to mind: 'Your'e Right' which is a bit 'Detroit Spinners '78' but with Dave Gilmour's guitar from the 'Wall'. The second is 'Buy Buy' which is remarkably catchy and fresh with nice female vocals. Although it does sound very poppy and strangely ahead of its time - sounding very 1986.

Oh well. A pretty enough album with some nice laid back guitar, but it can't detract from the fact that there's a serious lack of intent involved.

Let's not beat about the bush here. You shouldn't play this in front of you're girlfriend. It's far too embarrassing for that. She'd laugh at you in the face. Therefore it's a paltry two stars. (although it's a sneaky three stars when playing it with my darts pals)