HOELDERLIN

The German Prog Folk group Hölderlin'f first record is a short one and that is an advantage beacuse the whole record is so superb. The starter and the closer tracks are the most progressive but not the best songs. The group was made up by six persons: Michael Bruchmann( drums, percussion), Nanny DeRuig (vocals), Christian Grumbkow(guitar), Joachim Grumbkow (guitar, cello, flute, keyboards, mellotron), Peter Kaseberg (bass, guitar, vocals) and Christoph Noppeney (violin, flute, piano). It also features Peter Bursch on sitar and Mike Hellbach on tablas on "Strohhalm" and Walter Westrupp on flute on "Erwachen". This record was released in 1974.

This is something for you who love acoustic guitars. They didn't thought it was enough with one, it seams they got many and that's lovely. "Waren wir" starts asking and what you love immediately is the beautiful voice of Nanny DeRuig who sings like telling a tale. This song contains rock instruments like a groovy organ for exampel. The last track "Traum" is also a rock song, instrumental and a little improvised I think. The rest is very folky, totally fantastic music I'll say. "Peter" is a pure but perfect folk song with excellent vocals and a pleasant text. "Strohhalm" has an indian feeling with beautiful flute and sung by men. "Requiem für einem Wicht" is a progressive folk song with many passages. This is folk in a symphonic way with violins and cello. Perhaps the best song on this record. "Erwachen" has some mystical sounds and "Wetterbericht" has a lot of guitar heroism. This is indeed a record I would recommend to anybody addicted to music. I think this records has something for everybody and a lot for progheads and folkheads.

The instrumental opener 'schwebebahn' is named after the monorail of Wuppertal city and it nicely reflects its speed. Mellotron and viola bring KING CRIMSON in mind. The next two songs are a cross between dynamic prog and acoustic folk rock with some flute. Christoph Noppeney sounds a lot like Dave Cousins of STRAWBS and he sings as if he was telling stories (a bit like Peter Gabriel in Genesis). The piano-led ballad 'Nürnberg' is sung by more delicate Joachim Grumbkow.

The fine album is crowned by 17½-minute 'Deathwatchbeetle', a controlled yet complex prog composition full of art music elements in the arrangement. If the five tracks were just a bit more memorable, I wouldn't hesitate giving five stars. Very, very recommended!

"Peter" (7/10) is standard folk fare. There are some nice chord changes and guitar picking accompanying the pretty female singing voice.

"Strohhalm" (6/10) reminds me of some acoustic CSN & Y/Joni Mitchell only with a singular male singer and a sitar playing very prominently.

"Requiem fur einen Wicht" (8/10) is pretty sometimes walzy folk song. I especially enjoy the swirling effects created by the violins. Nice female vocal in the middle section?with the long held notes. The middle section of militaristic drumming and violin is haunting. Then everything quiets down to a more Bohemian 'gypsy' violin and guitar duet?rejoined by flute, rhythm section and vocal at the 5:30 mark. Intriguing song.

"Erwachen" (7/10) opens with recorder, piano and tambourine playing a little medieval troubadour-like song, before there is a pause for nature sounds (wolf in the woods?) The song picks back up with piano, acoustic guitar, bowed bass and tambourine playing some old folk melody--joined by I'm not sure if I'm more reminded of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" or some Eastern European dirge.

"Wetterbericht" (8/10) opens with multiple acoustic guitars picking. Eventually, they are joined by Nanny in one of her best performances. Truly a folk song but with an eerie Harmonium feel to it. Some very beautiful chord changes and an awesome Harmonium-like tempo shift at the 3:30 mark--soon after which sees the background entrance of a very spacey synthesizer moving slowly from one note to another (reminiscent of Genesis' "Stagnation" though shorter and further in the background). Return to original sound and structure for the last minute and fade.

"Traum" (10/10) starts with picked 12-string guitar like a Genesis song from Selling England before the guitarist switches to strumming so that the rest of the band can jump in with some awesome bass, drumming, conga, flute, and violin jamming together --and, what's this? Introducing: Electric Guitar! Strumming along in the right channel while the violinist, bass, and rhythm section jam to the 4:35 mark. Then the instrumentalists seem to each go off on their own sprees--each stuck in a tremolo mode--until 5:50 when they all are brought back together by the strumming guitar. Awesome bass and violin/cello playing!

Great first and last songs--totally proggy--with some otherwise very nice more standard folk fare in between. Excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.

This is not a progressive folk album really,more of semi-electric Folk Rock with Psych and Prog twists.The opening cut is actually the most progressive track,excellent musicianship with backround mellotron,dynamic organ and riving flutes.The next few tracks are more in a Psychedelic Kraut/Folk realm,entirely acoustic with only the rhythm section showcasing a rock band,with impressive lyrical content,mainly by Nanny de Ruig and some good violin and cello work.Dynamics though are not absent,I would say the sound is often quite powerful for acoustic Folk Music.We have to wait till the end for a stunning number,the eponymous fusion- esque track,containing thrilling flutes backed by violin soloing,pounding percussion and a jazzy rhythm section.Great end!

''Hoelderlin's traum'' won't ever win a price for his ground-breaking music or be settled among the milestones of Folk Prog music in my books,but it definitely shows a band with talent,skills and lust for creating something innovative and challenging.3 solid stars,a great album for Electric Folk,Kraut Rock and Psychedelic Folk fans.

The song "High in Shanghai" is maybe worth the price of the CD alone, as its instrumental prowess is quite energetic and extremely well executed. In fact the guitar work throughout the album is perfectly aligned with the times and professionally performed. And again, there are prog moves in some of the instrumental sections - taking a bow to Camel throughout.

As with their entire catalog, the remaster is beautifully done, giving a clear, tight reflection of the wonderful music.

I am on a German music kick right now, and man is there diverse wonderful extremes to be enjoyed! From T Dream/Klaus Schulze to Eloy/Grobshnitt to Hoelderlin's diverse catalog, it shows the beauty and power these world class musicians have to offer.

But, this is a wonderful record if taken from that perspective. Beautiful melodies (mostly sung in German) mixed with great (not over the top) production. The energy is just right for the style, and there is still some prog moves here and there - especially compared to the new wave era of the time.

Some of the progressive community really hated this style that a few of our early heroes went. I too always want long, meaningful songs, done in a progressive arrangement. Tull's "Under Wraps" comes to mind. Man did the prog fans bag on this one. And in actuality, this is a wonderful record and quite progressive if taken for the fact that Ian's muse went this way. AND it kept them in the public eye (MTV interviews, video's played in rotation, etc...) while the industry wondered (or is it wandered?) aimlessly where to go next.

So, even though some of this sounds a bit dated, the music holds on its own. BTW - the remaster is well done, and since the music is not in anyway conceptual, the extra tracks (I usually hate extra/bonus tracks - just give me the album as it was released!) fit quite nicely, and in fact add to the completeness of the outing.

I lean more and more to avant/RIO/prog, but for this is a nice easy to enjoy that really hits the spot sometimes....as always, JMHO!!! and as always, thank you to Progarchives.com for this wonderful place to exchange ideas!

Celeste, Harmonium, Hoelderlin..? On our beloved site about progressive music we aren't always focussed on how beautiful music is. This 'gorgeousness'-element of music is seen as just one of the many elements that came a an album or a song good.

When I got this first album of German psychedelic folk group Hoelderlin it became clear to me that the appreciation of this record was based on both it's well-recorded authentic beauty AND it's psychedelic influences. The vocals in German haven't been a problem for me, though singing in this language has never been a favorable element before. The authentic folky female voice sounds very cute in German! Luckily Nanny DeRuig isn't to trained a vocalist, it would have ruined the authentic atmosphere.

The music. The main body of the record is based on folky guitars at percussions, whilst in the longer instrumental passages psychedelic and even psycho-beat pass me by. Most instruments are acoustic, we get to listen to some flute, mellotron and violin too. There are some male vocals on the trippy Strohalm, whilst "Peter" has a (still) modern indi-pop feel. Other songs feature a fusion between folk, instrumental symphonic rock and psychedelic music.

Conclusion. The record is a bit short with it's 35 minutes, but time also passes by very quickly when I'm listening to it. It's a very enjoyable record with an authentic and honest feel. The instruments are played professional (often problematic in the krautrock scene), the vocals are honest, the composition interesting and the concept refreshing. Furthermore the variety of instruments is good. Very recommended to fans of the progressive folk genre and the krautrock genre. Four stars!