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Embryo - Opal CD (album) cover

OPAL

Embryo

 

Jazz Rock/Fusion

3.80 | 93 ratings

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Igor91
4 stars The German band Embryo is labeled Jazz rock/fusion here on PA, and based on their total output, that label is pretty accurate. However, Embryo's debut, "Opal," is the lone true Krautrock album of the band's career. That's not to say that none of their other works contain elements of Krautrock, but "Opal" is by far the furthest they went in that direction. Each song is jazzy, but the Krautrock vibe is dominant here. Lots of cool sax and violin are in the mix, and the splendid guitar work of John Kelly (also of Ten Years After fame) really gives the tunes a good heaping of late 60's Anglo-American psychedelic rock influence, but filtered through the West German sensibilities of the time. While mostly instrumental, the first two tracks, "Opal," and "You don't know what's Happening" both include the unique singing styles that are a bit of an acquired taste, and "End of Soul" has cool, quirky, spoken word parts that are quite humorous. I have the Materiali Sonori CD version of this, and it includes 2 bonus tracks that are basically endless jazzy noodling (clocking in at about 30 minutes) that don't offer much additional substance to the album, at least in my opinion anyway. All in all, a wondrous, jazz-tinged, psychedelic/Krautrock, opus that I highly recommend to anyone who can appreciate that eccentric genre that came out of West Germany in the late 60's/early 70's. 4 stars.
Igor91 | 4/5 |

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