NOSFERATU

A band somewhat shrouded in mystery, perhaps maintaining what little attention they still get due to the involvement of Krautrock notable Conny Plank (Guru Guru, Kraftwerk, etc, the producer here), Nosferatu gave listeners one sole self-titled album in 1970, and while no classic, it's an energetic and exciting little work that prog followers will likely find of great interest. I recognized the cover when I came across the CD a few months back, and the vendor had labelled a sticker on the front of case with `Krautrock', but despite the band being German, there's mostly nothing on the album to suggest that style at all. Instead, it's a mix of Hammond drenched early proto-prog in the manner of Atomic Roster and Rare Bird, wild R&B howling English vocals with plenty of emphasis on improvised lengthy sax and flute passages similar to bands such as Out of Focus, Skin Alley and Tonton Macoute.

Opener `Highway' is a punchy umptempo Hendrix inspired rocker, with warm Hammond brimstone the late Vincent Crane would have approved of, lots of feral clanging guitar noise and a roaring vocal. The nearly eleven minute `Willie The Fox' is the most ambitious piece here, the first taste on the album of breezy flute and jazzy lightness to bookend the track, with ferocious rocking diversions and a wildly psychedelic break almost along the lines of `Ummagumma'-era Floyd. This middle is full of droning sections of reverberating feedback, drifting late-night lonely street saxophone and thrashing drum storms. Gutsy 60's R&B flavoured grooving rocker `Found My Home' is highlighted by a lengthy improvised jazzy instrumental passage, aggressive darting flute to rival the best of the vintage RPI bands and red-hot electric guitar wailing, the piece overall almost floating on cool Canterbury breezes and a dash of Jethro Tull.

Side B's `No. 4' is a dark jazz piece with brooding Black Sabbath-like scuzzy buzzsaw guitars, doom-laden drumming, pleading vocals, nice filthy murky intimidating Van der Graaf Generator-styled sax and dazzling electric piano runs. `Work Day' opens and closes as a honking delirious jazz/funk stomper full of angry dirty grooves, a spitting hostile vocal (I love the line "Money...is that all that rules your brain?!" too!) and mucky squawking sax. The middle drifts into a spacy psychedelic drone with haunting narration, drifting electric guitar mystery and percussive improvisations. Closer `Vanity Fair' has a slightly mundane chorus (the title of the song simply repeated four times in a row, I never enjoy that), but the latin percussion electric elements and some muddy Soft Machine sax dinginess around thrashing drums makes it a consistent way to end the album.

While not quite up to the same standard as those other artists mentioned above, `Nosferatu' is damn sure still strong enough to sit on the shelf alongside them, an album to give an occasional spin that you'll greatly enjoy at the time. It's addictive, and really starts grooving after a couple of plays. There's plenty of more exciting and important discs, but if early organ driven jazzy prog rock is your thing, you'll more than welcome this into your collection.

Three and a half stars.