ROCKPOMMEL'S LAND

I remember a buddy of mine finding this album in the import rack back in 1977. The cover was WAY cool...we hadn't seen a good Roger Dean cover in a while (Yesterdays by Yes was the most recent one...)...

I remember liking it a lot..in a somewhat altered state...lenghty, spacey songs with a weird sense of humor...

I never owned any Grobschnitt LPs until I picked this re-mastered disc up a few days ago.

The music is more original than I remembered...there are moments that are reminiscent of Yes, but it's a unique sound...

Lyrically, the band was clearly having fun with the whole concept album genre...

Towards the end of Severity Town, the narrator mumbles the following:

Totally exhausted Ernie went off this severe place and followed a way leading to the mountains. Half an hour later he rested in the shade of a HOWARD JOHNSON's where he began to consider whether he should turn around the record or have another hot dog - HILARIOUS!

Clearly, this disc needs to be measured by the quality of the music.

It is traditional 70s symphonic prog of a high standard. Swirling melodies interspersed with moments of guitar, keyboard and percussive virtuosity sprinkled in. The songs hold your attentio, that's always the test of 10+ minute songs, if you ask me...

The bonus track is a November, 1979 recording of an 18-minute concert collage of moments from the entire album.

An excellent package overall...what the heck, 4 stars...