WEIß DER TEUFEL

Searching for a band to define the Kraut Rock term in an accepted degree, Rufus Zuphall from Aachen would make for a great candidate.The band was formed in 1969 by flutist Klaus Gülden, guitarist/singer Günter Krause, bassist Helmut Lieblang and drummer Udo Dahmen, while reputedly they had a fifth Classical-educated keyboardist during the early days, and their popularity increased after their gig at the Jazz Festival in Bilzen, Belgium, in 1970 in front of 30,000 people, supporting Black Sabbath, Cat Stevens and May Blitz.Their debut ''Weiss der Teufel'' was recorded in the Netherlands in just three days at the fall of 70', released on the Good Will label with guest star Erich Engels on percussion.

Their style trully represents the outlandish sound of the major Kraut Rock bands, being a hybrid of storming Heavy Prog and Psychedelic Folk with the atmosphere changing from jamming and intense musicianship to melancholic and hypnotic folky tunes.The opening side contains four cuts of pounding and energetic Psych/Prog with dominant guitar solos, loose grooves and heavy-driving flutes with a JETHRO TULL flavor, while there are plenty of impressive breaks and edgy interplays to be met as well.Hints of Classical influences and the pure Psych/Folk piece ''Knight of third degree'' with its long percussion-led parts show the diverse sound of the group.The English vocals are rather limited and the focus remains on a very dynamic and powerful combination of guitars and flutes with a confident rhythm section supporting.The flipside contains the sidelong eponymous track, which clocks at 17 minutes, and sums up Rufus Zuphall's main influences and at times extremely psychedelic style.Lots of flute sections, hypnotic drums and smooth guitars combine with passionate instrumental textures with heavy guitars, flute solos and and endless batlles between them, while there are plenty of bluesy and Folk references through the epic.Some obcure vocal passages and the drum solo at the beginning are the epic's weaker moments.

The Long Hair CD reissue comes with an extra six tracks, caught live in Aachen in June 72' in one of the last performances of Rufus Zuphall.A couple of them appeared later in other releases of the band (''Avalon Suite'', ''Prickel Pit''), while the line-up includes bassist Manfred Spangenberg and guitarist Thomas Kittel in the place of Helmut Lieblang.The sound has little to do with the debut of the band, these pieces contain mainly British-flavored Heavy/Blues Rock with emphasis on the guitar parts of Krause and rather limited flute parts, while the vocals are even closer to British-styled groups with little originality.

Despite not belonging among the monumental releases of the Kraut Rock movement, Rufus Zuphall's debut is a strong album of flute/guitar-led Progressive Rock with tons of energy and some pounding instrumental themes of nice inspiration.Recommended, a good starting point for everyone who wants to come in touch with the early-70's German Progressive Rock scene.