GARUDA

RMO's second album is along the same lines of what we heard from their first: a good jazz rock on the borderline between the early 70's JR and the later 70's Fusion music. The quintet (KB, drummer, bassist and wind player plus androgyn frontperson Margit Haberland on vocals, percussions and ac guitar) released on the legendary Brain (green) label in Conny Plank's studios Garuda (with a cool and intriguing artwork), which might appear to be if not conceptual at least thematic.

As all tracks are linked by short (never above one minute length) interludes of Swiss Games separating the main compositions: the five Zwischenspiel pieces, each penned by a member of the group), but even then I don't think there is much of a message to catch. It seems that the group's message was mostly the good times, abundant and precise interplays between all members. Right from the opening 10-min Slapstick (which is anything but), you know that you won't be rocking your socks off: while there are some Nucleus elements in the music, the group lack the sheer power of their UK counterparts, while Passport is not far away. The first side's best track is Torso Im Sommerwind, but nothing that enthusiasting either.

The second side starts on the deep and introverted 12-min title track, which shines as the album's highlight, but I have trouble getting interested in the unfocused and slightly ethnic Mama Kubu, sounding like a cheap but more psych Osibisa crossing Doldinger's Passport.

While I wouldn't consider anything of Release Music Orchestra as essential, their early albums are definitely worth hearing if you are into JR/F. And since I am one of them, I'll add another half star.

Moving forward, Release Music Orchestra suffered the departure of bassist Bernd Kiefer, but were glad to welcome two more members, his replacement on Holger Dunkel and the unique female singer, guitarist and percussionist Margit Maya Haberland (aka Ma Gita).The second album ''Garuda'' was again released on Brain, recorded at Cony Plank's Studio with guest performances by Jochen Petersen (whom Norbert Jacobsen already knew from A.R. & Machines and formerly of Ikarus) and Kraan's Johannes Pappert on saxes.

Three long compositions along with a bunch of shorter pieces point out the new direction of the band, who now leans toward more Kraut Rock realms with less focus on tight interplays and more space for looser material.The British influences though are still apparent with the band having however a more Horn Rock approach akin to IF with three sax player in the line-up.KRAAN remain an obvious influence, moreover with the presence of Pappert around.The very short tracks even have a slight Avant-Garde and more experintal edge.However the base of the album are the three long arrangements, taking over 3/4 of the album.The talent is always there, however the material has lost much of the fresh orientation of the debut.Still Release Music Orchestra tend to propose a sound of their own, changing from powerful jamming parts, typical of the German Kraut Rock movement, to lighter passages with a strong Canterbury edge and characterized by some melodic saxes, nervous organs and delicate electric piano, not to mention some sporadic synthesizers.What makes ''Garuda'' a bit different though is the mass of improvised passages over the structured arrangements, but even these are played with passion, featuring very strong individual performances and an overall dense musicianship.

Compared to ''Life'', ''Garuda'' sounds like a step towards a more compatible Kraut/Jazz Rock form.The moments of great music are however still present, performed by a solid group of musicians, that could do much better.Recommended.

This is the second release from RELEASE MUSIC ORCHESTRA, a Jazz/ Rock band out of Germany who formed from the ashes of TOMORROW'S GIFT. Not much to chose between the first two albums as both are excellent but I do prefer the debut more. For what it's worth the Gnosis and RYM sites rate this one higher. We get sax and clarinet besides the usual instruments and even some vocals. This was released in 1975 and features many short(under one minute) tracks plus three longer ones and a couple of average length tunes.

"Slapstick" is kind of funky at first with a horns over top often blasting away in this catchy track. I'm reminded of KRAAN 2 minutes in, there's some active drum work here as well. Some distorted keys come and go as they seem to jam until after 6 minutes when we get a complete change as it calms right down. Female spoken words and a symphonic, lighter sound that reminds me of the seventies(duh!). This is really good and it takes us to the end of the song. And it's my first top three tune on here. "Zwischenspiel Holger" is under a minute of intricate acoustic guitar melodies. "Torso I'm Sommerwind" is a top three for me and it's a beautiful clarinet driven tune that's relaxed with prominent bass. Some distorted keys after 3 minutes as it picks up some. "Zwischenspiel Norbert" features a horn throughout and is under a minute long. "Rallye Dallye" has a busy drum intro as the horns and more help out in this uptempo track. The organ starts to lead the way eventually. "Zwischenspiel Zabba" is under 30 seconds of what sounds like vibes.

"Zwischenspiel Manne" is under a minute long and we get a sampled conversation between a man and a woman along with organ and vibes I believe. "Garuda" is my final top three and the longest tune at 12 1/2 minutes. A pleasant and relaxed sound to start out with clarinet, drums and vibes standing out. The tempo picks up around 2 minutes then we get these CARAVAN sounding distorted keys 3 minutes in. This is an impressive section bringing SOFT MACHINE to mind. A complete change occurs before 6 minutes as it calms right down with horns, a beat and keys that echo. It's spacey late to end it. "Zwischenspiel Margit" is another short piece this time with acoustic guitar and spacey sounds. "Mama Kubu" is the over 8 minute closer that starts out with this funky beat as distant sounding vocals join in. A change 1 1/2 minutes in as we get a beat and more with atmosphere. Horns join in and soon we have a World Music flavour especially with those vocals that bring WEATHER REPORT to mind after 4 minutes.

I really enjoy this album just not quite as much as the debut. Both are worthy additions if your into that Jazz flavoured music.