BULLFROG

The first concert I saw was Bullfrog at our school arena. Fantastic! Sound, music and musical skills.This was a point in my life that opened my mind for Heavy Rock music. My girlfriend bought their first LP, I recorded it immediately to tape. Some days later I decided to buy it, because of the amazing artwork and it was a must for me to posess this LP as a lover of Hammond organ sounds. Up to now, this was one of the 10 most heard record in my collection (about 1500 LPs and CDs, Rock, Heavy Rock, Metal, Jazz, Jazzrock, electronic, drum and bass, ), the songs not really commercial but easily to understand and played with a big portion of feeling and some nice melodies. Fortunately, I discovered the album in a second hand CD store, and for 5-6 times every year my CD player runs this CD ....

Somewhat enjoyable hard rock/prog in the style of Jane, mainly. Singer Gerd Hoch has an astoundingly gruff, rough voice that's going to be hard for some listeners to take, but his style largely suits the music.

Not really a whole lot of prog on the A-side, pretty much straight-up hard boogie rock. The last two tracks, both extending longer than ten minutes, are the reasons to get this album. Full of Floydian changes and an Eloy-like spaciness, they're well-done for this style of music. Nice layers of celestial synths and aggressive Hammond organ from keysman Harald Kaltencker. Italian drummer Bruno Perosa (whose prior prog pedigree extends to playing the percussion-y bits in "Canto Nomade per un Prigioniero Politico" on Banco's IO SONNO NATO LIBERO album) even adds a cosmic recitation (in Italian!) at the beginning of "Desert Man".

Movin' on to hard rock ...

BULLFROG's eponymous and solid debut with six (hard) rock songs. I cannot find much Prog and originality except one track which is really exciting. Remarkable are the rough vocals by Gerd Hoch without any accent and a nice Hammond appearance which sometimes remembers me at DEEP PURPLE. The album is disappointing a little bit with the first four songs because they are not more than mainstream rock.

I Came From The Sky is a better one with a nervous punching bass. The second side of the vinyl release is more interesting starting with Get Away which is the pretty flower. A short 10 minute epic, somewhat leaving the hard rock territory, a ballad with floydy moments, nice (girls) background vocals, synthie keys and compelling guitar work - excellent. Desert Man is initiated very promising by a recitative of their italian drummer and then developes to a mediocre grooving rock song.

Listening to their music it looks like BULLFROG set the focus very intensively on a commercial success like JERONIMO had for example with their hits "He Ya" and "Na Na Hey Hey" in 1970. They also released their debut in the USA. I'm missing more typical psychedelic, folk and krautrock elements which other german bands had at that time - 2.5 stars.