ALL DIE WEIL ICH MAG

After their highly successful debut album (artistically anyway), Ougenweide suffered their first two departures with both female singers leaving. The outstanding Minne Graw replaced both Kollmorgen and Blunck, and the line-up would remain stable for the next few years.

The least we can say is that the noticeable visual line-up change was almost inaudible sonically-speaking as this second album (while not a carbon copy) is rather similar even if less Fairport Span, and slightly more medieval and more even. As the tracks unfold their medieval ambiances, the album also appears less electric (but Ougenweide's albums never really were electric, anyway), more reflective and even more authentic than the debut. Again, Malicorne comes to mind, sometimes Harmonium (on the instrumental Fur Irene) or The Amazing Blondel where they get baroque on Rattenfanger. The good thing is that the album avoids a bit the "Celtic Jigs" clichés (only Ich Spring comes close), but the album avoids getting repetitive. Bassist-keyboardist Stefan Wulff (excellent electric piano on Fur Irene) is again the key member of the group, with his irresistible bass lines. The highlights are the two lengthiest tracks, the great Der Rivale (the rival) and Der Blinde Und Der Lame (the blind and the mute), where the group gives itself room to expand musically with a great flute solo.

Yes, this album has less of "rock feeling" and is much more pre-classical oriented, and it is usually considered their best, even if their first four albums are all outstanding. This album came in a gatefold with the Middle High German lyrics and its modern German translations both printed on the inside fold. Purer medieval, slightly more progressive, but very marginally better than its predecessor, this album exudes authenticity and commands solemn respect in regards to the performance. A must.

Wonderful prog folk chamber ensemble, delivering once again a classic of rustic, pastoral ballads and light bluesy-kraut rocking pieces. This album is continuously beautiful, mentioning a respectful sense of composition concerning old medieval pagan music. All poetical lyrics are in German (sung by female/ male voices). The opening track is strictly acoustic, delivering a bucolic, enchanting ballad for viola, flute, percussions and dreamy like voices. "Der Rivale" creates an original fusion between traditional epic medieval chants and bluesy-psych guitars, an energical sense of harmony, a great reappropriation of "ancient music". "Der Rattenfanger" is a melodic, fragile, folkish "romantic" composition for guitars, cellos and voices. "Fur Irene" features nice classical guitar passages, introspective flute lines and a lyrical atmosphere (this one is instrumental). "merseburger" starts a traditional folk chant for a little ensemble of voices, then goes into a dancing rocking "trip". The last composition is a ritualistic, pagan chant with really intrusive vocals. Perfectly achieved and clearly the best prog folk band which includes obvious & authentic medieval influences.

An extremely dull and inoffensive album that will hold little appeal for most listeners. The big problem is... It's utterly irrelevant and meaningless today. Sounding like a recording from a bygone dead era where its target audience has long ago disappeared.

The whole record literally slips sneakily into one ear but flies out the other, with Olaf Casalich's wishy washy, flat, one pitched and unremarkable vocals warbling throughout.

'All Die Weil Ich Mag' has dated very badly and has a sound so utterly alien to modern day listeners that I can't imagine anybody at all even talking about it. Out of all the genres of prog - there are none that have been hit so hard with the passage of time.

A feeble, limp, uninspiring record that you would do well to avoid. Really Annoying in fact.

First major departures occured in Ougenweide's history after their debut with both female singers Renee Kollmorgen and Brigitte Blunck quiting.Their replacement was Minne Graw, who was also an accomplished flutist and keyboardist.The band jumped from the Zebra label to Polydor, which prooved to be a commercially clever move.Next album ''All die weil ich mag'' was recorded at Maschen Studio with Gesine Schroeder guesting on cello, released in 1974.

Another offering by Ougenweide, which mixes rearrangements of traditional songs and original compositions, but this time with deeper instrumental growth and some tricky moves in the process.The style remains largely acoustic with a touch of rockin' context in the bass and some scarce guitar parts, but now the band seems compositionally more mature, tight and focused, having evident Medieval influences adapted in a Folk Rock content, characterized by extended instrumental exercises and diverse mood colors.The atmosphere ranges from pleasant and joyful to more professional and mellow with acoustic strings, flutes, piano and bass in evidence.Of course the depth of this work comes also from the additional violin, cello, keyboards and drums, which appear every now and then.For the first time the progressive leanings of Ougenweide become apparent through the quirky acoustic instrumentals, the changes between uptempo and more Medieval-styled themes and the light interplays between the instrumentalists.Vocals are now pretty balanced compared to the previous release, not capturing the bulk of the album, and even the addition of Minne Graw seems to have occured mainly due to her instrumental talent.

This is some very nice Medieval/Folk Rock with strong proggy underlines.An excellent album for fans of Acoustic Prog and a good purchase for all lovers of demanding acoustic instrumentals.Recommended.

In less than a year OUGENWEIDE released its second album ALL DIE WEIL ICH MAG ("All Because I Like") in 1974 after experiencing unexpected popularity from the band's self-titled debut. In this short time there was a slight lineup change with the female singers Renee Kollmorgen and Brigitte Blunck leaving the band and being replaced only by Minne Graw. The four instrumentalists drummer Olaf Casalich, guitarist / mandolin player Wolfgang Henko, bassist Stefan Wulff, guitarist, flautist Frank Wulff and various percussion player Jürgen Isenbart stayed on board but added all kinds of new sounds to the album including but not limited to Arab flutes, lutes, bouzoukis, sitars and various other ethnic sounds.

Stylistically OUGENWEIDE continued its unique blend of Medieval folk, contemporary folk, German traditionals and modern rock with an energetic update for modern audiences who were quite enamored with the band's unique interpretations mined from over eight centuries of music history. One of the highlights includes the oldest song on the album, the three part "Merseburger" which originated all the way back in the 10th century and included lyrics from a book of Merseburg magical spells. This particular track features some exquisite three-part singing that features off-kilter canons and perhaps one of the most intriguing tracks on board.

As with the debut, all lyrics are in German but older forms of the language in many cases. The music is noticeable less energetic than on the debut with many more tracks coming off as mellow or more contemplative and while Graw's vocals totally fit the style of music performed here are less daring as the duo feminine charm of the debut however ALL DIE ICH MAG certainly showed that OUGENWEIDE was no one-trick pony with plenty of creative mojo to change things up on every album despite mining similar musical ideas from the past and reinterpreting them into a modern contemporary folk rock context. Once again Achim Reichel returned as the producer.

In addition to the Medieval texts and 10th century magical spells, ALL DIE WEIL ICH MAG also revived old German writings and quotes from Goethe thus expanding the band's historical perspective way beyond the confines of the Middle Ages. The band continued its popularity and toured with such acts of Amazing Blondel and Fairport Convention and engaged in a hectic tour where they gave a great deal of performances. Due to this album the band was often called a Minne-rock band, however despite Minne Graw taking on the female vocals, the album is by far dominated by the male vocals of Olaf Casalich.

ALL DIE WEIL ICH MAG may not have been as energetic and in your face as the debut but featured a more mature version of the band that expanded beyond the Medieval influences into anything from the past it could get its hands on. The tracks are just as catchy and a veritable history lesson for Germany's rich musical past that very few of us have ever considered. While i prefer the debut for its wild and unpredictable nature, this sophomore release excels in its own right as a masterful contemporary expression of music crafted long ago. OUGENWEIDE would remain popular in Germany throughout the 1970s and succumb to the changing tides of the music industry in the early 80s when such music fell out of fashion.