ELOY

3.5 stars really!!

Eloy's first album came in with the famous gimmick cover of the garbage can you could lift the lid from and look inside. If I may, please overlook those that claim that this album is not prog or inferior to others. It's Eloy's first and it's normal it is not yet fully refined, but it holds plenty of proto-prog that -if from the UK - it would be applauded as a lost gem or something similar. Recorded in Hamburg in April 71, produced by Conny Plank and released on the Phillips label,

Musically we're having an organ-driven heavy prog (even if the main songwriters are the singer and the guitarist) that followed Uriah Heep or Purple of the era, groups that Eloy opened for in local shows. It's not like the songwriting or the playing are particularly brilliant or exceptional, but the album is very enjoyable especially in the longer tracks like the 8-mins+ Something Yellow or the cosmic intro of the opening track, Today or even the eponymous track with its drum solo .Only the lengthy closer Dillus Roady sounding like early Uriah Heep can seem a bit poor an idea, as it is simply too repetitive, despite some exciting guitars.

By the time that their second album Inside was to be recorded, the group had suffered its first major line-up change, in that only the guitarist and the keyboardist remained and they'd slimmed down from a quintet into a quartet. Anyway, Eloy's debut is a very worthy one, no matter what Bornemann or my mistaken fellow reviewers would have you believe, with its organ-driven hard prog that reeks the early 70's with all of the clichés that usually come with that era. Sometimes compared with Camel's debut album, this is under-rated and the only Eloy album where Bornemann is not signing..

ELOY's debut album is one of Germany's 70's heavy weights and one of my personal favs. This stonker of an album captures the wonderful underground 70's krautrock magic, clearly standing up though as a very different sounding ELOY than subsequent album would prove for sure. Like so many great 70's German prog recordings, ELOY's debut album was produced by... yes you guessed it Conrad Plank. The overall sound is dark and deep with a heavy focus on electric guitar and percussion. From this albums original lineup, 3 of the 5 would stay behind to work on subsequent albums and retain the core of ELOY... Frank Bornemann (guitar, harmonica, percussion), Manfred Wieczorke (guitar, bass, vocals) and Wolfgang Stöcker (bass) with Erich Schriever (lead vocals, keyboards) and Helmuth Draht (drums) exiting after recording this masterpiece. Lead vocalist Erich Schriever has actually a great tock voice and adds that extra rough sound which adorns this album. Songs are exploratory and full of great 70's instrumentation with loads of wild guitar solos and great percussive sounds. Their overall sounds is quite heavy and does not yet introduce the space sound ELOY became associated with but I put this album in a different category and think of it as ELOY MK2. I only wish ELOY had recorded a few more albums with this lineup... brilliant stuff!

I have mixed feelings about this album. This is not really a progressive rock album. This is a classic rock album with elements of other genres (and a few touches of prog) that does not sound like Eloy at all (except for the spacey guitar soloing). The musicianship is good though, and every member gets some time to show their talents. The music is influenced by Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep.

Today starts this album, and it shows that this is not the eloy we know and love. This is just classic rock. Same for 'Song of a Paranoid Soldier'. 'Eloy' is another track in the same vein, except that there is a good drum solo in the middle. Fortunately, the first half is saved by the song 'Something Yellow' which has amazing led-zeppelin like solos, and black sabbath-like Guitar riffing. The bass guitar is something to pay attention to. Isle of Sun is the song that may remind you of the next albums of Eloy : It is spacey, it is focused on keyboards, and it contains good melodies. The song concludes with a classic rocker 'Dillus Roady'.

1. Today (4.5/10) 2. Something yellow (6.5/10) 3. Eloy (5/10) 4. Song of a paranoid soldier (4.5/10) 5. Voice of revolution (4/10) 6. Isle of sun (7/10) 7. Dillus roady (5/10)

My Grade : D+

Charming sometimes, but very uncharacteristic. This is a completely different record from anything Eloy has released afterwards. It's basic your typical early 70's hard rock with few touches of psychedelia and a hint of prog here and there. Nothing original. Competent, yes. Essential? Not really, unless you´re a completionist. No wonder Bornemann does not like it. His contribution is far less important here than in any other Eloy album and the style is nothing we're accustomed to hear from them. Sometimes it is not even mentioned on some discography of Eloy. The leap from this album and their sophomoric release, Inside, was a giant one. In fact, it was a completely new band by then. This one serves more as a curio than anything else. For completionists, only. Or maybe, if you like early 70's psychedelic hard rock, for the ones who enjoy looking for obscure stuff from that period.

Like many bands of the late sixties / early seventies, this debut album is not really in-line with their later production. I would say that there are two mainstreams here : the psychedelic side which is influenced by "Floyd" as well as "Jefferson Airplane" to a certain extent and a harder side with lots of mighty guitar. "Purple Mark I" is of influence as well (mainly noticeable during "Song of a Paranoid" but not only).

This album sounds a bit outdated. No real highlights to be mentioned and just one very weak number "Voice of Revolution". Things will get better with "Isle of Sun". Vocals definitely remind me of Rod Evans ("Purple - Mark I"). It's a pleasant rock balad with a good keyboards solo. Here again, Jon Lord is not far away.

"Dillus Roady" is more on the "Heep" side. So, actually there are very little personality in here.

"Eloy" will be in better shoes when they will start playing their great space-rock for which they are better known. Some good psychedelia here, but not as much as I would have liked. An average album which is interesting to the ones who are willing to compare the early "Eloy" with their later production.

Two stars.

Unless you are hell bent on discovering a band chronologically, or you have a penchant for faceless if competent early 1970s hard rock, you can pass by this anomaly in the Eloy catalogue. While some might consider it an advantage, Frank Bornemann is not even the lead vocalist, with the less distinctive Erich Schriever taking the reins. Nonetheless, his slightly bluesy voice is properly suited to this style.

Influenced far more by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and maybe even Black Sabbath than by the prog stalwarts who were already well established by 1971, Eloy's debut is an honest effort containing plenty of appealing yet plodding guitar riffs, political lyrical themes, psychedelic percussion, organ and Bornemann's developing and already impressive lead guitar licks. While most of these rockers are redeemable, on "Voice of Revolution" and during other segments the fast forward button beckons.

It is true that here and there one can discern the germ of a psychedelic/space rock band, thanks partly to Bornemann's axe work but also to melodies like "Isle of Sun", which almost vaults over the next phase of Eloy's career in anticipation, even if it is more organ based and less orchestral. Interestingly, the title of the first song on the 2nd album, "Inside", called "Land of No Body", is referenced in the song "Eloy" here, which is otherwise nothing like that subsequent effort.

The band splintered after this production, with Bornemann firmly in control, and my curiosity about where they might have gone from here had they stayed together is mild at best. A historical document.

Mixed opinions about this hard-rock styled debut from Eloy. The main criticism seems to be a lack of originality. It's one I can sure subscribe to. The song-writing is fairly standard early 70s hard rock, somewhere between Uriah Heep, Hawkwind and most obviously Jethro Tull, not only due to the bluesy guitar riffs but also due to Erich Schriever's vocals. His voice and approach resemble Ian Anderson's wail from Stand Up and Benefit a lot. It's all a bit flat and predictable though, sometimes even ripping off their examples such as on Dillus Roady, which is more then just a nod to UH's Gypsy.

The sound has a spacey and slightly psychedelic feel, and that's why the album sure can't be discarded as entirely unoriginal. Uriah Heep and Jethro Tull never had that German kraut-feel that is quite strong on this album. The band tried to integrate the UK heavy rock with their own German roots, a mix that I also hear on the first two Scorpions albums by the way.

Nice hard rock album with a space vibe and not as dramatically bad as the ratings would have you believe.

After one minute of spacey sounds the first track of the first Eloy album starts with guitar and voice like a song of the Who, but soon the rock vein emerges and if I have to compare this debut (the whole album) to another band this is Uriah Heep.

There's much of the early 70s British rock in this album. The intro of "Something Yellow" is very similar to the one of "Gipsy" and also Schriever would sound like Byron if it wasn't for his strong German accent. With Uriah Heep they share on this song the use of silence pauses. Not that's a bad track. I don't think Eloy can be considered an original band in any of their early works, this doesn't mean that this is not good music. By the way, silence pauses are a thing that in general I don't like in rock.

"Eloy" has a Black Sabbath's mood. Imagine Schriever singing one octave higher and he will sound like Ozzy. I have to say that this song reminds me of Sabotage that the Sabbath released 4 years after this album. The hippy bongos solo is unneeded but it's in line with the rock "policies" of the period.

To enforce the link to Black Sabbath, the next track is "Song of a Paranoid". We can hear Uriah Heep or Sabbath influences here. I think they are generically influenced by the early 70s hard rock scene, not by a particular band. In this sense they can be forgiven for being not original.

Things don't change with "Voice Of Revolution". Another song in the Heep's style. The lyrics are meant to be political.

Listening to "Isle Of Sun" after long time I'm surprised. I remembered it as a Uriah Heep song. Nothing bad. This is a song on which Schriever sounds like Byron, of course without the high pitched screams for which Byron was famous. A sort of "Come Away Melinda".

The last track, too, is a regular hard rock song to which the organ give the touch of Uriah Heep.

In the end, this is a non-essential album. Unless you want to know this side of Eloy, I suggest looking at the originals (Uriah Heep), but this is a good album. The songs are good and well played. Schriever is not a bad singer even if he can't compete with Byron, so I think 3 stars are exactly what this debut deserves.

The first Eloy album sees them picking up a lot of cues from Black Sabbath - this much is obvious from opening track Today, which includes a competently imitated proto-doom drum and guitar attack after the spacey introduction - but it is possible to over-emphasise the influence of Ozzy and crew on Eloy at this point in time. Even when Rick Wakeman made a guest appearance on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the Sabs never quite got a full Keith Emerson- esque keyboard assault like Wieczorke provides on many of the tracks here. The album is competently performed, but rather directionless - the band seem to be trying out whatever musical ideas come to mind in the process of working out exactly what they want to do, something they should probably have decided before entering the studio. Can't give this one more than two stars, but it's a decent enough start to their career and if you especially enjoy Eloy and are curious about their beginnings it's probably worth a listen.

"Eloy" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by German psychadelic rock act Eloy. The album was released through Philips Records in 1971.

The music on the album is blues based rock with a psychadelic edge. Sometimes I´m reminded of the early Jethro Tull albums and especially the voice and singing style of lead vocalist Erich Schriever points in that direction. The material is decent and there are enough adventurous ideas on the album to keep it entertaining throughout the playing time, but I wouldn´t call "Eloy" more than a solid release. It´s not exactly groundbreaking either as many of the ideas on the album had already been explored by other groups a couple of years prior to the album´s release. The jamming style rythmic approach, the lengthy solo sections, the "odd" experiment here and there and a basis in blues. Pretty familiar territory if you enjoy late sixties/early seventies rock with a psychadelic edge.

What speaks in favor of "Eloy" are the solid musicianship, the decent sound production and it´s entertainment value. A 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong.

Eloy's debut is a promising start to one of my favourite bands. It is classic rock first and foremost rather than the prog they would cling onto so dearly in their next few albums, which are masterpieces. It is interesting to hear Eloy revved up with fuzzy guitar riffs and Sabbath like atmospheres. From the outset the guitar riffs crunch along on 'Today' with a Deep Purple style, then it moves to the glorious lengthy 'Something Yellow' driven by psychedelic heavy guitar riffing and a brilliant lead break from Frank Bornemann. He is always integral to the success for the group on vocals too, but I like the vocals also from Erich Schriever on this early Eloy incarnation. The other musicians are Helmut Draht on drums, Wolfgang Stöcker on bass, and Manfred Wieczorke on keyboards. They are all amazing on 'Something Yellow' perhaps the highlight of the album.

'Eloy' is the only time the band refer to their name's sake and this is basically Uriah Heep in sound, and the vocals are similar to Deep Purple. I love the cool riff that ploughs along nicely over a simple beat. The instrumental break is broken by fast conga percussion, a nice lead break and then it locks back to the hypno riff. They speak of a "land of freedom" here and on their next album "Inside" they would speak of a "Land of No body." The band literally transform from this more simple style 2 years later and never look back.

'Song of a paranoid soldier' continues the heavy guitar riff and solid melodic singing. It shifts time sig in this song that is about not wanting to kill anymore, and a desire to return to the green countryside; poignant feelings at the time of recording in 1971. The lead break is terrific and I like the way it captures the 70s paranoia.

'Voice of revolution' has another grooving riff that grabs me but I really like the more peaceful and relaxing vibe on 'Isle of sun' reminding me of where the band would eventually go, producing some of the most beautiful music on the planet. 'Dillus roady' closes things with a Uriah Heep riff sounding very much like 'Gypsy', which I adore so no problems.

Overall, Eloy's debut shows what the band are capable of and features some psychedelic Classic Rock sounds and very cool guitar. The ideas are solid and it is a good start to where they were headed. Of course they took on lengthy compositions with ambient keyboards and very intricate structures later. Nevertheless, a lot of bands would like to have a debut this good and it deserves it's place in birthing one of the greatest space rock bands of the 70s and beyond.

ELOY's self-titled debut album is not representative of the band. After winning a musical contest, the germans recorded a single in 1970, before releasing their first opus the next year. Overwhelmed by theirs british hard rock influences, they have not developed their typical fantasy space-rock style yet. Despite the nationality, the compositions cannot be assimilated to Krautrock either, but rather to early hard/heavy rock, with very discrete progressive elements. Furthermore, Erich Schriever's singing tries to sound like Ian Gillian. At this time, Frank Bornemann was only guitarist, and this record does not display his talents yet.

The opener "Today" is an enjoyable hard rock tune resembling DEEP PURPLE's "Hush" cover. The slightly progressive "Something Yellow" opens with a BLACK SABBATH-ian riff, and features more or less interesting variations. The title track is quite pleasant and clearly confirms the band's british influences. "Song Of A Paranoid Soldier" and "Voice Of Revolution" are also correct early heavy rock tunes, while the organ-driven "Isle Of Sun" is softer. The ending track, "Dillus Roady" is the weakest, rather useless and uninspired.

Arriving a few years too late (which will be a recurrent thing for ELOY), the record does not take many risks and sounds like a second-zone DEEP PURPLE. The progressive incursions are still shy and the musical transitions, abrupt and not very mastered. However, the songs themselves aren't bad. Definitely not the album to start with and lacking personnality, "Eloy" is nonetheless an enjoyable listen for early hard / psychedelic rock fans.

ELOY's debut album clearly stands apart from their later opus, in that it contains almost zero space/SF references, for which they would come to be well known and respected in the following years. This is a basic, heavy prog sound, more rooted in the bluesy hard rock than in prog. Heavy guitar riffs and solo parts are overwhelming, reminding sometimes of Rory Gallagher's TASTE lengthy improvisations. This is a fine rocking effort but some extended tracks sound a bit underdeveloped and repetitive. British heavy rock acts of the era were obviously influencing the ELOY's songwriting - the closer "Dillus Roady" is based on the guitar riff that was practically lifted from URIAH HEEP's "Gypsy" - which is not a bad thing per se. However, in order to come up with their own original ideas and identity ELOY had to work a bit harder, changing the band line-up in the process. This is a good heavy rock album but is not something essential.