BALLERMANN

With the addition of keysman Volker "Mist" Kahrs, the Grobschnitt sound began to take shape. The "wacky" side of the band is immediately apparent on the hilarious "Sahara", featuring creepy slowed-down vocals from Eroc. From then on, it's a wild ride of keys-and-guitars prog. Definitely a lot more symphonic than their debut, with little of the hippie feel of their first (the folkish "Drummer's Dream" comes close). Yes seems to be the dominant influence (Lupo even offers a whimsical quote from "Yours Is No Disgrace" in the middle of "Nickel-Odeon"), and the disc peaks with the lengthy and adventurous "Magic Train", which does indeed take the listener for a ride.

The second disc of the original double LP is dedicated to a 33-minute version of the live concert favourite piece "Solar Music". A cosmic, jamming-oriented piece, it's sort of their "grand farewell" to their earlier, more "Krautrock"-oriented style, and is something of a minor classic.

It was not, however, to be the definitive version of the piece, as we shall soon learn.