ALTONA

Altona were actually a continuation of the Kraut Rock act Thrice Mice,found in 1972 just four months after the demise of the later with a slightly different and expanded line-up.Gone are sax player Wolfgang Buhre, keyboardist Wolfgang Minnemann, bassist Rainer von Gosen and drummer Arno Bredehöft, replaced by Fritz Kahl on bass, Klaus Gerlach on guitars, Wolfgang Wulff and Michael von Rönn on tenor saxes, Karl-Heinz Gossler on drums, next to the remaining Thrice Mice members multi-instrumentalist Karl-Heinz Blumenberg and guitarist Werner von Gosen.Named after a borough of Hamburg,the band had switched on to a more jazz-oriented sound as presented on their self-titled debut (1975 on RCA).

Keeping all the energy of Thrice Mice, Altona focused on filling their sound with dominant sax attacks and dynamic grooves,like if CHICAGO were actually a Kraut Rock band.Present also some psychedelic influences here and there.With the absence of a keyboard player more than evident,the style became more rhythmic with leading sax solos and Blumenberg's voice in great shape,not particularly complex, but definitely powerful and rich.Very interesting are the dual sax parts often delivered under sudden breaks and the dynamic bass/drums duo of Kahl and Gossler.When the saxes remain silent, Von Gosen's fuzz guitar playing comes on the forefront in a typical Heavy/Kraut Rock style.The sound of Altona though did not break any new grounds,plenty of Kraut Rock bands played this specific style much earlier,but the album keeps a good consistency between the song-based parts and the more jazzy instrumental parts.

If you like your Kraut Rock menu to have some good dose of Jazz taste, ''Altona'' should be among your main preferences.Decent proggy Jazz-Rock,not very personal but well-executed and performed and for this reason recommended.