Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Embryo — Embryo's Rache
(Materiali Sonori MASO CD 90050, 1971/1993, CD)

Embryo's Rache Cover art

This is one of three Embryo albums in this tier, I had previously written about Steig Aus. Embryo could have one of the longest and most consistent chain of great records of any 70s group and through their tenure, they have ranged from jazz rock to world music and combinations thereof. The closest the band got to progressive rock had to have been the band's second album, Rache, which featured one of their finest line ups with a lot of the band's great mainstays, leader and drummer Christian Burchard, sax / violinist Edgar Hoffmann, flautist Hansi Fischer, guitarist Roman Bunka, and keyboardist Jimmy Jackson, who lays the Mellotron on pretty thick on this album. Embryo already had the jazz chops and even though the compositions on this lean to rock, the fluency of the jazz musicianship is quite evident in the building blocks. The songs seem largely built on some pretty heavy riffing and ensemble work, building up songs that are embellished by quite a large group of musicians, including vocals. This is a real classic of early German rock, muscular, deep and extremely atmospheric, notable for how great the double keyboards work off of each other as embellishment (the electric piano in particular verges clavinet like). And occasionally even this early it hints at the later evolution of the band with Dieter Serfas' gan gan contributions. Strong all the way to Hofmann's amazing violin solo on the fade out of "Change."

by Mike McLatchey, Published 2017-08-24

Although this is one of the classics of German progressive jazz rock, distribution is, unfortunately, extremely infrequent in the United States. From the looks of the copyrights, this is actually the second reissue of the CD, the first being in 1993. Rache is the second album by a legendary group, presenting a spine-tingling blend of jazz and rock that is only barely influenced by the world music that they would incorporate in later years. Several of the titles, including the two openers, are in a vein similar to its more rock-oriented contemporaries such as Virus, Tomorrow’s Gift, Satin Whale, and Thirsty Moon (to name a random few). Although Embryo brews in more jazz, it’s less here than on just about any of their other albums. There are tons of solos from keys, flute, and sax, and quite a bit of Mellotron as well, all conglomerated into a blend that could only come from early-70s Germany. It all makes for a crucial masterpiece, fueled by top notch musicianship, superb chemistry, and a vital blend of composition and improvisation that is scintillating in every regard. It even has bonus tracks from a modern (1991), much jazzier incarnation of the band. Find it if you can, it’s an absolutely essential purchase.

by Mike McLatchey, Published 2000-05-01

Filed under: Reissues, 1993 releases, 1971 recordings

Related artist(s): Embryo

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.