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Tibet — Porta Westfalica 1975
(Garden of Delights CD199, 1975/2024, CD / LP)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-05-23

Porta Westfalica 1975 Cover art

Tibet was a band from Werdohl in the German Sauerland which were active throughout the 70s, though their self-titled album from late 1978 on Bellaphon (now available as a CD from Musea, Belle Antique, Sireena, and others) was recorded over several years very late in the band’s career, by which time the core of the band (represented here on this 1975 live recording) had been joined by a lead singer and a second keyboardist. With the seven tracks at hand, the first five of which were taken from a single outdoor festival show on July 13, 1975, with two additional live tracks (that were part of the band’s set at the time) pulled from other recordings from around the same time — the bonus track  “Take What’s Yours” was from a live show the following year. Only the first six cuts appear on the LP version. At this point in time the band members are keyboardist Dieter Kumpakischkis, guitarist Jürgen Krutzsch, bassist Karl-Heinz Hamann, and drummer Fred Teske, a solid instrumental lineup playing interesting, complex progressive rock. The tapes, only found recently, were lovingly mastered by Eroc. Only the aforementioned “Take What’s Yours” and the set opener “Fight Back” survived to the band’s 1978 album, the remaining five pieces presented here are previously unheard. The sound here is a powerful rock laced with strong touches of psychedelic and funk, the latter driven by bassist Hamann and drummer Teske, perhaps not at all unlike Kraan of around the same vintage, though without the saxes, and heavier on the keyboard flourishes (Kumpakischkis plays electric piano, organ, and synth mostly). The songs are all group written. With “Monkey Man” and “Kaleidoscope” the band present two excellent extended instrumentals that swerve and dive through a whirlwind of great ideas as they proceed, the former clocking in at over nine minutes. Another tune that deserves special mention is the classically informed “Miss One’s Way,” perhaps reminiscent of something by Dutch band Focus as it begins, but ending up in a far more experimental and psychedelic world at various points along its eleven-minute trajectory. I would certainly be remiss not to mention the many stories presented by the band in the liner notes from the early days, especially those regarding their travels to play at festivals in England. Overall, a superb archival release from a band that should have been better known.

Filed under: Archives, 2024 releases, 1975 recordings

Related artist(s): Tibet

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