Various Artists — OST-kraut! Progressives Aus Den DDR-archiven (1970

This two cd set compiles an interesting and eclectic mix of bands that formed part of the West German Kosmische or Krautrock scene that exploded in the early 1970s. Whilst it was renowned for bringing the likes of Tangerine Dream, Can, Kraftwerk and Amon Düül to the world’s attention, the kosmische scene was responsible for hundreds of bands, many of whom only ever recorded one single or album. This rather lavishly produced two-CD set focuses on some of those less well-known artists, shining a light on some of the fantastic music that was made under the kosmische banner.

The set features a beautifully illustrated booklet, that gives a brief write-up on each of the songs and artists featured as well as reproducing album covers and photos of the bands. The only slight downside to this is that the whole booklet is in German, so those of us who are not multilingual may struggle to understand the text, however, I must admit to finding it less of a problem because the images really make it worthwhile flicking through while you listen to some fascinating less well-known material that is potentially as good as the work of those bands who managed to ascend the boundaries of post-war West Germany to become celebrated artists on the world stage.

What we have here is a collection of music that spans the musical spectrum, album opener "Weiter,Weiter"by The Peter Holten Septett is an up-tempo hard rock number that would happily sit alongside the likes of Dust or Atomic Rooster, whereas "Kannst Du Das Nicht" by Die Skalden, has a far jazzier groove to it, and Bayon offer prog style shifting time signatures and instrumental noodling. Rote Gittaren’s "Wachsein im Dunkel" is far more atmospheric and leans slightly more heavily on emerging electronics than those already discussed. The Puhdys track, "Steige Nicht Auf Einen Baum" is terrific, covering a variety of different musical styles throughout its five minutes of length, whilst the Jaco Dev Sextett track, "Stappellauf" is a classic slice of heavy psychedelia in the same vein as bands like The Ill Wind. One of the more recognisable names, Omega provides "Zerbrechlicher Schwung", a Jefferson Airplane/ Curved Air style rocker that is very much the equal of either of those bands. The first disc is brought to a close by Collegium Musicum and their "Hommage á Johann Sebastian Bach", which obviously draws similarities to The Nice or ELP with their classically infused take on prog rock. 

Disc two kicks off with Electra Combo and their 10-minute epic, "Tritt Ein Inn Den Dom", featuring tons of heavy organ and lush vocal harmonies, as well as a wicked jazz interlude about midway through. Nautiks 1970 single, "Wir Gehen Am Meer" is almost easy listening, with slick crooned vocals and epic-sounding swathes of mellotron. Blue Effect adds some country funk vibes to the proceedings with "Clara", a track that highlights the influence American music of the time was having on German music, it's almost like a kosmische Allman Brothers. The Klaus Renft Combo are up next with almost proto-metal guitar riffs and some surprisingly sweet vocals. This is followed by Kati Kovacs und Die Juventus – Gruppe and their single, "Wind, Komm, bring Den Regen Her", one of my favourites on the album. A fairly typical female-fronted hard rock band with a funky groove that gives as good as anything we’ve heard from the UK or US. Panta Rhei are up next and their track "Gib Dir Selber Eine Chance" feels pretty typical for 1972, an 8-minute prog rock epic which breaks down around halfway through, into something loose and fairly freeform sounding. This is perhaps the most avant-garde sounding track thus far. Hungaria are up next with their single "Die Farben de Natur", an almost CSNY-esque pop song similar in style to Our House with Beach Boys style harmonies, lovely stuff. Die Skalden return with "Ein Ferner Punkt". This is less obviously jazzy than their previous inclusion, however it is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Laid back but rockier than Kannst Du Das Nicht, it’s a really strong contender for best track on the album. Much of the rest of the album is good, solid 70s hard rock and prog, however Illés stand out with "Hier Stand die Sonne Hoch", a sitar-led ragga that feels firmly rooted in the late 60s psychedelic pop boom. Klosterbrüder & Stern Combo Meißen are possibly the most difficult artists to pigeonhole here, coming on like King Crimson at their most arty and avant-garde. Jurgen Kerth pops up next with "Nacht Unterwegs", a fairly unique-sounding kind of funk/soul ballad with phased vocals that sound unlike anything else I’ve ever heard before. The album is brought to a close by Modern Septett Berlin's "Sagen" a funk-infused slab of catchy pop/rock that seems appropriate to bring the proceedings to an end.

Overall, Kraut! Progressives Aus Den DDR-archiven Is largely rock orientated, steering clear of the weird electronica that bands like Kraftwerk, Faust and the Kosmik Jokers were more famous for. There is a great deal of jazz and funk influence to be gleaned from this album with stand-out tracks from the likes of the Peter Holten Septett, The Puhdys, Jaci Dev Sextett, Omega, Kati Kovacs und Die Juventus – Gruppe and Die Skalden’s second offering, Ein Ferner Punkt. However, it’s worth mentioning that every track here is worth a listen and I found the 2-hour-plus experience of listening to this to be an absolute pleasure. It's always lovely to discover interesting bands you’ve missed and this collection brings together a host of them. If you love classic 70s hard rock, funk rock, psychedelia and proto-metal, give this a spin, I’m pretty sure you’ll find a bunch of new bands to hunt out. I certainly did.