Ikarus

Obscure one-shot German prog that is highly recommend if you like Van der Graaf Generator and the likes. Saxophone and organ-dominated prog with jazzy overtones. The album was released on the short-lived +plus+ label, ran by Jochen Petersen, who was a member of this band, as well as (later on) Randy Pie. "Eclipse" is the opening cut, played in an unusual meter (typical of jazz, not of rock). The lyrics protest environmental destruction, but the lyrics are so poorly written they make me cringe ("Skyscrapers crowd and narrow the nature", "Save the nature/It's a treasure", yikes!). Even their English needs brushing, listen to them say, "Creature" as three syllables ("cre-a-ture"). I guess it's no worse than Frank Bornemann saying "wictim" (that is his pronunciation of "victim") on Eloy's Ocean. On the other hand you can forgive such bad lyrics because the band was likely not that familiar with the English language. The band opted for real strings instead of a Mellotron. The middle part includes a lengthy organ solo. At least you can't fault the band for "The Raven" as the lyrics were borrowed from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", which of course, are a great improvement over "Eclipse". At times that spacy Krautrock influence makes itself known in some of the music, stuff that would be foreign on a VdGG album. Lyrically, this album gets me thinking of Embryo's Rache, another great album marred by poorly written lyrics done by people who barely have a grasp of the English language. Lyrics aside, for those looking for more worthy obscure prog, try this. Unfortunately it's only been reissued once, on Second Battle, so that's probably your only chance to hear this (since the original LP is naturally hard to find as only three titles ever been released on the +plus+ label). by progfan97402 Companies etc Record Company – Miller International Schallplatten GmbH Credits Bass Guitar, Vocals – Wolfgang Kracht Design [Cover Idea], Layout – Paul Sachse Drums, Percussion – Bernd Schröder (2) Guitar, Twelve-string Guitar, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Vocals, Producer – Jochen Petersen Guitar, Vocals – Manfred Schulz (4) Lead Vocals – Lorenz Köhler, Manfred Schulz (4) (tracks: B2) Organ, Piano – Wulf Dieter Struntz Photography By – Sebastian Dietrich (2) Words By [After A Poem By] – E. A. Poe* (tracks: B1) Written-By – Petersen* (tracks: A1 to B1), Köhler* (tracks: A1, B1), Schulz* (tracks: A1, B1, B2), Wolfgang Kracht (tracks: B1, B2), Struntz* (tracks: B1, B2)