The Power And The Glory (90)

Their sound reminds of Duke or Abacab period Genesis, especially on the title track...maybe with better vocal harmonies. Solid uptempo neo-prog.

Killing Floor (70), Out of Uranus (71)

Prog/blues/rock.

Kin Ping Meh (71), No. 2 (72), No. 3 (73), Virtues & Sins (74)

A guitar and organ-laden (some mellotron) hard rock/psych band whose name is from a 16th century Chinese poem. (It means "Plum Blossom Branch in a Golden Vase"). Though pretty much hard rock most of they time, they show many strong Beatles influences, John Lennon in particular. Their first album, released late in 1971 as a quintet is pretty decent hard rock with some psych touches. It includes two longer tracks, (10 and 7 minutes) but most are in the 3-5 minute range. The CD release of this album contains both sides of both singles released before their first album. The A-side of their first single ("Everything's My Way") appears in a different, longer version on the LP ("Everything"). In '72, the followed up with No. 2. They attempted to enrich their sound by adding three more members (an octet, now) and by diversifying guitar styles (three guitarists). The notable track here is the cover of The Beatles' "Come Together" which extended into an 11 minute jam that's got a nice underground vibe to it. This was apparently a concert favorite. There are two other long tracks, "Livable Ways" and "Day Dreams" which are both about eight minutes long. "Livable Ways" starts off with spacy organ and dark mellotron then adds some heavy guitar doses of psychedelia. "Day Dream" is a somewhat dreamy, somewhat Beatleish tune that doesn't really go anywhere. This is followed by a bluegrass banjo/guitar ditty. There are also a couple of acoustic guitar based tunes, as there on the first album. If interested, check out the first release and move on from there. -- Mike Taylor

3 and Virtues & Sins are supposed to be straight hard rock with no prog. -- Mike Ohman

[See 2066 And Then]

Dolphin Smiles (87)

Steve Kindler is a violinist who's made a bunch of albums in the light jazz/new age vein. Teja Bell was the guitarist and mastermind behind Rising Sun. This project was a one-off that worked fairly well, with Bell's delicate acoustic guitar work provides excellent support for synths, and Kindler's melodic violin. A new age album that most progressives would enjoy.

[See Bell, Teja | Rising Sun]

In the Court of the Crimson King (69), In the Wake of Poseidon (70), Lizard (70), Islands (71), Earthbound (live)(72), Lark's Tongues in Aspic (73), Starless and Bible Black (74), Red (74), USA (live)(75), A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson (76), Discipline (81), Beat (82), Three of a Perfect Pair (84), The Compact King Crimson (86), Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson (91, boxed set), The Abbreviated King Crimson (91), The Great Deceiver (92, boxed set of previously unreleased live material), VROOM (94, EP), THRAK (95), B'Boom (95), THRaKaTTaK (96)

King Crimson are one of the most influential and highly regarded of the long-lived prog bands. Through numerous line-up changes, their founder and guitarist, the ubiquitous and brilliant Robert Fripp, has crafted King Crimson's sound through quite distinct musical phases. Although the official classification for real KC-heads notes around seven identifiably different KC phases, the new listener can be given a good picture by pointing out three main phases in their musical output. Phase one consists of recordings up to and including Islands. Most of this period was characteristically defined by the lyrics and "spiritual guidance" of Peter Sinfield...a fair degree of high-brow social comment and mysticism. The music shows folk elements and ranges from chaotic improvisations with a seemingly huge amount of instruments (most of them Fripp on mellotron) to beautiful acoustic songs with floating melodies. Fripp's later incredible and highly original guitar work is not too obvious in this phase but complements the music greatly when it appears. Many long, classicaly inspired pieces involving much mellotron and occasionaly full orchestras make this phase sound more dated than later material but it all has a really timeless quality too (is that a contradiction?). Lizard is my favourite from this period and is probably the most ageless album I have. This period involved a lot of prog illumini on various albums ... Jon Anderson sings on Lizard, Greg Lake sings and plays on In the Wake ... etc. Phase Two involved Lark's Tongues up to and including Red. Much more modern sounding, many consider this Crimson's high point. Bill Bruford on percussion, John Wetton on vocals and David Cross on strings. Fripp's guitar rears its head properly on these recordings and you are treat to some of the most inspired and brilliantly original guitar work ever produced. There are a lot of long instrumental tracks that sound improvised but have a really tight structure...very loud distortion and strange modalities combine to provide a real challenge to the prog listener. Touching jazz ideas in places, folk in others and raw Fripp in most, Lark's Tongues is quite superb. Features percussion legend Jamie Muir, too. Most of Starless and Bible Black is live improvisation around Fripp themes with the audience dubbed out and this fact should be remembered when listening to the two amazing extended instrumentals on side two! Often descending into what sounds like "horror music" in these instrumentals, they come soaring up from the quiet passages with Wetton's bass and Fripp's screaming guitar together. Great stuff. Red shows a new development as the sound is tightened (Cross has left by now) and the characteristic Fripp guitar figures begin to emerge. Great percussion and a fantastic vocal track "Starless" on side two that incorporates Fripp's "one-note" solo section! This is often said to Crimson's most "metal" album but this is really misleading. It has absolutely nothing to do with "metal" as commonly perceived, it just has more guitar. A brilliant album. Phase three envelops Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair. Very different to the other material, this was the result of a regrouping that Fripp undertook many years after he had broken Crimson up after Red. He originally re-formed the group under the name "Discipline," then changed the name to King Crimson and made an album called Discipline. Confusing, eh? Anyway, this lineup had Bruford on percussion, Adrian Belew on vocals/guitar and the stick-master Tony Levin on stick-bass. Belew's influence made this phase a lot more "pop" oriented than had previously been the case and these three albums are probably the most acessible of the KC recordings. Fripp's guitar-work had fully matured and his obscure time signatures and Belew's sense of humour (and amazing guitar talent) made for a really heady mixture. Characterised by overlapping guitar lines played in different times so as to sound like weird delay effects and Levin's perfectly executed and mid-range stick lines, this phase is a real delight. Belew's voice was made for this type of material and it fits well. As usual, brillant (but more subdued) percussion from Bruford. Get some of this phase or miss out on Crimson at a creative height. In short, a legendary band in all their incarnations. Rarely has such diversity been containable under one name. Totally recommended. All of their back studio catalogue was re-mixed for CD by Fripp and Tony Arnold in 1989 and is now available; look for the "definitve edition" blurb on the case. Latest lineup is Fripp, Belew, Levin, Trey Gunn, Pat Mastalotto and Bruford.

Early period: In the Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard, Islands.
Middle period: Earthbound (Live), Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, Red, USA (live).
'80s version: Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair.

These periods are drastically different, and to listen to the albums without knowing who recorded them, one would probably think they're the products of different bands. In effect, this is actually the case: the only musician who was present throughout the history of the band is the mastermind behind the whole thing, Robert Fripp himself. Each period is marked by a complete turnover of personnel (except, of course, for Fripp, and Bill Bruford, who returned from the middle period lineup for the '80s version). I will mention here that Earthbound was performed with early period personnel; however, I placed it with the middle period albums because in my opinion, it's much closer musically to the albums that followed it than to those that preceded it. As is the case with prog rock in general, odd time signatures are frequently found in music throughout the band's history. Peter Sinfield's lyrics on the early period albums, and Richard W. Palmer-James' lyrics on the middle period albums, are regarded by many as self-indulgent and pretentious. Well, such lyrics are often found in prog rock, but even with that consideration, these lyrics are embarrassing-not only to the band, but to its fans, and to the world of music in general. Adrian Belew's lyrics in the 80's version are much easier to deal with-they're often quite inventive and evocative, and (dare I say it) actually pretty good. All three periods also feature a great deal of...experimentation with structure, harmonics, and instrumentation. Fripp's guitar is the one identifiable thread that runs throughout; pick any Crimson album at random, and you'll find at least a couple places where he cuts loose with one of his fast, clean, somewhat dissonant, Frippian solos. Following are notes on the individual periods, along with recommendations for albums. I believe that all the music within any given period is consistent enough stylistically that if you like one album, you would almost certainly like the others from the same period.

Early Period: The lineup of King Crimson has always been highly unstable, and this is especially true in the early period, which featured (in order) Greg Lake, Gordon Haskell, and Boz Burrell on bass; Michael Giles, Andy McCulloch, and Ian Wallace on drums; and Ian McDonald and Mel Collins on sax, with various other players sitting in on various occasions. The early Crimson albums are much more "orchestral sounding" than the others and give the impression of being more deliberately composed and arranged. The heavy use of the mellotron in some songs probably contributes to this impression. These are the albums on which one would look for the classical influences that often typify progressive rock, and some material has a distinct gothic feel. You can also find some very nice jazzy material at times. And the first track on the first album, "21st Century Schizoid Man," might even be considered the prototypical heavy metal song. For recommendations, I'd start with albums from the other two periods (well, that's where my preference lies). Seriously, though, Court would be the early period album to start with.

Middle Period: I will unabashedly admit that these are not only my favorite Crimson albums, but among my all-time favorites, period. The music is dominated by the thunderously heavy rhythm section of drummer Bill Bruford and bassist John Wetton, overlaid with Fripp's incredibly precise guitar playing. On Larks' Tongues and Starless and Bible Black, violinist David Cross has moments of counteracting the heaviness with a light, delicate touch; at other times, he dives headfirst into the fracas. Percussionist Jamie Muir adds some very nice textures to Lark's Tongues. The music, if one wanted to categorize it, might best be described as sophisticated heavy metal, with perhaps some jazz and psychedelic influences. It's characterized by long, intricate improvisations-not the kind in which one guy solos over a riff played by the others, but a continuous interaction in which everyone is "playing off" what everyone else is doing. This is a fairly risky approach, and I'm given to understand they produced some truly awful stuff onstage this way. But the stuff that found its way onto vinyl (and/or CD) is very interesting, compelling, and unique music. It often creates an ominous, even threatening feeling-low and slow, as if it's biding its time. Other times, the guys just blast it out at you. I think of it as music that could sink a battleship. Back when I was a young, single guy, a couple friends and I liked to get drunk and/or stoned, drive far out into the country with the express purpose of getting lost, and then try to find our way back. Well, middle period King Crimson is the musical equivalent, and you don't run the risk of killing yourself or someone else in a wreck, getting arrested for DUI, or running out of gas and meeting up with those mountain guys from "Deliverance" while hitch-hiking to a gas station that's probably not open anyway. For recommendations, I'd suggest starting with Red and working backwards; Starless next, then Lark's Tongues. Much of the material on the three available albums was actually recorded in concert, although this is not noted on the sleeves. And the boxed set The Great Deceiver provides four CD's worth of live recordings of the band from this period (obviously, a $50+ set of disks isn't a good recommendation for someone who's not familiar with the band, but it is essential for someone who's already deeply into them). Anyway, Red would present the new listener with the least amount of unfamiliar ground. Then, working backwards as suggested, the new listener would gradually find more "new territory."

80's Version: Bill Bruford returned for this lineup, joined by bassist/stick player Tony Levin, guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew, and Fripp. Actually, it wasn't until after they had begun rehearsals and had already put some music together that it became apparent that this group should be a reincarnation of King Crimson; previously, Fripp's thought had been to call this particular band Discipline. The '80s Crimson is much more technically and electronically oriented than previous versions. It's an extremely tight, precise band. The middle period Crimson took you for long drives out into the country to get lost, or they'd smash you over the head with a sledge hammer; these guys created highly polished, perfect gems of music for you to stand there and admire. Belew's wailing, anarchic guitar style forms an intriguing contrast to Fripp's precise, exact-and disciplined-playing. Belew also brought with him a sense of wit and good humor, which the band had previously lacked. For recommendations, I would suggest the new listener check out Beat first. Some suggest taking them in chronological order (in other words, Discipline first, then Beat, and ToaPP), which would mean from the most accessible to the least. But I believe that Beat showed a distinct jump in quality and actually represents the band much better than its predecessor.

[See Atoll | Asia | Belew, Adrian | Bruford | Cross, David | Emerson, Lake and Palmer | Family | Fields | Fripp, Robert | Giles, Giles and Fripp | Greenslade | Kingdom Come | Wetton, John | Yes]

King's Boards (90)

This compilation disc features a single cut from each of five budding young Japanese synthesists, who are backed by various members of White Fang, Seilane, and Social Tension. The backing support is mostly bass and drums (no guitar), and they generally play adequetly but stay well out of the way of the featured artists. Motoi Sakuraba's (Deja Vu) entry is a whirling piano-driven piece full of strong melodies and syncopated runs, similar to Minimum Vital or Kit Watkins. Shigetomo Hashimoto offers a light whispy number with lots of flute-like lead lines and punchy brass hits, but the energy level is so low here, and the rhythm section so basic that the song fails to generate much emotion. Naomi Miura's (Rosalia) track is the gem of the album. She proves herself very capable in a heavily male-dominated genre. Based on a recurring, unusual lopsided groove she sprinkles killer CX-3 organ lines all over the place. Even though the obligatory Emerson references abound, the music is still fresh and full of life, all the while maintaining a very distinct analog feel. The last two cuts, by Manabu Kokado and Kodomo Endoh (Social Tension) respectively, are rather weak in comparison. Manabu's piece is a virtual Tony Banks rip-off and Kodomo's is so basic and amateurish it sounds like Kitaro trying to go prog-rock. All in all, the most surprising thing about Kings' Boards is the virtual lack of all-stops-out soloing. With the exception of the first and third tracks, the keyboards are only used to provide melodies and lead lines but the music constantly begs for more. Fortunately, two of the artists deliver the goods. With some reservations, this album should appeal to keyboard afficianados but it's not as strong as its reputation and certainly not in the same league as some of the other young Japanese artists like Il Berlione or Happy Family.

[See Deja Vu | Rosalia | Sakuraba, Motoi | Social Tension]

Galactic Zoo (71), Kingdom Come (72), Journey (73)

[See Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The | Fields | Greenslade. Not to be confused with the USA band that sounds like Led Zeppelin.]

World Within Worlds (73)

Industrial before Industrial was cool. Brian Eno writes part of the liner notes. Pretty scary stuff, odd instrumentation, natural sounds and time dilations.

Kirikyogen (??)

Audentity (??), Head Visions (86), Wake Up in the Sun (87), Musique Intermporel (88), Kaleidoscope (89), Outlines (90)

Bernd Kistenmacher is one of the new generation of German electronic musicians who has produced three works that should well qualify him to take on the mantle of the Klaus Schulze of the nineties. Outlines is his most recent, and features four lengthy compositions blending analog and digital synthesizers to realize a set of spacy, melodic works that probably compare well with Schulze classics such as Audentity. The mood varies from spacy synth textures to aggressive passages with strong rhythm, to make for varied listening. In short, if you enjoy the works of Klaus Schulze, you could do worse than add this disc to your collection.

[See Kistenmacher and Grosskopf]

Characters (??)

Bernd Kistenmacher has, in the past few years, established himself as one of the icons of the German electronic scene, with his rhythmic, Klaus Schulze-influenced works. Harald Grosskopf has been the percussive force behind Wallenstein and Ashra, and has gradually shifted to more "electronic" projects. As expected, this collaboration showcases both their skills to very good effect, resulting in a very compelling work of rhythm and melody- oriented electronic music. The closest comparison would be, not surprisingly, to Ashra (Manuel Göttsching) and Klaus Schulze.

[See Ashra | Kistenmacher, Bernd | Wallenstein]

Benzaiten (76), Osamu (77), Masterless Samurai (81), Dragon King (81), Face To Face (83), The Source (86), FM Shrine (87), Passages (87), California Roll (88), Sweet Chaos (90), Behind The Light (92)

His records span from very exotic fusions of hard rock and traditional Japanese music all played on traditional instruments ("Benzaiten") to a more Jazz-tinged sound (Osamu, Masterless Samurai), to Japanese tinged-soul (Dragon King, Face to Face). His more recent material is overtly new-agey (The Source, FM Shrine, California Roll). His most progressive albums are the first three, Masterless Samurai and earlier. His later stuff is all hit or miss. The stinkers are Dragon King (somewhat) and Face To Face (Gack!) Benzaiten, if you can find it, is probably the most intense and beautiful fusion of Japanese traditional and progressive rock you'll ever find. Stunning.

Astral Voyage (78), Ten-Kai (78), Oasis (79), From the Full Moon Story (79), Silk Road (80), Silk Road 2 (80), Canyon (81), Ki (82), Ten-Jiku (83, aka Silk Road IV), Toward the West (85), Tunhuang (85), Millennia (82), India (83), Live In Asia (84), Silver Cloud (84), My Best (86), Tenku (86), Light Of The Spirit (87), 10 Years (88), Kojiki (90), Live In America (91), Dream (92), In Person Digital (??)

[See Far East Family Band]

Kittyhawk (80), Race For The Oasis (81), Fanfare (84)

US fusion oriented group featuring two chapman stick players in the lineup. Music is mostly instrumental, tasty and very tight. Highly recommended.

Kittyhawk is an early 80's West Coast fusion-jazz band, reminiscent of Jean-Luc Ponty and Chick Corea. One of the first bands to make extensive use of the Chapman Stick, a 10 string touch sensitive guitar/bass, Kittyhawk forged a sound that is both accessible and unique. Their first release, Kittyhawk, is probably their strongest effort. The two following releases, Race For the Oasis and Fanfare are more commercial and less interesting. -- Wade Boring

3:57 EST (76, aka Klaatu), Hope (77), Sir Army Suit (78), Endangered Species (80), Magentalane (81), Klaasic Klaatu (??, comp.), Peaks (??, comp.)

Klaatu were a Canadian 4 piece who had a sound reminiscent of the mid-period Beatles; In fact it was the big rumor after their first album release in 1976 that this was actually the Beatles reunited and recording under a different name. The fact that the first album contained no credits or photos, and that the band had no public performances went far to fuel this theory. (As far as I can tell, they were strictly a studio band). With the release of the second album Hope the band continued to evolve, becoming a more progressive unit with lush orchestrations and outstanding compositions. Their material tended to have a strong element of humor, not unlike early 10cc, but with longer tracks and elaborate arrangements. This would be their masterpiece, its sidelong suite "The Loneliest Of Creatures/ So Said The Lighthouse Keeper" is a monumental classic. Again, no credits, no photos, and no performances, and the "Beatles under a different name" rumor went the way of all the other Beatles rumors, thus a lot of people lost interest in the band, and the album was for the most part overlooked. With the third album Sir Army Suit assumed a more streamlined pop-song oriented format, the promise of Hope was not to be fulfilled: it showed the band sporting both a harder edge and a more pop persona, but no progressive tendencies. This trend of decay continued into the final two albums, when they became a three piece, eventually stooping to dance tracks. The song "Sell Out" from Endangered Species says it all.

Their first two albums are worthwhile for prog fans. Klaatu is kind of a strange mixture of early Beatle/Beach Boys pop which is mostly take-it or-leave-it for me (except the last song, "Little Neutrino" which is a rather long and spacey tune). It's "progressive" in the same sense as the Beach Boys Pet Sounds, which is to say short poppy songs which feature somewhat odd instrumentation, but usually over a 4/4 beat. Hope is great fantasy prog stuff, my fave track being "Politzania." Lots of different instruments are used in addition to odd voices, sound effects, and stereo panning which make a very enjoyable headphone experience. Very symphonic, especially the long, "Loneliest of Creatures" suite. I predict most prog fans would like this album much better than their first. -- Dennis Montgomery

Mrowisko (70)

Continuous, flowing concept work with organ and some violin.

Abakadabra (75)

A Dark Hour For History (90)

A Dark Hour for History is the new cassette by Kolab, a collaboration between Pete Gulch (Nightcrawlers) and the Canadian synthesist Steve Brenner. This mixture of talents is magical and should appeal to any fan of teutonic space music. A Dark Hour for History is two 14 minute cosmic journeys into the nether reaches of your mind, "Time Traveler" and "A Dark Hour for History." Sequenced electronics, piano, and found sounds make for a highly enjoyable half hour of music. I wish there were more music on this tape! A Dark Hour for History is easily the best release I've heard on the Synkronos label. Check it out for yourself.

[See Goricon | Nightcrawlers/Xisle]

Kollektiv (73)

Underground krautrock.

Emancipee (90)

Instrumental fusion.

Le Bal du Rat Mort (71)

[See Alpha Du Centaure | Atoll]

Mute Poet Vocalizer (90), Phlegm (92)

A very hard-edged industrial rock band from the Netherlands, sort of like Djam Karet with no heart and soul. Gayle Ellett of Djam Karet recommended this band to me. Very hard and abrasive.

Not An Ordinary Life (72)

Reminiscent of Italian prog ala Banco.

Kornet (7?), Fritfall (7?), III (7?)

Killer all-instrumental fusion-prog band. I have heard III and it is one of the very best from any country. The level of musicianship and the inventiveness of the arrangements are unbelievable. If you like fusion (even moderately like myself), you owe it to yourself to hear these guys. Highest recommendation. -- Juan Joy

Bihozkadak (79)

Basque Prog.

Ajatuslapsi (77)

Keyboardist/synthesist. Has worked with Wigwam and Jukka Tolonen.

Kraan (72), Wintrup (72), Andy Nogger (74), Live (75), Let It Out (75), Wiederhoren (77), Flyday (78), Tournee (80), Nachtfahrt (82), Scallplatten (?)

An excellent seventies jazz/rock/spacemusic band. Two of their mid seventies works, Andy Nogger and one other were released through Jem in the USA. I think. Hellmut Hattler's bass playing is excellent, the guitarist is superb, and they have a sax player who I think at times uses effects pedals and wah wah and can even sound like a keyboard player sometimes. They added keys later on. First couple LPs were classic space rock, and then they got a very refined sound, very fun, funky rock with a really spacey feel. Later LPs added keyboards to the original guitar, bass, drums, sax lineup. I think the Live double LP really stands out as a high point in their releases. The two LPs that made it out in the US are good, but I think are weakened a little by the vocals. I'm inclined to almost compare them to Steely Dan because of their excellant musicianship and pristine production on the later works, but they don't really sound at all like Steely Dan. The later LPs tend to get more slick and faster and faster to a point of near technical over-indulgence.

Kraan is a primarily-instrumental outfit that blends the very best elements of fusion, funk, space and progressive - led by bassist extrordinaire Hellmut Hattler - into a unique style of their own. The early albums (through Let It Out) featured Johannes Pappert on sax, who did some pretty inventive stuff using special effects. With Let it Out they added a keyboardist and subsequently Pappert left, so the later albums have a slightly different feel. Most of their tracks are instrumentals, the few vocal tracks tend to be fairly eccentric. A good place to start is the Live album (a double LP on single CD) which contains the best material from the first three, or Let It Out.

Talk about "get the funk out!": I have Kraan's Live and have heard a little of Tournee. Live is a fantastic album that owes as much to jazz/funk as it does rock. There are two players that stand out immediately: Peter Wolfbrandt on guitar and Hellmut Hattler on bass. Wolfbrandt's guitar is clean, refined, and very tasteful, whether he's in a funk or rock groove. Hattler's bass is all OVER the place. He must have six fingers on each hand! Johannes Pappert is the sax player and he usually sounds like anything but a sax. At times I thought it was a violin and other times sounded more like a synth, just like Miles Davis during his mid-70's funk/fusion era. Jan Fride, the drummer, sets up a rock solid groove. It's really hard to imagine this is four piece music. On Tournee, the sax is replaced by a real set of keyboards and the drummer changed. The funk groove is still there but no so pronounced, while the fusion groove is enhanced, reminding me somewhat of Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group. I don't know about the rest of their work, but these two are excellent.

Great space-rock/jazz-fusion mix. Led by the restless guitar and raucous rock vocals of Peter Wolbrandt, and featuring the monster bass playing of the bespectacled Helmut Hattler (he may be one of the top five bassists of all-time!), Kraan made a spacy jazz/prog type of music with some Middle-Eastern themes, yet retained true rock power. No keyboardist at this early stage, but alto-sax player Johannes Pappert often makes his instrument sound like a synth, violin, flute or oboe. This lineup reaches its peak on Andy Nogger, which is virtually swimming in crazy sound-effects. "Stars," "Holiday am Marterhorn," "Nam Nam" and "Yellow Bamboo" are all among the band's best song. The double Live album is a great introduction to the band if you can find it, including tracks not available anywhere else, and extended versions of "Nam Nam" and "Andy Nogger." Let It Out adds ex-Karthago keyboardist Ingo Bischof to the lineup, and starts to carry on toward more conventional fusion territory, but not too far. The American (Passport label) issue of this features several remixed tracks. Wiederhoeren treads further into straight fusion, but the amazing "Vollgas Ahoi" and the Caravan-like title track proves they can still jam with the best of them. Tournee is another live album. I heard some of a much later album, very conventional indeed, and not too interesting. -- Mike Ohman

[See Hattler, Hellmut | Karthago | Lilental | Pappert, Johannes]

Kraftwerk (70), Kraftwerk 2 (71), Kraftwerk (73, repackage of first two LPs into 2LP set), Ralf and Florian (73), Autobahn (74), Exceller 8 (75, comp.), Radioactivität (75, aka Radioactivity), Trans Europa Express (77), Die Mensch-Maschine (78, aka The Man Machine), Highrail (79, comp.), Computerwelt (80, aka Computer World), Electric Cafe (86), The Mix (91), remixed versions of earlier songs

German electronics duo (Florian Schneider-Esleben and Ralf Hutter) who first recorded as Organisation in 1970. The Organisation album is even more rare than the first two Kraftwek albums, which are usually seen as a double LP repackage with a cover photo of an oscilloscope display. Around 1972 or so, Schneider quit, and was replaced by Michael Rother (guitars) and Klaus Dinger (drums). This lineup recorded 35 minutes of music together, enough for a short album, before breaking up. This music remains unreleased to this very day, anyone know whatever became of it? Rother and Dinger subsequently recorded on their own as NEU! Hutter meanwhile rejoined with Schneider and recorded Ralf And Florian, supposedly a very good mix of electronics and acoustic instruments (flutes and the like). I haven't heard this one, though. For Autobahn, Wolfgang Flur (percussion) and Klaus Roeder (guitar, violin) were added to the fold. The album continues the experiments mixing synth textures with acoustic instruments (flutes, violins, recorders) most notably on the 22-minute title song, the first six minutes of which were repackaged as a single and became a surprise hit, but perhaps most successfully on "Morgenspaziergang", the second half is surprisingly all-acoustic! Future albums are all-electronic and all-boring, taking on a hokey robotic stance which turns out to be decidedly un-progressive. -- Mike Ohman

[See Düsseldorf, La | Neu | Organisation]

Nu Ar Det Allvar!!! (80, EP), Voodoo Boogie (81?)

Kraldjursanstalten were a Swedish trio of guitar, bass & drums. I don't remember the names of the guitarist & bassist (they were identical twins) & drummer/vocalist was Michael Maksymenko. Heavily Capt. Beefheart influenced, IMHO, they were the best Beefheart-style band ever. Maksymenko released a solo album which was similar, if a little slicker, & played in Henry Kaiser's "Crazy Backwards Alphabet." He's kinda retired from music, but he still writes some music, and one tune will be Cuneiform's Siamese Step. Bros. CD. -- Steve Feigenbaum

Fin Che Le Braccia Diventano Ali/E Il Mondo Cade Giu (70, 7")

When this band stopped, Giorgio Piazza went to play with Katharsis and PFM. Franco Mussida and Franz Di Cioccio also went on to play with PFM. Psychedelic sound.

[See Katharsis | Premiata Forneria Marconi]

[See Trettioariga Kriget]

Sonja Kristina (80), Songs From The Acid Folk (91), Harmonics of Love (94, w/ Cloud Ten)

She was the vocalist for Curved Air. On Acid Folk, the style is acoustic guitar driven psychedelic folk, with drums, bass, violin and cello.

[See Curved Air]

Krokodil (69), Swamp (70), An Invisible World Revealed (71), Musik (71), Getting Up For The Morning (72), Sweat and Swim (73), Classic German Rock Scene (7?)

Early German underground scene.

[See Hepp, Hardy]

Iceland (97)

[See Finnegan's Wake]

Kultivator (81)

An absolutely mindblowing ultra-high energy band from Sweden with an excellent female vocalist. Their sound, to my ears sounds like a cross between Area, Magma circa Kohntarkosz, and Samla Mammas Mannaz circa Familijsprickor, although the net result seems a bit more accessible than any of the aforementioned bands. The original LP was re-released on CD with two bonus tracks recorded in 1992.

Outstanding Swedish quintet who released a single album in 1981. The CD reissue on the Ad Perpetuam Memoriam label also contains a song recorded in '92 and a live song recorded in '79. Strong Canterbury influences abound-often I'm reminded of a souped up National Health - but zeuhl influences are equally prevalent. Vocalist Ingemo Rylander (also recorder and Fender Rhodes) even sounds a good bit like Amanda Parsons. Not mere copycats, though, as Kultivator play an original style with distinctive Scandanavian flair throughout the entire album. The compositions are well arranged, full of complexity, shifting time signatures and make good use of dynamics. The Rhodes has a more prevalent voice than the reknown Hammond of Canterbury fame. Several songs, e.g., "Kara Jord" have the driving march-like rhythms that calls Magma to mind. Strongly recommended!

Kattvalls (73)

Compared to King Crimson with psych touches.

The Fountain Beyond The Sunrise (76)

Austrian symphonic band in the vein of Nursery Cryme-era Genesis and sounding very much like that band from that time. The songs aren't all that great though on their album The Fountain Beyond The Sunrise.

This Austrian band produced one obscure album in the mid-70's that is heavily influenced by Nursery Cryme/Foxtrot-period Genesis. The vocals are in English but carry a strong accent, and the album was recorded on a four-track which does little justice to the lush and complex symphonic arrangements over the album's four long tracks; Still, it stands on its own strengths. The CD re-release was cleaned up as much as possible, and bonus track is included.

The Fountain Beyond The Sunrise is another of the much acclaimed classics from the mid-seventies. The music is symphonic, progressive rock at its finest, with mellotrons and keyboard leads, and moods ranging from quiet piano passages to walls of sound. The sound is very close to the Genesis of that period, with Tony Banks-styled synth textures and a vocalist who does come fairly close to Gabriel, in style.

I hate clones, especially Genesis clones, but these guys have a heck of a lot of taste for sounding so much like their influences. Originally recorded in 1976, The Fountain Beyond The Sunrise was released on a horrible sounding record. I was warned against buying the CD, but did it anyway. Much to my surprise the sound quality is bearable and the CD packaging is quite nice. I think someone told me the band recorded the original tracks in a basement somewhere in Austria, with a 4-track. If you like the Genesis 71-74 period, I recommend this. While I don't think I'd pay more than about $15 for the disc, it contains some interesting music, obviously derivative, but interesting nonetheless. Kyrie Elieson captures most of what I like about my favorite period of Genesis. The vocalist is a Gabriel soundalike, and the rest of the band has Genesis' "Rhythm Makes the World Go 'Round" approach. Its a surprisingly powerful and enjoyable offering