I first heard this stupendous album at school; the cool guys were into Pink Floyd and Genesis, the even cooler ones were discovering Marillion and King Crimson, and then... there were the ones that went that little bit further!
One such excursion (along with I remember Nektar's Journey to the Centre of the Eye) was a visit to Rockpommel's Land with German prog rockers Grobschnitt (there, I've taken care to spell it right!).
There are only 4 tracks. The old side one consisting of 2 x 10 minute epics and side two the shorter tuneful Anywhere complete with whistling solo, and the 20 minute plus title track.
The longer tracks each build on beautiful chord progressions to thrilling climaxes, particularly title track Rockpommel's Land where you can hear the strings squeaking as the acoustic guitarist shifts position.
Variations on simple, beautiful and hypnotic musical themes return throughout these multi-layered pieces. Particularly memorable is a gorgeous piano arpeggio that starts track 2. The only slight grumble could be the very Germanic vocals that sometimes encroach on the sumptuous musical passages and as for the lyrics - I can't say I've paid that much attention to the tale of Ernie and his flying friend Maribou. However this 70s prog has aged much better than some other contributions to the genre including the aforementioned Journey to the Centre of the Eye.
One such excursion (along with I remember Nektar's Journey to the Centre of the Eye) was a visit to Rockpommel's Land with German prog rockers Grobschnitt (there, I've taken care to spell it right!).
The word Grobschnitt actually translates as "rough cut" but there is n't anything rough cut about the band's brilliant musicianship.
There are only 4 tracks. The old side one consisting of 2 x 10 minute epics and side two the shorter tuneful Anywhere complete with whistling solo, and the 20 minute plus title track.
The longer tracks each build on beautiful chord progressions to thrilling climaxes, particularly title track Rockpommel's Land where you can hear the strings squeaking as the acoustic guitarist shifts position.
Variations on simple, beautiful and hypnotic musical themes return throughout these multi-layered pieces. Particularly memorable is a gorgeous piano arpeggio that starts track 2. The only slight grumble could be the very Germanic vocals that sometimes encroach on the sumptuous musical passages and as for the lyrics - I can't say I've paid that much attention to the tale of Ernie and his flying friend Maribou. However this 70s prog has aged much better than some other contributions to the genre including the aforementioned Journey to the Centre of the Eye.
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