Wiederhoren

Kraan formed in 1967, and before long, art rock was the order of the day. Their early 70s albums featured long jams, and prog elements that were way above average. This band was funky, and did not indulge in a lot of the meandering other prog bands did. Even their covers were good. No tiger faces comming out of melting palm trees on Venus.By 1977, when WIderhorn came out, music had changed. Rock became glossier and prog seemed like a dead limb of the hippie dreams body. Punk was staging its conter revolution.Kraan's answer to this was to update their sound without selling out or appealing to trends. On this album, the band tighten's their arrangements, and comes out with an energetic jazz-rock-funk stew. The production is polished but never slick, and the instrumentals are as advanced as ever. The number are long, as are the solos, but Kraan was always talented enough to sustain this without self-indulging.There is also some great "pop" here. "Let's Take A Ride," is a beautiful fender rhodes cooker that would not be out of place on a Steely Dan record.Obviously, I think this is a great record and would be a great introdution to Kraan if you don't already know their work .

I think this is the more accomplished album by Kraan. The sax player is gone and in his place is the fantastic keyboard player who is obviously having fun and displaying his fingering abilities in here. Recorded by both Conny Plank and Walter Quintus (the kings of engineering in Germany during the 70s and 80s) this album sounds awesome and tight. Also Peter Wolbrandt is in his most fluid and Hendrix influenced (not only the guitar but also his voice) here. The tunes are fun and rock - prog- fusion tinged in a way that only Kraan could create, really. Who can you compare these guys to? Can't really think of any other group that sounds like them....Highly recommended if you are coming for the first time or if you only heard their first 4 more famous ones.

Unlike the other german bands of the period, who people tend to pigeonhole as "Krautrock" (thus ignoring the sometimes not so subtle variations in approach and instrumentation), Kraan never allowed only one-dimensional elements like texture to direct the music. We're talking about MONSTER musicians here. Peter Wolbrandt might be the only rock musician who brought unadultered samples of true jazz guitar to his playing, and Hellmut Hattler is probably one of the all-time top bass players on earth. In this album, the processed sax of Johannes "Alto" Pappert gave way to ex-Karthago keyboardist Ingo Bischof, who contributes with great e-piano/clavinet and spacey synth landscapes. Some people might think Kraan is more fusion than rock (they did chose to concentrate on that path on later albums), but their rock origins can be heard throughout. From the lysergic soundscapes of "Let's Take a Ride" to the manic title track, this band *delivers*. After listening to this outlandish diplay of musicianship, you'll understand why the (sadly) few people who actually know about Kraan have them among his fave bands (fans include, among others, Ed and Seaweed of the Ozric Tentacles)

Originally released in 1977, about as good as their 'Flyday' lp (see my review). To me, Kraan seems like the German reply to Steely Dan. Any listener is sure to notice Ingo Bischof's keyboard playing, especially on the cuts "Just One Way", "Vollgas Ahol" and "Rund Um Die Uhr". Wanted to also mention that "Rendezvous In Blue" appears to have some familiar chords, that to me sounds like possibly a score for an old Peanuts TV show. Guitarist Peter Wolbrandt displays some decent vocals on "Let's Take A Ride". Might be a bit to jazzy for some, but it does get better with each play. Most progressive fans should enjoy this CD.

"Wiederhoren" is great stuff. The jam that lives here is the kind that takes you down the block. And I would not try to chew no bubble gum at the same time neither. Because your head would start to doing them whoop-dee-whips, and your shoulders would start to a-heaving, and down below you would start into that old "dime-quarter-dime-quarter" kind of groove, do you understand? I tell you this record is lay down, break down, on the hot side of town.

I totally agree with Brotherize and Joott.I picked up this album by chance in 1977,and I still love it.It is my favorite Kraan studio album.

Là, je n'irai pas par quatre chemins : Wiederhoren fait partie de mon quarteron de disques préférés, c'est dire.KRAAN d'abord est un groupe très peu connu de jazz-rock (on ne disait pas fusion à l'époque)dont les débuts font un peu penser à Gong : très bons musiciens, ambiance décontractée (cf le fameux double live de 1974).Cet album est l'apogée musicale du groupe (à égalité avec le live "Tournée"): on a perdu le saxo mais les compositions sont "chantantes", excellence des musiciens, production top et trente ans après, ça sonne toujours très actuel.Avec Passport de K.Dolldinger, ce groupe aurait mérité une audiance internationale bien plus large.Passionnés de jazz-rock (j'insiste) si vous ne connaissez pas : foncez!RD

Ein "muss" für Kraan Fans. Wer auf eine echte Kraut-Rock Funk & Jazz-Rock Band steht, bekommt was "Gutes" für sein Geld auf die Ohren. Eine Musik Art die heute so nicht mehr produziert wird, leider. Die Musik spielt mit psychodelischen Sound Effekten und glänzt mit gekonnten Gitarren Solis, wie auch Saxophon und Keyboards dabei nicht zu kurz kommen, der Schlagzeuger versteht sein Handwerk ebenso. Die Texte sind in Englisch auch wenn es manchmal einen deutschen Titel dafür gibt, doch hauptsächlich sind es instrumentale Stücke.Wer Jazz-Rock mit Funk Musik aus den 70zigern mag legt diese Scheibe richtig auf!