Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Helmut Pohl
Creepy John Thomas – Brother Bat Bone (1970) (@256)
12 Jun 2010
(Review from rateyourmusic.com)
“Brother Bat Bone” sounds at times like a mixture of Captain Beefheart and the Pink Fairies.
This is a rather irresistable progressive blues/boogie album. A totally inspired effort from start to finish with emotionally strong, at times deeply moving vocals, tremendous axework and a loose, groovy rhythm section.
Line-up:
- “Creepy” John Thomas / lead vocals, guitar
- Andy Marx / lead guitar, bass
- Helmut Pohl / drums
- Dave Hutchins / bass
- Roy O’Temro / drums
Track List:
01. Down In The Bottom – 5:11
02. What’s The Matter With The Mill – 3:16
03. Brother Bat Bone – 9:06
04. This Is My Body – 3:28
05. Standing In The Sunshine – 8:34
06. 100 Lib. Noomy – 2:29
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Creepy John Thomas – Creepy John Thomas (1969) (@256)
11 Jun 2010
(Info from allmusic)
Born in Sydney, Australian John Thomas has been rockin’ around a long time. He’s been writing songs since his first successful venture into the music business, when as a member of Melbourne based band The Flies, he co-wrote their chart hits. During this time, they became famous in Australia for their wild and frantic live performances.
A guitarist named John Thomas seems to have as much chance of being recognized as an individual as a fire hydrant in an urban setting. So dubbed himself Creepy John Thomas after moving to London.
His heavy blues-psych debut album was issued in 1969.
Line-up:
- “Creepy” John Thomas / lead vocals, guitar
- Andy Marx / lead guitar, bass
- Helmut Pohl / drums
- Dave Hutchins / bass
- Roy O’Temro / drums
Track List:
01. Gut Runs Great Stone – 4:03
02. (Do I Figure) In Your Life – 2:46
03. You’ve Got To Hide – 2:34
04. One Way Track Blues – 2:09
05. Trippin’ Like A Dog – 4:19
06. Ride A Rainbow – 3:05
07. Green Eyed Lady – 3:35
08. Sun And Woman – 3:38
09. Lay It On Me – 3:21
10. Bring Back The Love – 3:23
11. Moon And Eyes Song – 3:43
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Gomorrha – I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was (1972) (@256)
23 Sep 2007
(Review from sleeve, progarchives.com)
Near the end of 1971, bassist Mike Eulner joined so that Eberhard didn’t have to switch off from organ to bass.
In early 1972 Gomorrha went back into the studio and needed only four days to record the six songs for “I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was”. The band sounded relaxed and laid back. And even though their sometimes ominous fantasies created an apocalyptic mood, their guitar and organ-dominated sound had a releasing and optimistic feel to it. Otten used experiences he had in his daily life for his lyrics, thus creating private images without showing any inclination towards social criticism. The album featured catchy instrumental jams, krautrock’s original psych / spacey mood, pastoral flute parts and heavy guitar riffs.
Gomorrha only lasted another year. The members were not prepared to commit themselves to the uncertain life of musicians, so they split up and went back to their regular jobs, and none of them have ever returned to music.
Line-up:
- Eberhard Krietsch / organ, piano
- Helmuth Pohl / drums
- Mike Eulner / bass
- Ad Ochel / guitar
- Ali Claudi / guitar
- Peter Otten / vocals
Track List:
01. Dance On A Volcano (10:01)
02. Opening Of The Sealed Book (5:45)
03. Dead Life (3:56)
04. I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was (7:48)
05. I Try To Change This World (9:31)
06. Titish Child (6:57)
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Gomorrha – Trauma (1971) (@256)
22 Sep 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
The band Gomorrha based in Cologne in 1969 has been influenced initially strongly by 60′s beat music and the original version of this album here (which is added up as bonus on this edition) is kept basically in this style using German lyrics. Since especially their vocals in native language wasn’t that much appreciated on concerts the band decided to discard the complete recordings and to do new ones with singing in English adding a much stronger psyche and bluesey touch to the songs. Those are mainly dominated by guitar and especially on the title track which is the longest and certainly most interesting one plenty of solos can be found. Keyboards have been used rather sparsely but then highly efficient and in a freaky and psychedelic vein.
The band impresses enough to earn one of those progressive dust-fascinating styles, in mix with the 60s being more and more pale, the independent rock being a sort of experiment or a defining attitude, the bluesed or psyched rock having good and even better values (in an otherwise tongue-twisted music monotony) and the impression of a fake krautrock style, of course purely out of some bit of deep nuances or the general German rock movement. All this happens in a band with no impressive, yet steaming and unconventional spices of progressive rock, jam and bluster music or different small concepts, meant to entertain and to show craft.
More about Gomorrha’s intricate place in the progressive rock fundamental essence, you can find enchanting and pleasing moments of composition, of slender art acts, of brutal and mystic forces that gravitate, on the typical use of lush guitars, extravagant minor keyboards, a bit of passive drumming, and a vision which to be called of a wild dream or of a forceful spell-bound interpretation. The bit of illusory names and concept, like Trauma, sense some of the best dynamics and impressions, possible for a band that, again, fuses blues, unharvested pop, simple rock or psychedelic atrophied nimbles. All this includes something from the symphonic open-hearted zeal, the epic art rock persiflage, the psychedelic prog unnatural form or the hard rock unnatural or unwanted groove. Gomorrha, finally, doesn’t play that much of a restless and constantly dissatisfied prog, since its rock movement is somewhere between the very obscure good art and the totally dehydrated worth of sound, melody and attractive tone. It’s an under-sound, concerning every specific big movement of progressive rock. With a bit more passion and flawless direction in their music, Gomorrha would have become one of the most frantic dark-poignant bands in the genre.
Line-up:
- Helmut Pohl / drums, flute
- Ali Claudi / guitar, vocals
- Eberhard Krietsch / bass, keyboards, organ, vocals
- Ad Ochel / guitar, vibraphone, vocals
- Peter Otten / vocals
Track List:
01. Journey (3:12)
02. Trauma (13:12)
03. Yesterday (3:45)
04. Lola (4:26)
05. Dead Land (3:28)
06. Summer (2:45)
07. Rainbowlight (2:42)
08. Dance of Circles (3:07)
09. Firehands (3:13)
10. Lola (4:03)
11. Totes Land (3:26) (Bonus German)
12. Flammenhände (3:12) (Bonus German)
13. Reise (2:38) (Bonus German)
14. Regenbogenschein (3:02) (Bonus German)
15. Gestern (3:22) (Bonus German)
16. Kreiseltanz (4:11) (Bonus German)
17. Sommer (3:48) (Bonus German)
18. Trauma (9:11) (Bonus German)
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