1. Rockpalast Classics

The big one has landed: The complete Grobschnitt albums in one big fat box, signed by the band. And before you ask – the sound (remastered by Eroc, of course) is great. I've compared the mighty 'Vater Schmidt' on 'Jumbo' with previous versions, and it sounds ace: shimmering guitars and fat bass and drums, warm and punchy.

The box includes a big 12x12' book with commentaries by Eroc and Lupo (in German and English), hundreds of press clippings, the complete lyrics and loads of pictures. I personally would have liked reproductions of the original sleeve art (you only get the front covers), but thats a minor quibble. The discs come in sturdy digipacs (the individual releases have jewel case packaging), and the whole thing is beautifully produced, with obviously a lot of care and effort. I am loving this box set, working my way through the unfamiliar albums (Razzia on.), while things are definitely not as proggy I'm finding a lot to enjoy in them.

I'm about midway through Kinder + Narren and while it's very dated there are still some really nice musical passages thrown in there that are classic Grobschnitt. Have to have an open mind and realize part of being progressive is your sound actually progressing. Shame I can't understand a word of German, would love to be able to read all those old articles reprinted in the book. Can't wait for that Rockpalast DVD!

Grobschnitt - Vater Schmidt's Wandertag. Grobschnitt Solar Music Live =Rockpalast. Herman Brood & His Wild Romance Live @ Rockpalast 11-12.

I am loving this box set, working my way through the unfamiliar albums (Razzia on.), while things are definitely not as proggy I'm finding a lot to enjoy in them. I'm about midway through Kinder + Narren and while it's very dated there are still some really nice musical passages thrown in there that are classic Grobschnitt. Have to have an open mind and realize part of being progressive is your sound actually progressing.

Rockpalast Classics

Shame I can't understand a word of German, would love to be able to read all those old articles reprinted in the book. Can't wait for that Rockpalast DVD! Click to expand.Great you're exploring the later periods of the band.

Translating all those articles would be a real challenge and a matter of time. I would be happy finding time at least to translate the announcement from DJ Winfrid Trenkler on 'Solar Music Live', because that's very very important and interesting what he says. That will be the first I try to get done this autumn. Rockpalast DVD is on schedule, also the great video from Essen Gruga Halle concert in 1981.

And there's more to come. But presently there's too much work with the box set again. It was completely sold out only two weeks after release and went straight into the German album-charts (25). Now Universal has finished a second issue, which of course we are again personally signing with autographs each single one. My right hand is aching already. Hi Eroc, can you tell me who was responsible for the MP3 download of that box thatAmazon sells? I bought this yesterday and it is the first time that i bought an Amazon MP3 Album that is NOT gapless.

Especially with the large amount of livecuts on that box this is very frustrating. Even Foobar200 who plays otherwise problematic files perfectly gapless can not play these gapless. Foobar also shows a encoding tool Lavf56.4.101.

That is something I have never seen before. The mastering on the other hand is simply perfect. Had I not bought Achim Reichels complete output already twice I woluld buy the new ones again, simply for your mastering. But I wait if there will be a box. Any other fans with this box? I picked up a copy because this band was just a little too unusual by reputation for me to not want to dive in at the deep end.

Listening to Rockpommel's Land now and struck by how unique they were. It's prog, but with a little too much humor to really match up to any other prog band I can name. Usually humor and prog only go together because the players don't have the chops to play it straight. These guys clearly could play it straight (if they wanted to) but throw in just enough humor and absurdity to make something completely new.

If you are a fan of the legendary German group Grobschnitt and particularly their epic 1978 LP 'Solar Music-Live', then quite simply this release is nothing short of both mind-blowing and must-have. Admittedly, I am a Grobschnitt fanatic. I love virtually everything this astonishingly unique band of German prog-rock madmen ever released, especially between '71-'85. I have many times argued that Grobschnitt were the greatest Krautrock (although that term is a bit ambiguous) band of all-time. Sadly however, I do not speak German. This is a somewhat minor point as much of Grobschnitt's studio output was sung in heavily accented English.

However, when it comes to experiencing Grobschnitt live in concert via concert tapes (such as those released in the awesome Silver Mint Series) it can be a set-back as the band was so interactive with their audiences (especially during the first half of many of their shows-'Solar Music' usually took up much of the second half of their gigs). From telling jokes to performing mini-skits on stage (not to mention the incredible visual aspects of 'Solar Music' which can be seen on their '78 Rockpalast performance which sadly has not yet been made available on DVD), the band went above and beyond to put on a show. Despite the fact that much of the crowd interaction in a typical Grobschnitt show was spoken in German when it comes to 'Solar Music' language is of little issue. The initial vocals are sung in English (with nearly the rest of the piece being purely instrumental). If you're reading this I am assuming you are familiar with 'Solar Music'. If not, 'Solar Music' debuted as a 30 minute piece of progressive rock mastery on Grobschnitt's 'Ballermann' 2LP in 1974 (it took up both sides of record two). While maintaining its basic structure the tune continued to develop and evolve as a central piece of Grobschnitt's live repertoire and by '77-'78 had grown into at times a nearly 60 minute piece.

'Solar Music' can easily be considered 'hard-prog' (with some of the riffage even proto-heavy metal) due to both the sheer 'heaviness' of the piece and the tremendous, virtuoso playing of guitarist Lupo and guitarist/vocalist Wildschwein (all of the members of the band used pseudonyms). However, 'Solar Music' is SO much more than just a huge guitar blowout. The keyboard/synth work of Mist (R.I.P.) is integral to creating the massive soundscapes the band so effortlessly achieves. Firmly rooted in the simply astonishing drum skills of Eroc and the exceptional bass playing of Hunter, it's hard to argue that any member of Grobschnitt was less than a master of their craft.

And 'Solar Music' puts all these talents on display. Quite simply, there is NO other piece of progressive rock that even comes close to equaling 'Solar Music' in sheer audacity, musicianship, emotional resonance, and pure genius. It even makes legendary (and much more well-known) pieces like 'The Ikon' off 'Todd Rundgren's Utopia' from '74 seem like small fare. Now to the release.

'The History Of Solar Music-Vol. 4' is my favorite of the 5 volumes (of 'The History Of Solar Music') and contains my personal favorite performance of 'Solar Music' (yes, I prefer it even over the classic 'Solar Music-Live' LP version). Featured on Disc 1 and recorded at Quartier Latin-Berlin on March 26th, 1978 this 55 minute monster masterpiece is simply out of this world on every level. It's kind of like the 'Solar Music-Live' LP on steroids.

The sound quality is nearly flawless and the performances are simply astounding and magical. I'll say it again, EVERY fan of the 'Solar Music-Live' LP MUST hear this version! Disc 1 is rounded out by two killer Zugabe (encore) jams based around 'The Symphony' off Grobschnitt's debut 1972 LP.

There is one encore from Wessel '78 and the other Koblenz '79. Both are high energy, hard rockin' prog jams of the highest order. But just when you think your mind has been thoroughly and cosmically pulverized into radioactive stardust, we get to Disc 2. This disc features another totally unreal 'Solar Music' from Lunen on Jan. 15th, 1977 (some of you may recognize this show from the Silver Mint Series which offers the first half of this Lunen gig as a release).

The Disc begins with about 5 minutes of crowd interaction in German, a nice version of 'Der Western' and some brief jokes before we are once again treated to a masterful, very spaced out, 'Solar Music' which includes a killer jam referred to as 'Erke's 500' (this segment is NOT on the 'Solar Music-Live' LP and is completely rad) which leads beautifully into the final climax of the piece. The Lunen 'Solar Music' clocks in at over 50 minutes and is followed by an excellent 'AF-Song' encore. It's just so awesome that in a manner similar to that of The Grateful Dead, Grobschnitt took the time to record so many of their live gigs.

Without that foresight we wouldn't have the 'History Of Grobschnitt', 'History Of Solar Music', or the amazing performances featured on the many discs which have been released in the Silver Mint Series (kind of like Grobschnitt's version of The G. Dead's 'Dick's Picks' series, although these are more fittingly 'Eroc's Picks' I believe, although they are not referred to as such). In the end I just simply cannot (with words) do justice to the two versions of 'Solar Music' featured on 'The History Of Solar Music Vol. They are both simply awesome.I guess in all honesty I truly can't say any ONE version of 'Solar Music' is my absolute favorite.

There are simply SO many amazing versions of 'Solar Music' (Bielefeld '77, Dortmund '78 featured on the Rockpalast TV program, Warburg '78, Gutersloh '77, Plochingen '76, Oberhausen '77, Hilchenbach '74, etc.) for us to enjoy and each is different in its own ways. However, I find myself going back to the Berlin version from March 26th, 1978 on Disc 1 of this release more than probably any other, even the legendary 'Solar Music-Live' LP version. This is a top-notch release from a band who were nothing but top notch and deserve SO MUCH more attention than they receive. So pick up a copy of this release while you still can, pop it in, fire up a bowl, press play and hear Solar Music.