EILIFF

Eiliff were a little known German band that mixed jazzrock/fusion with krautrock elements with excellent results. The album is mainly instrumental, with some vocals thrown in here and there, and quite complex in parts.

The opener, "Byrd-Night Of The Seventh Day," is actually 2 songs, with Byrd as a mellow intro to the album with acoustic guitar and sax. Then "Night Of The Seventh Day" comes in after less that a minute, with vocals on par with many of their German contemporaries. Sax and keyboards are dominant, with a cool jazzy interlude, and drumming reminding me of King Crimson's early albums. "Gammeloni" is next and is an instrumental, jazz-heavy song, with lots of energetic sax soloing, then moves to a guitar jam section before moving back into jazz territory. The vocals return on "Uzzek Of Rigel IV," and are washed with a distortion effect that actually works quite well. This track is probably the weirdest, and includes a repetitive section with the guitar wailing in one channel, which carries on a little too long. The final "song" is the aptly titled "Suite" which starts off with a magnificent, almost funky, guitar rock jam. The track continues to evolve with several parts changing up things and keeping it interesting.

I like this album quite a bit, especially due to how different instruments are given their moments up-front at various moments, especially the guitar. As mentioned before, there is an early King Crimson influence throughout, but not in an overt way. A very progressive work and a rather different take on krautrock when compared to more well-known acts such as Can or Amon Duul II. Recommended for those who like a good shot of jazz in their krautrock. 4 stars.