WAKE UP!

4.5 stars really.

If you ever read Asbjornssen's Cosmic Dreams at Play, you will know how high esteem he holds this band. His article finishes this way: WHAT AN AWESOME GROUP THEY WERE! I cannot say it any better as the three albums they made in their prime were all drastically different from each other yet so unmistakably OOF (much like Floyd did all of their albums so different, yet all so FLOYD). Their music is absolutely theirs and sound like nothing else and although they are Germans, I hesitate to call it Krautrock or as some call it Krautjazz. They develop a strange mix of psyched-out rock with a good sense of jazz rock (although not quite as much in this debut album), add a good dose of flute/sax dominated prog rock and give themselves a maximum space for instrumental interplay even if Moran's voice holds an important role (and is an acquired taste in the same way that Peter Hammill or Roger Chapman are an acquired taste) with some non-sensical lyrics laying out their hippy ideals. With an abstract artwork this debut album (released on the legendary Kuckuck label) is aptly named Wake Up, even if the goal is to send you into dreamy trip, the music is raw, just the way the Germans liked it, reminiscent of their crosstown colleagues of Amon Duul II.

Right from the first repetitive note of Drechsler's guitar, soon underlined by Herring's organ and Moran Neumuller's flute, in the opening White Negro, you just know you're flying in a wonderful universe where time seems to be a very random dimension and the dreamy soundscapes are an invitation to tripping around the universe. The tougher-sounding God Save The Queen is more of rougher guitar-lead early 70's UK proto-prog ala EBB or BechKendel, but the middle section (recorded a bit too low) shared between the folky flute and the organ is a great counter-point using the full dynamics contrasting with the return of the opening section. Hey John is an almost 10-min wild flute-lead jam that can sound like Deep Purple's Mandrake Root in the middle.

The flipside jumps at your throat with the short but powerful No Name track that could easily be called You're Wasting Time, and even if there are obvious flaws in recording levels, this track is most likely to also claim the album's title, Wake Up! World's end is a fairly doomy track that still trails a bit of 60's into it, sometimes reminding of Floyd (Herring's organ and Spori's drumming sound like early Floyd circa Saucerful Of Secrets), while Moran's flute is more reminiscent of Traffic's Chris Wood and the guitar reminding us a bit of Krieger in The Doors' epic track The End. Ending the album is the lengthy Dark Darker track, which is a bit disjointed in its psyched-out moods especially Moran's flute racing up and down the ladder of sanity. This is one track where the group shows an excellent aptitude at light improvisation that lead to wild jamming, a thing that we would see much more of in the next three albums. Again the raw sound gives the impression that this record could've easily been recorded live in the Anglo-Saxon world, with only the approximate accent of Moran giving a hint otherwise. The closing section is a hard-driving Atomic Rooster-like heavy prog.

As with most German band singing in English, the vocals are not perfect but this is very minor as the texts (lyrics) are easily understood and are of a very social/political nature that they could also be classified in German only category Polit-rock (never thought you'd read about such a category, Uh? ;-) This IMHO only adds to the quality of the music and does not make it dated just for that reason. Technically absolutely brilliant (D-E A + HCH). Just by the weird song titles, one can see that this band is heavy, I mean HHHEEEAAAVVVYYY , man !!

I use to know this band already since my earliest teenage years since the're coming from Munich which is very close to my hometown. But it was just recently that I rediscovered them and bought their second album. Now thanks to Jimbo I've got as well their first one and what a great album was this already. I just can tell anyone who likes early 70's Psyche Rock with excellent flute, guitar, Hammond and some sax he should try to get it.

Compared to their second one it's quite different actually, here the jazz-rock influence is much minor and it's mainly dominated by the awesome flute which is even not listed here in the line-up I just see. The album opens with See how a white negro flies which is already a great psychedelic rock song, Hammond, flute and a driving guitar combined with excellent drumming, first highlight! God saved the queen, cried Jesus reminds me a bit of EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND, especially by the vocals, great song as well and again the flute is the most evident instrument at least in the more quiet middle part. Hey John has a great section with Hammond drums followed by a flute solo, marvellous! This one is as well my favorite one, but really just one highlight amongst a full bunch of. Like for example World's End with excellent guitar and Hammond, great groovy stuff with some part reminding a bit to JIM MORRISON. In a later part we can enjoy again some wonderful flute play. Last song Dark, Darker is as well an excellent one with lots of flute and a quite heavy final part.

CONCLUSION I just can tell that OUT OF FOCUS's debut is an excellent album full of highlights and would highly recommend it to all fans of flute-dominated early 70's Prog. It deserves absolutely very well 4 stars!

3.5 stars

I bought last week the 2004 digitally remastered edition of this album, by Second Life Records. The original version was released by Kuckuck Records in 1970.

The music is a blend of classic 60's rock, a bit of psychedelic characteristics, some hard rock touches and folk rock (mainly due to the flute part). The musicians play fairly good, but nothing too extraordinary, leaving the music itself to speak for them. The flute, guitar riffs and the Hammond organ are, to me, the highlight in this record. Oh, and the song titles are amusing as well.

The album begins with a cool guitar riff that is immediately joined by drums and hammond organ that starts playing at first dissonant chords and then goes back "on track". A nice flute part is added and the guitar goes on with its riffs giving the track its main force. The hammond part is brought forth in this edition and you can appreciate it very well. At about ~2 min. Neumüller sings a few lines and draws back to give back the stage to the instruments. I love the crunchy sounding guitar here and the Hammond as well. This is an excellent song, giving all the instruments the chance to "express" themselves, without ever being dragged into pointless jamming around. The second song is a little more laid back with a more vocals in it. This is more of a "regular" song like track, with a middle part in which the flute gives a nice solo part. It is a laid back middle section, giving the flute place to breathe but I think it is not fulfilled as it should have been. "Hey John" starts calmly with the flute leading and a beautiful rhythm part accompanying it. The song moves between the vocals part singing with the instruments toning down and then switching to the flute which takes the lead accompanied by all the band members on their instruments. The music is beautiful in this one. Too bad the accompanying hammond isn't as loud in this track. It is only clearly heard when it takes the lead role at ~5:30 min. This song is perhaps not very original in its structure and musical ideas, but it is nonetheless very good. "No Name" has a silly like attitude. But the music is entertaining as are the vocals and lyrics and it is lighter in spirit than the rest of the album. World's End is a nice song that reminds me a bit of Doors' songs like The End or When The Music's over in terms of the concept of the song, not because it resembles the music itself. There is repeating musical line and the constant instruments playing around it, changing from loudly to softly playing. "Dark, Darker" is more psychedelic in nature with some great flute playing. The flute goes berserk here a bit.

It is a shame this band is not more known, since I think they do not fall short of other bands in the same ballpark and they released 4 good solid albums. For people who love the 60's rock sound, who love good songs that incorporate flute, hammond and squeaking guitars - this album is a very good choice. A very good addition to any prog music collection, perhaps not essential but very enjoyable.

Amazing kraut-jazz alien that is completely devoted to ferocious rocking jams. In an explosive combination of sounds, the band conciliates heavily bluesy guitars, free folk and propulsive organs. "See how a white negro flies" is a great introduction track for tripped out psychedelic guitars, including nice keyboard arrangements and stoned pop voice, a very efficient, energetic composition. "God save the Queen, cried Jesus" follows the same musical schema, for a super dynamic hybrid. "Hey John" is a calmer improvisation with some enchanting flute lines and a good rhythmical section. "No name" goes back to a heavy acid rocking trip but it is not so surprising. "World's end" is an other explosive kraut-jazz standard, featuring a nice groove. A lot of varieties and gorgeously psychedelic, sonic infiltrations! Simply brilliant!

What do you get if you cross Jethro Tull with Pink Floyd and take away the Blues influence : Out Of Focus! Wake Up is the first 1969 record of this lesser known German band. It starts of nicely with good riffing and guitar, bass, flute, drum interplay, but steps down when sax & flute player Moran Neumüller starts to sing. Apart from singing out of (focus) tune, pardon the pun, his voice is an aquired taste. The second track is quite similar to the first and after a while I miss some interesting melodic material instead of endless riffing, while Moran's vocals tends more to be theatrical and acclamatory then real singing. The vocals are ment to be provocative against Church, War, Capitalism...late 60's protest style, but sound a little dated. Most of the tracks are quite long and I got really bored towards the end of the record, mainly by the absence of melodies and the on-going neither rock nor jazz rhythmic that tends to get monotonous. It's nevertheless an original record for this time, but doesn't stand the comparaison with outstanding 1970 records from the jazz-rock and psychedelic field.

4.5 stars. These guys really had a sense of humour even if it was in bad taste at times(haha). The vocalist is tremedous,and quite theatrical at times. The sound on this their debut is psychedelic and heavy with the jazz flavour coming in later albums.

"See How A White Negro Flies" has a repetitive guitar line as organ then flute come in. Vocals 2 minutes in are brief. This sounds great ! Raw guitar solo goes on and on as drums pound away. Organ and flute are back. Vocals too 5 minutes in. "God Save The Queen, Cried Jesus" opens with flute and drums before vocals and guitar join in. Silly lyrics as the vocalist really performs. Low end guitar 2 minutes in is fantastic. Bass joins in before a calm arrives with flute leading the way softly. Vocals don't return until 6 minutes in. "Hey John" features some beautiful flute melodies. Vocals after 2 minutes with a fuller sound a minute later. Love the guitar 4 minutes in as they jam for a while. Organ after 5 minutes with some excellent bass lines a minute later. Flute is back. Guitar after 8 minutes is again just a joy to listen to.This has to be my favourite song and not because my name's in the title. No it's not ! "No Name Hmmm" is more uptempo with flute and drums leading the way until vocals come in. I like how passionately he sings. The guitar's tone is perfect. It comes and goes. Organ solo 1 1/2 minutes in. This is the shortest song at 3 minutes. Some fuzz in that guitar that comes in before 2 1/2 minutes.

"World's End" has a pastoral intro with flute. A fuller sound arrives a minute in. Vocals follow as organ and drums shine. Guitar 3 minutes in is atmospheric and it goes on until stopping 5 minutes in when spoken vocals take over. The lyrics here are political as he talks about then U.S. president Richard Nixon as the band jams. Lots of flute to follow before it gets heavier 8 1/2 minutes in. Vocals end it. "Dark,Darker" opens with ominous flute as a SABBATH-like mood takes over. Vocals follow. This is contrasted with a more uplifting passage. The contrast continues. A change 2 1/2 minutes in as flute,bass and light drums come in. This builds then relaxes again. A vocal melody before 6 minutes. Flute then goes crazy(same with the background vocals) before becoming dissonant then calming down again. It stays pastoral until after 9 minutes when the intensity returns.

Just a killer album ! The flute, organ, guitar and vocals are all outstanding. Love the sound of this one a lot.

Very interesting debut album of German band. Differently from many their kraut-rock colleagues, band's music is strongly based in British blues-rock and psychedelic rock tradition, with folksy elements. In fact, their music could be described as heavy bluesy psychedelic Jethro Tull.

They have flautist on board, and flute soloing adds to music very folksy (or Jethro Tull-like) flavour. Other important components - heavy Hammond passages, psychedelic guitars and social-critical lyrics. Possibly, vocal is not for everyone taste, but it's ok for me.

Jazzy arrangements are presented, but in all album's music couldn't be named jazz-rock. I like their melodic compositions, organ passages, heavy guitars and a bit naive sound in whole. Nice atmosphere of early 70-s. Only some repetitive songs structure reminds their origin and some connection with krautrock.

My rating is 3+.

An album that has moments of success when it occasionally lifts itself from the confines of 1969-1971 Krautrock. That old curse of Germans singing in English emasculates any intensity the lyrics may have held and hangs around the neck of Moran Neumülle like an albatross.

It's derivative to the point of saturation and is in no way comparable with their mighty 'Four Letter Afternoon'. Worst of all are the vocals which might have sounded pretty good if sung in German. As it is, they're all a bit embarrassing in their American imitation. Plus the fact - the guy's a crumby singer.

It's clear for all to hear that they can really play together as a unit but unfortunately, 'Out of Focus' sound like a lot of bands from this era. 'Wake Up' is their most 'Rock' album and is dominated by flutes, but unfortunately It's not that good.

Legendary Kraut/Jazz Rock band from München.Out of Focus were found in late 68' by Remigius Drechsler (guitar), Hennes Hering (organ, piano), Moran Neumuller (sax, flute, vocals), Stephan Wisheu (bass) and Klaus Spoeri (drums).They took their name from a track by Blue Cheer and reputedly the band was discovered by Ihre Kinder's manager Jonas Porst.Engineered by Thomas Klemt, their debut album ''Wake up!'' was recorded between October and December 70' at Union Studios in München, released at the fall of the year on the Kuckuck label.

The strong jazzy vibes that followed Out of Focus throughout their career remain hidden in their first album, which was a typical Kraut Rock album with extended jamming parts and dominant psychedelic vibes.The ironic track titles, such as ''See how a White Negro flies'' or ''God save the Queen, cried Jesus'', were followed by long groovy music with tons of flutes and organs along with the electrified guitars of Drechsler.The album contains mostly long pieces with constantly changing themes between smooth, psychedelic lines with mellow flutes and guitars and pounding rhythms with a fiery rhythm section and sharper guitar solos.Some nice interplays and breaks are also present, while with a singer sounding quite similar to MICK JAGGER the psychedelic influences are even more prominent next to the very dirty organ themes at the improvised parts.The result is obviously quite charming, although some sterile and flat moments are still apparent performed by a young and inenxperienced group.

A nice example of early Kraut Rock with the basic components of the movement in evidence: Long psychedelic grooves, loose solos and powerful breaks.Warmly recommended.

OUT OF FOCUS from Munich was one of the finest fusion-oriented prog - or jazzy Krautrock - bands in the early seventies' Germany. Wake Up! is their debut, and it shows. The production is a bit murky and the psychedelic orientation is strong. Later on they oriented more towards instrumental fusion, but here the sax/flute player Moran Neumüller sings perhaps more than would be suitable. He's not a very good vocalist, frankly. Imagine young Peter Hammill at his worst and the most monotonous. The guitar parts increase the bluesy, heavy-ish psychedelia. The group was surely influenced by the British blues- rock.

But the album reveals its originality and strength already on the second track 'God save the Queen, cried Jesus' with more meditative instrumental sections featuring flute. This mixing of blues flavour and flute passages naturally makes one think of early Jethro Tull, but the compositions and the moods are very different from Tull. The lyrics seem to be serious and socio-critical, and the atmosphere has some VdGG-reminding darkness. There are also lots of organ.

'Hey John' is a gorgeous 9½-minute track with great instrumentalism and some vocals. The shortest track 'No Name' is also the weakest in my opinion, vocal-centred and quite straight-forward, but with nice organ/flute work. 'World's End' has long instrumental sections, and this time the guitar steps up front to solo too. The last minutes remind a lot of 'The End' by The Doors, even a similar-sounding spoken part is featured. But then again, the flute sets the music apart from The Doors.

'Dark, Darker' (11:37) doesn't start very promisingly with the presence of vocals, but soon enough they change into flute playing - some Ian Anderson -style gasps included - and the band continues to go deeper into meditative quietness and alteration of dynamics. All in all, an album that's far from perfect but with an interesting, magical atmosphere and an original mixture of various, more or less familiar elements. The psychedelic flavours were to change into jazzier style and much better music was ahead.

OUT OF FOCUS was just one of many extraordinarily creative bands that emerged from the fertile explosive era of the late 60s. This band formed in 1968 in Munich, Germany with the lineup of Hennes Herring on keyboards, Remi Dreschler on guitars, Moran Neum'ller on vocals and winds, Klaus Sp'ri on drums and Stefan Wisheu on bass and took the band name from a Blue Cheer track which established the band's distinct style of mixing up jazz, rock and psychedelia which earned them a spot in the heady world of Krautrock. Altogether the band released three albums in the early 70s with this debut coming out in 1970. While two more albums were planned and recorded, they didn't see the light of day for several decades later.

WAKE UP is a bit different than the albums that followed where the band settled into a much jazzier sound. This debut falls more squarely into the surreal soundscapes of the early Krautrock world which sat nicely as OUT OF FOCUS opened for similar bands like Amon Duul II, Nectar, Kraan, Kraftwerk and Embryo. The band were serious workaholics and it took many months to craft this first offering which has become one of the underground classics of German progressive rock for its nice display of guitar, flute and trippy organ riffing. The compositions are all excellent although the troglodyte vocal style may take a bit of acclimation to appreciate. For those more familiar with the band's jazzier escapades it will come as a surprise that the saxophone sounds while present are not nearly as a dominant musical feature.

Given the absence of the jazzier elements, WAKE UP explores heavy psychedelic escapades into the trip-o-sphere primarily evoked through the ample use of Hering's heavy use of organ however OUT OF FOCUS didn't quite jettison into the lysergic zone like bands such as Amon Duul II were striving for. This band was more rock based with a heavy guitar riffs and solos set in a bluesy tone along with a thumping bass line and a subordinate yet inventive use of percussion. The extra touches of flute often draw comparisons to Jethro Tull but there are no references to any sort of folk music so a better comparison would be the Dutch band Focus although at this point the 60s flavors of heavy psych guitar and contrapuntal keyboards which a musical approach that creates polyrhythms.

From a lyrical perspective OUT OF FOCUS featured lyrics that were sung in English and were very much in the zeitgeist of political awareness an social issues that although sometimes awkwardly delivered by Moran Neum'ller eccentric vocal style somehow comes together quite well with the musical flow as it takes the music into a somewhat bizarre alternative zone. While many cite the following jazz-infused albums as the true triumphs of the OUT OF FOCUS canon, i actually love this debut equally as well as it delivers a distinct style of psychedelic rock that straddled the line between the Krautrock of Germany, the jazz-fusion prowess that OUT OF FOCUS would soon embrace and the more pastoral flute driven bands of the era. Similar to Nektar's black sheep debut album that existed outside of the band's established style, WAKE UP is nonetheless a well crafted album that delivers the intended reaction.

The debut from this München-based band, Wake Up! is an album of psychedelic blues-rock music in the vein of The Rolling Stones, Cream, or even early Jethro Tull.

1. "See how a white negro flies" (5:48) a song that opens announcing clearly that the band is firmly entrenched in blues rock sound palettes of the previous two years. Flutes and organ add some spice over the top of the insistent motif. Vocalist Moran Neumüller sings in a haunting voice similar to other psychedelic blues rock icons of the late 1960s. Remigius Drechsler's distorted lead electric guitar solos in the fourth minute. Again, this could come straight out of anything that CREAM or BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD had been doing in the previous two years. Though derivative, it is a very solid example of late 1960s psychedelic blues-based rock 'n' roll. (8.875/10) 2. "God saved the queen, cried Jesus" (7:28) the Mick Jagger-like vocals and provocative lyrics give this early Jethro-Tull- like song some teeth. With the much softer, delicate instrumental passage in the fourth minute, with its Ian MacDonald-like extended flute solo, serves notice of the band's prog aspirations. This is then followed by a heavier section over which Moran's flute continues to be the main soloist. Singing and guitar soloing follows before the JTULL- like finish. Pretty remarkable song! (13.5/15) 3. "Hey John" (9:35) opens with a pensive bass, guitar, a cymbal note-by-note interplay overwhich Moran's flute sings mellifluously. When the full band kicks into full dynamics it is with a very familiar LED ZEPPELIN-like descending four- chord progression. Things spread out again for the entrance of Moran's Mick Jagger-like vocal, delivered in a kind of Robert Plant style. In fact, the whole song feels like a replication/variation of Zep's "Heartbreaker." Nicely done extended tribute (though Remigius is not Jimmy Page and drummer Klaus Spöri is no John Bonham). I really like Hennes Hering's unusual Hammond solo in the middle. Also, I'd like to commend the clean, clear sound gleaned from Stefan Wisheu's electric bass: it's very important to the overall "mature" and "professional" sound of the album. (17.75/20)

4. "No name" (3:06) opening with Moran's a cappella voice, almost whisper-sung, before the band bursts into a heavy blues rock motif with flute, theatric vocals, Hammond, and electric guitar each adding their distinctive flourishes. I love the cute little upper register guitar garnishes over the bass and Hammond in the instrumental mid-section. Kind of cool! (9/10)

5. "World's end" (9:55) a fairly simple chord structure presents this anthemic feeling--as if the band is truly expressing their thoughts, concern, and confusion over the state of the world's social-political scene (the Cold War tensions and the misguided expeditions of the American military [Vietnam]). There is quite a feeling of Krautrock solidarity in the hypnotic commitment to such strict rhythmic foundations in this one--at least up until the quite passage that serves as a reset and reconfirmation of the overall insistence to the song's and then ends up surprising us by starting a new motif for the 45 seconds of the song. Trippy! And powerful. Definitely a great representation of the angst of 1970. (18.5/20)

6. "Dark, darker" (11:37) Moran's vocal is mixed quite uniquely for this song: as if in an isolated, separated chamber. The music is remarkably simple and almost emotion-lessly mathematical in its rhythmic foundations, giving the musicians the feeling that they're "dialing it in" i.e. not fully invested. Even in the circular three-chord instrumental jam supporting the frantic flute solo in the song's middle third feels too rote (especially in the bass, guitar, and organ play). Then there is a pause that allows a reset, which sees the band filling the final three minutes of the song with some militaristic pulse-running before everything ends with some crashing instruments and musicians (whose fatigue is well-captured on tape during the final minute of recording: "Are we done?" and "Ughhh!" being expelled as the musicians shut down, unplug and put away their instruments. Weird and sadly anti-climactic song. (17.25/20)

Total Time: 47:29

With four unusually-long songs crammed into this 47 and a half minute long album, one can only guess at the band's full intentions. What I love most about the songs on this album is the clear "team" approach to song construction and performance on display with each: no one musician/artist is really trying to grab the spotlight; everybody seems fully supportive of the effort to present fully-developed and fully-integrated songs.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of angst-filled compositions that feel so precisely representative of the zeitgeist of the times. If it weren't for the weakness of the final "song of exhaustion" this would probably qualify as a masterpiece.