FIRST LOSS

Sole album and one of the best from the country at the time, this typical prog quartet showed amazing maturity for their first album. Recorded in Munich in late 70 and released on the legendary Kuckuk label (Munich-based as were label-mate Ihre Kinder and especially Out Of Focus and other label monster Amon Duul II), this album is a gem in the heavy progressive vein, mixing some classical influences with their hard rock, mostly through their organ-player Uhlig - the prime composer of the group. A very naïve but poetic drawing on the cover is intriguing us right off the bat, and the music inside is definitely at the height of the hopes raised.

From the opener At First (an excellent intro but careful not to reveal too much of what is to come) to the slow starter Speed Is Coming Back (guitar-drenched but the organs are what gives it flavour) to the monster track (only 7 min+, but awesome in its bluesy organ- drenched dramatic scheme) Past Has Gone draws a few chills and would be close to a masterpiece if the vocals were not a bit under-mixed. A good organ solo dividers the track and the way the groups rebuilds quickly is quite impressive.

Opening the second side of this wax slice is the track that shows most of their classical influences, but they do much more than that, as the track is in constant evolution. Comes in the wild title track (under 8 min) which is the other highlight of the album, is a powerful work-out giving a chance for everyone to shine. Somehow, some Vanilla Fudge references are also a bit evident here at times. Closing track (not exactly but almost) is a call to fun as the Bach tribute/fugue and the short finale is a laugh.

As superb this album was, they broke-up soon after and aside from a few short lived groups just after, these guys will not be having a career that this album hints at. Truly one of those lost prog gems, even if the self-indulgent spirit of those years is stopping it from the upper star.

Very good for its own level - that's why 4 stars. Made more in a proto-heavy-prog way, MURPHY BLEND shows immense influnces from URIAH HEEP and DEEP PURPLE (as well as some tricks from THE DOORS or LED ZEPPELIN). A Must for 70s Prog fans and rarities' collectors, it also could be an excellent addition to every Heavy Prog collection. Less mature than 2066 AND THEN or above-mentioned Legends, nevertheless MURPHY BLEND can provide you with a good mood for these 35 minutes. Recommended.

From Early 70's ,,, Heavy Progressive Rock in good shape . Wonderful touch of keyboard reminds me with Ken Hensley of Uriah heep , Jon glover of Deep Purple . Contamineted by market needs in 1970 , this orphan album of Murphy Blend is really a high standard in prog library . Wolf Uhlig and friends trying to introduce a new generation of prorock in hamburg - Germany . The year 1970 was really critical for this genre of music . But , they made it , one way or another this album worth every single penny . Excellent track ( Past has Gone ) For collectors of this genre , heavy progressive rock only .

MURPHY BLEND from Germany released just one album back in 1971 on the Kuckuck label.This is very much an organ driven album with English vocals that are in the style of Jim Morrison but not as deep or as good. The bass player would join BLACKWATER PARK after this band broke up.

"At First" opens with organ but it kicks in to a full sound quickly.This is uptempo as well. Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in as it settles down. Guitar before 2 1/2 minutes then the organ is back leading. "Speed Is Coming Back" sounds great early on with the organ and guitar. Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. A guitar solo comes in before 3 minutes then the organ leads a minute later and the vocals return. "Past Has Gone" opens with organ and the vocals don't come in until after 2 minutes. Some heavy organ in this one.The bass, organ and drums build after 6 1/2 minutes and the guitar joins in too. Nice.

"Praludium/Use Your Feet" opens with organ then the drums dominate around 1 1/2 minutes. Organ is back out front and the vocals arrive 2 1/2 minutes in. "First Loss" is a good one as it builds into a powerful sound before calming right down. It's heavy again then it settles with vocals after 3 minutes as contrasts continue. "Funny Guys" has an epic sound to it with organ. It settles in before 1 1/2 minutes and vocals follow. "Happiness" is less than a second in length so I don't have much to say about it (haha).

3.5 stars. I'm not as "into" this as many seem to be but it's certainly worth checking out.

I really don't understand what's the fuss about this record. I've read the reviews here (and elsewhere) but I can't find anything majestic or great. First of all, I can't stand when Germans try to sing in English with this so bad accent. They'd be better stayed at home. And Murphy Blend's lead singer (who unfortunately also plays the keys) is no exception. At least I would be somewhat more satisfied if I would treated with some good or fresh music ideas, but no. From start to finish, all I can hear is Wolf-Rodiger Unlig trying to repeat the same old formulas Brooker-Fisher, Jon Lord, Keith Emerson and even Ken Hensley had already taken into the stratosphear before him. Two songs ( "Past Has Gone" and "First Loss") aren't so bad actually, but then again the awful vocals ruin them. "Use your feet" is completely useless and "Funny Guys" is laughable. How on earth, did he followed Bach's intro with this ? As for "Happiness", nothing to do with it I am afraid.... ...For German Prog-Rock fanatics only.

Murphy Blend was a German formation from the early Seventies, the name is derived from writer Samuel Beckett his novel Murphy from 1938. The album title from their debut LP is the English translation from the famous piece Erster Verlust by German Robert Schumann, a legendary composer from the Romantic era.

The focus on First Loss is on the mighty Hammond organ, from moaning and groaning to bombastic waves and swirling runs, in its full splendor. The music strongly evokes late Sixties and early Seventies bands like Vanilla Fudge, Uriah Heep (the track Past Has Gone sounds like a tribute to Ken Hensley) and Deep Purple. All bands that feature powerful interplay between the Hammond and electric guitar, fuelled by an often dynamic and propulsive rhythm-section, especially in At First en Speed Is Coming Back.

The seven tracks (in fact six because the final one Happiness only lasts 6 seconds) alternate between fluent up-tempo songs to compelling bluesrock (the vocals in Pradudium/Use Your Feet are close to Steve Winwood). And frequently we can enjoy a 'churchy' Hammond organ sound, this evokes a strong classical climate, in the track Funny Guys even Toccata In D-Fuga is blended. In Past Has Gone (beautiful Hammond intermezzo with romantic and classical undertones) the German 'bluesrock prog' from Jane comes to my mind, also due to the melancholical vocals and the Hammond and guitar interplay.

The most dynamic and varied composition is the long titletrack that contains lots of changes in atmosphere and tempo, tastefully coloured with Hammond and guitar, from psychedelic and classical to pure rock and roll!

To me this reissue sounds as a very pleasant Hammond drenched album, tastefully arranged, and a strong variety in the genuine progressive rock tradition.

My rating: ***1/2 star.

One of the early bands to jump on to the Krautrock scene, the Berlin based MURPHY BLEND didn't go the kosmische route that fellow countrymen Amon Duul II and Can embarked upon but rather took the heavier bluesy rock road into the world of organ dominated hard rock much like other early Kraut acts like Birth Control, Jane and Orange Peel. The band formed in 1969 and created a sound that was based around founder and keyboardist extraordinaire Wolf-Rüdiger Uhlig and supposedly named after a Beckett novel called "Murphy" however other claims that the name came from a tobacco brand also permeate the internet! The band's lineup was of a typical prog rock band with Wolfgang Rumler (guitar), Andreas Scholz (bass - he later played with Blackwater Park) and Achim Schmidt (drums) and together this BLEND released a sole album titled FIRST LOSS however it seems like half the databases claim it was released in 1970 and the others cite 1971.

Whatever the case this was indeed one of those transitional albums that was certainly recorded in 1970 when the heavy psych and psychedelic rock 60s was picking up steam and transmogrifying into hard rock and progressive rock and in the case of this band both. Not too dissimilar what Deep Purple and Atomic Rooster were cranking out in jolly ole England about the same time, MURPHY BLEND was much more progressive with lots of classically inspired organ performances amidst the bluesy hard rock chord crunchiness. Uhlig was basically the German doppelgänger for Jon Lord and the rest of the band had the chops to keep up with his demanding style of playing with special mention to drummer Achim Schmidt who delivered some serious chops for the beginning of the 1970s. The album featured seven tracks however it's really only six since the closing track "Happiness" is only three seconds long!

While not terribly original even for 1970, MURPHY BLEND nevertheless crafted some memorable compositors with stellar performances that allowed the bluesy hard rock to showcase Uhlig's virtuosic keyboard antics in a proto-prog fashion that sounded fairly normal for most of the album but with moments of proggy excursions into more complex or unexpected territories. While the album sounds dated to my ears that's a good thing because i actually love this short period from 1969-71 when bands were in full experimental mode without shedding all the traits of the 1960s. MURPHY BLEND is the perfect mix of the heavy psych 60s with the harder edged 70s along with some prog twists and turns as well as some of the best Hammond organ playing you could ask for from the era. While primarily based in blues rock MURPHY BLEND knew how to incorporate other influences into its mix with the most bold expressions occurring in the album's lengthiest piece, the title track.

Perhaps the earliest Kraut band to combine hard rock, blues and classical music, MURPHY BLEND was also one of Germany's best to crank out this style and FIRST LOSS is on par with Birth Control's finest moment, the excellent album "Hoodoo Man." The band's lyrics were in English but the vocals featured that giveaway German accent but it's all very well done and fits in with the music quite well. The tracks all differ from each other to make this an interesting listen from beginning to end and a must for any Heavy Kraut lovers who really get off on organ excesses. Unfortunately for unknown reasons the band broke up after its only album however Uhlig would go on to form Hanuman which morphed into Lied Des Teufels. This is a great album with some very innovative moments especially in the keyboard department. The band's use of non-blues songwriting techniques gave it a somewhat distinct identity beneath the surface of a typical organ based hard rock band. A nice early German gem that transverse the worlds of early hard rock, early prog and blues rock.