RELEASE MUSIC ORCHESTRA

"Slapstick" is kind of funky at first with a horns over top often blasting away in this catchy track. I'm reminded of KRAAN 2 minutes in, there's some active drum work here as well. Some distorted keys come and go as they seem to jam until after 6 minutes when we get a complete change as it calms right down. Female spoken words and a symphonic, lighter sound that reminds me of the seventies(duh!). This is really good and it takes us to the end of the song. And it's my first top three tune on here. "Zwischenspiel Holger" is under a minute of intricate acoustic guitar melodies. "Torso I'm Sommerwind" is a top three for me and it's a beautiful clarinet driven tune that's relaxed with prominent bass. Some distorted keys after 3 minutes as it picks up some. "Zwischenspiel Norbert" features a horn throughout and is under a minute long. "Rallye Dallye" has a busy drum intro as the horns and more help out in this uptempo track. The organ starts to lead the way eventually. "Zwischenspiel Zabba" is under 30 seconds of what sounds like vibes.

"Zwischenspiel Manne" is under a minute long and we get a sampled conversation between a man and a woman along with organ and vibes I believe. "Garuda" is my final top three and the longest tune at 12 1/2 minutes. A pleasant and relaxed sound to start out with clarinet, drums and vibes standing out. The tempo picks up around 2 minutes then we get these CARAVAN sounding distorted keys 3 minutes in. This is an impressive section bringing SOFT MACHINE to mind. A complete change occurs before 6 minutes as it calms right down with horns, a beat and keys that echo. It's spacey late to end it. "Zwischenspiel Margit" is another short piece this time with acoustic guitar and spacey sounds. "Mama Kubu" is the over 8 minute closer that starts out with this funky beat as distant sounding vocals join in. A change 1 1/2 minutes in as we get a beat and more with atmosphere. Horns join in and soon we have a World Music flavour especially with those vocals that bring WEATHER REPORT to mind after 4 minutes.

I really enjoy this album just not quite as much as the debut. Both are worthy additions if your into that Jazz flavoured music.

Front covers and album titles of the band would showcase now what started with ''Garuda'', the band would take a lighter approach on Jazz Fusion, steadily moving away from their progressive roots for an upcoming slick-styled Fusion.But it's all about the arrangements at the very end and ''Get the ball'' is a surprising album in that sense, it may contains these light funky vibes, popping up in most pieces, but the overall performances are really great with propulsive rhythms and atmospheric breaks, based on the intelligent use of synthesizers and electric piano, offering a largely instrumental sound.You will easily detect we are speaking about a former Kraut Rock act here, the neurotic synth splashing, the steady and narcotic rhythms and the omnipresent percussions are standard charactestics of the sound, even if now they appear rather as leftovers than fundamental elements of their style.Excellent rhythm section all the way through, constantly changing tempos, spacious interruptions and dense Fusion experiments with no weak tracks and evident links to the sound of PASSPORT, one or two tracks even contain some discreet Mellotron washes.The material flows nice and easy, sounding very fresh until today, and offers a good set of psychedelic acoustics between its jazzy values.

Loved this work, although I admit it's not quite there with the best of Kraut Fusion from the 70's.But it's well-played, interesting and pretty adventurous as a whole.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Three long compositions along with a bunch of shorter pieces point out the new direction of the band, who now leans toward more Kraut Rock realms with less focus on tight interplays and more space for looser material.The British influences though are still apparent with the band having however a more Horn Rock approach akin to IF with three sax player in the line-up.KRAAN remain an obvious influence, moreover with the presence of Pappert around.The very short tracks even have a slight Avant-Garde and more experintal edge.However the base of the album are the three long arrangements, taking over 3/4 of the album.The talent is always there, however the material has lost much of the fresh orientation of the debut.Still Release Music Orchestra tend to propose a sound of their own, changing from powerful jamming parts, typical of the German Kraut Rock movement, to lighter passages with a strong Canterbury edge and characterized by some melodic saxes, nervous organs and delicate electric piano, not to mention some sporadic synthesizers.What makes ''Garuda'' a bit different though is the mass of improvised passages over the structured arrangements, but even these are played with passion, featuring very strong individual performances and an overall dense musicianship.

Compared to ''Life'', ''Garuda'' sounds like a step towards a more compatible Kraut/Jazz Rock form.The moments of great music are however still present, performed by a solid group of musicians, that could do much better.Recommended.

"Eroffnung-Tippa Tibana" opens with the band being introduced in a live setting followed by mellow music. A fuller sound before 2 minutes and we get some excellent drum work here as the clarinet plays over the top. There's a CAMEL vibe here. It settles late to end it. "Revue In Blau" starts to build early with the drums and clarinet leading. It settles back 3 minutes in then kicks back in before 4 1/2 minutes. It settles again 5 1/2 minutes in as that nice groove retruns. "Damaskus" is a top two for me. A catchy rhythm to start with the clarinet playing over top along with electric piano sounds oh so good. The drumming here is great as they seem to jam away. Some distorted organ before 4 1/2 minutes. Nice.

"Rot Wild" opens with atmosphere along with electric piano. It becomes psychedelic sounding as it echoes. It kicks in before 4 minutes with drums and more. "Der Traum Des Herrn P." has these repetitive drum patterns as the keyboards help out. Distorted organ joins in. A fuller sound before 3 1/2 minutes and the drumming as usual is so impressive. Dissonant horn before 4 minutes and vocal melodies after 6 minutes. "Zemas Rutan" is my other top two. This has some laid back guitar and floating organ. It's so different from the rest and I love it. "Morgengabe" has some energy as we get more of that fantastic drumming along with electric piano, bass and horns standing out.

Just some killer instrumental work on this record making it an easy 4 stars for me.

While most of Kraut/Jazz-Rock bands of the time were tending to deliver one-dimensional improvisations and sometimes monotonous solo performances, ''Life'' remains on a great balance from the very first to very last minute.Yes,the sound is typical of jazz-tinged 70's German bands with KRAAN and PASSPORT being the closest reference points,yet what simply amazes the listener here is the endless number of fantastic interplays and the constant alternation of instrumental sections. Lovely work by Jacobsen on clarinet and even better performance by Rürup on his electric piano, which has almost a Canterbury-edge at moments.What is even greater is the majestic use of Mellotron in a couple of tracks,offering a haunting atmospheric background, rarely met in the typical Kraut-Jazz releases.The rhythm section delivers a series of furious and strong grooves and often some very complex individual performances.The whole package is more than attractive,compared to the best works of KRAAN, EMBRYO or PASSPORT.

An impressive mix of Kraut Rock, Jazz and Progressive Rock, ''Life'' is a monstrous work with a variety of moods, different passages and professional interplays and a great starting point into an endless Kraut Rock journey.Highly recommended.

By RMO's third album Get The Ball, the group was down to a quartet, having lost bassist Holger Dunkel (replaced by Frank Fisher) and wind player Norbert Jacobsen (not replaced) and recorded this one with Dieter Dierks (as opposed to Plank previously). With a fairly boring artwork and an uninspired title, it is clear that with a reduced line-up, the group would have to try really hard to match their previous efforts and keyboardist Rurup becoming the main composer, where the songwriting was collective.

And they almost succeeded as all three tracks on the A side are excellent cool fusion axed on Manfred Rurup's Fender Rhodes, as it had become the only permanent lead instrument (guest guitarist intervene in two tracks, a guest trumpeter on another). But musically we are not far from Herbie Hancock's Headhunters or Sextant, rather than Nucleus previously. The flipside seems to digress from that pattern slightly due to the opening Blackbird where vocals and trumpet break the monotony, but you shall not be surprised if it sounds Miles-ey. Atlantis (co-written by the huge Carsten Bohn) is built on a descending line that changes a little as well, but the closing Chambre Séparée resembles the first side. On the German side, RMO is closer to the earlier Doldinger's Passport than Thirsty Moon or Kraan.

Less "entertaining" due to the reduced line-up, Get The Ball is still quite a worthy RMO album, even if it is nothing essential in terms of JR/F (been done hundreds of time before and since), but nevertheless definitely worth a listen for JR/F enthusiasts.

As all tracks are linked by short (never above one minute length) interludes of Swiss Games separating the main compositions: the five Zwischenspiel pieces, each penned by a member of the group), but even then I don't think there is much of a message to catch. It seems that the group's message was mostly the good times, abundant and precise interplays between all members. Right from the opening 10-min Slapstick (which is anything but), you know that you won't be rocking your socks off: while there are some Nucleus elements in the music, the group lack the sheer power of their UK counterparts, while Passport is not far away. The first side's best track is Torso Im Sommerwind, but nothing that enthusiasting either.

The second side starts on the deep and introverted 12-min title track, which shines as the album's highlight, but I have trouble getting interested in the unfocused and slightly ethnic Mama Kubu, sounding like a cheap but more psych Osibisa crossing Doldinger's Passport.

While I wouldn't consider anything of Release Music Orchestra as essential, their early albums are definitely worth hearing if you are into JR/F. And since I am one of them, I'll add another half star.