FRANKIE DYMON JR.

This obscure but crazy colourful communication with decent German psychedelic visual / aural effects has completely imressed me. "Let It Out" created by FRANKIE DYMON JR. in 1971 can be called as one of forgotten masterpieces of Krautrock (anyway in 1971 plenty of eccentric but fantastic creations came out - "Essais", "With (Junk-Saucepan) When (Spoon-Trigger)", "Die Grüne Reise", or "Mittelwinternacht '71" ... kind of special year for unknown rock stuffs). For Krautrock fanatics, there are full of enjoyable elements - jazzy, ethnic, electronic, acoustic, poetic, folksy, etc. etc. - to name but a few. A tad boring for art rock fans though.

The first shoot "The City" is quite impressive along with electronic distortion, lazy voices, phantasmagoric rhythms, or trippy guitar approaches, based upon oriental / tribal movements. It's kinda pleasure they get wilder and wilder as the track goes forward. In only 3 minutes and half various musical essence is stuffed here and there. "Sylvia" is a perfect blend of folk and poetry, where acoustic guitar plays are quite of comfort and (maybe) Frank's humming would not be good. Repetitive monotonous phrases drive you into another dimension. Another mysterious, electro-weird tribalism can be heard in "Aftermyth" that has serious heavy rock texture in the middle part. Solid guitar expressions are rock assets. And you could be intoxicated with dreamy ambient streams in the latter part. This stuff reminds you of the similar vein to YaHoWha 13 or some religious music communes. "Wait Nigger Wait" might be no good for the current world I guess but the atmospheric musical discharge is not bad really. The vibes in this track is lovely.

It's a pity the B Side sounds slightly pop and catchy, bejeweled with some weird flavour though. For example, the first one upon the B Side "Together Train" is pretty of discotheque. Limited to this song, it's much surprising that they launched such a perfect disco sound before the disco boom, and that the last moment is very quirky according to their stagnant soundscape. From "Reflections" until the last title-less one, acceptable melodic lines featuring flat, lazy voices go ahead ... cannot notify what they should have wanted to do sadly. Forgive me saying roughly and indifferently, this album would be more and more fascinating if their innovative soundscape like tracks upon the A Side is also upon the whole B Side. However, even feeling like above mentioned, you could find this album be one of "forgotten masterpieces". Have a try, please.

There's not a lot of information out there in regards to this obscure release from 1971. And just to clear up one thing, it's Frank Dymon Jr who is the vocalist here not Frank Dostal as it shows in the lineup section here on PA. I'd change it but for some reason I can't. Frank Dymon Jr. was a black American who has been described as a "black power militant" and he belonged to the UK wing of the Black Panther movement. The band here is a bunch of talented Germans and includes none other than Achim Reichel and Frank Dostal and others from A.R. & MACHINES along with Conny Plank who engineered this recording as well as adding some backup vocals on a couple of tracks.

How did these two unlikely camps come together is something I can't find out as the liner notes only show the lyrics and the musicians on each track. I can speculate though and since Reichel, Dostal and others were in a very popular German beat band they may have seen the movie released in 1968 called "Sympathy For The Devil" or "One Plus One" which on the one hand shows the ROLLING STONES making of the song "Sympathy For The Devil" and their feelings on subjects that were a focus in society back then like racism etc, and on the other hand the movie looked at the Black Panther movement which included Frankie Dymon Jr spreading his feelings through poetry. Of course the film dealt with a lot more stuff but I wonder if these young Germans saw this film and contacted Frankie about doing this project. Speculation on my part of course. Frankie Dymon Jr also directed a film in 1969 in the UK called "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" which also dealt with the plight of the blacks in society.

I should also mention that Frankie doesn't sing his poetry he speaks it. Also the music itself was composed by Achim Reichel except for the longest song which Frank Dostal created. It's interesting that Achim released his "Die Grune Reise" under the A.R. & MACHINES name the same year as this particular album was released. They are very different from one another.

Up first is "The City" with the drums being the focus early before it settles and Frankie starts to speak. Man this guy has a way with words and he really sounds like Jimi Hendrix whan he talks. A minute in the guitar, congas, marracas, clarinet, drums and more become promiant as Frankie continues. An instrumental break arrives before Frankie returns. An interesting track as he talks about arriving in Hamburg, Germany at night and how cold it was and that to him it was no different than Paris, New York or London as he stands alone amidst a million commuters. "Sylvia(On A Beautiful Saturday) reminds me of Kevin Ayers as we get picked guitar and whistling from Achim as Frankie talks about a beautiful happening. Very cool lyrics to this one. "Aftermyth" is the longest song at 10 1/2 minutes. This is the first track where Frankie reveals his passion against the negative things that are happeing in the world, and happeing to him in his life. This is also the first track that rocks out somewhat, especially Reichel's guitar work which starts before 3 minutes. Love the choirs before 6 1/2 minutes. An ominous atmosphere follows that sounds amazing as Frankie gets militant with his lyrics, like he's in the middle of this war. Orchestral sounds follow. "Wait, Nigger, Wait !" has interesting lyrics as guitar, clarinet and percussion lead instrumentally.

"Together Train" is different as it sounds live as he introduces the drums then guitar as we hear backing vocals. It then changes lyrically as he talks about this girl he met. Crazy stuff, very psychedelic as far as the words go. "Reflections" also deals with a woman from his past. Trippy music here and I like the lyrics. The organ is a nice touch after 2 minutes. Great tune ! "Soul Sister Andrea" has a bluesy flavour and some prominant bass as Frankie speaks about hope and liberation. "In The Same Bag" is about partying and the music is urgent. Frankie didn't dig it though when the woman he passed the pipe he was smoking to wiped the tip before she smoked it. It's all about the message. Such a good tune ! "Judy" is mostly strummed guitar, organ, drums, bass and spoken words. A relaxed song about a lady he had been with in the past. I like the choirs too. Excellent ! "No Title" ends it all in a sort of upbeat and hopeful manner about a past experience and relates to the big picture that Frankie was fighting for.

Thankyou to Guldbamsen who's review moved me to purchase this unique recording. Not your typical Krautrock if that's what it even is, but yes this is one record i'm glad I own.

"We're all tripping in this together bag!"

Let It Out is without a doubt the most unlikely Krautrock album ever made. I don't know what the good Achim Reichel was thinking when he decided to make an album with beat poet Frank Dostal, but I'm absolutely over the moon that he did. This album connects two different, and highly unlikely, worlds with a grace and power that literally made my jaw drop, when I first heard it. Psychedelic soul and Krautrock?!?!? WTF???

Yep that's right. Let It Out sounds like Richie Havens teamed up with Faust, Funkadelic and Amon Düül ll.................. I guess you must be scratching your head by now, but let me tell you straight away, this bizarre concoction works wonders. I've never been much of a 'spoken word' fan, but on here the vocals seem just right and funky to boot. Dostal's poetry speaks about esoteric notions, ganja, let's all get together teachings and anti-war, often touching on a distinct urban vibe that almost feels like proto-rap, without ever diverging from his melodic flair. Maybe it's because I've always listened to a lot of Motown and funk, but there's just something about the drive of it that makes me dance and bob my head.

What sets Let It Out apart from other psychedelic funk bands of the time, is that it employs some rather clever trickery - bending and contorting the otherwise funky rhythm and blues foundation completely out of shape. The infusion of a fuzzed guitar, strange birdlike reeds and intimate acoustic folk moments makes this venture into something else entirely. Attributing to all of this, is a slight touch of Amon Düül ll. I especially hear it in the chord shifts, and whether it is intentionally done or not, still helps blur the smooth surfaces of this record. Somewhat comparable to throwing a chilli in your vanilla ice cream.

Fluctuating between short pretty balladry tunes that take you out on the fields in tall grasses, and the deep funky experimenting rhythm n blues, this album balances a fine line of intimacy and expressionism. The inspired psych drenched guitar leads from Reichel himself often bridges the two making the album flow from either extremity with a smooth nonchalance about it.

The full line-up consists of Frank Dostal and Achim Reichel + Rolf Kohler (bass), Norbert Jacobsen (clarinet), Lemmie Lembrecht (percussion) and Helmut Franke (percussion). Additional musicians were Wolfgang "Zabba" Lindner (drums, ex-Wind), Peter Hecht (piano, from Lucifer's Friend), Elga Blask (vocals) and Olaf Casalich (congas). Not to mention one Conny Plank sitting comfortably at the production helm.

What I love about this album is that it doesn't seem to try at all. The music comes across so naturally and unassumingly. Even the carefully placed experimental bits feel like they belong there. It all comes together beautifully. The sparsely used female backing vocals that sound strangely like the mellotron from KCs debut, the freak folk sections with percussions galore, the Gil Scott Heron flavoured vocals - it really does come together like a dream.

Put this baby on the stereo, tune in turn on and drop out - forget about the world. I jump on this fiery funk ride that swings and grooves like a wavy tarmac road, and am instantly reminded why I love music.