MY SOLID GROUND

One of the early Kraut Rock bands, My Solid Ground were found in Ruesselsheim, originally with Bernhard Rendel on guitar, Teddy on voice, Manfred Fischer on bass and Willy Waid on drums.With a rising repertoire they were quite well-known around the Rhine-Main area and in 1970 new bassist Werner Geilenkirchen joins the band along with Ingo Werner on keyboards.Shortly after the band receives a contract from Bacillus and welcomes new drummer Andreas Wuersching.Recorded at Dierks Studios in Cologne in Febraury-April 1971, the self-titled debut of the quartet, with Rendel singing as well, was released in the autumn of the same year.

If you ask me, the ground was already solid in Germany for experimental releases with bands like AMON DUUL and XHOL CARAVAN having already spread the seeds.In the vein of the masters goes the long opening ''Dirty yellow mist'', a superb psychedelic experience with frightening, distorted vocals, marching bass and drums over a hypnotic guitar rhythm and the Hammond organ of Werner producing cosmic soundscapes.Some discreet piano lines and the haunting female choirs complete an excellent piece of Kraut Rock music.The rest of the album follows a quite unsimilar path.Another seven very short but frenetic tracks with dual guitars and screaming vocals show My Solid Ground move on a Hard Rock, almost Proto-Metal path, full of scratching riffs and influences from a more sharp JIMI HENDRIX.Of course there are a couple of exceptions, like the smooth and more romantic ''Melancholie'' with the narcotic piano of Werner in evidence and the mellow acoustic guitars of Rendel or the grandiose ''The executioner'', another very dark piece of music with bizarre narrations, bombastic organs and powerful bass and guitars.

The album has seen a handful of reissues over the years with those of Second Battle being absolutely fantastic, containing the original recordings intended to be send to Bacillus, offering the listener a different point of view from the original tracks.Special mention needs to be refered to the long ''Flash'' opus, over 24 minutes long, featuring some impressive jams combined with very deep structured themes and sensitive, psychedelic vocals.

Definitely an almost classic album of the early Kraut Rock scene.Maybe a bit too simplistic on the Hard Rockin' cuts, but the more atmospheric pieces or moments are certainly rewarding.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.