MISSUS BEASTLY (1970)

One of the first underground German psych groups around, MB was known as Psychotic Reaction then Reaction before changing their name to an afro American TV show doll. They experienced quite a success live, but by the time they came to record their debut album, they had nothing ready for it, so they had to dig up old live songs, and according to bassist Hofman, the album is absolutely not representative of their stage sets.

Indeed this first album might appear quite deceiving compared to the band's future jazz- rock albums, because it is a full-psyched-out rock often delving in jazzy-blues-rock. The four main tracks (ranging from 5'30" to 9 minutes) of the album are all in this genre, and while enjoyable and well played, there is nothing extraordinary which would really interest most progheads, outside the psych flavour: they even sound like early TYA. The three shorter tracks (max 3 minutes) are even more psychedelic, but are amounting to being almost negligible. Indeed this album is really not that much essential to progheads, but can be a curiosity to Missus Beastly fans and to those psych-minded progheads as well.

This album will then be pirated (straight from the vinyl, therefore of inferior quality) quickly under the name Nara Asst Incense, and a group named MB with no link with the legit one will then live off the reputation of the name and even record two albums of their own. On the other hand, obviously the real MB was completely disorganized and only partially existed, but at one point the group will align seven musicians (including two wind players). The group will eventually fold, before being reformed on the request of ex-Missing Link Dieter Miekautsch, and former MB Jurgen Benz who asked the only remaining original drummer Lutz Oldermeier to reform. But this is another story.