KOSLOWSKY

Man, this stuff really must be an acquired taste. A left-leaning (I assume) RIO kind of thing with interlaced folk tales and several early glimpses of what sounds like where some of the dance/pop crap of the early MTV-eighties would come from, particularly on the strangely rap-leaning “Familiengeschichten” and “Koslowsky Schlagt Zu”.

The rest is really far too German for any hope of mass-appeal. “Die Prinzesin Auf Der Nadel” has some decent piano and a fairly languid tempo, and “Schlackenfahrer Schorsch” features a few interesting guitar licks. But the German vocals are heavy and often spoken-word, with messages that escape those who don’t speak the language. This isn’t the kind of music you’re likely to listen to if you are primarily interested in the instrumentation.

I gather this is close to the final gasp for this band that started out as some sort of social protest group at the end of the hippie-love revolution. Vietnam was long over by the time this came out, and the band seems to be struggling to find something new to be angry (or even motivated) about.

Not my thing for sure. I’ll assume this appeals to someone or it wouldn’t have been reissued on CD. So two stars for the collectors, but I don’t know anyone personally I could recommend this to.

peace