LOOKING THRU

The relentless journey of the band named Passport continues at the fall of 1973.Doldinger would carry the band to Dieter Dierks's Studio in October to record ''Looking thru'', this time Frank Roberts was replaced by keyboardist Kristian Schultze, who was already an experienced performer, having played with his own band Kristian Schultze Set and the Ethno-Jazz combo Niagara, while he was a close friend of Curt Cress, playing later alongside the German veteran drummer in Curt Cress Clan and Snowball.

''Looking thru'' shows Passport returning to the sound of their inventive pair of first releases, without throwing away the new direction they had taken with ''Hand made''.In fact this one sounds the most Kraut Fusion album of the combo, regarding the displayed stylings, featuring spacious keyboards, light jazzy improvisations, funky rhythms, Fusion exercises and a nice dose of Kraut Rock freakness.Some superb jazzy grooves with nice work on clavinet and sax to go along with tremendous Fusion keyboard and piano fests, love the combination of jazzy electric piano with the sinister Mellotron strings in the background.The opening side relies much on the work of Doldinger and Schultze on keyboards and the tireless rhythm section with occasional sax bursts, it's one of the very fine examples of flexible German Fusion with charming keyboard soloing and balanced tempos.Second side sees Doldinger pickin' up his sax for some accomplished executions on funky lines, melodious themes and scratching jazzy workouts, always backed up by the omnipresent keyboards.It sounds a bit more ethereal and lightweight than the opening one, but still contains some pretty cool stuff with experimental synth lines and virtuosic piano solos.My main complaint comes from the album's length, this one is pretty short, barely exceeding the 30-min. mark.

Well-played German Fusion with a variety of rhythms and atmospheres.Better than ''Hand made'' and a major purchase for all fans of airy Kraut/Jazz Rock.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.