GARUDA

This is the second release from RELEASE MUSIC ORCHESTRA, a Jazz/ Rock band out of Germany who formed from the ashes of TOMORROW'S GIFT. Not much to chose between the first two albums as both are excellent but I do prefer the debut more. For what it's worth the Gnosis and RYM sites rate this one higher. We get sax and clarinet besides the usual instruments and even some vocals. This was released in 1975 and features many short(under one minute) tracks plus three longer ones and a couple of average length tunes.

"Slapstick" is kind of funky at first with a horns over top often blasting away in this catchy track. I'm reminded of KRAAN 2 minutes in, there's some active drum work here as well. Some distorted keys come and go as they seem to jam until after 6 minutes when we get a complete change as it calms right down. Female spoken words and a symphonic, lighter sound that reminds me of the seventies(duh!). This is really good and it takes us to the end of the song. And it's my first top three tune on here. "Zwischenspiel Holger" is under a minute of intricate acoustic guitar melodies. "Torso I'm Sommerwind" is a top three for me and it's a beautiful clarinet driven tune that's relaxed with prominent bass. Some distorted keys after 3 minutes as it picks up some. "Zwischenspiel Norbert" features a horn throughout and is under a minute long. "Rallye Dallye" has a busy drum intro as the horns and more help out in this uptempo track. The organ starts to lead the way eventually. "Zwischenspiel Zabba" is under 30 seconds of what sounds like vibes.

"Zwischenspiel Manne" is under a minute long and we get a sampled conversation between a man and a woman along with organ and vibes I believe. "Garuda" is my final top three and the longest tune at 12 1/2 minutes. A pleasant and relaxed sound to start out with clarinet, drums and vibes standing out. The tempo picks up around 2 minutes then we get these CARAVAN sounding distorted keys 3 minutes in. This is an impressive section bringing SOFT MACHINE to mind. A complete change occurs before 6 minutes as it calms right down with horns, a beat and keys that echo. It's spacey late to end it. "Zwischenspiel Margit" is another short piece this time with acoustic guitar and spacey sounds. "Mama Kubu" is the over 8 minute closer that starts out with this funky beat as distant sounding vocals join in. A change 1 1/2 minutes in as we get a beat and more with atmosphere. Horns join in and soon we have a World Music flavour especially with those vocals that bring WEATHER REPORT to mind after 4 minutes.

I really enjoy this album just not quite as much as the debut. Both are worthy additions if your into that Jazz flavoured music.